Help Determining Boiler Age

Wcurtis

I’d like guidance on how to find approximate age of residential steam boiler.

Read somewhere the age could be buried in the serial number but based on the nameplate I cannot see that.

I inherited this when home was purchased and curious on its age.

Any guidance is appreciated

Thanks

EzzyT

Mestek owns smith now so you would have to call them and see if they still have records on when that boiler was manufactured.

Wcurtis

That ask is already complete, doubt that’s a priority for them hence my ask here.

EBEBRATT-Ed

It's old. There is no advantage to knowing it's age. What is knowing it's age going to do for you? If it needs replacement or doesn't that is the decision.

Wcurtis

My advantage is knowing, knowing the equipment,condition, how things work etc..heard the expression once “knowledge is power” and I want to know my system the best I can.

Replacement has crossed my mind however no one in my area knows steam and the “find a contractor” feature of this site are too far away so the better educated I become the better I feel.

HVACNUT

The date might be stamped on the block somewhere.

EBEBRATT-Ed

Then Call Mestek as @EzzyT suggested.

109A_5

Hello Wcurtis,

Your pressuretroll looks like it maybe as old as the boiler. Take the cover off the pressuretroll look at the microswitch, I'm assuming it is not a Mercury switch type, there may be 4 numbers stamped on the body of the switch near the electrical terminals. Mine is 6829, which I believe means the 29th week of 1968. My boiler was relatively new when my family bought the house in the mid 70s, so I'm thinking it was installed in the late 60s to early 70s. Maybe this will get you in the ballpark.

I think your boiler is older than mine, going by the style of the metal work of the boiler jacket, just my opinion.

It is just a guess on my part, with that white sticker on the switch assembly cover of the M&M 67, I'd say it has been replaced and it is not as old as the boiler. And the yellow handled valve handle is a newer style too, however the valve could have been changed independently.

Wcurtis

Gentleman,

Thanks for the help,received the operating manual from Mestek, note date in top left corner, wow

I am grateful it is operating as well as it is and I know a new boiler should be considered however been down this road finding competent contractors in my area and gaining 10% efficiency vs. the cost isn’t worth it, parts for this boiler is another story.

HVACNUT

A MegaSteam would look awesome there.

Wcurtis

My only gripe is that the 3 companies I called locally do not seem to know steam and the contractors from “find a contractor” are too far away

If I were to pick one of these local “knuckleheads” to put in a new system I feel I could be worse off for along time for them to straighten things out.

Another dilemma is my home warranty, they will call their contractor for repairs and if they deem I need a new system because parts cannot be obtained the home warranty decides who to use for a new install…alittle bit of a mess.

EzzyT

Where are you located?

Wcurtis

Gettysburg, Pa

pecmsg

Then get someone further away. Once "Properly" installed and set up the local guy can do the Annual Maintenance.

Intplm.

@Wcurtis

Have you looked around your boiler room? Often times the owners manual is tucked away in the rafters or in a slot folded near the boiler. I have found many manuals this way. If found, it should show a date.

109A_5

I'm thinking the Date on the manual is when it was first printed at the beginning of that boiler's series, when did that boiler series cease production ?

The boiler's trim parts are fairly generic so it should not be too hard to maintain until the point of heat exchanger failure. Unfortunately it seems younger Techs don't like working on older equipment so they favor replacement. I'd wait for heat exchanger failure. When that time comes, for me, I would go the route that @ethicalpaul and others did and do the install myself, I don't know if that is an option for you.

old_diy_guy

When the time comes to replace it, see if @Steamhead would come up from zMaryland

mattmia2

from the straight blade screws and style i'd say 50's or 60's. if the gas train is original or we can see what the original gas train was that could be a clue because the rules changed some time in the early 60's or so. i don't think that pressuretrol is original, honewell stuff was styled and branded differently in the time i thin this boiler is from. If it is a mercury switch pressuretrol it needs to be level side to side and the curl in the pigtail needs to be perpendicular.

unless the boiler is leaking replacement parts for just about everything else are generic and available for someone competent to work on it.

Wcurtis

The pressuretrol is not a mercury type, (has a date “125913) leading me to believe it (pressuretrol) could be manufactured in 1959, installed who knows, same with the boiler.

