what would cause cast iron to disintegrate

[Deleted User]

what would cause the iron to puff up and look similar to plywood thats delaminating. ran into this on a weil-mclain steam boiler today. it had a 3'' single front left side top discharge and the back right side of the boiler,top of the section has sprung steam from the weirdest looking ''hole''. like i mentioned, it didn't look like a hole but like delaminated wood. any thoughts on what would cause this?

Jamie_6

We had the same problem about 5 years ago. After some research we found that the system had some leaks and was adding to much "new" fresh water. Creating some kind of oxygen depletion!

Tom M.

Possibly

Possibly a small leak that is evaporating as soon as it comes out. Over time the section is eaten away and no evidence shows on the outside until it's too late. I've seen this kind of damage on a 66/68 series that didn't have the knockout removed over the tankless opening cover plate. The cover plate leaked and by the time rust showed at the bottom edge of the jacket, you could poke your finger through the jacket and the side of the boiler was as you described above.

Steamhead

If you don't have enough vents

the condensate will turn to a mild acid, which can contribute to this problem.

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hot_rod

cast iron is certainly a

very durable product. Yet, still no match for the universal solvent, WATER. Somewhere along the line, maybe currently the fluid inside the sections has caused this attack, I suspect.

hot rod

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ScottMP

My two cents

To much fresh water. One of the first things I learned as an apprentice. We were replacing a section of a five year old steam boiler. Problem was too many piping leaks in the system and an over abundance of fresh make up water.

Scott

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John@Reliable

gerry , some boiler co's

consider more than 8 gallons of water added monthly as to much! Blowing down a lwco weekly = 2.5-3 gal. x 4 weeks = 10 - 12 gallons monthly and what about adding water @ other times? adds up quick to a rotten boiler. John@Reliable

David Sutton

we had two pidgens in a 76

w-m they came down the chimney, the church had gone 3 yrs between cleanings no temp in the summer the moisture rotted a hole thru the two frist section...David