Steam boiler with fuel oil burner

walt879

I'm looking into purchasing an 1850's farm house with steam boiler and fuel oil burner.  The faceplate is hard to read but we think it says Model #0705SU and S/N #7-3842.  The fuel oil burner looks to have been replaced recently but the steam boiler looks to be very old.  The outside of the boiler is rusty.  We were unable to fire the furnace due to the owner not being with us.  Can someone tell me how old they think this unit is?  And what should I look for the next time I'm at the house.  I am not familiar with steam heat and not sure what to look for.  Thank you for any assistance.

Rod

Need Pictures

Hi - Take some pictures of the boiler and the radiators and the piping leading to them. This will tell us what type of a steam system it is and may help identify the boiler and burner. If you see any odd ball items attached to the boiler piping take pictures of that too! You might take a look in the "Find a contractor section " at the top of this page and see if there is a steam pro located near you that could take a look at the system for you.

With the pictures we'll have a much better idea of how to advise you.

- Rod

hvacguy

Identify the whole system

Walt,

It seems that a boiler may be in your future if you close on the real estate deal. Just because a boiler is old, doesn't necessarily mean that it would be troublesome. In fact many old cast boiler over-live their usefulness and should have been replaced years ago. Pictures are a great idea as far as identifying the system. You also need to look at the entire system, not just the boiler. if you are proceeding on the purchase, I'm sure annual consumption would be available to you. In your situation, I would be concerned about the insulation, is it on all the piping? If it is, is that asbestos? Also what kind of low water cut-off (if any) is on the boiler? Just as a point of interest, If you  measure and identify all the radiators, you will come up with the proper sized replacement of the boiler.

Good luck with your transaction!