Garn Leaking water again.

[hedge wood]

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 .

 

[brenndatomu]

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...

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[hedge wood]

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.

 

[brenndatomu]

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

 

[hedge wood]

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.

 

[slowzuki]

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.

 

[chew72]

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.

 

[hedge wood]

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.

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.

 

[moresnow]

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

 

[hedge wood]

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.

 

[shawntitan]

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.

 

[salecker]

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

 

[SpaceBus]

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

 

[brenndatomu]

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

 

[hedge wood]

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.

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

I had a hard enough time two years ago with the last leak just to find a welder that would come out to the farm and work inside the Garn
with it empty and clean.Their's so much work in the city for the trades no one has to come to the country to work.

 

[salecker]

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.

 

[cumminstinkerer]

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

 

[hedge wood]

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.

 

[cumminstinkerer]

@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

 

[hedge wood]

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.

 

[hedge wood]

Just a quick update. Today is the two year anniversary since I started the Garn up after the last leak repair. It was another mild winter and probably only burned 10 cord again. Still burning year around for domestic. Got the spring news letter from Garn a while back looks like Martin is retiring and going to try to sell Garn the company. Parts may be come a issue. Probably going to buy some gaskets to have around. Hope every has a good summer.

 

[Woodfarmer1]

Mine leaked as well. Many holes right through the bottom in 5 years and Garn would do nothing!

 

[mynx]

Mine leaked as well. Many holes right through the bottom in 5 years and Garn would do nothing!

How did you deal with it? My repair has held up well. I test the water regularly and installed a filter loop after the first filter element, i have not had to change it, using pre-filter pressure (3-5 psi) as an indicator

 

[Woodfarmer1]

I installed the BS filter the year before it leaked. There is an almost 2 foot square patch on the bottom where the water return is at the front of the boiler that was epoxy painted. That was the only spot that didn’t leak.
I had a very experienced welder put new steel in the bottom and up the sides. He said that they should have used carbon steel instead of milled. He couldn’t believe how thin it was either.

 

[Woodfarmer1]

And on top of it all, my control quit a year ago and it won’t cycle on or off.