# Garn  Leaking water again.



## hedge wood (Jan 3, 2021)

So here we go again. Two years later and the Garn is leaking water again. In a new place. Went into the Garn barn on the 23 of Dec to find water on the floor in front. This time its leaking were the box that holds the blower is welded to the tank. Guessing another weld has failed. Got it temp fixed with high temp silicone . It just seeping now.  Just like last time I have no where to go with 2,000 gallons of water in Jan and really don't want to dump the water with around $1,000 dollars of chemical in it. If the silicone starts to give up I will probably drain it down past the leak and try some high temp JB weld to get by till spring. Then it be time to decide if its time to take the Garn out. This is getting to be too much. Sure thought this thing would last better than nine years on the first leak and now 11 years on the second one.


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## andym (Jan 3, 2021)

2,000 gallons is a lot of water. What you need is small inflatable swmiming pool to pump it into for a couple days. Maybe you know someone that has one stored away for the winter?


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## brenndatomu (Jan 3, 2021)

andym said:


> 2,000 gallons is a lot of water. What you need is small inflatable swmiming pool to pump it into for a couple days. Maybe you know someone that has one stored away for the winter?


Boy, that could work great! As long as it not frozen solid when it's time to refill...


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## andym (Jan 3, 2021)

brenndatomu said:


> Boy, that could work great! As long as it wasn't frozen solid when it was time to refill...


I was actually thinking the other extreme....don't fill the pool with 185° water!


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## maple1 (Jan 3, 2021)

Man that is harsh - good luck!


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## andym (Jan 3, 2021)

hedge wood said:


> Sure thought this thing would last better than nine years on the first leak and now 11 years on the second one.


Thats not what you would expect for something that costs so much ($10k+?). No warranty left I assume.


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## hedge wood (Jan 4, 2021)

andym said:


> Thats not what you would expect for something that costs so much ($10k+?). No warranty left I assume.


Way north of ten grand. Eleven years ago I put $30,000 in system to get it up and running. Spray foaming was the only thing I hired done. Two years ago when it leaked the first time I called them and there office jockey said the owner will call me it took three weeks for him to call me back. I got no help from him. They wouldn't even giving me a discount on any parts I needed from them like gaskets. Last time it leaked it took three months from shut down to back up and running. Took a lot of time to clean it and find and schedule a welder to do the work. Most welders I called wouldn't even come look at it. By the time I got back up and running I spent $3,000 on the repairs. That didn't include the propane I had to buy to get my by. The cost of ownership has been quiet high. For a piece of equipment that's suppose to last 25-30 years I am not doing so well. I hope I can limp it along until spring don't want to have to buy $1,000 dollars of propane to get to spring when the wood is already put up.


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## Case1030 (Jan 4, 2021)

hedge wood said:


> Way north of ten grand. Eleven years ago I put $30,000 in system to get it up and running. Spray foaming was the only thing I hired done. Two years ago when it leaked the first time I called them and there office jockey said the owner will call me it took three weeks for him to call me back. I got no help from him. They wouldn't even giving me a discount on any parts I needed from them like gaskets. Last time it leaked it took three months from shut down to back up and running. Took a lot of time to clean it and find and schedule a welder to do the work. Most welders I called wouldn't even come look at it. By the time I got back up and running I spent $3,000 on the repairs. That didn't include the propane I had to buy to get my by. The cost of ownership has been quiet high. For a piece of equipment that's suppose to last 25-30 years I am not doing so well. I hope I can limp it along until spring don't want to have to buy $1,000 dollars of propane to get to spring when the wood is already put up.



Thats a crap situation. Everything sounds good on paper at 25-30 years of use... the worst part is in order to save anything over the course of use, it needed to last at least that time frame. 

Best of luck, hopefully you can figure something out.


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## salecker (Jan 4, 2021)

That totally sucks...
What's the issue when you were trying to find a welder?


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## hedge wood (Jan 4, 2021)

salecker said:


> That totally sucks...
> What's the issue when you were trying to find a welder?


Don't know your area but around here getting some one to come out to a farm and crawl in a 2000 gallon tank that is full of pipes , burning chamber and weld a crack up and patch some metal in it  is not easy to do. We are not long on welders around here. I normally do my own welding but after two shoulder surgery's there is no crawling in that Garn. I am pretty sure the guy that repaired it last time will repair this leak.  He was a nice guy and didn't over price the work. He did spend about a good ten hours in the tank over two days.


