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water in my boiler

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Estelle
Estelle Member Posts: 4
in THE MAIN WALL
I have a question, I just bought an old home that has baseboard hot water heat...according to my licensed HVAC guy (I have used this company for over 20 years in my other homes) there is water in the boiler, but it is not there at all times..we have experienced it mostly after a good rain. Even the HVAC guy says he does not understand why it is not there at all times. He does say that there HAS to be a crack in there somewhere causing this issue and that the boiler needs to be replaced before it lets go and floods the boiler and kills it. He says the only way to find the crack is to totally take the system apart, but that he is sure there is a crack and we need a new boiler. Is there any other thing that could be cause this water in the boiler or do you agree it should be replaced? Thanks for your help..it's getting wicked cold here in Maine so if it does need to be replaced we need to get it done very soon.
Thanks everyone!

Comments

  • nicholas bonham-carter
    nicholas bonham-carter Member Posts: 8,578
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    If this is a hot water heating boiler, the system should be full of water all the time. If there were a leak, then you would surely see water on the floor.
    If it is a steam boiler, then there could be variations in the water level, due to various problems in the system.
    I don't see what connection rain could have with these problems.
    A picture of the boiler and piping would be worth a thousand words.--NBC
  • Estelle
    Estelle Member Posts: 4
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    HI, the water is in the boiler compartment. the company did not say there was a connection with the rain, I just noticed that both times they were out and found water in the compartment it had rained hard..this house is a 1830 something home. the part that I question is why there is not water in the compartment all the time if there is a small crack somewhere and water in there sometimes. The HVAC guy says he does not know either why there is water in the boiler compartment only sometimes...but yet he wants to replace my system. Just wondering if there could be something else causing it before I spend almost 10 grand.
  • Fred
    Fred Member Posts: 8,542
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    You need to post a few pictures so we can see exactly what you mean when you say water is in the boiler sometimes and not at other times. I assume the boiler shuts down when there is no water in it? What exactly do you mean by "No water in the boiler"? A boiler running dry is a very dangerous situation for everyone in that house and should not be used until the problem is understood and corrected.
  • delta T
    delta T Member Posts: 884
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    Okay, I am assuming you mean there is water in the burner chamber. Is this a natural gas boiler? How much water are we talking about, tablespoons, cups, gallons?

    IF you had a small crack, it is possible that there would be a magic temperature where the metal expands and the leak seals itself once the boiler is above that temp, however that seems HIGHLY unlikely, and in that case there would be more water present any time the boiler was idle. It is under pressure (or should be) so it would leak constantly.

    The connection to heavy rains probably is a clue. Has the flue/vent cap/flashing been checked thoroughly? Could be water simply leaking down the flue.

    Could be your boiler is over-pumped and is condensing water out of the flue gases for sustained periods of time as the boiler tries to heat up on a cold start.

    We need pictures to go further than guessing though....

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