Broken Pipe DHC

[jcsheppard]

I was cutting wood on my table saw in the basement when it hit a knot in the wood and sent it flyin'. It hit the hot water out pipe of my domestic hot water coil on my wood boiler. Its leaking a lot so i turned off the water feed to the dhw coil, is this ok? I assume that the coil will eventually drain. So i hope having an empty coil inside a working boiler won't do any harm to it. Its late here now and i can't get out to get some solder until tomorrow. Is it ok just to solder it or should i cut out the section of pipe? it just looks like the solder broke. Will i have to drain the boiler or just the domestic hot water coil. Any and all advice is appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

jcsheppard

 

[steam man]

I would have like to have seen that one.

I can't begin to imagine what problem there would be on having the coil drained. It only sees boiler temp/pressure. I am not sure exactly what damage was done to the joint. The solder should not have come loose unless it was a bad joint to begin with. The coil and dhw line will have to be drained completely to be able to resolder the joint though. I'd go for it.

 

[BrownianHeatingTech]

No problem with having a "dry" coil. Same situation where you have boiler water inside a pipe that's exposed to air on the outside.

You'll need to completely drain the coil, and it helps to have a way to vent the air out. As you heat the pipe, it will cause the air inside to expand, which will push the solder out of the joint. If there is not a drain, then installing a drain tee can be the easiest method - do the work, then install the plug or cap after you're done.

If the solder popped apart that easily, though, then it was definitely done wrong. You will want to completely disconnect that joint, clean both surfaces thoroughly, and then flux and solder. Just "patching" it with surface solder will only end up with a return of the leak in the future.

Joe

 

[jcsheppard]

if i just turn on the hot water in the kitchen (or whatever) , wouldn't that take care of the air pressure problem? the air could just bleed right out the faucet, right? at least i hope thats right. thanks for all the help guys, gonna work on it now.

 

[BrownianHeatingTech]

if i just turn on the hot water in the kitchen (or whatever) , wouldn't that take care of the air pressure problem? the air could just bleed right out the faucet, right? at least i hope thats right. thanks for all the help guys, gonna work on it now.

Sometimes yes, but if there is water in a dip in the pipe, the pressurized gas may not be able to push through it.

Good luck!

Joe

 

[jcsheppard]

to add a little closure, i bled the lines and left the bleed valve open. Had to solder in a new 90 and some copper line. My big problem was finding the fitting that goes into the dhw coil itself. Drove around all day and finally found it at home depot! who woulda thought? whats it called again , its not NPT its MIT or something like that. never heard of that type of thread before. Long story short, its fixed and i can have a shower.


Thanks Joe and thanks steam man