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Is SOS Products out of business?

Shalom
Shalom Member Posts: 165
in Strictly Steam
I am trying to resuscitate a rusted-out boiler so I can get maybe another year or two out of it. I plugged as many holes as I can reach with JB Weld, but that last one is all the way in there and I can’t get my hand in that far. So I got a pound jar of Boiler StopLeak “a scientific metallic compound” (which I just opened, and I have to say looks and smells exactly like sawdust) at my local plumbers supply house and figured I’d throw it in there. Yeah I know, but the boiler’s ruined anyway, I can hardly make it worse. 

I was wondering how much of this alleged metallic sawdust to put in, so tried to call the company. The 800 number went to an intercept, the local number gave me a recording that said Here are four local businesses similar to what you were looking for, and the website looks like it hasn’t been updated since 1998. 

Are these guys still in business? And if not, should I be looking for some other kind of sealant? If they’re selling sawdust at 19 bucks a pound, it’s not surprising they’re gone, but is there anything else that might work? Maybe that stuff they sell for head gasket rejuvenation (which my mechanic had the same opinion of as y’all probably do about the magic sawdust, but might actually do something in a boiler).

Comments

  • Big Ed_4
    Big Ed_4 Member Posts: 2,973
    Sealers only buy you a short time until you bring in a new boiler. Your boiler seems very porous . Is it steam ?

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  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 17,312
    Big Ed_4 said:

    Sealers only buy you a short time until you bring in a new boiler. Your boiler seems very porous . Is it steam ?

    This. @Shalom , where are you located?
    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
  • Shalom
    Shalom Member Posts: 165
    edited January 2021
    I’m in northern NJ. Check my post history for more of the tribulations of this boiler, this is ongoing for 5 years now. See https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/178235/this-was-a-12-year-old-boiler-wth .
  • AdmiralYoda
    AdmiralYoda Member Posts: 666
    Ouch.  Yeah I'd go on Amazon and order a water test kit for like $25.  They probably have them at the big hardware stores too.  You can test pH, chlorides and a bunch of other stuff.

    A low or even neutral pH will accelerate corrosion.  A high pH, around 9-11 will actually stop and prevent corrosion.  Rectorseal 8-way is a good additive to increase pH.

    Regarding your leaks....what do you have to lose?  I'd start by adding a quarter of that bottle of stop leak at a time.  Just keep an eye for excessive surging in the sight glass while it's boiling.

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