Weil McLain Ultra 230 heat exchanger condensate corrosion and leak

tigerdrvr

Found water puddling under the boiler and upon inspection found a corroded hole next to the condensate drain. Boiler was installed in 2006 and is running 12 zone system and heat exchanger for domestic hot water. System is using glycol and I don't have any reason to believe there has been introduction of corrosive elements. There is a trap in the condensate drain piping. Not sure if the drain area is installed with a stainless steel cup.




Any idea if WM is standing behind these expensive units? If not is it even worth trying to repair or am I looking at a replacement?

Jamie Hall

I doubt very much there's a warranty claim on that. 14 years is a good long time. And I hate to say this, but corrosion happens... to everything.

kcopp

That is classic on those units. Happens a lot. You can try to clean it up and install some epoxy/ JB weld on it. The real danger is that the exhaust is running out that area. I hope there is a CO detector...

Tom_133

Off the top of my heat it was a 10 year heat exchanger warranty. To swap that out is still much less than half the cost of new. But you end up with other parts that are a bit older. I really like how dependable that boiler was, but the aluminum not liking the acidic condensate sorta made it a deal breaker.

I would listen to Kcopp, nurse it through this winter with a repair if you can do it safely, and spend the summer negotiating!

SuperTech

Common problem with that boiler. Drainage issues can accelerate the death of many mod cons. That was a decent boiler in its day but there's better options available for replacement. 

HVACNUT

tigerdrvr said:

Found water puddling under the boiler and upon inspection found a corroded hole next to the condensate drain. Boiler was installed in 2006 and is running 12 zone system and heat exchanger for domestic hot water. System is using glycol and I don't have any reason to believe there has been introduction of corrosive elements. There is a trap in the condensate drain piping. Not sure if the drain area is installed with a stainless steel cup. Any idea if WM is standing behind these expensive units? If not is it even worth trying to repair or am I looking at a replacement?

If you have the CP#, you might be able to get a warranty if the client is the original owner. 
That was a common issue with the Ultra and revisions have been made to the flue. Instead of stainless, it's now polypropylene, and they incorporated a pipe for the condensate to go directly into the drain rather than pool in the bottom of the HX.
After 16 years though, what else can go wrong that might benefit upgrading to a Series 4.

tigerdrvr

Any recommendations on a replacement unit when it comes to that?

Tim_D

That boiler was manufactured 7-03-07 and should have 20% left on the warranty. This means that you will get a 20% discount on the replacement heat exchanger. Call 1-800-654-2109.