Fixing Leaks on an OWB

[dean06919]

I found a six year old Cold Killer OWB. I believe it may have been manufactured by a company named Pacific Western. It is made out of stainless steel and has "small leaks" that need to be re-welded. The owner claims to know where the leaks are and is willing to include the pump. He is asking $2,000 but I would imagine he would take less as it has been for sale for over a month. He claims that he has purchased a larger model and has no need for it. His house is 3,000 square feet, mine is 1,500 square feet.

I currently spend $3,000/year on propane and would like to reduce that bill for at least a couple of years. Does this seem like a good deal, or should I stay away from this unit. My neighbor went to school for welding and said he would weld it for free.

Opinions?

 

[pinemartin]

If the steel is thick enough say 1/8 or up then just bring it by my house and I will weld it up for nothing if I can get to the leaks

 

[HUSKYMAN]

If it is leaking already, it will leak again. It is probably leaking in the corners if the firebox is square. A poor design is still a poor design IF you find all the leaks.

I would not pay more than $1000 for something you know you will have to fix in the future. Also if it is only six years old why doesnt he have it fixed under warranty?

 

[Sawmill]

A friend of mine had a Pacific Western and his was leaking after the first couple of years. The company fixed it a couple of times and he ended up selling it on a auction sale before he moved out of state. I can't remember for sure but I think he was told it was caused by the grade of stainless that was used had a uneven expansion rate and it was cracking the welds.

 

[Crofter]

Is it cracking or eroded, pitted? If it has thin pitted or corroded places you fix them and there is another right next just a few days, months? away from springing a similar leak. It is not easy to do a good weld in awkward and pitted metal and out of position welds. Cracking has to be gouged out full thickness and rewelded and reinforce to stop the concentration of stresses that is causing it. Just running a bead over the top of the crack is very unikely to do a permanent cure. Some of the welding is done progressively as the unit was fabricated and it is almost impossible to get back to that point to do a repair. I would suggest a strong possibility the unit was taken out of service because of the suggestion it was not worth repairing.
I am not trying to discourage you but from experience repairing them, repairing a few that someone else thought they could weld and also from some that I have refused to even strike an arc on, I think you should get someone with more than beginners welding ability to have a good look at the situation. Do a google search on "problems Cold Killer" and you may come up with some hints that this is a known issue.

Some different alloys have been called stainless steel and are not nearly equal. See if there is any literature telling you if it is 18-8 stainless or 409 alloy. 409 is a bit more corrosion resistant than mild steel but only a distant cousin to the 300 series nickel chromium stainless steels.

 

[hickslawns]

Sounds like the Lil' House Heater would suit your needs. I have one and it works great. Check them out. Brand new you will be in around the same money. Cheaper than adding a chimney to the house and an indoor unit. Cheaper than a whole house OWB. Cheaper than your propane. These are perfect for smaller houses. Our house is 1800 sq ft and it heats it. Has been added onto and that doesn't help, but it still gets the job done.

 

[dean06919]

Thanks everyone for the good advice. I'll have to do some serious thinking.
BTW check your PM's Charlie.

 

[KsWoodsMan]

I was just thinking , Alumina-Seal, Silver Seal or K&W Block Sealer probably wouldnt be a good idea to experiment with to fix leaks in an OWB, huh ?

Not unless there was enough movement in the holding tank to keep it in suspension. Even then it might not do the $2.00 trick.

It wouldn't hurt a vane pump but not sure how it would react with the water conditioners.

Big difference too in the amount of pressure in the systems, between a pressurised car radiator and an 'unpressurised' boiler

 

[abohac]

Junk

Just food for thought. Those stoves did not have a very good reputation. Do some serious checking before you buy that.