Tanks leaking.. Now what!?

[JP11]

Very much not happy with my welder this morning!

I had a little weep during filling. The fitting was easily accessable. No big deal. I figured the guy could come and grind, re-weld.. and done.

BUT!! I know we talked about him pressure testing the tanks. There's NO WAY he did it. Top fitting, up inside my rafters now.. It's a damn sprinkler head!

Steady stream of water. It couldn't be in a worse spot. As of now.. I don't think he can get in there to grind or weld. Most likely will have to drain, cut the pipes, and spin the tank so it can be fixed.

To say I'm a bit, unhappy, disguted, and distraught at this point would be an understatement.

JP

 

[woodsmaster]

Bummer, hope it's an easy fix for you.

 

[maple1]

At least it's not December.

 

[peakbagger]

Please dont take this the wrong way but If the tank is going to be for pressurized use, do you really want to trust a welder that has" flunked" two welds already?. Even if it happens to pressure test initially, if he used the wrong technique or got inclusions in his welds, as the tank cycles in temperature, leaks could return.

 

[JP11]

At least it's not December.

yeah.. gotta remind myself of that. That's why I decided to do it in spring. I'm not in a rush.

I talked to the welder. he lives close by. He's gonna come by and make a plan. As good as I can hope for at the moment.

Worst case.. I gotta cut 4 pipes, drain and spin the tanks so he can get at everything. Not the end of the world.

JP

 

[JP11]

Please dont take this the wrong way but If the tank is going to be for pressurized use, do you really want to trust a welder that has" flunked" two welds already?. Even if it happens to pressure test initially, if he used the wrong technique or got inclusions in his welds, as the tank cycles in temperature, leaks could return.

Fair enough. It's not a one guy shop. I would imagine.. in a big place that maybe they let "the kid" have a whack at it. I would imagine that since they have failed, and they have to go mobile into my home.. he'll fix me up now with someone he can count on. Like I said, he's my neighbor, in my snowmobile club, and his business is welding.

I'm pretty confident he'll make it right. We'll find out.

JP

 

[jebatty]

I also would be thinking about a price adjustment. I didn't pressure test the welds for the 2" fittings on my tank. The neighbor-welder was a pro, did welding on the 3000 psi pipes at the nuclear plant nearby. He laughed when I asked him if I needed to pressure test. I hope the fix works well for you.

 

[huffdawg]

What kind of fittings did you weld on?

 

[jebatty]

Welder furnished fittings - they were female/female couplings. I used the interior coupling for an supply extension horizontally into the tank to "shoot" the supply across the top of my horizontal tank. These both were installed into the rounded end of the tank. Welder used a hole saw to cut the holes, then welded in the couplings.

 

[stee6043]

Now might be a good time to pull out that home owners insurance policy and read all about types of claims for water damage and what "may not" qualify as covered under your policy.

I think we can safely assume your welders are not certifed. And this....this would not induce sound sleeping at my house.

 

[JP11]

Now might be a good time to pull out that home owners insurance policy and read all about types of claims for water damage and what "may not" qualify as covered under your policy.

I think we can safely assume your welders are not certifed. And this....this would not induce sound sleeping at my house.

I would hazard a guess that the one that did it wasn't.. but that the next guy to come fix it will be.

It's cement.. There's two 4" floor drains within 10 feet of the tanks. I'm not really worried about it. I had a garden hose attached 50psi. I had two weeping on one tank. One weep, and one leak on the other. I'm confident it will be fixed correctly.

JP

 

[JP11]

Guy has his tig welder set up inside my rafters. He's got 3 of the 4 leaks welded up now. The worst one is still giving him trouble. It's in an odd spot. But he claims no need to fully drain the tank or cut the plumbing.

Plumbers have finished expansion tanks.. and are about 3/4 done wiring. Will post pics tonight.

JP