HELP!!! P-WGO-6 Weil Mclain oil boiler spewing water

Hi, my daughter turned on the shower and I heard major vibration noise coming from the basement and some swishing sound. I had my daughter turn off the shower and ran down to the basement to look at the boiler (P-WGO-6 Weil Mclain oil boiler). I saw water gushing out of the T shaped pipe. I have an old picture of the T pipe. (The water you see below is not representative of the water that is there now. I think there is a 1/4 inch of water in the corner of the basement.) So, I turned off the boiler and turn off the valve that feed the pipe. I don't know what is wrong. We are going on vacation tomorrow and don't know what to do.

Please help.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...akingTpipe.jpg

 

I moved your post to this forum because you are refering to a system for hot water heat.

That Tee is a backflow preventer & is supposed to vent water if the pressure on the boiler side exceeds that of the incoming water. These valves do fail but most are repairable with a rebuild kit. Also sometimes, a piece of junk will get stuck under the seat of the valve & cause water to leak.

 

Is this something that can be fixed tonight? I am going to call an emergency service.

 

If you get lucky & the service person happens to have either a rebuild kit or a new backflow preventer, yes. If it were mine, I would not pay the overtime rates for a night call especially knowing it would be a gamble. I suggest you go to your local home center or hardware store & get a 1/2" & a 3/4" pipe plug. Just remove the pipe that goes toward the floor & plug the preventer, using whichever plug you need, until regular business hours.

 

Am I seeing a pressure relief valve in that line also though ? You could just suffer through a cold shower and wait until you get back from vacation.

 

No one will come out tonight. Until someone is willing to come, I have turned off the water flow using the shut off valve to that pipe. There is still water pressure in the system and this worries me. Will the boiler blow? I want to turn off the boiler. Is it better to turn off the boiler using the boiler maintenance on/off switch or the emergency turn off switch? Thanks.

 

I am having a friend come and call the oil company who maintains our boiler to fix the problem.

 

That device is not a pressure relief valve to protect the boiler from over pressurizing. It is there solely to keep the boiler water from flowing backward into the domestic water supply.

 

If you want to turn off the power to it you can use either the service switch or the emergency switch.

 

Thanks. Wish this was a job we could have fixed ourselves.

 

It is a fairly simple job if you have the time & materials. To make future repairs even easier, there should be another shut off valve between the reducing valve & the boiler.

 

Since we will not have the problem fix before leaving, we are (or at least I am) willing to try and fix it when we come back instead of calling someone to come in while we are away.

What do we have to buy to fix it? and what do we have to do?

 

At a minimum, you will need a rebuild kit for the make & model of the backflow preventer.

You will likely have to drop the boiler pressure to zero unless the reducing valve has a check valve in it & the check valve holds. The chances of this being the case are actually pretty slim.
After reducing the pressure in the boiler to zero, you can take the BFP apart at the unions incorporated into the device. Clean it well, install the rebuild kit, put it back together, & re-pressurize the system.
If you want to install the valve I mentioned, it will require some cutting & soldering of the copper pipe coming into the BFP to allow enough room to install the valve. That extra valve can make changing a BFP or reducing vavle a 10 minute job.

 

Hmm, don't know if I am up to cutting pipes. Will see if my husband will do it. Will post an update when this problem is fixed.

Thank you very much. You are always very helpful.

 

All you need is a tubing cutter & either a compression union or a Shark Bite coupling. No soldering would be involved. If you have any other questions when you tackle the project, we are here to help where we can.

Enjoy the vacation.

 

Is it normal for this type of value to fail? 1/2" 9D-M3 Backflow preventer with Intermediate Atmospheric Vent made by Watts. It seems like a pretty sturdy looking valve. Our house is only about 8 years old. Is there anything else we should check?
Thanks again

 

I would not say it is "normal" but it is not uncommon. The most common cause of failure I've seen is pieces of rust or sand from the water line getting into the valve & causing it to slightly stick open. Something I have found to help is a simple particle filter installed in the feed water line ahead of the valve. These filters are available at any home center & are easy to install.

 

Just an FYI. Yesterday night after realizing no one was coming, I had call the oil company that maintained our boiler to cancel the emergency call. But, this morning, they came anyway. The guy was here for less than 1/2 hour. He replaced the backflow preventer (as you have indicated) and charged us $230, 65 for part and 165 for labor. That part cost only $29 + shipping. We know since we were looking to fix it ourselves. Oh well....

 

I'm not really surprised at the cost. Often people can buy parts at or below that which repair people can buy them. I'm sure you paid the service company's "after hours" rate since it was Saturday. I am surprised the service person showed up after you had called to cancel the call. I do realize the cost was steep but it is fixed & something off your mind while you go on vacation. Enjoy the vacation.

It might not be a bad idea to pick up a spare. In case this happens again you will have the part on hand & be able to fix it yourself. Hopefully you watched the servicer & learned how it was done. Trying to help someone online often works but once in a while things get lost in the instruction process. Seeing something done gives you a far better idea of how to do it.

Grady

 

Yes, my husband saw what he did. He said it was a piece of cake. We will definitely get a spare just in case.

Thanks again for your help.