weil-mclain cga-5-pidn leaking water

Echarris203

Hi
We have a weil-mclain cga-5-pidn furnance, 2 zones. Service record shows it was installed in 2006, we purchased the house in 2019. We've never had an issue with zone 2 (2nd flr, in fact the bedroom gets very warm and stuffy.
 In 2020 we came back from a long weekend to a freezing house and the thermostat read 34. Luckliy we didnt experiance freezing/bursting pipes. My husband is pretty handy so he was able to figure out that there was a lose wire and was able get the heat back on. We still called the tech who came out and for $$$ confirmed it was a lose wire that didnt switch the lever on for the 1st floor. He really didnt address any issues and walked out within 10 minutes. We were careful to double check the wire, purchased a new thermostay and saved up for the maintenence cost.
We had the tech come out in October 2021 and the techs once again really didnt identify and solve the issue, but they did rewire and drained the pipes, another $$$ plus charge.
1/15/22 we woke up saturday morning to the thermostat reading 62. My husband drained the pipes a few times and within a few hours the heat came up to tempeture. But he noticed there was water on the floor and after looking around with a flashlight and mirror he vould see the back pipe leaking. He cleaned up the water and placed a bucket to catch the constant drip. Overnight the heat didnt stay on. Once agan the thermostat read 62 on sunday morning.
More draining of the pipes, and eventually he got the heat back on but the leak is super steady and we would like an actual solution or advise if we are better off replacing the furnance. A recommendation for a  good  contractor in the New Haven, CT area would be highly appreciated as we have no intention of staying with the current techs

Shane_2

Get some more pictures if you can, from further back. The staining on the outside of the boiler jacket suggest the leak may be on the piping rather than the boiler itself, which could be repaired.

Jamie Hall

I can't tell at all from the pictures where it might be leaking. If it is a pipe, it is likely that it can be repaired without much trouble. If it's the boiler, not so much.

You might try sending a PM to @dobro23 (just click on the name there) and see if he works in the New Haven area. As I recall he is in Danbury, but might cover your area and I know he's good.

Echarris203

Hi thank you both for your reply. Its a pipe on the back of the boiler that has a steady leak. Its hard to take pics as its located in a narrow closet. The leaking pipes is in the 1st pic below and has a yellow tag hanging off it, no cap at the end. I accidently pushed the very sensitive silver valve(?) Lever? Trying to read the yellow lable causing dark water with sediment (rust?) To gush out. Judging by the water marks visible, it appears there has been a keak previously.
For now the heat has been reaching temp and not turning off over the last 24 hours. Thanks fir the recommendation, I will reach out to the tech, hopefully he will come up to my area

HVACNUT

Is that pressure gauge reading 40 psi?
The leak is from the pressure relief valve, which should relieve at 30 psi so its doing what its designed to do. 
The cause of the pressure rise could be a bad diaphragm in the extrol tank, which is the grey tank in the lower left corner. Kinda looks like you'd need to open the wall to replace it. Or at least drop it on the floor, leave it there, and turn the elbow 180° and install the new one facing up.
Could also be the pressure reducing valve.
Then again it could be a hole in the tankless coil. 

Jamie Hall

Or to condense @HVACNUT 's comment: that's not a leak. That's the pressure relief valve, and you need to do something about that. The boiler is not at fault.

Echarris203

HVACNUT said:

Is that pressure gauge reading 40 psi?
The leak is from the pressure relief valve, which should relieve at 30 psi so its doing what its designed to do. 
The cause of the pressure rise could be a bad diaphragm in the extrol tank, which is the grey tank in the lower left corner. Kinda looks like you'd need to open the wall to replace it. Or at least drop it on the floor, leave it there, and turn the elbow 180° and install the new one facing up.
Could also be the pressure reducing valve.
Then again it could be a hole in the tankless coil. 

Thanks for your input - yes after watching several youtube videos we did learn and worry the pressure was too high, but the techs who were here 10/21 told us it was fine and didnt address it further.
Sounds like there are a couple reasons for the leak. In your professional opinion do we keep calling for maintenece? Or do we bite the bullet and  replace it as zone 1 keeps failing every few months? Thanks again

Echarris203

Jamie Hall said:

Or to condense @HVACNUT 's comment: that's not a leak. That's the pressure relief valve, and you need to do something about that. The boiler is not at fault.

Thanks again for your reply I reached out to the tech you suggested. Is this leak dangerous? Is it a dyi fix I could tackle? Or can it wait until I hear back from the tech?

STEAM DOCTOR

Leak is not dangerous. Wouldn't leave it that way long term(can shorten boiler life expectancy), but few days will be fine. 

HVACNUT

@Echarris203, it's not DIY, but I wouldn't have that particular tech back. 
Pressure issues are not uncommon and are (usually) easy to solve and repair.
Personally, I think the tech was too lazy to get to the extrol tank, and putting the tankless coil on test overnight is simple enough. 

Shane_2

@Echarris203 , Not a big deal, but just so you know. That boiler is not a CGa, it is a CGt (Early version of a combi boiler). Similar to newer combi boilers, the three way valve was notorious for failure.

Get the pressure situation resolved for this winter. Start thinking about boiler replacement in the not too distant future.