Gas Safety Week Boiler Case Study: Split Sump

A split that starts as a hairline crack

The second case study we have created for Gas Safety Week 2021 looks at what can happen when a sump starts to split. What starts out as a hairline crack can become a much greater issue if it's not discovered soon enough. The sump in a boiler is there to collect flue gas and the liquid condensate that all condensing boilers produce. If it cracks or splits, it needs to be addressed.

Gas Safety Week Case study #2

In this case study we take a look at a customer’s boiler with a split sump.

The Issue

You can see from the photo that there is visible damage to the sump; the white residue, which is from the product of combustion condensate, that has leaked out and the resulting rust and corrosion on the chassis. This is a result of a split in the sump. This usually starts as a hairline crack and, if left, will go on to develop into a crack, as this one has.

Photo: Split sump showing white residue and resulting rust and corrosion

Why had this happened?

This can happen over time with general wear and tear and certain boilers seem more prone to it than others. There’s nothing you can necessarily do to prevent it however, had it been spotted earlier at the stage of the hairline crack, it could have been dealt with before the corrosion of other parts had taken place.

Remedial work required

The sump had to be replaced in this boiler. Luckily on this occasion we caught it just in time. If left any longer the corrosion would have damaged the chassis resulting in the entire boiler needing to be replaced.

Avoiding this issue

This is another example of a fault that could have been flagged much earlier, had regular services been performed on the boiler.

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To book your boiler service call 0333 577 0151.