Boiler
Hello all.
A Weil McLain CGT 5 pin boiler, water coming out of a pipe.
Please any suggestions? Bucket fills up pretty quickly.
Comments
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Take a picture of your expansion tank and post it. The expansion tank probably has too much water and too little air in it. The result is that when the boiler runs and the water heats up, it expands and tries to squeeze itself into the insufficient "empty" volume (not really empty, because it contains air). As it squeezes the air in that small "empty" volume, the pressure rises high enough to open the pressure relief valve in the boiler.
So post a picture of your expansion tank. Also see if you can trace a copper water pipe that's coming from your cold water supply in the house, and which ties into the heating system pipes near the boiler. That's where the fresh water is coming from to "make up" the water you're losing into the bucket. You'll need to find the valve to shut that incoming "make up" water off temporarily in order to fix this. Find that valve and take a pic and post it too.
Once you post a few more pics, people here will be able to give you specific steps. Two things you'll probably need if you can find them: a car tire pressure gauge, and a bicycle air pump or small car tire inflator. You'll need those to reset the air pressure in the expansion tank.
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post a wider view, so we see floor to ceiling,
does the boiler also make the domestic hot water or do you have a separate burner for that?
known to beat dead horses0 -
Thank You! Ok I’m on the hunt! Not sure what I’m doing or looking for 😬
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The expansion tank is that gray tank hanging above the boiler. When the boiler is cold, the expansion tank shouldn't have any water in it, only air. Your problem is that the tank has too much water in it when it's cold, so when the boiler runs and the hot water expands, there's not enough empty volume left in the tank for the expanding water to squeeze into, so it comes out the pressure relief valve instead.
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I think that’s the cold water pipe
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Hello frustration,
Need better pictures, where does that pipe go ? There does not seem to be a pipe in that position in the boiler's manual. For all I can tell you are poring water through a pipe you are holding.
National - U.S. Gas Boiler 45+ Years Old
Steam 300 SQ. FT. - EDR 347
One Pipe System0 -
Stepping back here a moment. The pipe the water is coming out of is connected to the pressure relief valve, which will open when the pressure reaches 30 psig to make sure the boiler doesn't get over that pressure.
That pipe is doing it's job. In one picture in the your first post, the pressure gauge is showing… 30 psig. So. No surprise, the relief valve is opening.
Now.
The pressure should never go over 20 psig for any normal size residence. The expansion tank — the vertical bluish grey tank — is supposed to provide a space for the water to expand between when its cold and when its hot.
The first question I will ask is… what does that pressure gauge show when the boiler is cold? Does it drop? And if so to what? Or does it stay near 30 psig? I need to know that to make a suggestion as to where to look next for the problem.
Br. Jamie, osb
Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England0 -
cold water pipe
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Pressure drop to 20 psi
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The air tank described by @jesmed1 ( show below) may have failed and is full of water.
Take the cap off the Schrader valve at bottom of take and press center pin for very short period. If water come out, it will need to be replaced and will be heavy.
Yours looks like it’s trapped by the pressure relief discharge tube.
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this last picture, show where the 2 pipes on the left bottom of picture, where they go, (the 2 above your note "cold water pipe", show the bottom of them
known to beat dead horses0 -
I have technical issues with the site.
I am very grateful 🙏 for all the help.0 -
@pc7060. (Take the cap off the Schrader valve) Not sure where it is 😬
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It's on the very bottom of the tank. The Schrader valve is the same thing that's on your car tire, where you add air to the tire. Take the little cap off the bottom of the gray tank to expose the Schrader valve. Then press the center pin in the Schrader valve with your fingernail or a pen tip and see if water comes out.
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Hello frustration,
Was it leaking when the picture of the gauge was taken ? If so the pressure looks normal and just your relief valve is probably bad.
National - U.S. Gas Boiler 45+ Years Old
Steam 300 SQ. FT. - EDR 347
One Pipe System
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No difference… nonstop leaking @109A_5
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No difference ??? Did you replace the relief valve ?
Was it leaking when the picture of the gauge was taken ? which looks like a normal pressure 14.5 PSI.
