Burnham V-74 T leaking and venting out chimney

tippiecat

I have a Burnham V-74 T that was installed in 1995. I have recently moved into this house and noticed that low water filler was kicking on a couple times an hour. There is no water leaking anywhere. So, I waited for a cold day and sure enough there is a cloud of steam vapor coming out of the chimney. I'm guessing there is a upper level crack but I'm not an engineer. What should I look to do here? Can I get this crack repaired? Or do I need a new boiler?

Jamie Hall

Oops. Well, if there really is a hole above the water line, and all your symptoms point to that, there is no fix. This is usually not a crack, but an actual hole rusted through the boiler metal.

Time for a new boiler -- though you can probably make it through the winter on what you have though it will cost more fuel. But start planning now -- most of the folks who are any good at steam boilers are pretty busy.

Where are you located? It's possible that we might know some good people in your area.

pecmsg

Easiest way to prove the boiler is leaking

Let it cool down
Manually fill until the steam pipe gets cold, you'll see water on the floor.

From here it sounds like its shot.

Do you go through a lot of water?

EBEBRATT-Ed

@tippicat

To know for sure shut the boiler off and let it sit for several hours. The fill it with water above the top of the gauge glass ans continue filling until the supply pipe leaving the top of the boiler gets cold then stop filling. Waite an hour or so and look around and inside the boiler for leaking water.

When done weather you see water or not drain it down to a half a gauge glass and restart the boiler

Do you have any return lines under the basement floor?

Check "find a contractor" on this site and post your location as @Jamie Hall mentioned

tippiecat

Jamie Hall said:

Where are you located? It's possible that we might know some good people in your area.

I'm in Westchester, NY.

pecmsg said:

Easiest way to prove the boiler is leaking

Let it cool down
Manually fill until the steam pipe gets cold, you'll see water on the floor.

From here it sounds like its shot.

Do you go through a lot of water?

I will try manually filling to see. I don't know the volume of water but while the boiler is running, the auto feed is kicking in sometimes more than once an hour.

EBEBRATT-Ed said:

Do you have any return lines under the basement floor?

I have a trough in the basement floor but I can see it's dry throughout. Also, the water level site glass is stable unless the boiler is running. Then, it's running low constantly.

Jamie Hall

Lots of folks who manage to get up to Westchester. Try Find a Contractor. All good people.

tippiecat

This is an old thread but I wanted to leave to update so the kind people who followed and offered advice would know. So, I replaced the cracked (and 28 year old) boiler. I used a respected guy from this forum for the job. He did the install but, sadly, he left many (many) mistakes so just be wary about nice people. The flue was wrong, the hartford loop was wrong, and critically he left me with a gas leak. The manual described the flue and loop requirements so there was no excuse. So, please be cautious about "pros" who advertise their services here.

Peter_26

Firstly, were there any attempts made to remedy the mistakes that you say were made because the manual was not followed? Did you bring any doubts to the attention of the installer before posting negatively?

tippiecat

Excellent questions. First of all, I'm not a boiler expert so I would not be able to detect some flaws. The building inspector and subsequent plumbers I had to bring in due to the gas leak did notice. The initial installer shouldn't have to be begged to follow manufacturer instructions, though, agreed? Have they come back to my place since the past 4 months of no gas to review and make things right? No. Do they know that I am still without heating as a result? Yes.

*Also please note that I'm not naming names. I'm just offering a word of caution to people who spend their hard-earned money and trust members of their community.

Peter_26

If they have truly not responded to the issues and fixed them then that is not a way to do business. Maybe you should provide this info to the forum administrator and let them know your situation so they can be aware.

I'm not saying that what you are saying is true or not, but there are always two sides to a story and there is always the real story.

Hope you get this resolved ASAP.

tippiecat

Thanks @Peter_26. It's been a tough few months. Be well, everyone.