I Dread This Job

[RON58]

I have a leak on the boiler. 1" copper at a elbow in the hardest position possible between the back and wall. Its one of two joints in the whole system that I didn't solder myself, they were completed by the previous owner.They looked iffy but no signs of leaking so I used them. Oh well, Gotta drain and get to it. Two lessons learned here(SO FAR). Do all the joints with new or at least clean and redo them to be safe and When you place your boiler give yourself work space.I'm sure at the end of this day I'll need a few brewskies. Wish me luck fellers.

 

[irishcountry]

That sucks but good luck. We had a joint fail years ago on the baseboard thank god the rest have held up it was a complete mess luckily we were home and minimized the damage!! Hang in there and hope it all works out!! Have a brewski for me and I'll do the same for you good luck irishcountry

 

[arlen]

If you are going to have trouble with water or steam when you are soldering it or brazing the fitting.

How about using a Tee.

You could solder it back together with one of the ends open and allow the water and steam to boil out. After you are finished solder on a male or female adaptor to the open end and screw in a brass plug or cap.

You could use it as a drain later ?


:monkey: David

 

[November Wolf]

I have gone through the same thing. I would just sweat the old fitting out and put a new one in. Just make sure it is clean and your solder is not to old. I have used solder that I have had for years and it just didn't sweat good like a new roll. Good luck and the job will be easier if you drink after you start.

 

[Windwalker7]

Sharkbite!!!

 

[Labman]

You know, they are expensive, but trying to clean up an old elbow that wasn't done right in the first place in a cramped place and fighting water and steam is a pain.

I am not that good at sweat soldering, but I have the worst luck redoing old stuff somebody else didn't do right in the first place.

 

[cjcocn]

I don't know anything about boilers, but we bought our house used so I am all too familiar with fixing up someone else's poor work.

Hopefully by now you are finished and sitting back enjoying a well-earned cold one for a job well done!

 

[RON58]

Thanks guys. Well its done,never did have a beer.Just as I was about to start some long time friends decided to pop in for a visit.Haven't seen them in some time. That was OK though, its amazing how long that water and stove stay hot.I kinda prefabbed the thing in the shop then took it down to the stove. I used three threaded unions so I only had to make two solder joints. Heck it was even tight turning wrenches. It only took about an hour then I filled her back up bleed some air and built a fire. After she got warmed up I opened the valves to the oil boiler and that was that. YEAH RIGHT. Took all the tools back to the shop. Cleaned up my mess and went upstairs to scrub my butt. Sat in my big ole chair and watched a little CSI At 11:15 I heard what sounded like an explosion. Ran to the basement stair well and everything was white.Made my way down and couldn't see a thing it was that steamy and loud.Opened the outside door and the freezing air made it worse.Both the boiler relief valves had popped and was draining the entire system. The electronic controller was out over its range gut the gauge on the wood boiler was pegged at 280. Gotta admit I was a little scared. I didn't know what to do so I shut the wood down and closed the valves to the oil boiler. Right or wrong I started to add water very slowly at the bottom of the wood stove. Everything cooled down, what a mess. I had to bleed both boilers and all the zones. The carpet in the next room was soaked and a bunch of stuff she had stored in the furnace room got steamed badly. I got into bed at 3:15 and just got up. Everything is working fine and its warm in here. The only thing I can think happened is I didn't get all the air out and the wood boiler circ pump was air locked and couldn't move the water so she cooked off. Like I said its just fine now. Sorry this is so long, didn't mean to write a book here but this was SCARY for me and I never had a that beer. Guess that leaves more for the game tonight. Thanks for listening.