If so the pressure looks normal and just your relief valve is probably bad.
National - U.S. Gas Boiler 45+ Years Old
Steam 300 SQ. FT. - EDR 347
One Pipe System0 -
11pm … Very cold out. Emptying the bucket every 40 minutes. Sounds like the tank failed…
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This valve.
National - U.S. Gas Boiler 45+ Years Old
Steam 300 SQ. FT. - EDR 347
One Pipe System0 -
@109A_5 not yet, we haven't replaced it. Yes, the photo was taken during the water leak
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If the tank failed it would only leak when the pressure is too high.
Again, in the picture of the gauge the pressure looks NORMAL, was it leaking out of the pipe when the pressure was Normal ???
National - U.S. Gas Boiler 45+ Years Old
Steam 300 SQ. FT. - EDR 347
One Pipe System0 -
@109A_5 Yes
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could be the pressure gauge is not reading correctly? It’s rare for a 30 psi valve to leak full stream at 14 psi. The yellow handle ball valve will turn off the water going into the boiler to work on it. Turn off the power of course.
Hopefully this little safety switch was attached to something?Bob "hot rod" Rohr
trainer for Caleffi NA
Living the hydronic dream
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@hot_rod 😬(Hopefully this little safety switch was attached to something?)
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Assuming the gauge is working correctly and the gauge is read on the correct scale. I see about 14.5 PSI and the pressure relief valve is suppose to hold 30 PSI and below (assuming it is actually the correct valve), the pressure relief valve is defective. Since it should not be spewing water at 14.5 PSI (a normal pressure). The scale that shows maybe 34 is 'Feet of H2O' not pressure.
National - U.S. Gas Boiler 45+ Years Old
Steam 300 SQ. FT. - EDR 347
One Pipe System0 -
Oh wow I’m in the right place 🙏… so much to learn! Umm 🤔 but where the sensor belong… I forgot to mentioned, no problems during the warmer days, only in cold weather.
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Turn off the water to the tankless coil in the front of the boiler and see if it still keeps happening.
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Yes mattmia2 is on to something, the leaking pressure relief valve is on the part of the piping for the DHW (Domestic Hot Water, sink, shower, laundry) not the part that heats the home. The gauge is on the part that heats the home.
If you shut off the valve in the Red box in the picture below it will probably stop the water loss, the house heat should still be normal, you will not have any DHW until it is properly repaired. You probably can turn the valve back on for intermittent DHW use).
National - U.S. Gas Boiler 45+ Years Old
Steam 300 SQ. FT. - EDR 347
One Pipe System0 -
Looks like that sensor is probably the ambient temperature sensor, probably will work fine where it is, however it is not very secure and if it falls off and the wire connectors hit anything grounded it may cause damage to the electrical system of the boiler.
National - U.S. Gas Boiler 45+ Years Old
Steam 300 SQ. FT. - EDR 347
One Pipe System0 -
The pressure relief valve for the boiler (the home heating part) should be here.
National - U.S. Gas Boiler 45+ Years Old
Steam 300 SQ. FT. - EDR 347
One Pipe System0 -
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Since the DHW coil in the boiler will probably still have water in it I don't see a problem. I'm thinking the leaking valve is a temperature and pressure valve like on a hot water tank, not sure if it is even needed, the boiler's manual diagram does not even show it. Maybe it is the wrong valve for the application and that is why it failed.
National - U.S. Gas Boiler 45+ Years Old
Steam 300 SQ. FT. - EDR 347
One Pipe System2 -
@109A_5 🙏we turned off the water and the water stopped leaking.
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that is the equivalent of:
Doc, it hurts when I do this …
Well stop doing that!
it doesn’t solve the problem but it does prevent water on the floor or having to monitor a bucket
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Yes, and sometimes a symptom is severe enough you have to treat it first before you can treat the cause. In this case if you look a the time of the messages OP had water pouring out of their boiler from about 2am until 10am, I imagine they are quite grateful for the suggestion of what to do to make it stop until service can be scheduled.
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Changed the Valve and no more water out 😮💨. THANK ALL SO MUCH FOR THE HELP!
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