Failed Amtrol Extrol EX-30 < 6 Mos!

 
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Post by mikeandgerry » Sat. Apr. 05, 2014 12:22 am

I added a second Amtrol Extrol EX-30 on my system because it really didn't have enough expansion capacity per the engineering equations and boiler experts on this forum (although I never had trouble in six years of operation with the original EX-30 which is still operating). I was inspecting the boiler as I do every week and I noticed a streak of dirt from a dried water drip on the tank. I looked up to see if a valve or pipe had dripped on the tank from overhead. There was no leak overhead. I took a cloth and began to wipe the streak away and, to my surprise, the tank began pissing at me!

The tank was purchased new online but I don't recall where so I doubt I'll be able to claim it. Besides, I repaired it temporarily with a boiler plug until I can pick up a new one tomorrow at the local supply house.

Anyone have any experience with failures in such a short time frame? I keep my boiler water treated to a pH in the range of 9-9.5 though I haven't checked it in a while and I have added make up water due to leaks and repairs. I don't think acid water rotted it. I use a nitrite-borax system so I don't think it rusted in that short a time frame. Nothing else is rusting. My boiler water isn't orange. It is black with magnatite which is what it's supposed to be.

I guess I just got a bum tank.


 
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Post by Rob R. » Sat. Apr. 05, 2014 6:18 am

Post by Rob R. - Midweek Repair

I had two fail, one year apart.

 
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Post by plumber » Sat. Apr. 05, 2014 9:04 am

Amtrol has had some major quality control issues for quite some time. Kind of a shame for me as they're a local company and I have friends that work there. Their commercial products are still OK, but their residential products are pretty much junk. I'd suggest Watts for smaller expansion tanks.

 
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Post by whistlenut » Sat. Apr. 05, 2014 1:15 pm

Don't just stop purchasing them, write the company about your concerns. I've replaced many as well, but all over 2 years old. Let the supply house know immediately, perhaps they will work with you. Good thing they don't make condoms, I guess.

 
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Post by mikeandgerry » Sat. Apr. 05, 2014 4:06 pm

whistlenut wrote:Don't just stop purchasing them, write the company about your concerns. I've replaced many as well, but all over 2 years old. Let the supply house know immediately, perhaps they will work with you. Good thing they don't make condoms, I guess.
Will do. And thanks for the pointer! Pun intended!

 
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Post by mikeandgerry » Sat. Apr. 05, 2014 4:07 pm

Rob R. wrote: I had two fail, one year apart.
Yep, that's what mine looks like. What a bunch of crap.

 
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Post by plumber » Sat. Apr. 05, 2014 6:10 pm

whistlenut wrote:Don't just stop purchasing them, write the company about your concerns. I've replaced many as well, but all over 2 years old. Let the supply house know immediately, perhaps they will work with you. Good thing they don't make condoms, I guess.
Been there and done that with Amtrol. Their customer service is worse than their quality control. They are refusing to honor their warranties and on units they would, they demanded I ship them the defective units for inspection before replacement. Last one took 6 months. I had 3 boiler mates that leaked right out of the box. They made me ship them, wouldn't let me drop them off. So I now have 3 warranty replacements in my garage because of the turn around time I had to eat the replacement for my customers. No offer of refund, they wanted my customers to be without hot water for 6 months. I'm watts and Taco only now.


 
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Post by mikeandgerry » Wed. Apr. 09, 2014 2:20 pm

Given your responses about your experience with failures, reading some not-so-good-comments online elsewhere, and speaking with my plumber customers, I'd say Amtrol has a quality control issue with their residential expansion tanks that they aren't recognizing.

I took Whistlenut's advice and posted an online complaint with Amtrol, Inc. and with the Attorney General of Rhode Island, Mr. Kilmartin, where Amtrol is headquartered. I told the story to each entity but raised the possibility to the AG's office that this safety control is sub-standard in its quality. The AG's office expects a follow up from me on how it was handled by Amtrol.

