Weil Mclane indirect DHW heater

[free75degrees]

My gold 60 indirect DHW heater has a leak at the top near the air vent tapping. I cut away the foam insulation around the air vent and the entire area is very rusted. When I open the ball valves that isolate the heater, the entire area where I cut out the insulation fills up with water rapidly. I'm not sure how the outside got rusted - maybe there was a slow leak that i didn't notice and it caused rust on the outside then eventually developed into a full fledged leak.

I'd like to collect on my lifetime warranty, but the plumber who installed it is out of business. He is the same plumber who used non-o2 barrier pex for the baseboard supplies and didn't install an expansion tank downstream of the backflow preventer on the cold water supply, both of which are required per the manual and will probably void the warranty. So it looks like I'll be buying a superstor tomorrow for $1100 :^(

What could cause the tank to leak after only 2 years of service? Is it possible that a couple hundred feet of watts aqua pex in the system could allow enough oxygen in to rust out the tank? Could the lack of an expansion tank be the problem? (I do have a T&P;relief valve which has not been going off)

 

[Chris S]

I'd be more concerned about the damage to the ferous components in your heating system with that non- barrier pex.
I had a customer have a failure on a 2 yr old WM as well- his was due to bad water high salt content .
I'd inquire at the supply house about warrwnty if I were you, and have your water tested
Chris

 

[BrownianHeatingTech]

The manufacturer should honor the warranty, even if the installer is no longer in business - you'd just need to find a different installer to do the work.

Joe

 

[NHFarmer]

Free 75,I also have a Weil Mclain gold 40 that is leaking.I didn't realize they have a lifetime warranty.Did you have any luck getting a replacement?

 

[free75degrees]

Free 75,I also have a Weil Mclain gold 40 that is leaking.I didn't realize they have a lifetime warranty.Did you have any luck getting a replacement?

No, I ended up buying a SuperStor and installing it myself. I had the wel mclain for two years. The first time I had a problem with it I called the installers and they came and fixed it. The problem was that the aquastat was short circuiting and the tank was stuck calling for heat. The installer said that it was due to condensation inside of the plastic chamber where the aquastat is housed. I didn't know a lot about the heater at that time so I didn't question his diagnosis. However, now I don't know if it was correct. Maybe a year or so later the same problem ocurred again. This time the installer was no longer in business. When I opened the aquastat chamber it was filled with water! Maybe it was foolish of me to assume that it was again condensation, but i did, so I let the water dry up, replaced the aquastat, and everything seemed fine. That was a few months ago. Earlier this week the catastrophic leak occurred. I turned off the ball valves isolating the tank and it stopped. Turned them back on and it started flowing again and fast. In order the get under the insulation to see where the leak was, you have to completely disconnect all of the tappings from the top of the tank and then cut off the insulation. When I did this I realized that the entire top surface of the tank was rusty. Maybe this was due to the prior "condensation" or maybe there was a slow leak for a long time. I don't know. Anyway, getting a new weil maclain through the warranty would have meant that I'd have to hire a new professional which would have cost money, and I would have had to deal with another tank which I have little confidence in. I really don't like how the tappings are all on top. You get a leak and you have no idea where it is, and the leak causes the entire top to get all wet and you may not even see it due to the insualtion. I also don't like that the outer tank is non-stainless steel. So I decided to pay $1100 for a superstor becuase it is all SS and people on this board have good things to say about them. Plus I now know a lot about the tank since i did the installation.

 

[NHFarmer]

You describe the exact situation I am in.Tank problem was identical to mine.now I just need to find a fix at a reasonable cost

 

[free75degrees]

Wow, hearing you say that makes me glad that I decided to go with the superstor instead of trying with another weil mclane. I think there me be some design problem with the weil mclain. The supersotr cost me a lot of cash but I have much more peace of mind now. I hope you can figure out a solution that doesn't break the bank, Good luck.