Replace an old crane gas fired boiler

Kidstocks

I have an old gas fired boiler for forced hot water baseboard heat only. Is this something I can do myself? Looks fairly easy. My boiler tech wants $$$$$ which sounds outrageously high.

pecmsg

Pricings not allowed. Thats a regional thing!

Here on the eastern end of the isl of long it's a bargain!

EdTheHeaterMan

@Erin Holohan Haskell Looks like the OP has gone away... Perhaps you can edit the price to XXX. LOL
Are you considering more that one option?

This is a normal job for a regular plumber or plumbing and heating contractor.

Please edit your post and remove the price. (See the red arrow)


You can see these rules if you click on the green arrow

The 4th one down is what we are talking about.

EdTheHeaterMan

You can probably find the cost of the replacement boiler on line for 1/5 of the installation price. But that is the cost for the boiler in a crate delivered to your curb, NOT the installed price.


Add to that the fact the someone must remove the old boiler, not the easiest thing to do,
Add to that the accessories needed to install the new boiler. thermostat, copper and iron pipes, auto fill valve, backflow preventer, expansion tank, air eliminator, valves, fittings, wires, and many many other parts that in many cases bring that "COST" up considerably higher. like at least 1.5 times the cost of the boiler alone.


No man or woman in these United States can operate a business by selling a $1000.00 item for $1000.00!
So, the contractor is intitles to a profit on those parts
Add to that the labor needed to put all that stuff together. That labor does not come cheap. There are thousands of posts on this website alone that are examples of incompetent installers. You need to pay for competent help.
After all those considerations are observed, the owner of the company needs to account for all the expenses of being in business.. Insurance, utilities, vehicle, office staff, all that stuff needs to be paid for. ( If you are looking for a lower price, you need to find the one man shop that has very little overhead, but you may not find him/her when you need service after the sale if he is too busy). The larger firms with multiple employees will also have higher overhead.


After all that is considered, the owner of that company must turn a profit. That is the American Way! So your cost of $XX,YYY,00 does not seem out of line for the job you are talking about.

dko

If you have to ask..

EBEBRATT-Ed

@Kidstocks

There is a lot to consider. Your ability and knowhow is one thing. If you install it and it doesn't work, then who do you call?

Ther is a lot more to it and the new boiler will not match the old. The piping and wiring will be different and you may or may not need a flue liner in your chimney..

If you do decide to do the install a heat loss of the house should be done as the old boiler is likely oversized.

And depending on your location permits may or may not be required. Some locations allow homeowner work, and some do not.

Many homeowners on this site have successfully installed new boiler in their homes with excellent results. But not before doing a lot of reading and homework.

Whats wrong with the old boiler the old Cranes were excellent boilers?

Hot_water_fan

Pretty big boiler there, how much gas did you use last year? Bigger is worse than right sized. 

Steamhead

What's wrong with your present boiler? Is it leaking?

JUGHNE

How many feet of BB length do you have connected in the system.

Assuming there is only one circuit of all of them in series.

jimna01

I am not a pro but I did own a circa 1960 Crane Sunnyday oil fired boiler. It was a tank and just about as reliable as a rochester carb on a '74 Buick 350. When it worked it was pretty awesome but in the winter it required constant attention. The boiler needed strainers, primary controls, cleaning but twice a year and a direct line to my maintenance company. The Buick required fuel filters (a box of them in the trunk)when they froze up. It also sucked gasoline like it was free. My Sunnyday boiler despite being professionally maintained every year sucked oil like it wa 10 cents a gallon when it was installed. The 74 Buick is long gone, rusted into a junk yard somewhere. The 1960 SunnyDay was replaced in 2006 with a three pass cast iron Biasi B10 boiler. It cut my oil consumption by 33% percent. It paid for itself in 5 years. I have enjoyed the profits ever since. My Mini Cooper gets close to 40 MPG and is all lot more fun to drive than that 74 Buick which on a good day with a 30 mph tail wind got 14 pmg. Sometimes modern tech pays off.I don't think your guy is ripping you off. IN 2006 my new boiler install was about 70% of what you were quoted.

mattmia2

It is only partially a guess, but I suspect this is a gravity conversion with cast iron radiators. The house looks older, it looks like there is an old coal bin, the breach for the boiler has been reduced, and the expansion tank seems to be larger than for a typical residential system. It makes it very slightly more complicated but not by much but if whoever does it doesn't understand gravity systems you could have a bad time.

HVACNUT

Kidstocks said:

I have an old gas fired boiler for forced hot water baseboard heat only. Is this something I can do myself? Looks fairly easy. My boiler tech wants $$$$$$ which sounds outragesly high.

Of course you can. What cood posybly go wrong? Go get em, Tiger. 

WMno57

@Kidstocks
Welcome to HeatingHelp. Since you're new, you should know there are three "pros" here that get their jollies by bullying and being rude to DIYers. They attempt to justify this by pretending to protect people from themselves. There are also many pros here who invest countless hours sharing their knowledge because they love the science, technology, and history of their industry.
EVERYTHING HVAC can be DIY. Like anything else, you have to educate yourself and have the right tools. Can you make the investment of time to learn, and money for the specialized tools to do it right? Fires and CO still kill too many each year. And too many of those deaths are due to "pros" mistakes.
You can learn a lot at HeatingHelp. Here is a thread about an oil boiler that was "pro" installed without a combustion analysis and an illegal flue configuration.
https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/192659/pro-opinion-on-near-boiler-piping-on-a-new-steam-boiler
As a DIYer, I recommend https://www.supplyhouse.com. I had a specific product question once and called them. Unlike some soon to be dark local supply houses, they were professional and helpful.
Please remove the pricing from your post.

retiredguy

Let me ask you a few questions and give my view of your question of "can I replace this boiler myself". My answer is "yes you can" but why would you and also do you have the expertise. Now, I am not an expert on residential heating systems. I worked on a few but my experience is in larger commercial and industrial steam and hot water boilers. As @steamhead asked, what is wrong with your present boiler? Is it leaking? If it is not leaking, why would replace that boiler. If it is because you want to save money on your heating cost, there are probably better ways to spend your money. Please explain to the guys just why you want to replace this boiler. It does not look to be leaking. Remember this, those old cast iron boilers can last 100 years or more. So do yourself a favor and describe in detail what you are trying to accomplish. If it is the cost to heat this house, I have to ask; is the house tight, are your windows and doors in good shape, and are you fully insulated.