63 year old Arcoleader oil fired boiler
Hello all,
New to this forum so please excuse any mistakes. I have an old, well maintained boiler that I am concerned about the reliability of since I spend quite a bit of time in Florida each winter leaving the house empty with the heat on.
My question is should I change this boiler solely due to its age. I’m not concerned about efficiency since I use so little fuel, only reliability. Thank you all.
Here are the specifics:
Location: Long Island, NY
Boiler: Acroleader A1 6 series 1B 11 oil fired with tankless coil, installed 1961 (63 years old)
Burner: Carlin 41000, installed 2012, firing at 1.25 gal/Hr (boiler rated at 1.95)
Accessories: New firebox 2019, three new B&G cirs 2013, relief valve, fill valve, etc changed as needed. Main control Original
House: approximately 3000 sq ft ranch, well insulated, consumption less than 2000 gal/year for heat and hot water
Service: self maintained for last 37 years, burning Biofuel, annual service; filter & screen change, nozzle change, electrode check, circulator (B&G, 3) lubrication, expansion tank drain, every other year add; burner, stack and side panel removal and thorough brushing and vacuuming including chimney base
Comments
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Forgot to mention all new SlantFin hot water baseboard radiators installed about 10 years ago
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Reliability is not so much the boiler integrity. if the boiler is not leaking, then the boiler is just fine. where you have the reliability issue is in the oil burner and circulator pump and all the parts that make that happen. High limit, circulator control, burner motor, circulator pump motor, fuel pump, fuel filters, and strainers, In what condition are all those things.
My service area was in a predominantly summer vacation resort. Many absentee owners in the winter. Many news stories about water leaking from vacant homes after a deep freeze, ended up on the 11 o'clock news each winter. There was a plumbing company who hired a retired gentleman to drive around town and look in on customer’s homes once a week during mild weather, and once a day on below freezing days. (for a fee of course). Winter watch service they called it.
Every once in a while I would get a call from that plumber to look at the oil burner in one of my customers' homes that had no heat. That home was around 80 years old at the time and had cast iron radiators. you don't want them freezing up and bursting.
I would suggest that a brand new heater can also have a failure. My advice is to hire a house sitter to check in on the place daily whenever the outdoor temperature is below 30°, and perhaps once a week otherwise.
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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Any machine can fail at any time. You need
A temperature monitor system with dialup capability. It can automatically call your cell and the service provider giving them time to get it repaired WHEN needed.
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I learned the trade on Martha's Vineyard. I lived there for 20 years. The best advice I could give is to have a trusted caretaker keep an eye on the place. Sounds like you've taken care of you boiler and system so that's as covered as can be. There is no sure fire way to be certain you won't have an issue so keep a weather eye and a phone number on hand.
Miss Hall's School service mechanic, greenhouse manager,teacher and dog walker0 -
Didn't realize they still made these. Used to be very reliable, simply plug a lamp into them and have the neighbor call you if the lamp turned on.
Yes, there much more modern devices today that will send you a text within seconds of a failure or no heat condition. Most of the modern versions require wi-fi and for some that is a problem is they shut down the internet when they head south for the winter.
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Thank all of you for your informative suggestions. Glad the general consensus is that I’m not relying on a 63 year old ticking timebomb.
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I learned a lot about seasonal & year round home precautions during the freezing rain storm of Feb 1973 in Fairfield County CT. A 36 hour drizzle creating a thick coating of ice brought down massive amounts of tree limbs & main & secondary power lines. When the rain stopped temperatures plummeted to near zero for four days.
The damage to homes from frozen, burst piping was epic & catastrophic; many homes were abandoned during the weeks long power outage.
If you're leaving your property for the winter, or even for a long weekend, at the minimum I always recommend turning off the main water supply, unless your heating system requires make - up water. I remind Realtors to do the same while marketing unoccupied homes.
Hide a key on site. You want any kind of emergency personal to have easy access to your property.
Have your driveway and sidewalks cleared of snow & ice.
Pay for a service contract with your heating fuel supplier. They'll clean & maintain your heating equipment, and many companies can provide temperature monitoring devices, and, you'll get priority service if / when needed. Confirm automatic fuel delivery.
Have an automatic power generator installed & maintained.
Hydronic heating systems should have non toxic antifreeze installed, and make sure it's maintained yearly.
As mentioned before, have a reliable contact check on your home and property frequently, especially during bitter cold weather.
Modern technology can provide automatic indoor air temperature & water flow monitoring, leak detection, real time video, and coded access. Have a back up plan in case technology fails.
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I had a 1954 arcoliner in my house and I replaced it with a new Weil-Mclain shoebox boiler. It is so small. The one thing I miss about my arcoliner is that it would heat up slowly and retain heat. I had the pump running constantly so that the house stayed much more comfortable. You have no mass in copper fin and tube baseboards. I have copper fin and tube baseboards and they cool down very quickly. It made a great buffer the old arcoliner. If I didn't have to replace it I wouldn't have I miss that old boiler for comfort. The new boiler costs less to run but I miss the comfort.
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If there's cement holding any part of it together, it's time for the scrap heap.
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Why? Cement can be patched. Did it this year on a 60 y.o. WM. Works fine.
Trying to squeeze the best out of a Weil-McLain JB-5 running a 1912 1 pipe system.0 -
If things are being held together with retort cement, it's time to go. We're way past that. Like light years.
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Like structurally held together? Where would that be?
Gap filling, sure.
Trying to squeeze the best out of a Weil-McLain JB-5 running a 1912 1 pipe system.0 -
A retrofit burner cemented in. Clean out access doors cemented instead of gasket and bolts. Its 2024. Retort cement is for around the breach. That's it.
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