Old boiler, replace or wait

northlakes

New thread here with an issue I’ve posted about before. 

Had two 30 yr-old twin CI 137,000 btu (167,000 input) boilers that were staged and rotating until about 15 years ago, previous owner only got one running. I tried to get the other going and it seemed ok at first but then sprung a leak. The boiler I currently have that isn’t shot is running, heating the place fine so far, but it has me thinking about it sorta like an old couple where one dies and you don’t expect the other to last too much longer. 

Winter is extreme here and waiting until it leaks to replace makes me nervous. Not even sure what could happen at that point other than shutting down and winterizing the place. (If I thought I could keep a potentially leaky boiler going until spring I’d go ahead and risk it. )

Local contractor quoted me to replace with one WM CGa-7 into existing piping and chimney. I was a bit shocked at the price but maybe it’s just inflation...

The one shown in the pic with rust on top is the one that’s working. I’m assuming it just had a leaky pipe above it at some point.  

WMno57

If I were you I would keep the working 30 YO Cast Iron (CI) boiler as a backup. I would replace the leaker with a mod-con. This gives you the best of both worlds. Reliability, simplicity, and commonly available parts on the CI. Energy savings with the mod-con. Very big energy savings in the fall and spring.
I would get a quote for a mod con from another contractor. I'm guessing the current contractor is not up to speed on mod-cons. You could keep him in the picture to maintain the old CI boiler. Good to have alternatives.

northlakes

@WMno57 thanks for the advice. I think they’re familiar with mod cons, I’m just not sure on the rationale. I might try to get another quote either way! Thanks 

pedmec

I would try and find out whats wrong with the non-working boiler. Other than a cracked heat exchanger it would be worth fixing.

gyrfalcon

Right, what’s leaking?