DIY SlantFin oil fired water boiler replacement

DanRegienus

Can a home owner install an oil boiler themselves in the state of Massachusetts? I have an old SlantFin Liberty boiler that has finally thrown in the towel and needs to be replaced. I will be replacing it with a SlantFin Liberty 2 boiler which is basically identical to the old one as far as size, output, input, capacity, and plumbing hookup locations. Can a home owner do most of the rough in work as far as disconnecting the old boiler and putting the new one in place and possibly hooking up some of the plumbing? I would obviously have a professional look over everything and then complete any final plumbing and electrical work then do the initial fire up and inspection.

STEVEusaPA

Good question.
I'm in PA. Here you could get away with it. Mass has the toughest most restrictive laws including licensing of oil burner techs, filing a form for the oil tank, and strict guidelines.
The most important thing is hooking up the oil line, proper venting, and a full combustion test. Just because you hook everything up exactly as it was, doesn't mean it was correct in the first place.
Maybe call your oil company (if you have a good relationship with them) to get their thoughts.

HVACNUT

What @STEVEusaPA said, plus do you know if the original Slant Fin is the correct size? I understand they allow different firing rates for one boiler, i.e. a three section can fire between a .75 and 1.25 or there abouts.
Are you using the existing burner? Is it a Carlin 100 CRD?
I'm sure you're looking to save $$ by doing it yourself, but sometimes it pays to have a pro do the work. Things I've done around my home I would never attempt again. Something that takes me four days, a pro can do in one. And the end result would be nicer.
Oh the headaches.
There are also much better boilers than single pass pin HX boilers.

Leon82

I had heard a homeowner can't do any plumbing work in ma in the past.

I just googled it and some posts seem to suggest getting in touch with the inspector and ask them

EBEBRATT-Ed

I am in MA. To do it legaly you need an oil burner tech to test and start, get a permit, and connect the oil line and check the venting, and a plumber to do the city water. Oil burner techs in MA are allowed to reconnect the wiring as long as you don't need a new circuit.

The local fire dept inspects. The plumbing only applies to the city water and tankless heater if you have one and in many cases it just gets reconnected without a plumber and no one bothers about it.

Anyone can install a house boiler including the heating piping no license required unless over 200,000 btu/hr

Steamhead

A Slant/Fin "Liberty 2"? They haven't made that model for some years now- the current version is the Intrepid. Is this one second-hand?

shubhupatil

Thanks for sharing.....

DanRegienus

The model i was looking at is a brand new Slant Fin Liberty LD-30PT boiler sold at Home Depot. I'm not sure how old this model is.

DanRegienus

Thanks to @steamhead I did some more research and found the SlantFin Intrepid TR-30-PT which is basically a newer version of the Liberty series which has all the plumbing hookups in the same location making for a quick and easy install. I am going through Home Depot for my boiler because they offer a $5,000 dollar line of credit and the Liberty 2 was the only boiler they advertised for sale that fit my needs and specifications but come to find out they can also get me one of the intrepid series at a very reasonable price, so thanks again @steamhead

DanRegienus

@EBEBRATT-Ed , just to be clear, am I able to disconnect the old boiler myself or do I need a plumber to come and turn off or discontent the city water first?

EBEBRATT-Ed

You should be fine doing that. Where are you located in MA?

DanRegienus

@EBEBRATT-Ed I am located in Barre MA just slightly north west of Worcester MA