Smith 19A Series

DonBase

I have this Smith boiler in my building. It was installed 15 years ago and there's a crack in the cast iron. Warranty only covers 10 years.
This boiler is a low pressure, uses oil, output capacity of 1,063,000btu/hr
My fuel supply company gave me an estimate of 19G. These were the same people who installed it in the first place.

My questions are:

1)How can the boiler crack after only 15 years? Smith says it can last 20 to 30 years.
Is it a matter of it being installed or maintained improperly?
The same heating oil supplier also does the maintenance.

2) Is this a fair estimate?

Thank you.

Forgot to add I'm in NYC.

neilc

Why such a large boiler?
apartment bldng?
steam ?
distant picture, floor to ceiling,

EBEBRATT-Ed

The Smith 19 is a good boiler, it's been around a long time with few problems that I know of.

Post some pictures of the piping above and around the boiler. That will tell us if you should do business with the company that installed it.

Is this steam or water?

DonBase

Yes the boiler is in an apartment building. It's a steam boiler that was installed in 2008.

Here are some pics:

STEVEusaPA

First step is to figure out why it failed. You may not get a truthful answer from the previous installer. If it's from an incorrect install, I'd use someone else.
No one can comment on the price without being on site. Logistics plays a big part on price.
If the manufacturer says it should last 20-30 years (and it easily could) why are they only offering a 10 year warranty.
Any replacement requires proper sizing, which may not necessarily be the same size.

EBEBRATT-Ed

I would not use your present company.

Your steam header is piped wrong. It has the required swing joints but the header is located too close to the supply risers on the boiler, not enough movement for expansion. The steel header and the cast iron boiler expand at different rates. With the header and it's connections built without enough flexability the expansion pressure over time can weaken and stress the sections.

But this is just my opinion.

I strongly suggest that you get Smith Boiler involved since you have had repeated problems. They are in Westfield, Ma. Maybe they can have a rep look at the job or maybe you can do this by e-mail if you send them the pictures.

The series 19 has been made for many years. You want to get this fixed right, so you don't have further issues.