Help! Boiler liquid for small leak? Or will I make everything worse?

AmandaJoy

I came home the other night other work and my furnace was empty and cooking itself. wet spot on floor around it. It is manual fill and I filled it 2 days prior so it shouldn't have been empty. I shut the gas and electric, let it cool overnight, filled it half way. Checked after 2 hours and no level change in sight glass. Filled up and let sit overnight, lost 3/8 inch. 24 hours after filling it has lost an inch. Is it worth trying a Boiler liquid to see if stops leak? I dont have a service contract and would have to put work on a credit card to try to pay off. I work retail and am on 6 days to New Years so getting someone in may be hard. Temps have been mild but overnight has a few dips to below freezing. The house is old and too small for my kids and I, plan is to look to move this summer. I didn't pay much for house and will probably not get what I paid...so investing in new furnace is my last resort.

Side note, any guess how old it is? My dad thinks it is older than the one he got new as a kid in the 1950s

Paul S_3

Do you have pics? Where are you located?.... this is a steam boiler .... when you say the water level drops is this with the boiler running? Maybe a wet return is leaking

AmandaJoy

I am in Philipsburg, PA. Trying to get pics to post now.
I have not fired it back up, slow leak is with it cold.

AmandaJoy

http://pin.it/U1ODB5U

AmandaJoy

Having trouble loading pics, files look like downloading but not there. I am going to search threads for photo tips

Jamie Hall

It would be nice if the leak were in a wet return. That could be relatively inexpensive to fix. However, you say that you found a wet spot around the boiler -- and you imply that the boiler was still running.

I have yet to see a leak get better with time. Further, I can't recommend a stop-leak product. Those work, after a fashion, with pinholes and such, but boiler leaks, if such it is, aren't pinholes, and the glop in the water tends to make the boiler misbehave anyway.

So... where are we. Is there and automatic feeder in addition to the manual one? And is there a low water cut off on the boiler which works? Preferably two? If there is a reliable automatic feeder and an equally reliable low water cut off, or if you are depending on a manual feeder and have two low water cut offs, you could limp along for a while with the leak. No, it isn't recommended. No, it isn't going to help the boiler -- but if the boiler is leaking anyway, it's going to have to be replaced anyway, so more corrosion isn't a tragedy.

If at all possible I would only run the boiler when you can keep an eye on it. I don't mean sitting in a chair in front of it, but checking it from time to time.

Why? Because it is possible that the leak may get much worse rather abruptly, and you want to be around to shut all the power and gas off if it does.

And -- I only make these recommendations because I know that times are tough and that money, in a lot of families, is a mighty rare commodity.

KC_Jones

Something to keep in mind. Now that you know about the problem you are required by law (in PA) to disclose that information to any perspective buyer. Because of this in some sense you will most likely be paying for a new boiler. Either replacing it yourself or reducing the price of the house by the cost of a new boiler, in reality probably more. Not many people budget for a boiler replacement when they are buying a house. Not trying to sway you either way just giving you an idea of what to expect moving forward. It's a tough spot indeed.

Steamhead

Philipsburg is near State College- do we know anyone up that way who could help?