I got a phone call, which I missed, from the Director of Marketing, Residential, at Amtrol, Ken Cerpowicz, who left a voice message that I have transcribed word-for-word here:
"Hello, Mr Westbrook, this is Ken Cerpowicz with Amtrol. I am making this call in response to a complaint you submitted. Just a couple of questions or things we'd like to clear up...um...first the pinhole through that expansion tank is a...is a certain indicator--uh, incontrovertible--that there is some oxygen in your system causing it to corrode from the inside out. And, we can help you remedy that...we can help you identify where that is coming from and fix it before the current unit has a repeat failure. I'd also like to state that this does have a 5 year warranty, not a 1 year warranty...um, so if there is a defect that it would certainly be covered, um, and this is the kind of thing that we would bring back for inspection. Ah, as you know, the Watts that you put in is made in Taiwan--ours is made right here in the northeast, and we'd be happy to pull it into the lab, cut it open and share what we found. So, hey, this is the sixtieth anniversary of the first diaphragm expansion tank, i.e. Extrol. We still enjoy a majority market share and have always stood behind our product and will continue to do so. If you have any questions and would like to get in touch with me on this subject, give me a shout: (401) 535-1418. We can probably do a lot more here than Mr. Kilmartin, uh, as he is not much of a plumber!
--Ken Cerpowicz 4-8-14 message left on my cell phone

Personally, I don't like corporate zipperheads. So, my response was probably too harsh. My family has been screwed over by large corporations for so much money through lost pensions and failed agreements that I have no use for their executives. I find them all to be near psychopaths. I say that even though I have defended the "corporation as an entity" in the political section of this forum, but that is another argument for another day. At any rate, my written response to Ken Cerpowicz at Amtrol is here:
Ken,

I received your voicemail and was unable to reach you at 3:45 today when I called back. I appreciated your quick response.

I have elected to install a competitor’s product because I have already determined the cause of the deficiency to be inferior quality sheet metal. Quite frankly, even if I were unsure, there is no time to waste determining cause during the heating season of upstate NY, and there is certainly no point in taking risk when all reliable testimony of local heating experts point to your product’s tendency to failure.

The information you did not have in my complaint is that I also have ANOTHER Amtrol EX-30 on the SAME system that has been in service for seven years without incident. You were also not aware that the hydronic water is treated to impede internal corrosion with no other instances of face metal failure or corrosion on ferrous or copper parts.

You chose to ignore that I have a network of plumbing and heating installer friends, three of whom experienced the exact same pin holes on EX-30’s and EX-60’s in less than two years of service in all cases. In other words, my case is not an isolated event.

What I didn’t appreciate from your voice mail was corporate hype and arrogance. Implying that all Taiwanese factories make junk when indeed most US hard manufacturing skill has been lost to them over the last decades, and they continue to meet or exceed ISO standards, is rather cavalier. Implying that the anniversary of the bladder tank has any bearing on this issue is irrelevant. Implying that oxygenation from my boiler is the only possible cause of metal failure in your tank is irresponsible. If you are so sure, why bother to ask to examine the tank? (If you really want to find out what’s wrong with your tanks, cut open a few “new” ones and X-ray the sheet metal.)

Instructing me on the length your warranty being five years, not one year, was informative, however it was also irrelevant as the unit in question failed after 6 months of use. I’ll assume you were being instructive and not failing to understand the details of the severity of my problem.

And finally, your glib response concerning the Attorney General of Rhode Island, Mr. Kilmartin, not being an expert in plumbing was really quite sophomoric and indicative that you don’t take this matter seriously.

To be fair, I am sure Watts has their own arrogant corporate defenders, but wouldn’t it be refreshing if you could just be humble and inquire before you defend? You might have saved yourself a customer through exemplary service rather than given me the bitter aftertaste of an arrogant marketer.

I will be passing this and a transcript of your voice mail to my network of plumbing and heating friends and AG Mr. Kilmartin, as they have requested.

Let me be clear. I don’t want my money back. I don’t want another tank. I want you, as a corporation, to honestly examine the extent of your quality problem. Judging from your reply, I am certain you won’t be able to do that.

Have a nice day.

Mike

 
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Post by McGiever » Wed. Apr. 09, 2014 5:01 pm

Look's like they [Amtrol] are not concerned enough to advert the beginings of self destruction.
Unable to see the forest for all of the trees. :P

I smell a bean-counter. :roll:

 
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Post by whistlenut » Thu. Apr. 10, 2014 10:50 am

Bring it into the lab.......dissect it! A-holes, a monkey can see what is wrong.....the steel failed. I have 17 of them lined up right now, waiting for trip to the tiny state. If they fail, we need an immediate response, not some sugar-coated response. How about YOU come to me, bring a small grinder, cut it open and see what happens next.......that does not require ANY fancy analytical report, just a suitable replacement. We all know damned well that they will want an 'inflation report' on maintained pressures in the expansion tanks; a detailed RECORDED backup of system temp extremes, 70 to 190 will NOT be the right answer........let them carry a half dozen 60 series out of the basements full of water due to liner failure. As many also know, well pressure tanks don't fair much better, and certainly high temps have nothing to do with internal failures. I laugh when we take a 60 year old galvie tank out from between the floor joists with 60 years of dust and NOT ONE LEAK.
Last edited by whistlenut on Fri. Apr. 11, 2014 12:06 am, edited 1 time in total.