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## Case1030 (Jan 4, 2021)

hedge wood said:


> Don't know your area but around here getting some one to come out to a farm and crawl in a 2000 gallon tank that is full of pipes , burning chamber and weld a crack up and patch some metal in it  is not easy to do. We are not long on welders around here. I normally do my own welding but after two shoulder surgery's there is no crawling in that Garn. I am pretty sure the guy that repaired it last time will repair this leak.  He was a nice guy and didn't over price the work. He did spend about a good ten hours in the tank over two days.



Next time you have it drained... maybe have him do some preventative welding while he is in there? Did both leaks happen in common areas? Difficult to know where or if a new leak will spring up again.


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## hedge wood (Jan 4, 2021)

Case1030 said:


> Next time you have it drained... maybe have him do some preventative welding while he is in there? Did both leaks happen in common areas? Difficult to know where or if a new leak will spring up again.


He did a bunch of preventative welding. All in all he used 20 plus pounds of welding rod. The new leak is know were close to were the other leak was. It will interesting if I can make it to spring to see what happen this time. I guessing one of there fine welds failed again.


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## Case1030 (Jan 4, 2021)

hedge wood said:


> He did a bunch of preventative welding. All in all he used 20 plus pounds of welding rod. The new leak is know were close to were the other leak was. It will interesting if I can make it to spring to see what happen this time. I guessing one of there fine welds failed again.



Not good PR for Garn. 9 years of life out of a 25-30 year boiler isn't even half. 

Some guys complain when there 15 year old smoke dragon boiler kicks the bucket without cleaning ash out of the firebox or using water treatment... Lol


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## hedge wood (Jan 5, 2021)

Case1030 said:


> Not good PR for Garn. 9 years of life out of a 25-30 year boiler isn't even half.
> 
> Some guys complain when there 15 year old smoke dragon boiler kicks the bucket without cleaning ash out of the firebox or using water treatment... Lol


This Garn has had the best of care water treatment was always kept up. Ashes are cleaned out before the next load is ran. I guess I got the one made on a Monday or a Friday. I wish now I would have bought the cheapest smoke dragon boiler and when it died hauled it to the junk yard and got another. I could have three of them for what this one cost.


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## salecker (Jan 5, 2021)

hedge wood said:


> Don't know your area but around here getting some one to come out to a farm and crawl in a 2000 gallon tank that is full of pipes , burning chamber and weld a crack up and patch some metal in it  is not easy to do. We are not long on welders around here. I normally do my own welding but after two shoulder surgery's there is no crawling in that Garn. I am pretty sure the guy that repaired it last time will repair this leak.  He was a nice guy and didn't over price the work. He did spend about a good ten hours in the tank over two days.


Sounds like a normal day of welding for the guys that work around here,except add -20C or colder to the mix.


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## 3fordasho (Jan 5, 2021)

salecker said:


> Sounds like a normal day of welding for the guys that work around here,except add -20C or colder to the mix.



Could be a normal day for some welders but if I was the Garn owner here I would be concerned about where it's going to spring a leak next.
Surely  a disappointment for the owner and I'm glad I went with a traditional indoor gasser / pressurized system.  My water treatment was optional and only around $100.  I did consider the Garn in my selection process but would probably cross that off my list if there is ever a "next time".


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## SpaceBus (Jan 5, 2021)

I would hope for better from a forum sponsor.


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## SciGuy (Jan 5, 2021)

hedge wood said:


> So here we go again. Two years later and the Garn is leaking water again. In a new place. Went into the Garn barn on the 23 of Dec to find water on the floor in front. This time its leaking were the box that holds the blower is welded to the tank. Guessing another weld has failed. Got it temp fixed with high temp silicone . It just seeping now.  Just like last time I have no where to go with 2,000 gallons of water in Jan and really don't want to dump the water with around $1,000 dollars of chemical in it. If the silicone starts to give up I will probably drain it down past the leak and try some high temp JB weld to get by till spring. Then it be time to decide if its time to take the Garn out. This is getting to be too much. Sure thought this thing would last better than nine years on the first leak and now 11 years on the second one.



