The longer you live in your home, the more you get to know the “personality” of the place. The different creaking’s and banging’s.

For instance, there is the heating system; I have a one pipe steam system, over the years you get use to its noises, bangs and whistles, actually they become comforting, “heats on!” as my daughter would say. Recently my wife and I noticed that the boiler auto feeder(which fills water automatically as needed) was going on much too often, DON’T IGNORE THIS SOUND! It could mean that you have a leak in the system, here are some possibilities: 1. a leak in feed or return line, even one going underground. 2. Clogged lines trapping water and keeping it from returning to the boiler. 3. Faulty steam air vents leaking out. 4. A crack or leak in actual boiler itself. (This is not an exhaustive list)

   As you can tell, I saved the worst for last, a cracked or leaking boiler.

        Guess which one this ole plumber found? Right #4! I actually took off the top casing of the boiler and found a nickel sized hole in the cast iron. Ready for a laugh? I was able to repair it with a bolt and gaskets used to hold a toilet tank to the bowl! Of course I will replace the 24 year old boiler, but maybe in the spring… I was certainly educated in how my customers feel when their faced with a big ticket item out of nowhere…

                            Thanks, JJ