Weil-Mclain CGa 4 leaking water

mg_mayers

I have been having issues with my cga leaking water and shutting down, I'm assuming it has to do with the leak? It shut down a few weeks ago but I saw no water. I replaced the thermocouple and it started right up again. I shut my heat off yesterday and when I put it back on today the boiler shut down once again, this time with water visibly dripping down from the insulated panel directly in front of the cast iron blocks. I moved the panel and was able to see that the nipple on the left side of the boiler that screws into the top of the cast iron is badly rotted in that area. It comes up from the cast into a tee with the pressure gauge. Theres what looks like a small relief valve coming up next to it through the same hole in the top panel of the boiler that has been steadily dripping water.Would that cause a shut down? I'm not sure why the little relief is dripping. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

SuperTech

That's not a relief valve, it's an air vent that helps remove air from the boiler. It needs to be replaced. Why did you change the thermocouple? Was the pilot flame out? Was water dripping on the burners? Can we see some more pictures of the boiler and piping?

mg_mayers

SuperTech said:

That's not a relief valve, it's an air vent that helps remove air from the boiler. It needs to be replaced. Why did you change the thermocouple? Was the pilot flame out? Was water dripping on the burners? Can we see some more pictures of the boiler and piping?

Yes the pilot flame was out the first time and this time as well.

The insulation on the backside of the panel was pretty saturated with water when I looked at it this morning and there was some water in the bottom of the boiler so I'd say yes, there was water on the burners. They were dry when I looked at it though. What would cause water to come out of that vent? Thanks for your help.

I will upload more pictures

mg_mayers

SuperTech

Looks good. I'd say you are on the right track. You can try to tighten the cap on the air vent and see if the dripping stops, but the air vent is inexpensive and should be replaced. You would have to drain a couple of gallons of water to take the pressure off the boiler first. I see an isolation valve on the return side but not the supply. It's best to isolate the boiler to avoid having to refill and purge after repairs.

mg_mayers

SuperTech said:

Looks good. I'd say you are on the right track. You can try to tighten the cap on the air vent and see if the dripping stops, but the air vent is inexpensive and should be replaced. You would have to drain a couple of gallons of water to take the pressure off the boiler first. I see an isolation valve on the return side but not the supply. It's best to isolate the boiler to avoid having to refill and purge after repairs.

Im not entirely sure what is supply and return. There is a valve right before the tank on the right side of the boiler and a few on the left side leading to the circulator. It looks like they would close all feeds to the boiler. Once it is isolated I can just open the spicket below the circulator to drain the water?

SuperTech

Supply is the pipe coming off the top of the boiler, with the red flow check valve on it. The return goes in the bottom of the boiler and has the circulator pump on it. You need to close the valves on these pipes and at the water feed valve, which is the bell shaped valve with the handle on it. Drain enough water to get the pressure off the boiler and replace the air vent. Refill the boiler and purge the zones if necessary.