Need Boiler Advice

I recently noticed a small leak (water) around my oil fired Weil Mclain boiler. It was small enough that I thought it was rain from recent storm that found its way down chimney, but after a few days the puddle was slightly bigger. I called my local oil co, and they sent service person to look it over. He said it was a leak in boiler and that it would need to be replaced. I was not home and he spoke to my wife so I dont know exactly what was said. The oil co sent salesman, and he quoted me "about 5000" (again to my wife). So ..I need some input, is this leak common, and does it mean the entire boiler needs to be replaced ? In the meantime I have scheduled 2 other companies to come and give me an estimate for the job. I have a 2 story 3000 sf home, only about 12 years old. It is 5 zones, baseboard heat. I am in northern nj so the winters are cold. Is there any manufacturer I should lean towards ? Would it make sense to just replace with exact same model ?

 

Unless this is one of the "Gold" series, the whole boiler will need to be replaced. Most likely you have a leaking "elastomeric seal". Quite common to leak but not available (as far as I know) for other than the Gold series boilers.
At 12 years old, that's about the time they were switching to the Gold series. If the boiler jacket is tan/yellowish it is a Gold series. If not, you are probably out of luck.
I would use almost anything EXCEPT Weil-McLain if I had to replace the boiler.
A couple of my personal favorite boilers are Crown's CT series & Buderus. Burnham has a "new" (been out a couple of years) boiler. It is their MPO. Any of these with an indirect tank will serve you well & last a long time.

 

Can I tell if it is gold series from model number ? Does WGO indicate gold ?Thanks..
btw, the service tech said it was leaking because it rusted out .. would this be the "seal" or is it indicative of another issue (I have very hard well water)

 

You are in luck. The WGO stands for Water Gold Oil. The boiler could be rusted out or leaking in the cast iron but I'd almost be willing to bet it is leaking at one of the seals between the sections. To tell, the jacket would have to be removed & the leak actually found. In any case, I suspect it would be a warranty issue for parts. Labor would be on you. Call Weil-McLain & ask who is the DISTRIBUTOR in your area. Contact them with your problem. Weil, like most other manufacturers, sells to distributors who sell to dealers who sell to the end user. Are you the original purchaser?

 

No, I'm 3rd owner of this house, everything was here when I moved in. I appreciate the advice, I'll see what happens ...thanks again

 

Just a heads up. Weil-McLain is terrible about honoring warranty claims. Don't be real surprised if they reject it because of you not being the original owner. Please let me know how things go.

 

I had another "estimate" today . The sales rep questioned repairing vs. replacing. Seemed to think it is just prolonging the problem. What is your opinion ? In the meantime, here is what was "quoted":MP0189 Burnham Boiler with flame retention head burner,1 pressure refueling(tough to read ..could be refilling) valve,#30 extrol tank. He also specified all existing zone valves to stay(5 zones) ..(last sales person said new valves included) ..is it advisable to leave existing valves on new unit ?

 

Never worked on an MPO but they look like a nice piece of equipment. I think the "pressure ??????ing valve" is a pressure reducing valve. Pretty much standard when installing a new boiler. Personally, I hate zone valves. I have 5 zones, 4 heat & 1 domestic, & have a circulator for each one. Even if you stay with valves, I suggest all new with a switching relay. If you do get a new boiler, make sure the bidders do a heat loss calculation. There is a huge tendency to replace with the same size. Most of the time boilers are at least 50% oversized for the heat loss of the structure. This not only costs up front with larger equipment but over it's entire lifetime in operating costs.

 

I found this policy on the WM web site. It seems that I need to replace the boiler with another WM and if they determine there is a valid claim they will provide some "compensation" ...Seems to me a nice ploy to sell you another unit. Based on your "heads up" on the original owner warranty issue, I'm thinking I dont want to go through this. Will probably go with the other (Burnham)unit/quote. Any last thoughts on this subject ? What is difference between valve and circulator ?

"If your boiler is leaking, contact either your installer or the professional heating contractor of your choice. If the unit needs to be replaced immediately, your heating contractor should obtain the appropriate cast iron section block or boiler from our local wholesale distributor. Warranty is not approved sight unseen, nor can our field representatives make any type of determination while the boiler is still installed. For warranty consideration, the leaking boiler or section block should be returned to the same wholesale distributor where the replacement was purchased. Our field representative will then do a thorough inspection at the wholesale distributor. At that time, he will process a claim credit or denial, based on his findings. Credits for warranty are processed through the wholesale distributor; Weil-McLain does not reimburse consumers directly."

 

With a circulator system, you have a circulator for each zone. With zone valves, you have but one circulator & electrically operated valves which open & turn on the circulator when a zone calls for heat. With zone valves, if the circulator goes down, your whole system is down, where with individual circulators, only that one zone is affected. If piped & valved right, you can actually "jumper" two zones together using a washing machine hose. I had to tell my wife how to do it one night over the phone while I was over 50 miles away on a service call.
If you are going with a new boiler, I suggest you also consider adding an indirect water heater such as this from Burnham: http://www.burnham.com/indirect/53100.cfm

 

Well, getting closer to a replacement. Going with the Burnham unit discussed earlier. But I'm curious ...the service person came out and added a "sealant" to my boiler to help with the leak. It no longer leaks ! I was wondering why my original oil co. never even offered that even as a temp. fix while we looked at replacement options. Now I'm wondering how long this sealant actually will work. I've already decided on the replacement but what are your thoughts on the sealant ?

 

I think one of the pros mentioned that they are intended to get you by until the boiler can be serviced or replaced. A bandaid, short-term fix... I wonder if too much of the stuff might start clogging other things throughout the loop that you want to "leak" -- bleeders, air purgers, etc.

 

It can clog air vents. When the boiler is replaced, make sure the system is flushed well. All air vents should be removed & cleaned (if possible) or replaced.