Hi hedge wood,   

I've sent a message to you. 

Hugh


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## salecker (Jan 6, 2021)

3fordasho said:


> Could be a normal day for some welders but if I was the Garn owner here I would be concerned about where it's going to spring a leak next.
> Surely  a disappointment for the owner and I'm glad I went with a traditional indoor gasser / pressurized system.  My water treatment was optional and only around $100.  I did consider the Garn in my selection process but would probably cross that off my list if there is ever a "next time".


I had a Garn on my list for the next hydronic project...
Now i will wait and see.


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## Case1030 (Jan 6, 2021)

salecker said:


> I had a Garn on my list for the next hydronic project...
> Now i will wait and see.



Would be better off with 1500 gallon of storage using a retired propane tank and indoor downdrafter.


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## salecker (Jan 7, 2021)

Case1030 said:


> Would be better off with 1500 gallon of storage using a retired propane tank and indoor downdrafter.


Thats what i have now at home.I have a new shop that i will be building,well actually a shop i will be building out of three metel buildings i moved on to the property for salvage.


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## hedge wood (Jan 8, 2021)

Just a quick up date. Silicone it holding so so losing about a half a gallon in 24 hours. Called Garn no one answers the phone any more just got voice mail. See if I get a call back?


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## Case1030 (Jan 8, 2021)

This stuff works great. A stud on the track punctured my snowmobile tunnel causing a coolant leak 4 years ago. This stuff fixed it even with coolant leaking out. Still holding to this date.


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## hedge wood (Jan 13, 2021)

Just quick up date. Silicone is still holding so so. Losing about half a gallon in 24 hours. Haven't got a call back from Garn.  Just called again no one answering the phone so left another voice mail.


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## maple1 (Jan 13, 2021)

Maybe try an epoxy of some kind?

Well, then there's that Flex Seal Phil guy from TV and his assorted miracle stuffs...


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## E Yoder (Jan 13, 2021)

hedge wood said:


> Just quick up date. Silicone is still holding so so. Losing about half a gallon in 24 hours. Haven't got a call back from Garn.  Just called again no one answering the phone so left another voice mail.


If you inquire about buying one would you get a call? That's weird.


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## hedge wood (Jan 13, 2021)

maple1 said:


> Maybe try an epoxy of some kind?
> 
> Well, then there's that Flex Seal Phil guy from TV and his assorted miracle stuffs...





E Yoder said:


> If you inquire about buying one would you get a call? That's weird.


I never have much luck with those miracle things.  I would wonder if I wanted to buy one if I would get a call back. Just seems strange no one answers the phone. No one in the office because of virus? Most company's have it ring to someones house or cell if no one is in. I do have some high heat JB weld setting in the wings if the leak gets worst. I just don't want to drain it down in the middle of winter unless I have to. I am surprised the silicone has been holding as well as it has.


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## Case1030 (Jan 13, 2021)

hedge wood said:


> I never have much luck with those miracle things.  I would wonder if I wanted to buy one if I would get a call back. Just seems strange no one answers the phone. No one in the office because of virus? Most company's have it ring to someones house or cell if no one is in. I do have some high heat JB weld setting in the wings if the leak gets worst. I just don't want to drain it down in the middle of winter unless I have to. I am surprised the silicone has been holding as well as it has.



If it gets any worse I'm very confident that steel weld I took a picture of will work. You knead it with your fingers starting a chemical reaction. It will set in minutes and moisture didn't affect the fix for my situation.

Edit: also it wouldn't hurt to give it a try mushing it around the existing silicone to the metal surface as a test.


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## sloeffle (Jan 14, 2021)

hedge wood said:


> Just quick up date. Silicone is still holding so so. Losing about half a gallon in 24 hours. Haven't got a call back from Garn.  Just called again no one answering the phone so left another voice mail.


I guess we all know who not to buy a unit from. It's pretty sad that they can't even answer their phone.


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## brenndatomu (Jan 14, 2021)

sloeffle said:


> I guess we all know who not to buy a unit from. It's pretty sad that they can't even answer their phone.


No doubt...even Yukon still answers their phones...and they have been reduced to selling  replacement parts to USA and furnaces to parts of Canada...


