The Reported Problem

The customer had made a report that there was a constant trickle of water coming from the condense pipe, even when the boiler was off. Upon closer inspection, it was seen that the heat exchanger of the boiler had perforated, causing the system water to pour down inside and escape from the condense pipe. The worst part of this is the constant introduction of fresh water from the header tank; the fresh oxygen rich water will start to quickly react with the metals in the system, as seen by the colour staining in the picture.

The Solution

In this case, the heat exchanger must be replaced. Generally speaking, the heat exchanger is the largest part of the boiler and so the whole thing would have to be stripped down and for the part to be replaced.

The Result

With the new part installed and the system filled a corrosion inhibitor, the boiler was safely reinstated.