Best Of
Re: Estimated life expectancy?
A 30 year old V7…….
I'd get it out of there when it's convenient. I wouldn't try to repair anything on it.

Re: Excessive Water Hammer / Knocking trying to find source
Pictures of the boiler showing the near boiler piping close and ten feet away at different angles should help.
The banging is most likely sags/low points in pipe allowing for steam and condensate to come in contact with one another. The radiator valves could also be a problem.
The valves could be damaged. Loose or missing discs could obstruct the flow of steam causing this noise.

Re: Excessive Water Hammer / Knocking trying to find source
the Hartford loop is done incorrectly, should have a close or shoulder nipple and come straight down then tie into the return, not across and behind the boiler.
There could be other reasons for your issues as well but I would definitely re do the loop correctly
Re: Excessive Water Hammer / Knocking trying to find source
just noticed the water on your site glass is also extremely dirty for a new install. Should definitely be flushed out and chemically treated with SurgeX or a similiar product
Could definitely be the cause of your issues with the extreme surging
Re: Excessive Water Hammer / Knocking trying to find source
Flush it. Give it a good thorough skim.

Re: Excessive Water Hammer / Knocking trying to find source
Yep. Flip the tee so the valve handle points out. Then if you unscrew the valve, you have a straight shot into the boiler.
Re: Burner technicians -what’s going on in this industry?
Trade unions have always been a liberal cornerstone. Has that changed?
Re: Estimated life expectancy?
Megasteam without a doubt……
Time to start sizing up everything.

Re: Gas hissing from water heater combustion air inlet area
Not necessarily a bad thing. It could just be the way the pilot light sounds. However, there could be a leak somewhere on the gas valve and or tubing feeding the burner/pilot light.
Spray this on the valve and tubing etc. to check for leaks.

Re: Excessive Water Hammer / Knocking trying to find source
Things to talk to the installer about:
need a new vent here
need a vent installed here, probably Gorton 1's in both places'
as @tcassano87 says, this copper connection should drop straight down to the wet return
your water quality is bad. Boiler needs to be flushed and skimmed some more.
id also flip this reducing tee so the drain cock aims into the boiler- makes flushing the mud leg easier.
lastly, they should check pitch on your lines to make sure there're no sags or pockets.