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## hedge wood (Jan 14, 2021)

Case1030 said:


> If it gets any worse I'm very confident that steel weld I took a picture of will work. You knead it with your fingers starting a chemical reaction. It will set in minutes and moisture didn't affect the fix for my situation.
> 
> Edit: also it wouldn't hurt to give it a try mushing it around the existing silicone to the metal surface as a test.


I am going to pickup some of the Permatex steel weld also to have on hand. The JB weld  high heat product I pickup looks very similar to the Permatex steel weld it just suppose to be for high heat locations. Were this leak is its getting 500-600 degrees when the burn is going. If I try the steel weld I will drain it down below the leak to give it a fighting chance. I sure didn't think with less than 9 heating seasons {with the first leak} I would be fighting leaks every couple years. This is a lot of extra time and money you sure are not planning on a long term investment. That's why I spend the extra money on this unit up front to keep from having these kind of issues. At the time I bought this one I could of spend  two thirds less on other units and they probably would have lasted as long as this one has. So if I make it to spring then what ? Last leak cost me three grand and that didn't count all the time involved in this process and propane I burned because of the down time. How many more three grands do you spend before enough is enough? Looking for ideas.


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## Highbeam (Jan 14, 2021)

brenndatomu said:


> No doubt...even Yukon still answers their phones...and they have been reduced to selling  replacement parts to USA and furnaces to parts of Canada...



That’s “crappie”!


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## Case1030 (Jan 14, 2021)

hedge wood said:


> I am going to pickup some of the Permatex steel weld also to have on hand. The JB weld  high heat product I pickup looks very similar to the Permatex steel weld it just suppose to be for high heat locations. Were this leak is its getting 500-600 degrees when the burn is going. If I try the steel weld I will drain it down below the leak to give it a fighting chance. I sure didn't think with less than 9 heating seasons {with the first leak} I would be fighting leaks every couple years. This is a lot of extra time and money you sure are not planning on a long term investment. That's why I spend the extra money on this unit up front to keep from having these kind of issues. At the time I bought this one I could of spend  two thirds less on other units and they probably would have lasted as long as this one has. So if I make it to spring then what ? Last leak cost me three grand and that didn't count all the time involved in this process and propane I burned because of the down time. How many more three grands do you spend before enough is enough? Looking for ideas.



I took a snapshot of the instructions. Its only rated for upto 250f constant and 300f intermittent. 

500-600f will be to hot for this product.


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## hedge wood (Jan 14, 2021)

Case1030 said:


> I took a snapshot of the instructions. Its only rated for upto 250f constant and 300f intermittent.
> 
> 500-600f will be to hot for this product.


Thanks for the information. Sounds like I better pass on the Permatex steel weld. I will keep the JB weld high heat handy if needed.


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## gfirkus (Jan 14, 2021)

Belzona makes a high temp version. Top of the line stuff. Drill a hole at each end of crack  and bevel crack a bit to get more surface area to adhere to. If you have it welded again, be sure they are drilling a hole at the end of each crack, and try a pre/post heat . Bevel if it’s not getting full penetration.


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## hedge wood (Jan 15, 2021)

gfirkus said:


> Belzona makes a high temp version. Top of the line stuff. Drill a hole at each end of crack  and bevel crack a bit to get more surface area to adhere to. If you have it welded again, be sure they are drilling a hole at the end of each crack, and try a pre/post heat . Bevel if it’s not getting full penetration.


Looks like Belzona makes some nice products. This leak is no were near the location of the last leak. The welder that did the last repair did a excellent job. I hope I can get him back this spring when I drain it and try to repair it. Not ready to spend fifteen to twenty grand on a new boiler. I sure wish I wouldn't  bought this one but I drank the Koolaid on this deal. At eleven heating seasons I am no were near the break even point and at my age don't want to start with a new boiler.


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## E Yoder (Jan 15, 2021)

Pics?


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## hedge wood (Jan 15, 2021)

E Yoder said:


> Pics?


Not at this time. Its full of water and running so no pictures of the inside to see whats going on with the leak. We will try to get some posted this spring when we drain it and get inside.


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## Eureka (Jan 16, 2021)

One thing I’m wondering:  Is Garn a defunct company now?  What the hell is going on with that?  For how people on here drool over how great those things are, I sure have read a lot to the contrary over the years, especially considering the crazy amount of extra time, space, and money that must go into installing one.
Shame on them.  I don’t think enough attention is being paid to that part of this.


