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Water at the top & bottom of my triangle indirect

Boon
Boon Member Posts: 260
Folks,

I just noticed some water all around the bottom rim of my Triangle Smart 50 indirect. I poked around all the connections and didn't find any water. I pulled off the thermostat cover and found it dripping damp in there. Also, there is corrosion around the dry well fitting (see attachment). When I move the temp probe in & out or if I press on the bottom of the plastic basin surrounding the dry well I can see water squishing around the well.

My best guess is that potable water is seeping into the dry well somehow.
  1. Is it safe to say the outer tank is not compromised because the pressure in my boiler loop is the usual 15psi?
  2. What do I do about this?
Any thoughts? Thanks.
David

PS - The tank temp is set to 137 and coasts up to 142+/- when the cycle finishes. House domestic pressure is 50psi. I had a final inspection about 3-4 weeks ago and I'm pretty sure it wasn't leaking then.

Dry well inside thermostat cover:


DIY'er ... ripped out a perfectly good forced-air furnace and replaced it with hot water & radiators.

Comments

  • Zman
    Zman Member Posts: 7,561
    I have seen the weld fail where the domestic lines pass through the top of the tank. The water did accumulate in the areas you are observing. I believe it was domestic water, the welder nibbled into the pipe a bit during assembly. Triangle tube did warranty the tank and if I recall correctly some of the labor.
    "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough"
    Albert Einstein
  • unclejohn
    unclejohn Member Posts: 1,833
    Before you contact TT clean the top of the boiler. They will want pictures and you do not want them to see anything but a clean top. TT claims the leaks are due to water dripping onto the top of the tanks. I doubt that and they will warranty it but you will have less trouble with a clean tank top.
  • Boon
    Boon Member Posts: 260
    edited September 2017
    I was able to confirm that it is leaking just under the hex head of the dry well. If you were doing this job, would you simply loosen the hex nut, clean the threads, apply thread sealant, and tighten it? I think that is a good first step.

    The plan B alternative is concerning; The dry well is 36" +/- long so I don't know how anyone is expected to remove it & replace it considering that most basement ceilings don't have the clearance, including mine

    Thanks
    DIY'er ... ripped out a perfectly good forced-air furnace and replaced it with hot water & radiators.
    kcopp
  • kcopp
    kcopp Member Posts: 4,418
    Drain the tank as best you can... ya I know that is a bit of a trick on TT tanks.... Teflon and a good soft set pipe dope.
  • HVACNUT
    HVACNUT Member Posts: 5,804
    $10.00 says the leak is on a weld, not the threads.
    Never trust a water heater without a drain. Siphon this!
  • kcopp
    kcopp Member Posts: 4,418
    HVACNUT said:

    $10.00 says the leak is on a weld, not the threads.

    Never trust a water heater without a drain. Siphon this!

    Fair.
  • Boon
    Boon Member Posts: 260
    If I dry off the threads and watch for a few seconds the water starts filling the threads again. @HVACNUT That seems like a sure thing, no?

    I'm not sure i understand the comments about siphoning. Surely I will need to siphon out enough to get the job done but not sure why I'd need to drain it completely

    Btw I'm not taking the bet!
    DIY'er ... ripped out a perfectly good forced-air furnace and replaced it with hot water & radiators.
  • HVACNUT
    HVACNUT Member Posts: 5,804
    > @Boon said:
    > If I dry off the threads and watch for a few seconds the water starts filling the threads again. @HVACNUT That seems like a sure thing, no?
    >
    > I'm not sure i understand the comments about siphoning. Surely I will need to siphon out enough to get the job done but not sure why I'd need to drain it completely
    >
    > Btw I'm not taking the bet!
    >
    >
    > You shouldn't have to siphon. Just relieve the pressure. You'll get water, but you won't get blasted. Shut off valve on the hot side also?

    I've replaced countless TT, Phase 3, Weil McLain (re badged TT) tanks due to internal leaks, bad welds etc.
    I made a 3/4 copper dip tube with a boiler drain to connect a pony pump. I've yet to see one on L.I. piped per instructions to siphon.
    Weil McLain got smart and ditched TT a few years back. Now they use a conventional coil HE.
  • Boon
    Boon Member Posts: 260
    For any future folks who find this thread, I loosened the dry well but couldn't remove it due to low ceiling. Fortunately the dry well is directly above a wall partition and I could've drilled it out & completely removed it. Anyway, I cleaned off the threads as best I could, used Loctite 567 and reassembled. Twice! It wouldn't seal.

    I finally used Loctite 55 to get it sealed up. I suspect that 567 didn't work because I wasn't able to fully clean the female threads since the dry well couldn't be removed.

    I found a dry well replacement kit online and its instructions said something about an o-ring but there wasn't one on my unit. Not sure if that was part of the problem. The instructions also said to use a 27mm socket to remove the hex dry well but it is a 22mm. Double-check before you buy a socket.

    DIY'er ... ripped out a perfectly good forced-air furnace and replaced it with hot water & radiators.
    kcopp
  • hot_rod
    hot_rod Member Posts: 22,022
    I think those tanks were made in Belgium, and would probably be a metric straight thread. Straight threads usually require a gasket or o-ring. Or hemp :)

    Loctite is the other option, basically super gluing the threads. The threads need to be clean and dry to get a good Loctite seal.
    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream