Taco 007-f5 failed on Williamson boiler

frank100

Hi, we replaced old steam heating with new water heating system with new pipes and new baseboard and new boilers. Three new Williamson GWA-067 boilers with one new Taco 007-f5 on each boiler. After a couple of months usage , the Taco 007-f5 all failed ( not at the same time ) . The Taco should last much longer and it seems something was not configured correctly, but the plumber has no idea why all failed . Could it because the new installation with some small items in the pipes? Or electrical lines are not connected correctly? Or the air in the pipes ? Or the pressure not correct as the systems are at 20 psi ( other systems also at 20psi but no issues)? Thanks

dko

They can fail in numerous ways.. what exactly failed on the 007? Motor? Impeller? Someone actually inspect it after?

Also is the pictured pump the one that came with the boiler? Because if new with boiler- it should be a black painted 007, not green. or is it the replacement

The nipple before the elbow for the gas line looks like it only has 2 threads engaged.

EdTheHeaterMan

Based on the photographs posted, there is no reason for those pumps to fail. So the failure has to do with something else. What is the chance of the pumps operating against a closed valve for an extended period of time? What is the chance that the pump operated with an air lock at or near the pump? What is the chance that sludge from the old system found its way to the pump causing poor performance or a blockage?

There are more than 100 questions like I just proposed, so when the 3 new pumps fail in a year or so, you will want to look into what is causing the failures. Electrical surges, water problems, system design flaws, or even the occasional haunted house where the Ghost was an Edison fan and despises Nick Telsa's AC current idea.

Taco has a 3 year warranty from date of manufacturer. The date is stamped on the cartridge inside the black housing. It is also somewhere else on the exterior. You may get some credit if the plumber didn't throw them away. Taco is depending on those plumbers to keep their warranty claims to a minimum. LOL

STEAM DOCTOR

How do you know they failed? Did someone confirm that pipes where not airbound?

Big Ed_4

Your system water may be crappy , grit , rust and sand kills them pumps ..

hot_rod

Dead heading, air-locked, improper mounting position or really dirty water would be common causes of failures.

pedmec

I don't believe a plumber installed those boilers. those pics are taken at such a bad angle that he is trying to hid something. there is romex everywhere. my electrician don't run romex to a boiler.

frank100

Thanks for all the comments and advices. The systems come with black taco ones. When they fail , they just not pump water and water leaks from the middle of the pump. I opened two after they were replaced and connected to a plug and nothing is running. As the system only has new pipes and baseboard ( no radiators), may I ask how I should check whether the pipes are airbound or not ? Also how to prevent electrical surge? Should I replace the water in the system often? Any suggestions to prevent the pump fail again ? The wires are a mess, any example( photos) how these wires should be organized? How to prevent dead heading? Will lower the pressure from 20psi to 12 psi reduce the chance of dead heading ? Thanks!

STEAM DOCTOR

Lowering pressure won't help one bit. You need to purge air out of the system. If the appropriate valves are not there currently, have them added. No shortcuts around this. Taco circulators are very durable. Something has to be going on here.

dko

From the middle of the pump? The motor mounting area with the 4 bolts? Were the motors ever rotated from stock orientation?
Not sure why everything is so vague.

Can you take a photo pointing to where it's leaking on the pump?
And if you want better assistance, take photo of the entire setup including the near boiler piping. We can't really tell if anything is wrong with those photos.

frank100

The leaks were not from the connection area between pump and pipes, it is the red area I highlighted on the photos. Thanks 

HVACNUT

Its only an O-ring between the motor and volute body. Extremely rare I've come across leaks there. That many circulators leaking would be water quality. No antifreeze?

frank100

No antifreeze. It is not only leaking and the pump motor was not running also as I opened them after replacement and tested. Thanks

EdTheHeaterMan

@frank100 Those boilers have extra manual reset low water cut off and manual reset high limit. Is that boiler in a commercial building? The plumbing inspector would not have asked for those extra controls to be added in a residence up to 4 families where I used to work. 3 boilers tells me that you have a 3 unit building.

Dead head means to run the pump with no water moving thru the pump. Think of it like a window fan operating with the window closed. No air flow = overheating the fan motor.

The pump can dead head if there is a closed valve. but you would have no heat.
The pump can dead head if it is air locked. Air in the pipes above the pump. but you would have no heat
The pump can dead head of there is air in the pump. that is the worst. but you would have no heat.

I take it that the pump worked to heat the place until it failed. So none of the dead heading reasons apply. That leaves the dirt in the pump problem. You may want to have the water tested for Ph and heavy metals. and just look at the water that comes out of the pipes into a glass jar to see if there is anything floating or sinking to the bottom of the jar.

Did the plumber take the pumps away? They are probably under warranty and Taco may want to inspect them.