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## maple1 (Jan 16, 2021)

Eureka said:


> One thing I’m wondering:  Is Garn a defunct company now?  What the hell is going on with that?  For how people on here drool over how great those things are, I sure have read a lot to the contrary over the years, especially considering the crazy amount of extra cost and money that must go into installing one.
> Shame on them.  I don’t think enough attention is being paid to that part of this.



I dont recall hearing what the EPA stuff did to them. Didn't bother trying to find out tho either. I think this is the only one I've read about with leak issues. Did see a few posts about the anode rod thing the last couple few years. Wonder if there is some kind of imbalance in the fan stuff on this one that is making weird harmonics?


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## Eureka (Jan 16, 2021)

There’s some other leakers out there, although probably very rare.   I jump around too much to recall where I’ve seen others, but there was one on Craigslist for a while that had a similar story to this one, and I think they were just trying to get somebody to get the thing out of there for free.  If I remember right, they referenced Garn being of zero help to them as well. 

Like with anything, the ‘complaint box’ that is the internet amplifies the negatives and muffles the positives, so my opinion is worth what it cost.

Considering the rarity of leaks, I’d almost expect Garn to do more to help.


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## hedge wood (Jan 16, 2021)

Another up date. After several calls and a email Garn finally called back. They are still in business. Nothing has changed from the first leak two years ago I am on my own. During our talk on the phone I did learn one thing about their manufacturing process that I didn't know and   if I would have when I bought it in 20 09 I wouldn't have own a Garn. Its like all products do the most research you can before you lay your money down. Of course all of this is my opinion and you get what your paid for it.


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## Eureka (Jan 16, 2021)

Hopefully they see this.


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## Grigg (Jan 20, 2021)

hedge wood said:


> ...I did learn one thing about their manufacturing process that I didn't know ...


What did you learn?


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## hedge wood (Feb 11, 2021)

Just a quick up date. 2/10/21. My high temp silicone fix failed during a full tilt burn. The silicone lifted off during a burn cycle and I had water shooting out of the leak on the blower housing. I let the three hour burn finish. Wire brush off the leaking area and used some more plumber putty first to slow the leak to a seep and put more high temp silicone back over the leaking area. This AM the leaking area is dry. Hope it holds for a while as we have minus zero nights and zero days coming for close to the a week. I sure don't want to have to drain it down right now to try some JB weld high heat on it.


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## brenndatomu (Feb 11, 2021)

Not sure where this leak is...probably in some hard to access corner if I had to guess...but I'm wondering about a longer term repair...something like a sheet of HT silicone, smeared with some HT silicone sealer, and then rare earth magnets on top to really hold it all in place.
Look up "magnetic masking for powder coating" for more ideas...


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## hedge wood (Feb 11, 2021)

brenndatomu said:


> Not sure where this leak is...probably in some hard to access corner if I had to guess...but I'm wondering about a longer term repair...something like a sheet of HT silicone, smeared with some HT silicone sealer, and then rare earth magnets on top to really hold it all in place.
> Look up "magnetic masking for powder coating" for more ideas...


All some good ideas but it is in a a hard to access corner on a curve that gets very hot when you running a burn cycle. The next time this weather breaks if I can make it that far I will drain probably a thousand gallons of water out of it to get down below the leak and wire brush it and sand it good and try some JB weld high heat epoxy on it. Its tough to get any thing to stick when you have water leaking out.


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## brenndatomu (Feb 11, 2021)

hedge wood said:


> Its tough to get any thing to stick when you have water leaking out.


Could you pull a vacuum on it to prevent this?


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## hedge wood (Feb 11, 2021)

brenndatomu said:


> Could you pull a vacuum on it to prevent this?


It would be tough to do that on this. I have done that on big refrigeration systems when we were having issues with the solder pulling in the joints and it worked very well.


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## salecker (Feb 11, 2021)

How about welding it on the outside temperaly till summer comes and you can decide on fixing it on the inside or replace with an alternate heating source/boiler.It might not be the prettiest weld to get the leak fixed on the outside,but you would be able to finish off the season with piece of mind that a patch isn't going to fall off.


