Water heater nightmare - HELP!

[hokkmike]

When replacing my old steam heating system I installed a Burnham boiler (steam) and an Amtrol WH-7L 41 gallon hot water boiler-mate. (Actually, I did not install it; my contractor installed it) This was about 6 years ago. Since then I have had to replace 3 Amtrol units. I am now on my fourth one. After a few months use they ALL leaked at the bottom. While Amtrol has stood up to their warranty the labor cost for replacement and loss of service is irritating. Neither the vendor, nor the installer, nor the local oil company service people, who have also worked on the unit, can see a problem with the set up. I am beside myself waiting for number four to go down. I have written to Amtrol and asked them to come and personally inspect the set-up. I doubt that they will. We'll see.

All I can say is HELP! If anyone has an idea I am certainly all ears. Thank you!!!!

 

[Birkhamshaw]

hokkmike,

It seems I cant offer any help in regards to your issue, but I do have the exact same unit installed in 1998. No leaks....yet!!! but the "smart" control is being replaced today by my plumber. Its faulty and keeps turning the boiler (Peerless) on an off.....5 seconds on 5 seconds off. This results in quite a smelly mess of un-burnt fuel that comes into the house.

Do you have any contact info for AMTROL?

Thanks in advance

Birkhamshaw

http://www.uptonbass.com

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jadnashua]

This is just a guess out of the blue. Since the old system may have used some steel piping, was any of that brought over to the new tank? Could this be a problem with dis-similar metals and electrolisis? Could a di-electric union be missing somewhere?

can you post a picture of the installation? Maybe that will trigger a thought or two.

Is the failure from rusting out, or a split, crack, or can you tell?

Do you have an expansion tank on the supply line anywhere? Note, this is in the drinking water piping, not the boiler circuit. (You many not need one, depends on the design.) Do you know what the potable water pressure is? If it is on the high side, you do need an expansion tank, you empty the hw tank regularly (I guess once could be enough), and the thermostat is set high, the system pressure could split something in the tank when it expands the full volume of water when it reheats. That's a lot of if's! Unlikely that the tank would be the weak point, but I suppose possible.