Indirect water heater drywell overflowing?
I have a Triangle Tube Smart 50 indirect heater. Underneath the thermostat cover plate there is a plastic well where the body of the thermostat sits and where the access to the dry well is.
Somehow this plastic space is getting water and corroding / shorting out the thermostat.
I don't see how it's getting water. There's evidence of a pinhole leak in the piping above the heater in that there's green corrosion on the piping, but no active dripping. There's no evidence of venting at the T&P to indicate high pressure that might cause boiling up the dry well.
The thermostat was set to the default set point for the unit, which I believe is 120F, but of course after the unit shorted it was on constantly so would have been at the max point of the boiler water.
Any thoughts on how to diagnose this?
Comments
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Maybe the well is leaking water into the control.
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That's my suspicion, but I don't know how. Surely there's no way water can get above the dry well? How would it do that?
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can you show a picture of what you're calling a "dry well"?
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By "dry well" I mean the tube that the aquastat sits inside. Marked in red below.
By "well" I mean the large oval shaped basin that is covered by the plate where the aquastat knob is attached. The aquastat controller mounted on the plate hangs down into that space. As you can see there is water in that basin. It shouldn't be there and was shorting the aquastat controller connectors.
I'm not really sure how water can make it's way up the "dry well" tube and into that basin, although I can't think of any other way it could get there.
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Hi, Can you leave that cover off and let things dry? In a day or two, you should be able to see where the water is coming from. With everything wet, it's tough to make sense of. š¤Ø
Yours, Larry
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it's leaking. determine the location of the leak, if you can replace the well that would be the preferred option, if that is not possible for whatever reason you would need to replace the tank. if you are the original owner you likely have a lifetime warranty so contacting tech support and explaining what is going on, they may have a better recommendation. triangle tube customer service may know a local dealer that can replace the well. Either way expect to pay for hired labor, and see with triangle tube what your warranty status is, check with whatever vendor you buy from that they are able to process the warranty with you so can be credited for parts if under warranty
https://www.supplyhouse.com/Triangle-Tube-P3DW02-Dry-Well-for-Smart-50?srsltid=AfmBOoqrfm9lUwLFd_34ZLVg16gGVrQkl6j3Qym7bCh_NtHV2-jI2TSj
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The well is leaking. Its very common on those tanks.
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I mopped it up yesterday and don't see any leak in there today, but starting to research this I see other people on youtube who have also had the same problem, as well as you guys saying it's common, this must be the issue.
Thanks for the heads up about the warranty.
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Should have mentioned earlier. Since the sensor etc was under water and shorted if you replace the well and not the whole tank you should probably replace the aquastat/thermostat assembly. P3KITTH01
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I have that on the way already. I'll check with Triangle Tube to see if I can get a warranty on that too!
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I remember that tank was also sold by Weil McLain as a Plus 30 or Plus 40 (up to a Plus 80). I remember that the well is a press fit design and there are O-rings that seal the well to the inner and outer tank. This was a popular failure that was covered under the lifetime warranty until that started to get too many. there were technical bulletins describing how the well failure is not considered a tank failure and provided instructions on how to replace the dry well. The replacement process was a hit or miss solution and many tanks were replaced with other brands, as a result of this policy change. (Just my experience when I worked for a WM Distributor for 2 years).
I ma not sure about TriangleTube's position on the lifetime warranty. They stopped manufacturing these tanks over 10 years ago IIRC. You should still try to get the warranty repair, just don't be surprised if they say "no warranty coverage" because the tank is still good "Technically".
Edward Young Retired
After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?
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TT made them as an OEM for weil mclain, these tanks are a current model. I have quite a few here in my warehouse. not sure how the folks our OP talks to will handle the warranty but I would push my reps to get some type of warranty processed assuming this is the original owner, we can warranty the well and aquastat or the whole tank their choice! š
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a wet vac is a good way to q dry out the wells and observe were the leak is
Bob "hot rod" Rohr
trainer for Caleffi NA
Living the hydronic dream1 -
This is the tank that I'm referring to. This is the one that Weil McLain stopped selling while I was still working in the trade. Weil McLain Plus indirect brochure This was the tank within a tank that had the leaking well issue.
Weil McLain's current indirect tank offering Weil McLain Aqua Plus Indirect Water Heater. I believe this one uses a coil that is serviced from the top. I never installed one of these myself.
Edward Young Retired
After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?
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Well, it's been running for a day or so with the cover to the basin off and so far there's no evidence of water leaking into the basin. Although, since the aquastat is no longer shorted it's running correctly (I will replace it though).
Potentially stupid question guys: Is the drywell tube supposed to be bone dry? š. When I pull the aquastat bulb out of the tube it's damp. Not soaked, but damp.
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yeah its 100% dry, those are also intended to take a sensor from a boiler (remove the built in aquastat use boiler provided sensor instead) and the boiler sensors will usually malfunction if the are immersed in water. Now if you were to assume that the water came from outside the tank I have no idea how long until it dried out.
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unless you stick a rolled up piece of paper towel or something in the well to soak up the water it may take a very long time to dry out.
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That's what I thought.
The only other sources of water I can think of are some piping above which clearly has a pinhole leak, but no active dripping and no evidence of water below it, and the bleed screw, which unfortunately sprays directly at the control panel when opened. I've opened that screw and got water on the panel before, but nowhere near enough to account for the amount of water in that plastic basin.
Off to call Triangle Tube now.
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Well, per Triangle Tube it's only warrantied for parts for 1 year, and the lifetime warranty is only on "the tank assembly, consisting of the outer steel shell and inner steel shell" which, to be fair, is what's on the original warranty document I received. So it goes.
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