 
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Post by ricoman2737 » Thu. Apr. 10, 2014 3:06 pm

Great responses Mike and Doug. I book marked this posting, waiting for future follow ups.

John

 
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Post by mikeandgerry » Mon. Apr. 14, 2014 11:45 pm

Received a letter, included here, from the Dept. of the Atty. Gen. of RI today. They are washing their hands of the matter based on the corporate response from Amtrol, also included here, which was basically a regurgitation of Mr. Cerpowicz' comments but they did manage to accuse me of slandering the company in my response to them, which I did not do. The Amtrol rep is confused.

Here is a transcript of the letter:
State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
Department of Attorney General
150 South Main St
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 274-4400
TDD (401)453-0410

Peter F. Kilmartin, Attorney General

April 11, 2014

Dear Mr. Westbrook:

Thank you for contacting the Consumer Protection Unit regarding your complaint against Amtrol, Inc. I have received a response from the business which I am enclosing for your review.

Please be assured that while the Consumer Protection Unit has done everything, as allowed under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, to resolve your complaint, we cannot pursue this matter any further.

Upon reviewing the facts of the situation, a private attorney will be in the best position to advise you with respect to potential legal remedies. If you need assistance locating an attorney, the Rhode Island Bar Association has a Lawyer Referral Service that will refer you to competent and reliable attorneys. For further information regarding this program, please contact the Lawyer Referral Service by telephone at (401) 421-7799. You may also consider filing a complaint with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, Maryland 20814. The telephone number for that agency is (800) 638-2772.

If you have any questions or I may be of further assistance, I can be reached at (401) 274-4400, ext. 2254.

Sincerely,

/s/
Charles Fish
Investigator
Consumer Protection Unit
And the letter from Amtrol to Mr. Charles Fish:
Amtrol

April 10, 2014

Charles Fish
Investigator
Consumer Protection Unit
Department of Attorney General
150 South Main Street
Providence, RI 02903

Re: Michael Westbrook Complaint

Dear Mr. Fish:

I am in receipt of your April 8, 2014 letter forwarding a complaint received from Michael Westbrook.

Based on our 60 years of experience manufacturing this product, failures of the nature described by Mr. Westbrook are always due to oxygen in the system causing it to corrode from the inside out. Without the benefit of knowing the dated code on the unit to confirm its age or knowing the details of the installation to ensure it was properly installed and sized for this application, we are unable to assist with determining the source of the problem in order to prevent future failures.

We have responded to Mr. Westbrook in an attempt to assist him with troubleshooting the problem, a copy of the exchange is attached for your reference. As you can see by his response, he is more interested in slandering a reputable company alleging unfounded quality issues with the product rather than trying to resolve the problem to prevent future failures. AMTROL sells millions of these units yearly and have a less than 1% warranty rate, having three individuals in his network of plumbing and heating installer friends who experienced the same problem does not constitute a widespread quality issue but rather a small percentage of coal burning homeowners who may be experiencing the same issue.

He states that he treats the boiler water for pH, uses a nitrite-borax additive and adds make up water due to leaks and repairs. This additive is an attempt to condition water. However, it creates and electrolyte solution that can cause corrosion. Leaking and subsequent fresh water make-up introduces oxygen into the system and without proper air elimination will cause corrosion. His boiler water is black with magnetite which is iron oxide and evidence of corrosion.

It appears that Mr. Westbrook purchased the unit from an unknown sources online, sized, installed and maintains the unit himself. We do not know his qualifications but for the safety of the consumer, we do require that the unit be installed and maintained by a qualified licensed professional.

If you have any questions, I am available at your convenience to discuss further. Thank you for your assistance.

Best regards,

/s/
Lynn A. Taylor
Manager, Legal and
Warranty Administration

/lat
Enclosures
The enclosures were posts from this thread, specifically the first, seventh, and eighth, and the Amtrol instructions for installing an Extrol expansion tank.

