Oilman - Can you help ?

[Ugh!]

Need your advice.

I had to disconnect the pipework to the hot water cylinder coil in order to move the cylinder to sort out a weeping joint.
On re-assembly, there is a slight leak at the cylinder flange (top coil fitting). I used grips to hold the fitting on the cyl. when undoing and refitting, but wonder if I may have stressed the flange/cyl junction.

Question is, as this is a very slight leak, is it possible to repair this in situ.
If I drain and solder (after cutting off some insulation !) would this last, or is it possible to effect a repair using a two pack epoxy paste ?

The cyl. was new when I fitted it about 14 years ago but, until about 6 years ago, our water supply was very acid. Could this have weakened the flange junction due to edge corrosion ?

 

[corgiman]

Sorry I am not oilman but I will have a go

My advise is dont even try to repair it in situ as this can lead to a world of hurt as it will temping to over tighten it

also soldering a threaded joint just aint cricket

get down to the stockists and get some new unions. I use those ones that crip into the male thread of the cylinder flow and return and (fingers crossed) not one has leaked

PS dontforget to pop some inhibitor when you refill

Over to you Oilman

 

[Ugh!]

Corgiman,

Thanks for the reply.

The part that is leaking is around the flange(boss ?) that the manufacturer fits to the cylinder, not the pipe fittings which thread into the flange.

I have not refilled the heating circuit yet, only the domestic hot water part as I am checking all of the rad. valves and replacing 'O' rings etc while the heating system is 'dry'.
It is the domestic hot water that is weeping around the brass flange.

I don't know if that makes the problem easier to understand.

 

[oilman]

I'm not the best person to ask about this, but if the water was acid then it's probably lucky you caused it than it finding you. I would only try to repair this joint using silver solder, but if you have a corroded cylinder it's not worth it, and using epoxy I don't think is reliable. Expansion rates are all wrong.

I think the only satisfactory solution is renew the cylinder, this one has given reasonable service, and the damage that could occur from a leak lower down the cylinder would be much more expensive than a new cylinder.

 

[oilman]

.

 

[Ugh!]

Oilman,


????????

 

[oilman]

Nothing to do with me, one of those double posts. So I emptied one of them as it's not possible to delete posts.