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## hedge wood (Feb 11, 2021)

salecker said:


> How about welding it on the outside temperaly till summer comes and you can decide on fixing it on the inside or replace with an alternate heating source/boiler.It might not be the prettiest weld to get the leak fixed on the outside,but you would be able to finish off the season with piece of mind that a patch isn't going to fall off.


If we get to the point of draining it down we may try welding it on the outside but the blower unit is pretty close to were its leaking. I am a little concerned without  knowing what's going on inside, if welding is a good idea might end up with a big hole and no way to get back running till spring other than completely draining and going inside and seeing if it can be patched. I would really like to get to April before I drain it completely .


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## brenndatomu (Feb 11, 2021)

I would think, and this is obviously without being there, or even seeing the area you are working with, but I would think you could take a piece of thin sheet metal (28-30 GA, like ductwork metal) and cut/form it to fit the area, then if the leak can be more or less stopped using some putty, (JB Water Weld?) a generous application of HT silicone to the whole piece of metal, and to the area it will cover, would make for a durable patch until spring...could be held in place with strong magnets until silicone cures.
Kind of like a redneck version of this tank repair...


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## hedge wood (Feb 11, 2021)

I might try some sheet metal next time. The problem last night when the last patch came off and water was pouring out water temp was about 170 and the exhaust was running about 500 so things got interesting real quick. The heat of the exhaust is the real issue with getting things to last. Last patch made it almost two months so not bad.


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## brenndatomu (Feb 11, 2021)

Have a pic of the area where you are doing this temporary patching?


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## hedge wood (Feb 11, 2021)

brenndatomu said:


> Have a pic of the area where you are doing this temporary patching?


I don't I give up my high tech phone three years ago when I took my early retirement from my town job to come home to farm. Some days I miss it most I don't. Probably need to buy a cheap camera so I could post some.


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## slowzuki (Feb 12, 2021)

It sounds like a shop vac on the tank, a set of die grinder bits and a few welding rods bent to reach the hole would have this semi-permanently sorted out in an hour rather than messing with patches.


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## chew72 (Feb 12, 2021)

I'll preface this by saying I am not a welder. But if the water level was drained down, and this is a pinhole leak, or perhaps a crack. Could you Tig over the existing weld only adding a little filler rod if needed? 
Again I'm not a welder but with the existing crack, moisture / corrosion may cause issues with contaminating the weld. I'd be curious if anyone has some thoughts on this.


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## hedge wood (Feb 12, 2021)

slowzuki said:


> It sounds like a shop vac on the tank, a set of die grinder bits and a few welding rods bent to reach the hole would have this semi-permanently sorted out in an hour rather than messing with patches.


These Garns have a very large man way so getting a shop vac to help would be a problem. Need to drain it below the leak to try to weld it from the outside. 



chew72 said:


> I'll preface this by saying I am not a welder. But if the water level was drained down, and this is a pinhole leak, or perhaps a crack. Could you Tig over the existing weld only adding a little filler rod if needed?
> Again I'm not a welder but with the existing crack, moisture / corrosion may cause issues with contaminating the weld. I'd be curious if anyone has some thoughts on this.


If it wasn't sub zero temps I would drain it down past the leak and try to weld it from the outside for a temp fix and then drain it all the way in the spring and see if it can be welded from the inside were the factory weld has probably failed.  The only reason I am using silicone is to try to keep it running until this weather breaks and warms back up some.


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## moresnow (Feb 12, 2021)

Take a look at this. I have a buddy who swears by it. Sticks well to about anything. Read the description of its thermal expansion and temp capabilities. I believe it can be purchased at any auto parts joint. I know NAPA has it. Possibility?

Loctite 40480 Ready Gasket - Gasket Maker 190mL Aerosol Can [LOC-40480] : Gasketing - $18.36 EMI Supply, Inc


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## hedge wood (Feb 12, 2021)

moresnow said:


> Take a look at this. I have a buddy who swears by it. Sticks well to about anything. Read the description of its thermal expansion and temp capabilities. I believe it can be purchased at any auto parts joint. I know NAPA has it. Possibility?
> 
> Loctite 40480 Ready Gasket - Gasket Maker 190mL Aerosol Can [LOC-40480] : Gasketing - $18.36 EMI Supply, Inc


That is some good product. Used some of that years ago on plastic valve covers and plastic oil pans. Kind forgot about it.