My rebuttal:

1. The issue is steel quality, or sufficiency, in their current units vs previously manufactured units. There is NO DATE CODE ON THE TANK that is identified by the words "date code" or "date of mfr". The old one does have a "date code" on the paper label identified by those words. The new tank has a painted logo/label. The old one is still installed on the same system, operating fine, not leaking, indicating that either a) there is no significant oxygen problem in my system or b) if there is an oxygen problem, the quality or sufficiency of their steel has declined substantially since the older tank was purchased in 2007 and all of the professional people I know have had similar issues with the tank in recent years. That is not a coincidence. Ms. Taylor writes her "unfounded quality issues" paragraph with boundless confidence as if they could not possibly be wrong, and, in fact, they cannot be anything but wrong, one way or another: either the oxygen is nil and the tank steel is poor, or the oxygen is high and the tank steel is still poor! She has stated that it is incontrovertibly oxygen in the system that caused the failure. I say the tank merely failed prematurely due to either poor quality steel or insufficient thickness. I have a working older Amtrol tank on the same system (a control group, as it were) to show the quality difference. She deflects the issue to oxygen in my boiler system. The issue is the unit failed long before its time due to poor steel quality or insufficiency in their current units vs previously manufactured units.

2. Amtrol's response was so much sophistry: Effectively, they said this: "Our tanks are infallible because we are the best because we invented the diaphragm tank sixty years ago and we sell millions of them. Because they are so good we have a five year warranty with a less than 1% rate of claim. Therefore, whatever your tank problem is, it is incontrovertibly your fault, Mr. Consumer. Send us the tank and we'll show you where you are wrong, and we will help you fix your imperfect system so that our perfect tank cannot be made to fail again."

3. The only reason this got my attention and action at all was the unanimous response of professionals. Interestingly enough, Amtrol makes the point that they want the unit installed by a professional plumber/heating contractor and inspected annually, ostensibly for their expert knowledge, however, they don't give a hoot about the professional plumbing/heating contractor's expert opinion when it comes to the quality of their product! That's quite a convenient and self-serving duality: The professional plumber knows exactly what he's doing--until he criticizes product, at which time he becomes an idiot, by corporate decree.

Amtrol believes that a consumer should ignore responses from three, four, or five professional plumbers and installers who ALL had negative commentary about the quality and longevity of a product? They think I should consider that anecdotal? I am sorry but: a) I cannot take the time or resources to do a formal survey and b) the unanimity of that small professional sample, independently derived, is telling. When these Amtrol folks go to the doctor and don't like the result or the opinion, how many other opinions do they get? So which is is? Are plumbers subject knowledgeable or are they idiots? Amtrol needs to make up their mind!

Furthermore, given the low cost of these items and the immediate need for their replacement when failed, plumbers will often just bill through to their customer a new unit, forgetting any warranty claim, or they "eat it". If they do seek a claim, they often seek reimbursement from their supplier. If the supplier is willing they may replace it. Suppliers and plumbing contractors don't like paperwork, so low costs are often "eaten" when the time and effort is worth more than the item. How do I know this? I am a retailer who eats low cost returns. Warranty claims at their end are just the tip of the iceberg.

4. Ms. Taylor is saying that because I said my boiler water was "black with magnetite" I must be experiencing caustic corrosion. That is an assumption on her part.

As for my boiler water treatment. Nitrite-Borax systems can be corrosive when two things occur: the nitrite concentrations fall below 600ppm and/or the pH falls below 8 or goes above 11. When installing the treatment, it is best to err on the side of over-saturation so that the abundance of nitrates will not fail to take up free oxygen ions from the make-up water or other sources.