Boiler has no leaks so I am very fortunate, a lot of work has been completed on this since I moved in (cleaning/replacing corroded parts) upgrading radiator/main vents, relocating/upgrading T-stat..want to do everything I can to make it run the best it can and last

Since this is a standing pilot, I wanted to put in a moden gas valve (combination), again my thinking was to put in a modern one so the home warranty issue is more easily resolved if needed as they are slow to respond and likely slower to replace an old part

random12345

I'm not a pro, but has someone inspected it? Usually the leaks are above the waterline in a steam boiler. You may see vapor coming out your chimney, which might also need relining. I'm all for being frugal, but this thing is over 60 years old. Modern steam boilers last half as long, and that's if your lucky. Granted they don't build like they used to for sure, and maybe it's completely fine and as others have mentioned, parts are easily available for maintenance, but I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss replacement in this case.

You could do a water test. Turn the boiler off and turn on the water supply valve, raise the water level till it reaches the steam pipes at the top. See if there are any leaks that way. My guess is yes. You may be better off hiring a pro to do that in case everything starts falling apart around you. In my case I asked a tech to do it for me, and the boiler leaked from the gauge glass and from an invisible crack in the heat exchanger. The boiler room was partially flooded because we all panicked at the amount of water coming out from everywhere. The tech didn't think to just turn off the supply valve. 🙄 Does the manual say if there is any asbestos in the insulation jacket? Just another consideration.

CoachBoilermaker

Do you know who last serviced it?

Do you radiators work well?

mattmia2

that gas train is pre 1970's or so. i can't tell if the pilot safety was a retrofit or factory, it clearly has new screws but it has been there a long time if it is a retrofit. that might point to 60's sometime.

Wcurtis

It’s been serviced each of the last two seasons with an efficiency at 75%, the heat exchangers were cleaned in 2023 with very little debris, the tech in 23 mentioned the gas system is not up to code but I expected that after inheriting this. No visible plume from chimney during operation which I check frequently and it was filled above the sightglass likely covering the entire heat exchanger this past fall with no leaks

I have been onboard with a replacement however three companies in my immediate area do not appear knowledgeable enough and those from the “find a contractor” are too far out.

Been weighing to go ahead with the replacement but ensuring in the contract “contractor to install per manufacturers piping instructions” for a fall back if needed and feel the need to baby-sit the entire job, I am not an expert but my basic questions could not answered among other deficiencies in their dialogue.

Also considered not replacing but installing heat pump (which I don’t like) or going with a pellet stove (which I’m not thrilled with) and keeping steam heat as backup

random12345

Okay that all sounds good. How's the chimney? Has there been a level 2 inspection (camera) recently?

You have a pretty large boiler. Have you calculated the EDR of your radiators? It's not relevant unless you commit to the replacement, but if the boiler is oversized, short cycling might be noticeable. A WM EG for example is about 82% efficient, so you wouldn't save much if you're getting 75% now.

The "not up to code" may or may not be a concern if you're planning on selling the house anytime soon. Does your insurance company care?

Would a new, properly piped/installed boiler add to the value of the house?

Wcurtis

Chimney was inspected by same company who put in liner (have old receipt) in 2022 one year after purchase with no internal findings

Yes radiator EDR has been performed and current boiler is about 50% over-sized (none of the companies that came for the estimates measured any radiators, went off current nameplate), either they dont know or will use the extra size as a way to make more money.

Agree with new performance vs current and the minor gain in efficiency plus cost isn’t worth it other than peace of mind.

No plans on selling house and seriously doubt a new boiler adds to selling price unless value is the consideration.

mattmia2

looks like the gas train is total shutoff with that pilot safety so that part I think meets modern standards. You have to press and hold the red button to light the pilot, right, you can't light it without holding the button first? the gas valve may not be double seated which i think is required in current standards which increases the chance that it might not shut off or shut off completely although that sometimes happens with modern valves too. I suspect the "doesn't meet code" person doesn't know what they are looking at.

Wcurtis

you are correct in push to light

mattmia2

oh, i know how to tell if it is factory, do the lighting instructions say push and hold to light or just say light the pilot and turn on the main manual valve and thermostat?

Wcurtis

scan of operating manual

random12345

I would still want a pro to give it a once-over. No telling what else we might be missing. Only other variable of concern I can think of is if it blows up your insurance may deny the claim. You've probably thought of this already, but if not I think it's worth calling them. Sometimes the insurance company just goes by what the plumbing/gas inspector says, but if they don't, I probably would not call the inspector to ask for their opinion. 🤐

mattmia2

so when that version of the manual was written it was total shutoff. is that what the instructions on the boiler itself say too?