Leaking CH backboiler system

[blackrose]

14 years after installing the system it seems to have leaked from somewhere in thy middle of one of the radiators. I guess it's rusted through. I'd drained and refilled the system about 6 years ago with diluted red antifreeze. The odd thing is I only found about quarter of a pint of reddy- brown fluid on the bathroom floor but I've lost at least a litre from the header tank which I recently topped up. It might be more than that but that's all I can see through the translucent car header tank. I can't figure out what's happened to it all unless it managed to somehow get down into the bilges without staining anything?

 

Anyway, as a liveaboard I'm not going to be able to replace the rad until spring, so what's going to happen to my backboiler if I run the stove hard without any water inside?

[Ex Brummie]

If piped up as a convential 2 pipe system, just close off the valves on the leaking radiator and use as normal.

[blackrose]

Can't do that unfortunately. Flow and return go above and below the rads so don't use rad valves. I could have put isolators on the connections I suppose but for a thermocycling system I'd have needed full bore isolators. Perhaps that's a good idea when I come to replace the rads this spring. I guess I may as well replace the back boiler too?

[blackrose]

The fluid has now risen in the header tank as the stove comes up to temp and it's still half full! I guess the rad leak must have sealed itself?

Edited November 27, 2018 by blackrose

[blackrose]

The copper pipes can't rot through over time can they? Just wondering whether to replace the whole lot in spring?

[BEngo]

The copper pipes will erode/corrode over time depending on the water.  Acid water makes it happen faster.  However it is much slower than the rads rusting from the inside which is worsened by sludge and the steel being anodic to copper IIRC. If you are fitting valves with your new rad You will soon see how thin the pipes have got when you cut them.

In the meantime, if the leak returns or migrates to a new spot I would attack it with some bodging epoxy as advertised in the inserts to the weekend rags or some LS1. It won't last ages but should get you to the spring.

N

[blackrose]

Cheers.

 

Is LS1 similar to LSX? I have some of that onboard. I'll have to try to bodge a temporary repair.

 

Edit: I've ordered some Fernox F4 to put into the system.

Edited November 27, 2018 by blackrose

[ditchcrawler]

2 hours ago, blackrose said:

Cheers.

 

Is LS1 similar to LSX? I have some of that onboard. I'll have to try to bodge a temporary repair.

 

Edit: I've ordered some Fernox F4 to put into the system.

I used the screw fix one at home when my boiler started leaking, it got me through last winter so handy as a temporary job, it may get you to next summer. Mine was a steady drip drip drip 

[blackrose]

I drained the system today, flushed it out and refilled with Fernox F4 and F1 Protector (0.5% each as per instructions). It's meant to take a day to work but seems to have stopped the leak already.

 

There's nothing written on the bottle indicating that F4 is only for temporary repairs. It says "Leave in the system permanently" and "Saves time and money on draining down and repairing". So I'm wondering if I can just keep changing the water every summer using both additives and not bother changing the rads? 

Edited December 1, 2018 by blackrose