 

[cjcocn]

Thanks guys. Well its done,never did have a beer.Just as I was about to start some long time friends decided to pop in for a visit.Haven't seen them in some time. That was OK though, its amazing how long that water and stove stay hot.I kinda prefabbed the thing in the shop then took it down to the stove. I used three threaded unions so I only had to make two solder joints. Heck it was even tight turning wrenches. It only took about an hour then I filled her back up bleed some air and built a fire. After she got warmed up I opened the valves to the oil boiler and that was that. YEAH RIGHT. Took all the tools back to the shop. Cleaned up my mess and went upstairs to scrub my butt. Sat in my big ole chair and watched a little CSI At 11:15 I heard what sounded like an explosion. Ran to the basement stair well and everything was white.Made my way down and couldn't see a thing it was that steamy and loud.Opened the outside door and the freezing air made it worse.Both the boiler relief valves had popped and was draining the entire system. The electronic controller was out over its range gut the gauge on the wood boiler was pegged at 280. Gotta admit I was a little scared. I didn't know what to do so I shut the wood down and closed the valves to the oil boiler. Right or wrong I started to add water very slowly at the bottom of the wood stove. Everything cooled down, what a mess. I had to bleed both boilers and all the zones. The carpet in the next room was soaked and a bunch of stuff she had stored in the furnace room got steamed badly. I got into bed at 3:15 and just got up. Everything is working fine and its warm in here. The only thing I can think happened is I didn't get all the air out and the wood boiler circ pump was air locked and couldn't move the water so she cooked off. Like I said its just fine now. Sorry this is so long, didn't mean to write a book here but this was SCARY for me and I never had a that beer. Guess that leaves more for the game tonight. Thanks for listening.

:jawdrop: Sorry to hear about the air lock, but glad that everything seems to be okay!

PS .... that post was just long enough to let us know how you made out.

 

[hanniedog]

You should have some auto bleeders in the system. My system has one at the boiler in the garage an 4 more in the room with the propane boiler. Works well to get the air out. Just glad no one was hurt.

 

[RON58]

Over on the oil boiler where the expansion tank screws on is a air scoop I guess its called. On top of it there is a dodad with what looks like a schrader valve and a little cap with a hole in it.I remember I used to here air every once in a while but its kinda crapped up with crusty sh-t. Would this take care of the whole system if its working properly. Can ya clean them or just replace. Dang, I can see another draining coming ???????? I can isolate the zones and other boiler to do this.

 

[hanniedog]

If the bleeder is that crusted I would think about replacement. Cant honestly say if one is enough or not, each system is unique in its needs.

 

[RON58]

Hey, thanks a lot. I'm gonna get a replacement tomorrow and see what it does. Probably ought to pick up the stuff to put another above the wood stove while I'm gettin. That should be a elbow with the bleeder thread or port on the corner, right??

 

[arlen]

Hey, thanks a lot. I'm gonna get a replacement tomorrow and see what it does. Probably ought to pick up the stuff to put another above the wood stove while I'm gettin. That should be a elbow with the bleeder thread or port on the corner, right??

Don't know what kind of circulation pumps you have. If they are Grunfoss there is a bleeder screw on top of the motor you can loosten the screw until no more air bubbles and that screw it tight.

David

 

[hanniedog]

Thats correct get an elbow with the threads for a bleeder. Does your system use 2 pumps or just one. Mine is set up with one that runs all the time on the wood boiler. When the house call for heat the pump on the gas unit kicks on, it also opens a set of valves to get hot water from the wood burner.

 

[RON58]

Mines is like yours one circ pump on the wood boiler runs most always and the one on the other boiler runs when zones need water. Thats where the air scoop thingy is on the oil side. I agree that its a good idea to have one over on the wood side. I have a manual bleed valve up close to the ceiling but I like the auto deal because it will dump the air when it moves along not just when I'm standing there opening the valve.

 

[November Wolf]

Over on the oil boiler where the expansion tank screws on is a air scoop I guess its called. On top of it there is a dodad with what looks like a schrader valve and a little cap with a hole in it.I remember I used to here air every once in a while but its kinda crapped up with crusty sh-t. Would this take care of the whole system if its working properly. Can ya clean them or just replace. Dang, I can see another draining coming ???????? I can isolate the zones and other boiler to do this.

If your system is working properly then the one air vent on your air scoop should be enough. I have cleaned mine and it has worked for me. Just take it off and unscrew the top. On the other hand, a new one is less than $10.