Boiler leak

[smus]

I thought I was having to add more than the normal amount of water but, with all the snow we had I could not see any water leaking. I tore panels off today and low and behold, found a small leak. It is @ about a drip a second.
Of course it is in a place close to impossible to reach. I was wondering if anyone has tried the boiler leak stuff from home depot. I don't think it would cause any harm. Seems to have good reviews.
Any ideas??

 

[emmeg]

If its like a bars leak we were told it could gum up in the heat exchangers.

 

[les-or-more]

I thought I was having to add more than the normal amount of water but, with all the snow we had I could not see any water leaking. I tore panels off today and low and behold, found a small leak. It is @ about a drip a second.
Of course it is in a place close to impossible to reach. I was wondering if anyone has tried the boiler leak stuff from home depot. I don't think it would cause any harm. Seems to have good reviews.
Any ideas??

Pics would help.
I have fixed a bunch of them, most had one or more of the leak stoppers and epoxy putties used on them that didn't work or didn't work for long and made the repair more difficult. I live with a murphy though so the epoxy only sticks to the places I want to weld not where the water is leaking in my world.

 

[NSMaple1]

When I got my new boiler system put together last year, I had a couple of niggling little drips/seeps at some joints that I absolutely didn't want to take apart & try to re-assemble. I used a bottle of the Gunk brand stop leak stuff. Drips stopped almost immediately and have seen none since. I was worried because there was a note in the directions not to use with wet-lubed circulators - which most are. I added the Gunk at a low point in my piping, and let the water circluate slowly by convection with my circs all turned off for a few hours. Not sure that did anything, but have had no circ issues either. I also don't have an plate HXs to worry about. If I was in a pinch, I would try it. The way I considered it, even if it ruined my circ pump, putting in a new one was way cheaper in time & money than if I had to disassemble all that ppiping to try to get those drips stopped.

 

[smus]

Thanks for the replies. I think I will just tolerate it until it gets a little warmer and do what I have to what it takes to get at it right. I seems as if it some sort of erosion. I am wondering about electrolysis . I don't have a ground rod but think I will have one after the fix. I had erosion on the stove pipe (inside) and could not figure what was causing it. With this I am starting to get a better picture of things.

 

[hupte]

what kind of boiler is it? how old is it? how thick is your water jacket? is the water jacket stainless? do you have any welding skills? also pics would help. thanks

 

[NSMaple1]

Thanks for the replies. I think I will just tolerate it until it gets a little warmer and do what I have to what it takes to get at it right. I seems as if it some sort of erosion. I am wondering about electrolysis . I don't have a ground rod but think I will have one after the fix. I had erosion on the stove pipe (inside) and could not figure what was causing it. With this I am starting to get a better picture of things.

If that's the case, you also likely have more future leaks that are almost ready to appear - and your boiler might be on its last legs.

Curious to hear answers to huptes questions.

 

[Marshy]

Thanks for the replies. I think I will just tolerate it until it gets a little warmer and do what I have to what it takes to get at it right. I seems as if it some sort of erosion. I am wondering about electrolysis . I don't have a ground rod but think I will have one after the fix. I had erosion on the stove pipe (inside) and could not figure what was causing it. With this I am starting to get a better picture of things.

It's not electrolysis. Electrolysis is the process of water separating into hydrogen and oxygen by means of a DC current.

What is the material where the leak is located?

Is the leak in a high flow area?

If its carbon steel it might be flow assisted corrosion. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_Accelerated_Corrosion

 

[smus]

Its a Shaver, It is only about 4 yrs old. I don't know what the thickness is in the area that is leaking. It is in the base of the boiler, in the very back, left side, by the support post. Very little clearance to get stick welder in but, I do have a wire welder I might be able to squeeze in there without having to move it (the boiler) and turn it on its side to access it.

 

[smus]

Further to my earlier post...
i tried to use a wire welder on the leak and could not get it to stop. Seemed to just chase it around. Fix it in one spot and it would come back in another very close by. I felt it was freezing off the weld. I went through an huge amount of welding wire trying to get it stopped wiht no luck. I would weld it all up then grind it back after it leaked again. Then start the process over again.
I called a boiler repair Co. in to fix it. They cut a hole in the side and put a plate on the floor of the boiler and welded it in place. They then welded the side piece back in place. Well, it leaked too. Outside the patched area. He also play the chase game with leaks. Bottom line it still is not fixed.
I did find that the metal used in a Shaver is some skinny s#!t. My tractor has thicker fenders that that stuff. I bought into the sales pitch for their metal thickness. Should have read the fine print I guess. The firebox MAY be thick but, the outside of the furnace is anything but substantial in my opinion. No wonder it rusted out so quickly. The only place we found rust appeared to be on the floor plate. It seemed to be around the areas where what appeared to be lime had collected. The entire bottom had some lime but ares where there were "corners" seemed to hold the most. I have always used water treatment as well.
A simple drain that would allow a washout of the bottom I feel would go a long way in extending the life of the base. The existing drain is a good 1/2" above the base which also does not allow a complete drain of the system.
I can no way afford a new boiler, so I must try to fix the one I have. My plan is to weld angle iron at the base of the boiler then weld a piece of 1/4" plate to the angle iron. That should beef up the sidewalls to the height of the angle and put some decent metal in the floor.
Now need to find some 1/4" plate.....

 

[NSMaple1]

If my 4 year old boiler was in this bad a shape, I would be all over whoever sold it to me. And the company that built it.

 

[StihlFroling]

Never should a leak product be used, it causes all kinds of problems. If not now, it will soon enough. It plugs heat exchanger and any little crevice it can get in, good or bad. I guess in an emergency it's ok, right before you gut the whole system with a proper fix.

It's always unfortunate stories like this when people see what OWB's are really made of and how poorly constructed. Or how bad the warranty support is. Kinda like all those fancy stainless steel models welded with some cheap non stainless flux core wire. Bad thing now is you can't sell it to recoup some of your money. And it usually leaks again near the new welds, the original metal is just too thin.

 

[les-or-more]

Never should a leak product be used, it causes all kinds of problems. If not now, it will soon enough. It plugs heat exchanger and any little crevice it can get in, good or bad. I guess in an emergency it's ok, right before you gut the whole system with a proper fix.

It's always unfortunate stories like this when people see what OWB's are really made of and how poorly constructed. Or how bad the warranty support is. Kinda like all those fancy stainless steel models welded with some cheap non stainless flux core wire. Bad thing now is you can't sell it to recoup some of your money. And it usually leaks again near the new welds, the original metal is just too thin.

If they have any faith in the construction of the firebox they could just build a new water jacket for it out of better material unfortunately that is about the only option. I have fixed several owb and many have been for customers who found the warranty wasn't worth the paper it was written on.

 

[StihlFroling]

Good point, the only time I see or read about great service or warranty support is when the problem is a minor/easy fix. Leaks are so common We actually have a young guy in the area that split off and started his own company welding outdoor wood stoves, and I've seen others advertise welding OWB's on craigslist in other states.

 

[svk]

If my 4 year old boiler was in this bad a shape, I would be all over whoever sold it to me. And the company that built it.

I've looked at this thread about 5 times before posting and these are my exact thoughts.

Everything eventually wears out but 4 years is beyond unacceptable.

 

[les-or-more]

I've looked at this thread about 5 times before posting and these are my exact thoughts.

Everything eventually wears out but 4 years is beyond unacceptable.

I agree there is no excuse for such poor service life.