OWB tank leak / lots of questions

[Rjpoog1989]

Hey guys,

I have a Taylor T-450 OWB and it was built in 2003. I’ve owned my house and maintained the boiler since December 2015, so I really don’t know the maintenance history of the thing. Since living here I’ve replaced the anode rod and appropriate water additives. When I went to replace the anode rod the was nothing left of the one that was in there, so I can assume it was there quite some time.

Two weeks ago I notice water coming out of the foam insulation. My brother in law is a welder and I had home come by this Saturday to try and stop the leak. The hole was in the back of the unit and about 3/8 diameter. We drained the tank and tried to repair the hole. When grinding to clean the spot up, 3 more holes became apparent. Trying to weld caused more cracks and holes. The metal is really weak and thin. We never got it to stop completely, but we got it to about 1 drop every hour or so. Very small seepage. I bought 3 lbs of boiler soldier and put that in according to the directions and have no seeping at this moment.

Thoughts:
1. I’m worried my boiler is a ticking time bomb.
2. I’m leery about getting an epa unit, I burn a lot of pine and other crap wood because it’s free.
3. How long ar these things supposed to last? Is 15 years about the expectation? I really like a lot of things about the Taylor unit. Taylor is now Legend, but should I be concerned about longevity of the brand. I see other units with really long warranty.
4. I do heat 2 buildings with the unit, having issues finding units with 2 hookups.
5. I’d like a bi-fuel unit so I can go away and not have to have someone watch my fire.

I’d really like some direction here from those that are older and wiser... Thanks in advance

 

[crowbuster]

not sure im wiser but will chime in. I have a heatmor and the firebox is stainless. My first thought is since you know a welder price out fabing a new firebox. Im not familiar with your unit, or know of any other problems they have. You are correct, it is I ticking time bomb. Get a plan together and carry it out in the off season. My heatmor will run 2 pumps and they are great units. Good luck.

 

[NSMaple1]

Do you have a backup if it really spills its innards before winter ends? Hoping so.

Are the bad spots in the firebox, or the outer jacket? You could try a repair job again if prepared to go whole hog on it and start it early as you can after this heating season is over. That would give you some time for a total overhaul, or to get a replacement if you find it's real bad once tearing into it. But I am thinking it might not be worth it with what you said about how it went this time. Its days are likely done.

On some of the things you mentioned, EPA units can burn pine or whatever - as long as it is seasoned. Yes it might at first seem to be a PITA if you don't want to put wood up that way, but the benefits are large - you don't need as much. I'd say 15 years is pretty good - lots have gotten way less out of their OWBs. Which also makes me think its days are over. Although I know nothing about your particular boiler. I don't think 2 hookups would be needed, you should be able to T in two lines if a new boiler only has one set of ins & outs. And bi-fuel units have their compromises - usually they end up doing each not the best. OWBs lose a fair amount of wood heated heat just standing by, to the outdoors - I'd hate to have one losing fossil heated heat that way too. And all your eggs are still in one basket. Don't know anything about the rest of your system(s), but I would want the backup heat source a separate unit and inside my house. Redundancy is very good when it comes to keeping warm all winter. Insurance companies usually want that too.

Good luck!

 

[rancher2]

Rjpoog1989
Welcome to the world of OWB'S . I have never owned a Taylor but when I was in the process of looking at all the boilers it seemed like a lot of them would last 10 to 15 years and then would need to be replaced or a serious rebuild would be needed. I have a Garn and this is the tenth year for it. Hope you have a back up as winter is no time to be with out the boiler. In my area we need AC so my Garn just feeds coils that are in my furnaces. I have propane as a back up. In 10 years I have only been from home once for any extended time. A buddy was stopping by the farm to check on animals so he would start the Garn up ever couple days. I don't know how thick your check book is but if it were me in your shoes I would try to get it threw till spring pull it take it in the shop tear it down see what is all bad cut out the bad have a new metal formed and have the brother inlaw weld it in. Add another inlet and outlet to the boiler while the rebuild is going on.

 

[panolo]

On the epa end of it..... pine and crap wood works just fine. The biggest thing is moisture content. If you burn dry wood you would be just fine. I burn all kinds of box elder, silver maple, elm, etc in my central boiler. As long as it is dry it heats well. The other nice thing about the reburn is that it takes less wood and I have very little ash. Went three weeks between cleanouts and I filled a 3 gallon can. It took me 10 minutes to do the clean.

