Taylor stove leaking!!

[Scrapiron]

Just went out to check the OWB, and it was leaking water on the front door!

I loaded it this morning, water temp was 170, outside temp is 42, house temp is ~ 71.

I can't see where the leak is, there is a pool of water at the front bottom. I topped off the water and marked the water line on the tube. Don't tell me a weld went bad?!

I've had a similar issue with one of my outside facucets... mid-day it'll be leaking from the hose turn off "thing". The actual facuet doesn't work, so I've been using one of those nozzles that goes on the end of a hose to turn it off. Twice in the last week, I've gone out there and it's leaking. I've put two different ones on there. The faucet is covered by one of those winter foam things.

Are these two things related? It's going to be a long weekend if I need to get that water jacket repaired.

This isn't an old Taylor.. maybe 7-10 yrs old and under a pole barn. It appears that this has happened before by the rust stains on the bottom of the door.

Any help would be appreciative. I've called the previous owner to see if he has any ideas.

Thanks!

 

[mga]

I loaded it this morning, water temp was 170, outside temp is 42, house temp is ~ 71.

man....i wish it was 42*.

 

[Scrapiron]

Update

Well, after inspecting it as best we could (fire was roaring).. it appears the leak is somewhere on the bottom of the firebox... most likely a seam. There's about an inch of water in the firebox.

I think if I can find the leak, it should be a pretty easy weld job. At least the leak isn't in the middle of one of the tubes.

Consensus here is to keep running the stove till perhaps mid next week when I can get it cleaned out and dry. Supposed to be warmer then too. I'll just check the water level every 3-4 hours and top it off till then.

Anyone see an issue with that plan? The other option is to drain it now and fix, but my fear is that we're getting snow and low temps the next few days and I'm concerned the pipes to the house will freeze and bust (can't get all the water out and they're insulated poorly). I guess I'm trying to go with the lesser of two evils.

 

[dave_dj1]

nothing is gonna freeze at 42*
I say fix it ASAP, you may run the risk of something letting go all together and ruining the entire stove.

 

[Scrapiron]

Yeah, that's the current conversation. Tonight the low will be 29* with 1-3 inches of snow... lows till Weds are 20*. After that the high is expected to be 59* (low is 41*).

I may ask for some help and try to get it done tomorrow.

 

[ericjeeper]

find some "Liquid glass" pour it in and find the leak this summer.

 

[Scrapiron]

latest

I found the leak- back right corner on the floor of the fire chamber- not near a seam. The metal was thin in this area. Some friends came over and we welded the small hole. Filled it up, looked good, loaded it and 20 minutes later- a different leak!

This was in a different location and was larger. When we drained the tank (again), there were actually 3 new holes.

We laid down a bunch of welds and there is a slight trickle of a seep now after 14 hours. I'll live with that until I can get the whole floor replaced.

I may either cut out the current floor or just put a new piece of steel welded on top of the existing. This is a pretty young stove and we can't figure out why this section is weaker and thinner then the rest of the floor.

 

[1harlowr]

Warranty??

 

[7sleeper]

Warranty??

after

Just .. maybe 7-10 yrs old and under a pole barn. It appears that this has happened before by the rust stains on the bottom of the door.

Any help would be appreciative. I've called the previous owner to see if he has any ideas.

Thanks!

I dowbt that!

I believe you did the right thing at attending the problem right away! Welding in a large piece of steel sounds like the easiest way to solve this problem. I would consider putting firebrick on the floor on as much as possible. Steel is not supposed to be so resistant to coals, so having a protective layer is never a bad idea. I might even think about drilling a few holes in to the surounding area just to be sure about the situation of the rest of the floor. Welding them up is easy. You might consider doing some updates (secondary burn tubes, deflectors etc.) to it while having it open.

Good luck!

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[1harlowr]

yes a warranty after 7 years old and rusting out. Most warranty longer than that for the firebox from rusting. Even if it is a pro rated warranty it would be worth checking out.

Or you could just say "I dowbt that!" like 7sleeper and eat the cost. If it leaks 4 times in 7 years, I'm sure years 8-14 are going to be full of repairs.

Do yourself a favor, at least check on the warranty now before it's to late.

 

[7sleeper]

yes a warranty after 7 years old and rusting out. Most warranty longer than that for the firebox from rusting. Even if it is a pro rated warranty it would be worth checking out.

Or you could just say "I dowbt that!" like 7sleeper and eat the cost. If it leaks 4 times in 7 years, I'm sure years 8-14 are going to be full of repairs.

Do yourself a favor, at least check on the warranty now before it's to late.

I am sorry if it sounded like I am against checking your warrenty claims. I have no idea what type of warrenty are granted in the US. Here in Austria you seldom find warrenty exeeding 2 years.

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