Re: Re: Re: Polybutylene caused 2 boilers to go in 9 years. Help !


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Posted by Tony Conner, TBP Industrial Steam Systems on January 20, 1998 at 20:02:33:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Polybutylene caused 2 boilers to go in 9 years. Help ! posted by J Boulanger on January 20, 1998 at 16:15:05:

:
: : : According to all of the experts and technicians I have had, the polybutylene plumbing in my 9 year old home is the reason I have just installed my 3rd furnace. The class action suit people say no help because the pipes don't leak.

: : : I cannot keep installing new furnaces at this rate. Can anyone give me any information or suggestions?

: : J: I have asked Dan Holohan about this question. He says that PB pipe has in fact been used successfuly for radiant in-floor heating for years. However, the oxygen diffusion rate changes as the temperature increases. Radiant systems only run at 120 deg F., so there is no problem. At 140 deg F., PB starts to let in a lot more oxygen, and this could, in fact, corrode a boiler. A lot of people think that pipe is just pipe. "Who'da thunk it." The more I learn about pipe, the more I realize how much more there is to know! Tony

: Tony
: Thanks for the help.
: I'm beginning to suspect that the boiler
: manufacturer may be right in theory but I feel they should honor the warranty. 4 yrs seem premature under any circumstance.

: I have started talking to neighbors and have 8 boiler failures from 17 houses. We all have the same boilers and plumbing. With this high rate, it would seem that there is some external factor besides a poor quality steel boiler.

: Suggested solutions include total replumbing
: (UGH), spiral vent, rust inhibitor, air scoop, or heat exchanger between boiler and polypipe.

: Any suggestion? I really don't want to replumb.

J: To me, the choices are between a heat exchanger, and chemical treatment to eat up the dissolved oxygen before it attacks your boiler. It's not likely the boiler manufacturer's fault, dissolved oxygen really does a number on steel, especially combined with heat (it acts as a catalyst for the oxygen corrosion). A simple test-put an ordinary steel nail in a glass of tap water, and leave it there for a couple of weeks (you may have to top the water up). The result is pretty scary. Did you see the inside of boilers when they were removed? Oxygen corrosion is characterized by localized pitting, rather than an even wasting of the metal. You can have full wall thickness in most sections, but be pitted right through here and there. If you didn't see the inside of your boiler, what about a neighbour's? A picture would be really good. Let me know. Tony


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