 

[Deleted member 117362]

My 10 year old Woodmaster 434 developed a leak at rear of firebox. Welder that was hired drilled holes in areas to determine degree of damaged steel. After determining extent of damage, cut out bad area and I had local steel supplier roll two sections of 1/4" steel and one piece to install in back of stove. Heated with it for a few more years and then replace with a smaller 3300 Woodmaster. Neighbor wanted to purchase 434 and is now on his 4 year with it, no problems. I tried welding it myself and weld would not stick to back of stove, person I hired stated, back of firebox was a different grade of steel and would return with proper rod to weld it, he did and everything was done right, not by me. Welder also said, please do not just climb in there and start welding without good ventilation or air supply.

 

[Rjpoog1989]

Thanks for the replies:

The leak is on the outside water jacket. The firebox seems solid.

I do kinda have backup heat. My house originally had many electric baseboards. My furnace is hot water baseboards. Between all the units, and my small house, I had to remove some to put furniture up against the walls. Some rooms still have electric heat. I also have space heaters, and an electric fireplace that supposedly could heat the main living area. I have a kerosene heater on deck as well and a can of fuel. My shop has no backup heat source.

I can get a Central Boiler right away, my dealer has one is stock. My problem is, I doubt any of my wood is dry enough for it. I’ve never covered my wood. Some of it is 2-3 years old, but uncovered and some unsplit. I’m going to start splitting and covering wood Wednesday in prep for future catastrophe. The other issue is, if they don’t have one in stock when I want it, it can take a long time to get from Minnesota. The truck won’t deliver unless it’s full.

I will have to change the way things are plumped. My Taylor stove has 4 lines from the house and it’s own domestic water coil in the boiler jacket. The radiant heat has a pump running via thermostat. It sounds like this setup is not common and won’t work with most units.

 

[cantoo]

I agree with the comment about dual fuel not being better than either as a stand alone unit. I would buy the wood only one and use propane as a back up and for an extended time away. Find a cheap used propane hot water heater and use it to heat the water lines to the OWB for the short period of time you need it. Not as efficient but it will do the job and be reasonably priced.
I have an old Pacific Western and am not sure of the age but I think it was built in the 1990's. It's stainless and I've been really really lucky with how long it has been lasting according to people who have owned them. Someday I will build one myself but will be using propane tank for the burner and a self built water jacket around it. Some day.

 

[Marley5]

Unfortunately, rusting from the outside in is almost uncontrollable.....culprit being sprayed on foam insulation " condensation ".

Stopping leaks now will be hit and miss.

I've seen quite a few to date and not looking forward to the EPA certified junk and required maintenance involved.
My OWB has a 25 yr warranty so I'm expecting 15 years tops with sprayed on.

 

[panolo]

Thanks for the replies:


I can get a Central Boiler right away, my dealer has one is stock. My problem is, I doubt any of my wood is dry enough for it. I’ve never covered my wood. Some of it is 2-3 years old, but uncovered and some unsplit. I’m going to start splitting and covering wood Wednesday in prep for future catastrophe. The other issue is, if they don’t have one in stock when I want it, it can take a long time to get from Minnesota. The truck won’t deliver unless it’s full.

I am running a CB classic edge 550. If you have questions feel free to shoot them to me. You can burn wood that is not in the specs with moisture content you just loose the efficiency. Burns more wood like the non epa stoves. Couple of things I learned by asking questions and getting some great answers from folks here that helped me dial mine in. Also on the wood front slab wood works well if you can get your hands on some. Dead standing ash is usually very dry. Around me I have been able to burn dead standing elm with no issue. Like my dealer told me the first year was gonna be a learner and it was. I've been better prepared since and have been happy with my purchase and performance.

 

[NSMaple1]

If the firebox is really solid, that is a bit of good news. You might be able to cut out a big enough affected area in the off season to get to solid metal. You will need to strip it right down though and really go over it. Plus if you can do a rebuild, then maybe when you put it all back together you can determine why it rusted where it did & reassemble to prevent that. Outside-in has to be trapped moisture on the outside. If the outside rusted from the inside, boiler water treatment would likely be needed & should have been used - and you might also then find the corrosion more widespread & dooming once you get into it. Which was also what the anode rod was designed to prevent. Do you know how often it was specd to be replaced? 12 years is a really long time for one of those - likely should have been 2-3. Which might be the main reason for all this in the first place and may be another indicator that it might be past the point of repair - ate away from the inside.