Stevedore
New Member
(I posted this question on another forum, but have received no responses thus far. My apologies if you're reading it again...)
We have a gas fired hot water baseboard heating system which is about 8 years old, & working fine. I noticed recently that one of the water connections to the boiler is quite rusty & has a small dripping leak. The connection is between the copper circulation piping & the boiler's iron pipe, on the water return side.
From a little internet reading, I'm guessing that the leaky coupling is a dielectric union. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.) If I'm correct, it appears that these couplings have a gasket or washer inside separating the copper side from the iron side. While replacing this coupling is within my abilities (I think!), it looks like it would be quite a job. The 2 sides would have to be separated with enough distance to allow both the threaded piece & sweated piece to be removed. Am I missing something, or would I have to separate all of the plumbing & vent connections to allow shifting the whole boiler sufficiently to provide the space I'd need? I attached pics of the leaking coupling (lower) & a larger view. There's a similar coupling on the hot (upper) pipe, which shows no sign of leaking.
Alternatively, is it possible to replace the sealing washer/gasket alone, or is that not a good idea? It seems like that could be done without moving the boiler.
Assuming the leak gets no worse, I plan to address this after the heating season. It currently leaks about 2 drips/day.
Thanks for any thoughts/suggestions.
We have a gas fired hot water baseboard heating system which is about 8 years old, & working fine. I noticed recently that one of the water connections to the boiler is quite rusty & has a small dripping leak. The connection is between the copper circulation piping & the boiler's iron pipe, on the water return side.
From a little internet reading, I'm guessing that the leaky coupling is a dielectric union. (Please correct me if I'm wrong.) If I'm correct, it appears that these couplings have a gasket or washer inside separating the copper side from the iron side. While replacing this coupling is within my abilities (I think!), it looks like it would be quite a job. The 2 sides would have to be separated with enough distance to allow both the threaded piece & sweated piece to be removed. Am I missing something, or would I have to separate all of the plumbing & vent connections to allow shifting the whole boiler sufficiently to provide the space I'd need? I attached pics of the leaking coupling (lower) & a larger view. There's a similar coupling on the hot (upper) pipe, which shows no sign of leaking.
Alternatively, is it possible to replace the sealing washer/gasket alone, or is that not a good idea? It seems like that could be done without moving the boiler.
Assuming the leak gets no worse, I plan to address this after the heating season. It currently leaks about 2 drips/day.
Thanks for any thoughts/suggestions.