Neighbor OWB leaking water inside the firebox. Fix?

As the title says, my neighbor says he has a water leak. Is this something that can be repaired?

 

No offense but that's a pretty vague question. Especially with no pictures or any description of any kind.

Anything can be fixed, just depends how much you wanna pay.

 

Sometimes, depends where it is, and how bad things are...sounds like its the beginning of the end for that machine though.

 

I am sure he will be doin* a clean out and metal cleaning- he is a body man. I suppose in the en$ of it all, it is steel, and can be patched( possibly). No water pressure, other than weight?

 

I assume they have a radiator/heat exchanger mounted above the flame. That's probably getting burned out like brenndatomu mentioned. Might be able to replace it or remove and have it recored like they used to do with automotive radiators?

I'm pretty sure most are open systems. They're "safer" to operate/cheaper to manufacture.

 

Radiators are a popular HX for garages...but not on the OWB end...many of those are basically just a steel box mounted inside a tank of water...so the water is right on the other side of the steel from the fire, at least on many/most of the old school OWB's...the newer gassers are much more sophisticated.

 

brenndatomu itis then on EPA Central Boiler. Mine has been in operation a year less , so I am going into prevention mode.

 

My neighbor had same problem. He found the leak, was 3/16" hole on back of firebox under chimney outlet.

He cleaned it up real good, put high temp epoxy around it and ran in a flange head self tapping bolt as a temporary fix until he can weld a permanent patch in the off season. Even it it weeps a little better than no boiler at all.

 

He has the shop we bought the boilers from coming to inspect it. That guy has been with them for years. He should have a solution

 

Central boiler? Fwiw, I'm not a fan of that brand for many reasons

 

I have 2 different friends who have OWB's that successfully had them welded. So yes it can be done.

 

Well, he has pitting on both sides of his firebox. The guy at the boiler shop is coming out this week, but said the braces welded on that area are known to separate. He may have a different idea when he examines it.

I checks Mr box and it seems to be okay. Thoughts on this- He exclusively burns his wood in rounds , aside form the startup
. I mostly split all of my wood. Would burning rounds create more moisture? I saw a YouTube video where a guy cautions against burning in the largest pieces you can handle, as it causes the temp to get lower than recommended prior to the damper opening for a fresh burn.

 

Yes...unless he is about 10 years ahead.

 

Horkn yes, it is a Central. They talked to him about doing a trade on a new stainless unit with a pr rate on his u deer warranty.

it was pretty dismal allowance, so he was put in touch with an outfit out of Michigan for a unit several thousands less, and they were delivering another unit nearby- relatively speaking- Will be here tomorrow.

he talked with a couple places that also accepted trade-in. They said no Central Boiler. That isn’t comforting, but I am watching mine closely. Good to know there is a beer and less expensive system out there.

 

I was never able to achieve that.

 

situation resolved at much less than replacing with a Central Boiler. I think this brand is EZ. Formerly Richmond, I think. Th3 firebox is round rather than squared.

Men installing say Central units generally last about 8 years. They have one of these 15 years of service. Moved the old unit off the pad and placed the new unit in.

Neighbor plans to hook up his existing plumbing this weekend.

My boiler is about a year newer. Told the guys I hope I don’t see them again too soon.

 

I know of several CB's at/over 20 yrs service.

 

Our Central Boiler went in 2006 no issues thus far.

 

I think amateur cutter has an EZ.

 

Yes, same unit as pictured. Very simple and relatively bullet proof design. Only failure I've had was a couple damper solenoids. One wore out and I got a defect on Amazon. Otherwise no issues. Not the most efficient unit, but I wanted minimal parts and electronics. These meet that criteria for certain. Still running the original pump and door gasket after 3.5 seasons. No leaks or other issues. Only thing I would re design is the draft door should be full width. They don't get a complete burn on the sides of the firebox. Load a pyramid shape in the center to mitigate this.