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[hondaracer2oo4]

I started up the boiler last night for the year and had a major problem over night. Woke up this morning to the temperature gauge in the house reading 60 degree boiler water. I figured that the low temp aquastat had shut down the blower when the temp dropped below 160 to save the coals. So I walk out to load up the boiler and to my surprise steam is coming out of the over flow! I opened up the back to find that the low water cut off( I just installed this this year) had cut off all power to the boiler, thank god! I looked in the top and the water was down to the water cut off but not leak on the back of the stove anywhere. So I went in the house into the basement. I quickly found that the crimp connection at the side arm had cracked in half and that is where all of the water had gone. Upon close inspection the Apollo brand 1 inch crimp had spider cracking all over it and had failed on one of those spider cracks. I quickly replaced the bad crimp, filled the boiler back up with water and got everything back to normal. I checked all of the other crimps and found only one other one with the same spider cracking on it and that was outside on the back of the stove( I replaced this one too). I have no idea what caused just these two crimps to fail like that. I used all of the same brand and they were all bought at the same time.  Anyone else have something like this happen? If not I would check your crimps. BTW I had ALOT of build up in the elbows when I opened up the crimps. Looks like calcuim/rust/iron. I do have bad water and have a water softener but apparently I am still getting build up in the lines. 

[mlappin]

I replaced a bunch of domestic water line in the basement, I used two crimp rings side by side on the one inch pex.

[RSI]

This was the crimp rings that failed or the fittings? Were they the black copper rings or the stainless cinch clamps?
Was the crimp tool calibrated properly when they were crimped?

[hondaracer2oo4]

They are the stainless cinch clamps. I am not aware of a calibration for this kind of clamp tool? The gap left after the clamp has been crimped looks right,.08 inches is what the clamp package says. Only two clamps out of probably close to 30 clamps in the whole system failed.

[RSI]

Did you use the Apollo cinch tool? They are adjustable. The only time I ever had the cinch clamps break was when using an Apollo tool that was set too tight.

[hondaracer2oo4]

I have to kobalt brand tool. It seems well made. Now by cracking and breaking do you mean that they broke when you tightened th clamp or later did the clamp spider crack and eventually fail? I'll have to take a pic and post it.

[RSI]

I am guessing the Kobalt tools were made by Apollo. I just did a search and what came up was adjustable.

I never looked close at the clamps for cracks. It didn't break the 1" but when I started using 1/2" clamps they all just broke right away. Yours is probably set a little tighter than the one I had if they 1" are failing.

Are your clamps Oetiker brand? They will say OET on them if they are.

[hondaracer2oo4]

I don't think that these cracked at the time these were applied. It looks like stress cracks from overheating but the other clamps all around both that failed. Yes they say oet on them.