Hardy H4 Steam from around stack

[hondaracer2oo4]

Thanks Roger for the advice. I had the boiler spray foamed this past fall so I will have to pull the cover at some point and start looking for a leak. Kind of surprised that the jacket would start leaking on the outside? Doesn't seem to make much sense. Anyone know the specifics of the 25 year warranty? Thanks.

 

[roger m]

i would definitely contact your nearest dealer,he could tell you the ups and downs on the warranty and might be able to cover the repair and get upgraded parts at the same time,good luck:msp_thumbup:

 

[hondaracer2oo4]

Talked to Richard the tech at Hardy yesterday. Think we have figured out the problem without removing anything. I didn't know this but the way they are built the top will come right off of the thing. It is held on but sheet metal screws and then they silicone the whole top seam to keep steam from getting out. Well when they put the top on they also put a bead of silicone around the area of the stack to keep steam from coming out from around the smoke stack flange. So if figured that they silicone after 21 years has failed so I used high temp silicone between the smoke stack flange and the water tank flange which reduced the steam to almost nothing! If I had known that the unit was built this way I would have taken the top off and re siliconed everything before the guy spray foamed it. So I guess I need to decided whether or not to cut off the top of the foam and re silicone everything. So far though I am losing MUCH less water than before. Also if anyone didn't know the warranty is pro rated. Between 20-25 years I would have to pay 85%!!!! of the repair costs! Thanks a lot Hardy for standing behind your product....NOT!

 

[NC4AB]

The top is held down on the edges with self drilling stainless screws. The center hole at the smoke stack sits on a flange that has a heavy bead of RTV on it.

If you plan on taking the top off you will need to have some new screws on hand, I seem to always break one or two in the process of removing the top and usually just replace them all. Normally not too much trouble to pull the top and re seal, but if it is spray foamed it sounds like it may be a PITA.

Also you might want to pull a 1/4" poly water line and feed the auto fill valve, if the Hardy is run with low water it will be toast.

 

[hondaracer2oo4]

It will be a pita to do but I would rather have it be this simple than have a bigger issue on my hands! I wish I had known that the top came off before I had the guy spray foam it. I looked at the top with the silicone and thought that it was an extra piece for structurally stability or something. I really do like the fact that it comes off though and it sounds like I would also be able to remove the firebox if I ever had to for repairs. My brother in law is a professional welder and is the one the tig welded a new piece in the back where the previous owner had screwed things up. So I am pretty excited to know that this thing is basically rebuild-able! As far as the water line goes, I didnt want to run another line out there for the water because of the cost and extra work but I think I should have know thinking about everything. It really wouldn't have cost much to run 1/4 pex out there. Ohh well, live and learn. I do check the water quite often. Usually once a day when I am putting wood in it and keep a close eye. I would like to put a high temp shut down on the boiler so that if it had a run away or low water situation and got hot, it would shut itself down. Sounds like a project for the summer. I have a Redi-check smoker remote thermometer that monitors all the time and I have the high temp set to 195 so I would know if I was home that it was overheating. Anyways thanks for every ones help!

 

[MVrana]

Talked to Richard the tech at Hardy yesterday. Think we have figured out the problem without removing anything. I didn't know this but the way they are built the top will come right off of the thing. It is held on but sheet metal screws and then they silicone the whole top seam to keep steam from getting out.

This is exactly the problem I have with my H4. The top seam with silicone leaks and steam escapes, finally exiting the shell at the flue pipe. There's always some water on the top of the furnace from this. I've been dealing with it for about two years now, but in reality it's not that big of a deal. Just keep tabs on your water level. I don't use the auto-fill due to chloride in my water, so I just add a gallon of water by hand once a week. Some day I may get around to pulling the shell and actually fixing the problem, but for now I'll just add water.....

 

[hondaracer2oo4]

Im not surprised that I am not the only one with the issue. Seems encouraging though that you have had the issue for two years now with nothing getting any worse. I would have pulled the cover right off when I found out how easy the problem was to fix if it were not for the fact that the whole thing is spray foamed. I think I could cut a notch of foam out though around the whole top by the seam and repair it that way without having to cut off all of the expensive foam! Thanks again everyone.