Old oil fired boiler for hot water baseboard
We are in the process of buying a house built in 1955. The heating system in it is an old American Standard oil fired boiler for hot water baseboard. I know absolutely nothing about boilers or hydronic baseboard heating. It's only used for the heating. The hot water tank is electric. Trying to find information on the boiler itself seems to be quite difficult, so I was hoping someone here could help. The previous owner passed away so we don't know have any information at all. Our inspector said the system is over 45 years old. I've attached the pictures he provided during his inspection. If someone could give me some information on how reliable these systems are, what maintenance should be done, issues to look out for or be aware of, how efficient is it, what's the fuel consumptions for this type of heating? Is there a way to find out the BTU's? Anything and everything about this type of boiler/heating system would be beyond helpful. Thank you all so much!
Comments
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Oil boilers like yours should get an annual service that includes brushing out the heat exchanger, replacing the nozzle in the burner, replacing the oil filter, and a combustion test. Most fuel companies offer this type of service, and there may also be some independent guys in your area that offer this service.
If the boiler isn’t leaking it should continue to be reliable, but considering the age it would be good to think about replacing it - even if only for a contingency plan.As for the btus, we should be able to look that up if you can get a better picture of that information plate. Your oil burner tech will also be able to confirm the size of the nozzle.
Don’t be surprised if the boiler turns out to be larger than what is needed to heat the house. You can confirm this once you see how much heating oil you burn this winter (it is a simple calculation of degree days vs. fuel consumption).1 -
A room-by-room Manual "J" Heat load / loss calculation will tell you how many BTU/h are needed to heat the home. It was not uncommon for boilers to be oversized 70 years ago.
At 70 years you can plan on replacing that unit in the near future.
Any tags showing wo delivered the oil to the residence? Where is this home located, we might know someone in the area that is better qualified to inspect it then that home inspector.
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Could be a low speed burner. A little blurry, but it might be a 3450 ABC Sunray burner.
In either case, you'll notice the scorch marks above the burner. That must be addressed. Chamber and front plate gasket.
If you pop off the panel on the right side of the boiler, and see gobs of cement and soot, then that's what a 1970's oil fired boiler looks like. That's not acceptable in 2024.
Where are you located? A new modern oil fired boiler, together with the correct controls will be much cleaner and more efficient than what's there now.
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Thank you all for the replies. The house is located in Allegany County, Maryland.
No, as far as I know there isn't any information for who delivered fuel to the house. The previous owner apparently didn't keep any kind of maintenance records for anything in the house so a lot of it has been a guessing game. We have no idea when/if anything has been serviced or repaired.
Yes, I noticed the scorch marks and that scares me. The other issue is apparently the chimney it's vented to is unlined at the roof line?
Upgrading the system is definitely in our plans with in the next 2-5 years (if it lasts that long). Since there isn't any duct work we're not sure which route would be the most cost/energy efficient. But for the time being this is what we have. I'd like to be as familiar with it as possible so I know what's normal and what's not. As I said, I know absolutely nothing about a boiler system. If something were to be going wrong I wouldn't know it. If we could get someone to inspect it and explain everything about it to me, and not just tell me it's super old and needs replaced, that would be great.
This is the only other picture I have of the boiler. What are the circled things? And what are they for?
Again, thank you for taking the time to reply and help. It's greatly appreciated!
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Energy efficiency comes with “Sealing the envelope”. Keep the heat in in the winter , out in the summer.
You can make a home top tight!
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Yes, as far as I can tell it does seem to be sealed pretty okay. We've only been to the house twice. Both times it was relatively hot/humid outside (upper 90's dew points in the upper 70's). None of the window ac's were running and it was still comfortable throughout the house. It does have newer energy efficient windows from top to bottom and the door seals seem newer. The insulation in the attic space could probably use some updating/renewing. That is on the list after we finalize everything and get moved it. I'm sure there's some places that need a little something. But, we'll handle that when we get to it.
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the only way to know is to have a blower door test performed.
Every home should have a complete air change every 3 - 4 hours during calm weather!
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The circled things are "circulators". The distribute the water from the boiler to the three zones and allow the cooler water to return to the boiler. Consider them glorified pumps but they develop very little pressure.
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Okay that makes sense. So, there should be 3 thermostats for each "zone" then?
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Correct.
Revised to correct statement: There should be ONE thermostat for each "zone".
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If you believe that you are going to close on this home, do not abandon the hot water heating system, most folks that do that, in favor of a hot air furnace and ductwork in order to also get central air conditioning, regret that choice. Hot air furnace heat is less comfortable than hot water baseboard heat. Many homes like yours dod not have the natural gas option in 1955, but it may be available today. When it comes time for the new boiler, look at both Oil and Gas options. You may also save on electricity if you have an indirect water heater added to your new high efficiency boiler.
The old American Standard may have several years left, so I wouldn't let the age of the boiler make you decide to go elsewhere. And the scorch mark is from a long time ago when the chimney was blocked. The oil burner repair man cleaned the blockage and the problem is gone. They never cleaned up the scorch mark. You can do that when you move in.
Edward Young Retired
After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?
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Yes, that's what I meant, ha ha. Three thermostats, one for each zone.
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The only other option we were looking at was a possible heat pump system. Any recommendations on an updated boiler? Or how to pick one?
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heat pumps are good for the mild weather.
here on the East end of the Isl of long I love my HW when the thermometer drops to single digits and the NE Wind blows.
where is this house located?0 -
Our inspector refused to give us any kind of "it might last for X amount of time" just because of the age. But, he did say that it fired immediately when he turned on the thermostats. So, I guess that's a good thing.
Mild winter is hit or miss here. We're in Allegany County, Maryland (Western Maryland). Some winters it will barely touch below zero and others it'll be brutally cold.
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home inspectors should only recommend contacting a service provider. They DO NOT know heating.
Maryland yes heat pump(s) with the Hot Water back up.0 -
@Kfriend1986 , where in Allegany County? I've spent some time out there.
The boiler is an A-3 series or similar, dating from the 1960s. These boilers are built like tanks so I wouldn't worry about it failing. But you do need to oil those big red circulators every year.
Not sure about the burner, can you get a better pic of that?
All Steamed Up, Inc.
Towson, MD, USA
Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
Oil & Gas Burner Service
Consulting0 -
The red Bell & Gossett circulators need annual lubrication. Here's a handy item to make sure they're correctly oiled.
One tube per pump. Every Fall.
https://www.supplyhouse.com/Bell-Gossett-L23401-Oil-Tube-1-5-oz
Trying to squeeze the best out of a Weil-McLain JB-5 running a 1912 1 pipe system.0 -
Sorry for the extremely delayed reply. Closing on a house is stressful!
We're in the Cumberland area closer to Cresaptown area of Allegany county.
We are planning on having someone come check it out before we have a need to use it. Better to be safe than sorry.
We went to the house today to finish a couple things after not being there for about 2 weeks and the room in the basement the boiler is had a really strong smell of kerosene/fuel oil, Is that normal?
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What part is the burner? I can try to get a better picture of it tomorrow when we go back over.
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In the second pic you posted originally, the burner is at the bottom of the front of the boiler. It connects to the boiler with a 4-inch-diameter tube, and the oil pipe from the tank goes into one side of it.
All Steamed Up, Inc.
Towson, MD, USA
Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
Oil & Gas Burner Service
Consulting0
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