Ms. Taylor was noting that I said my boiler water was "black with magnetite" which was iron oxide which is evidence of corrosion. That is both true and false depending on the circumstances. First, not being a good chemist and having a poor memory of the boiler chemistry applied, I may have mis-characterized the water as being "black with magnetite". It may just be dirty from my hundred year old boilers! But, nonetheless, magnetite is an iron oxide, but it is not a corrosive rust. It is a desirable protective layer that coats the inside of your iron and steel pipes and boiler. However, when that protective film is in a caustic environment, the dissolution and reforming causes caustic gouging. That is not a problem I am experiencing because 1) Sodium hydroxide is not present (caustic soda) because it is a poor pH buffer. I use a different and superior pH buffer. 2) free oxygen is picked up by the system water which is super-saturated with nitrites that readily accept those oxygen radicals. Ms. Taylor is saying that because I said my boiler water was "black with magnetite", I must be experiencing caustic corrosion. That is an assumption on her part. I am going to test my water for nitrite levels and pH and then send it out for iron analysis. I am quite certain that my 95 gallons of originally treated water, which was supplemented 100% with treatment two years later, taking nitrite levels to 1600ppm and pH to 10 could not be diluted down to sub-protective levels. It would mean that I have diluted the system with over 95 gallons of make up water (or drained 47 and added 47 fresh). It just didn't happen because it is done manually, not automatically. I am present for all additions of make up water. Since the boiler water is poisonous, and despite having backflow preventers installed, I keep two valves closed to isolate domestic water from boiler water.

Regardless, the water that was introduced to my boiler originally was well water containing some iron. I have 13 cast iron radiators. So iron is present. Magnetite forms in an oxygen free environment. My system is tight but not perfect. I do not have galvanic reaction leaks. I took care to use brass to separate iron and copper, or used dielectric fittings. I maintain 15psi which keeps oxygen dissolved. I have a Spirovent Junior air eliminator, mod. VJV125FT (the type for a vertical pipe) on the vertical pipe leaving the boiler. Following that, on a horizontal run is a Honeywell air scoop ( with mounted original Amtrol Ex-30, date code: 20021226306) and Cash Acme air vent. I bleed rad valves annually and after opening the system. (With the Spiro they never have any air in them. ) The point being that I keep oxygen eliminated both chemically and mechanically.

I am not a plumber nor a heating contractor, nor do I play one on TV, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night! But, I am a good student of math and science, a good reader and researcher (read some J. Siegenthaler PE), a "hardware" guy, I ask questions and seek advice, and I live in a county where I was not required to have a license to install a coal boiler but I did have to install according to code and have it inspected. I passed without any problems, installing the system, top to bottom: boiler, coal bin, piping, trims, radiation. (Chimney was contracted.)
________________________________________________________________________________

So, unless, the rest of you who have problems also complain, they win, because they know that no one is going to spend much time and energy on a $45 tank.

 
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Post by ricoman2737 » Tue. Apr. 15, 2014 6:22 am

Mike, you did a great effort here. If nothing else you brought attention to a product that needs fixing. John

 
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Post by 009to090 » Tue. Apr. 15, 2014 7:56 am

Does anyone make stainless steel or Fiberglass expansion tanks for boilers?
When our well pressure tank went, I installed a fiberglass tank. No steel to corrode :idea:
It doesn't even sweat in the summer.

So when our electric Hot water heater went, I did the same thing.... Installed a fiberglass unit. :idea:

Problems solved....

 
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Post by mikeandgerry » Tue. Apr. 15, 2014 2:40 pm

Well thanks, Ricoman, that was my original intent. Ms. Taylor of Amtrol thinks I am slandering the company but I am not and that was not my intent. My original intent was to express disappointment in a product my family has used and trusted since the 60s so that it could be improved. At first, I chalked it up to a bum tank, that is, a freak occurrence, until three of you chimed in on the same issue. Then I wrote to complain to Amtrol and the AG. I complained to the AG so as not to be ignored by the corporation. They took offense to that apparently. No matter. Their obtuse "it's always the customer's fault with oxygen-in-the-system" stance just doesn't always apply. It doesn't in my case, so I challenged them. They didn't like that and the AG sided with them because I am a hobbyist. Amtrol requires professionals to install and maintain these tanks but, interestingly, when it comes to the opinion of professionals on their product quality, they don't want to hear those same professionals! Go figure!

9-90: for a well system your suggestion is great. But the boiler system requires a metal tank rated for that purpose.

Writing a response to the AG's office. I think they were swayed by the polished response of a corporate lawyer without applying logic. What should I expect? Large corporations never think they make mistakes. Large government never thinks they make mistakes either!

Meanwhile, I will be checking my boiler water more effectively to see what the nitrite levels are with a new test kit and pH tester that I ordered to confirm my assertions. I will report back on whether or not my water is in a corrosive state. But, even if it is, the new tank is still inferior to the old tank, thus my original point of quality decline is still valid as is the assertion of the folks here. I am checking my water to maintain my system, not make a point. I already made the logical point.
Last edited by mikeandgerry on Tue. Apr. 15, 2014 2:47 pm, edited 2 times in total.


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