steam boiler life expectancy

D-man

Is it common for a steam boiler to require replacement in ten years or less?

toolmantim

A little too early

A bit too early for end of service life.   Many variables come into play.  Which make boiler, installation type(residential/commercial), properly sized, properly maintained, leaky system/freshwater makeup gallonage??

BobC

Boiler life

I have a 15 year old Burnham v75 steam boiler and that replaced a 50 year old Delco boiler. The v75 has not had a good reputation because they thinned out the cast iron to pump up the efficiency and that left the boiler very susceptible to water quality problems like high chloride content.



A propel installed and maintained boiler should last more than 10 years if the water supply is good and the system has no leaks. Getting the boiler installed correctly is the tough part these days. I would not put an automatic water feeder on a boiler in my house because it leads to neglect and a neglected boiler is not going to be long lived.



Bob

Greg Maxwell

Boiler Failure

Are you saying your boiler has failed, or are you just wondering how long your boiler will last?

D-man

steam boiler life

Thank you for the responses.  To answer your question, I am just wondering about how long a steam boiler should last. 

If anyone believes 10 yrs. is a reasonable life expectancy, then I would like to hear from you.  If no one chimes in, then I will presume you all agree it should be > 10 yrs.

Thank you,

edge

steam boiler life

If everyone agrees that around 10 years is reasonable life expectancy then I guess I am unreasonable as I have a Peerless JOT steamer that has to be  around 30 years old which I have no plans of replacing untill I have problems.I am now in my 60 s so it really doesn't seem that old.I'm using some tools that were made before I was born.It seems that iron can wear better that we can.

Steamhead

Boilers should last for decades

but some don't. Excessive make-up water can eat up a boiler, and a bad low-water cutoff can cause it to dry-fire and crack. 

Charlie from wmass

Many boilers do die in 10 or less years

Most are due to poor installations and poor maintainence. There are some due to poor manufacturing but they are rare. Decades not years SHOULD be normal.

Babs

Peerless steam boiler

Had a peerless steam boiler installed on 1999. I maintain it well n add water only when cool. It needs water every 8 hrs n is making loud hissing noise. Think it needs replacing Is this the average life???

JStar

Boiler

The boiler may be leaking. You can overfill it with water to see if the water ends up on the floor or inside the boiler.