6 year old Crown boiler 4 of 5 sections leaking above waterline.

EnviroTemp

We installed the boiler and have been maintaining each season. 3weeks ago steam was heard at boiler. we broke it down and found one end and two mid sections weeping at several areas above water line and a third mid section with a 1/8th inch hole also above water.
tapped and plugged the hole, reassembled for temporary operation expecting to get warranty parts but the mfg feels 4 out of five sections points to something wrong with the system.
System is a bunch of radiators and baseboards.
Water use has been approximetly 7 gallons a month.
While broke down I felt inside from the upper nipple ports and it feels like the castings are potted and thin.
We are on the west coast and the mfg is on the east. replacement sections are availble although the unit is now discontinued so if this is not warranty my customer would rather buy a whole unit new.
But still why the failure? Also the customer does not wish to buy another so soon.
I would much appreciate any support.

lchmb

7 gallons a month is a huge influx of fresh water... Find the leaks and you'll be on the right path to fixing your issue. I would also recommend having the water tested and discuss the findings with crown as to what's acceptable..

KC_Jones

7 gallons per month, probably part of your answer. That would be a lot of usage for a year IMHO.

Also as already said check the water quality.

EnviroTemp

The boiler is a series 32-380 The Hydrolevel water feeder recommended make-up water limits, states that for 185 and larger 15 gallon a month as a limit.
The whole basement is open and all piping is exposed,
On a 380K boiler is 7 gallon monthly make-up excessive?
Thanks

Fred

How long has it been using 7 gallons of water a month? Certainly not since installation. Did they not suspect a problem when water usage increased? Did they ever put any cleaners in it that might have been corrosive? Six years is a very short life. There has to be more going on there than what we know at this point.

KC_Jones

The Hydrolevel numbers are way out in left field. Here is a chart from Burnham about make-up water. The boiler you describe would relate to their IN12 I believe.

Steamhead

You're looking for bad air vents, loose radiator valve packing nuts and similar things. Find those leaks!

nicholas bonham-carter

I would say that the excessive water use, obviously from a steam or water leak, has also damaged the other sections, and so a replacement of all sections, or a changeout of the boiler would be required.
There may be water quality issues involved here, but there is surely some sort of leak, which could have been detected earlier, by reading the meter.
If you are changing out the boiler, make sure the new boiler is sized to the radiation EDR. Make sure the waterline is stable before you leave the installation, by skimming the boiler thoroughly. A fluctuating waterline can expose the sections to rapid changes in temperature, causing small cracks, leading to bigger holes.—NBC

BobC

What is the water quality like? Seven gallons a month is a lot but there might be something else going on here. Is the system on well water?

Find out what the chlorides level is in the water, some areas have high chloride levels and it just eats cast iron.

Bob

Sweetandlowjoe

I just logged on to ask a similar question, and scanned to see if anyone had the same issues, was surprised to see almost the exact same problem! This is my third heating season with my crown boiler (14th year with steam heat, and very familiar with how it's supposed to work), up to now has worked great! First thing I noticed was when I was timing the drop out time when heat was needed regularly in November. I noticed the water in the site glass didn't bounce like it usually did when the water flashed to steam. The drop out time was almost perfect at 20 minutes. Otherwise boiler seemed to be performing normally. Then I noticed the water level seemed to be dropping more often, I had to refill much more often. So I started looking for leaks in the system. All pipes, radiators, valves were fine, found one small slow leak at a knuckle joint just after valve on one radiator, fixed that, boiler still acting the same. So I turned back to the boiler. I bought an inspection camera so I could look in and check the fins of the boiler. I saw some rust lines, but most were oriented like the water had run when the boiler was on it's back, so I disregarded those. I found one one the top, rust stains running down, so the right orientation. It is in the 2nd fin from the right, but I can't ever see steam coming out. But after reading this, I'm thinking the boiler may be defective. I have a call in to the guy who installed the boiler (I helped with the install to make sure the requirements were all followed so I didn't run I to the same problem from my old house that brought me here in the first place!) I have to wait tho because with the sub-zero temps here in Chicagoland he's a bit busy at the moment. I looked at the Crown website, but see no way of initiating a warranty claim, they talk about it all over the site, but no way to contact about it. I hope I've caught mine in time...