Arcoleader boilers age????

dkr

I have an Arcoleader Boiler Number A 1 5P  Series 3BC J2. Does anyone know how old it is???

kcopp

at least....

40 -50 years old. I think it has served you well. Are you thinking of swapping it out for a more eff. unit?

dkr

Thanks

I am trying to figure out if it is worth it. Gentleman told me about a Burnham MPO 3-Pass. Said it would be much more efficient but I am not sure what that means in savings? Also we have no water heater, We have a tank-less water heater but he told me we need a water boiler because high efficiency boilers can't work with the tank-less heaters? Do you know anything about the Burnham MPO?

Robert O'Brien

Triple pass

You don't have a tankless water heater,you have a tankless coil. Replacing that with a triple pass oil boiler/indirect/reset control will yield 30-40 % fuel savings

dkr

Burnham

What do you think of the Burnham MPO 3 pass system?

kcopp

I would agree....

Biasi, Buderus, Pensotti, Trio and Solaia and all good options. However the best boiler not installed right will be a fail. Where is this located? What do you have for radiation... baseboard, cast iron rads or Ci Baseboard?

nicholas bonham-carter

Whether to replace that is the question

I presume this is a hot-water system, and boiler. Are there any problems with it such as leaking?

Can you tell us the size of your house, and the amount you have spent on fuel in the last year?

We don't mention pricing here; however it may help the professionals here make a judgement as to whether you would be better off replacing the present boiler with the above information.

With proper maintenance, these old boilers can last many many years; however, if something like the coil were to begin to leak,the replacement could cost a large percentage of the replacement cost of the whole boiler.

Modern boilers have less metal to heat up, and in addition can suck most of the heat from the flame, and put it into the heating water. They have sophisticated control systems which will vary the temperature of the radiator water in response to the outdoor temperature. From these new boilers, the exhaust is so cool, that a liner will no doubt have to be put into your chimney, or the exhaust could be piped out through your basement wall.

Thes boilers will need annual cleaning in order to do their best.

If you have no problems at present, and the house is small, there may be a long payback period, or not if the arcoliner has been neglected, and is not operating at its peak (1950's efficiency).--NBC

dkr

I don't understand

"From these new boilers, the exhaust is so cool, that a liner will no doubt have to be put into your chimney, or the exhaust could be piped out through your basement wall. "

What do you mean by this? The exhaust can't just be vented into my chimney the way it already is. I know the temperature going up my chimney now is at 450 degrees. Why does my chimney need a liner?

nicholas bonham-carter

Why line the chimney?

The exhaust from these new boilers has less heat in it, and therefore the exhaust which contains lots of water vapor will eat out the mortar from an unlined chimney. The lining in the chimney could be a very thin stainless steel, looking more like a slinky when it arrives in the box. The flue material through the wall may even be able to be a superior plastic. Not only is water a byproduct of combustion, but also sulphuric acid. You have that now in your chimney, but the higher flue temperatures are pushing it up and out more effectively, than the lower temps of the "modulating-condensing boiler".

These lower flue temperatures are a result of more heat from the flame going into the radiators, and not up the chimney.--NBC

dkr

Thanks

Thanks for taking the time to answer. I thought this was a no brainer to replace my system but it doesn't seem so easy now.

kcopp

Well at least....

you are asking the right questions.... so that you can make an educated decision. Get a reputable installer to give you good options. That will go a long way in helping this go faster. The find a contractor feature up top may help.

wine

consumer

I have an arcoleader boiler installed in 1963= 8 sections, series 150,    210,000btus

Anybody have any idea of a model # might be?