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## shawntitan (Feb 12, 2021)

hedge wood said:


> Way north of ten grand. Eleven years ago I put $30,000 in system to get it up and running. Spray foaming was the only thing I hired done. Two years ago when it leaked the first time I called them and there office jockey said the owner will call me it took three weeks for him to call me back. I got no help from him. They wouldn't even giving me a discount on any parts I needed from them like gaskets. Last time it leaked it took three months from shut down to back up and running. Took a lot of time to clean it and find and schedule a welder to do the work. Most welders I called wouldn't even come look at it. By the time I got back up and running I spent $3,000 on the repairs. That didn't include the propane I had to buy to get my by. The cost of ownership has been quiet high. For a piece of equipment that's suppose to last 25-30 years I am not doing so well. I hope I can limp it along until spring don't want to have to buy $1,000 dollars of propane to get to spring when the wood is already put up.


This is heartbreaking news... A Garn was always my dream set up. So sorry about what you’re going through.


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## salecker (Feb 13, 2021)

hedge wood said:


> These Garns have a very large man way so getting a shop vac to help would be a problem. Need to drain it below the leak to try to weld it from the outside.


A good welder wouldn't need it drained,i watched a guy weld up a leaking water tank on a semi while it was full and leaking,fixed a few cracks with leaks that day. It was my Dad. He was a welder for years in the shipyards in Seattle in the 60's


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## SpaceBus (Feb 13, 2021)

It would probably be more expensive to pay an underwater welder to fix it. Also probably short on underwater welders in NE.


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## brenndatomu (Feb 13, 2021)

I don't think anybody is going inside this thing to fix it while it's still full...


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## hedge wood (Feb 13, 2021)

SpaceBus said:


> It would probably be more expensive to pay an underwater welder to fix it. Also probably short on underwater welders in NE.
> [/QUOTE
> Not many under water welders in NE. Years ago I took some college courses with a guy that said he was a under water welder. I didn't ever see his paper work.
> 
> ...


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## salecker (Feb 14, 2021)

SpaceBus said:


> It would probably be more expensive to pay an underwater welder to fix it. Also probably short on underwater welders in NE.


He was on the outside of the tank,no underwater requirements.


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## cumminstinkerer (Feb 15, 2021)

@hedge wood The offer stands, well minus the next couple of days, stay in touch.


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## hedge wood (May 17, 2021)

I first want to start off by thanking Cumminstinkerer for offering  himself and his buddy to drive three hours over to my place and try a temp weld. My temporary fix failed in FEB and flooded the Garn barn one night. We were in that sub zero time frame so I just drained it out completely and went over to propane and electric. Put a electric milk house heater in the Garn barn to keep pumps and heat exchanger's from freezing. Got unlucky and had to buy some $2.50  a gallon propane. It finally warmed up and welder came to look at it. One of the welds on the blower box had failed. He put me on his schedule and got here last Tue. He did over lay the top of the box were the weld failed he felt it needed it to make a better connection to the front of the tank. He also welded the box out side as well. All in all he was here about four hours and the bill for the materials and labor was six hundred dollars.  I felt that was very cheap.  I was planning on a thousand. My cleaning guy came out Sat and cleaned it. I filled it Sat night no leaks. Burned three loads Sun to get to temp. Got pumps back going and heating house a little and domestic water again.  Planning of putting cleaning chemicals in Wed and draining Fri afternoon and cleaning guy coming Fri evening to power wash again and then I will fill Friday night and put the twelve gallon of chemical in and run it a few weeks watch my filter and send a sample to the water guy and see were we are out. Chemical guy did feel sorry for me so he gave me a discount on the chemicals. I am at about fifteen hundred dollars on this leak not  counting my time or the cleaning guys time or the eight hundred dollars of power and propane I used to get to spring.


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## cumminstinkerer (May 17, 2021)

@hedge wood you are most welcome, glad it worked out a little cheaper than you were thinking for the weld. hopefully all is well now and it holds up for long time


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## hedge wood (May 25, 2022)

Just a quick update. Today is the one year anniversary since I started the Garn back up from the last leak repair. Was a mild winter around here probably in the 10 cord range for wood this last year. I do burn year around for domestic.  Hoping no more cracked welds, leaks on the horizon. Hope everyone has a good summer.


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