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Tragic End to a Boiler

elfie
elfie Member Posts: 266
what do you suppose caused this boiler to fail (was only 7 yrs old).

Comments

  • Dave in QCA
    Dave in QCA Member Posts: 1,785
    maybe...

    The problem appears to be that it started leaking.
    Dave in Quad Cities, America
    Weil-McLain 680 with Riello 2-stage burner, December 2012. Firing rate=375MBH Low, 690MBH Hi.
    System = Early Dunham 2-pipe Vacuo-Vapor (inlet and outlet both at bottom of radiators) Traps are Dunham #2 rebuilt w. Barnes-Jones Cage Units, Dunham-Bush 1E, Mepco 1E, and Armstrong TS-2. All valves haveTunstall orifices sized at 8 oz.
    Current connected load EDR= 1,259 sq ft, Original system EDR = 2,100 sq ft Vaporstat, 13 oz cutout, 4 oz cutin - Temp. control Tekmar 279.
    http://grandviewdavenport.com
  • Paul48
    Paul48 Member Posts: 4,469
    guess

    cold-fired boiler....never cleaned
  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 16,796
    Was this

    a steam or hot-water boiler? 
    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
  • Paul48
    Paul48 Member Posts: 4,469
    oops

    forgot I was in Strictly Steam.
  • Hap_Hazzard
    Hap_Hazzard Member Posts: 2,846
    Are you sure it's the end?

    Maybe you could patch it up with some JB Weld. Do they sell that in a 55 gallon drum?



    Sorry, I shouldn't joke. Mine could be next.
    Just another DIYer | King of Prussia, PA
    1983(?) Peerless G-561-W-S | 3" drop header, CG400-1090, VXT-24
  • Paul48
    Paul48 Member Posts: 4,469
    next guess

    It's risers pulled it apart.
  • elfie
    elfie Member Posts: 266
    tragic end to a steam boiler

    it was a steam boiler



    seems that it may have failed due to a leak and also because it was never cleaned



    anyone know what the quartz like rocks are that are deposited in the fire chamber?
  • Paul48
    Paul48 Member Posts: 4,469
    ?

    Sulphur?
  • nicholas bonham-carter
    nicholas bonham-carter Member Posts: 8,576
    Can we have some more information?

    Was this steam, or hot water?. Was it new to you, or have you knowledge of the maintenance history?

    By the amount of calcium in the corpse, I would guess that excess makeup water has been adding calcium, and oxygen ever since it was first installed (7years?).

    What is the reaction of the building owner--disbelief, disappointment. --NBC
  • elfie
    elfie Member Posts: 266
    tragic end to a steam boiler

    it is a steam boiler



    and there was steam coming out of the chimney for awhile I guess



    section is perforated near top of one section (ie. not at the water level)



    it is also an oil fired boiler
  • JEMM55
    JEMM55 Member Posts: 47
    edited March 2012
    makeup water

    Looks like built up scale and oxidized iron.

    Puton a guage from the waterfeeder and check for a.leaking return making the bor call for makeup water.
  • gerry gill
    gerry gill Member Posts: 3,078
    I'm thinking

    to much make up water or a serious water quality issue.
    gwgillplumbingandheating.com
    Serving Cleveland's eastern suburbs from Cleveland Heights down to Cuyahoga Falls.

  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 23,159
    Hmm...

    Been looking at the pictures, and all the explanations so far sound reasonable...



    So, being a natural born contrarian, I'm just sort of vaguely wondering... is there a chance that the poor thing was dry fired once, without anyone telling anybody about it?
    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
  • elfie
    elfie Member Posts: 266
    tragic end to a steam boiler

    why doe you say it might have been dry fired (interesting thought)



    here's a related question  - how would you explain a newly installed meter on the makeup water line leading into a steam boiler feedwater tank that has not moved since being installed 3 months ago (ie. only reflects water reading for water put into the steam boiler after being cleaned)





    could it be due to a very tight system not losing any water where no blow downs have been done?
  • Hap_Hazzard
    Hap_Hazzard Member Posts: 2,846
    Depends on the meter.

    The meter on my VXT still reads 0, because it has a bypass that I use when I replace blow-down water. Is there a bypass on this one?
    Just another DIYer | King of Prussia, PA
    1983(?) Peerless G-561-W-S | 3" drop header, CG400-1090, VXT-24
  • Telcoguru
    Telcoguru Member Posts: 2
    Maybe

    that house needs a water softener. Hard water build up might have caused it to die a premature death.
    Weil-Mclain EG gas fired steam boiler
  • Hap_Hazzard
    Hap_Hazzard Member Posts: 2,846
    Softened water

    is death to boilers. If you have a water softener, you generally take your boiler water off before the water softener.
    Just another DIYer | King of Prussia, PA
    1983(?) Peerless G-561-W-S | 3" drop header, CG400-1090, VXT-24
  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 23,159
    Dunno

    quite why I think it might have been dry fired.  Something about the colour of the discolouration... just speaks to me of excessive heat at some point.  Which is not to say that that would be the proximate cause -- but that a single dry firing could have caused enough distortion and damage to start a lot of leaking and the final catastrophe.



    On the water feeder -- indeed, if you have a bypass on the auto feeder and you use it  when blowing down the LWCO, it is quite possible for a reasonably tight system to show essentially no water use at all.  The one here doesn't, for instance...
    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
This discussion has been closed.