Perless Gas Boiler in a 70 year old rental - It lives, but HELP!

Sean Aitken

Hello pros!!
I have visited this site quite a few times for information on the continuing journey to understand this old green beast living in our basement. I moved into this rental house last winter and was told of this 'wonderful' steam radiator heat in this 70+ year old downtown house.

The house is nice, the neighbors are cool, and the location is prime... however, this steel beast in the basement has me quite worried! Not only for our safety, but also for my bank account!

I'm not quite sure how long this beast has been down there, but it definately seems to be very inefficient.. The facts are as follows:

<li> 70 year old house
<li> three bedroom, dining room and (small) kitchen
<li> asbestos insulated piping running to the radiators
<li> "Perless Gas Boiler" Boiler number: G-461-W-S
<li> when we first moved in, and fired it up, there was unbearable clanking and beating!! -- The next day 'Brad' the reapirman superhero told us on the phone that we have to 'occasionaly' drain the pipes. I did, the water was rusty.. I noticed a label that says it should be done at least once a week during the heating season. (go owners)
<li> it costs arms and legs!.. Living in central NC, Winter bills for gas (just heat) werw ~$180 keeping the therm @68ish
<li> The clear water gague is quite hard to read
<li> The what seems to be steam pressure meter is broken
<li> I can't tell, and the owners can't tell me the last time it was professionally serviced.



<i>So</i>, my question to you gurus, what can I do to convince the owners to get a pro out here? And, what possible problems do youthink this thing has that is making it so expensive to heat?



I would love to see the owners manual for this model, but it's as if it never existed! It's quite old, and I'm afraid I'd be better off selling it to an antique store!!



Any advice is greatly appreciated.



<b>Thanks in advance!</b>,

Sean@NC

Mad Dog

Ok Sean, first..

an old steam boiler that is neglected IS a potential ticking time bomb. At the very least, heat will be poor and expensive...at worst, the boiler or system could spring a leak, fail to shut off on low water condition (due to lack of maintenance) which leads to cracked boilers and in some cases a fire. You have to get the tenants together and go to the landlord with your concerns. Tell him you feel the system is unsafe and is probably costing him more to run than need be (he'll perk up then!~). Tell him you want it looked in to or you guys will hold back rent. If you get no where with him, call in the building dept. Most municipalties do yearly inspections of commercial boilers. These inspectors are often not all too well-versed, but can can pick up any glaring problems. A bad piping job and incorrect pressure settings can cause high bills. Keep reading, get a copy of Lost Art, and keep us posted. Mad Dog

To Learn More About This Contractor, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Contractor"

Unknown

Look at it this way

If you hire a guy like Mad Dog to look over your system, and pay his minimum service charge, it could cut your fuel bill EVERY MONTH for as long as you live there.

You sound like you are paying your own fuel and you are the person maintaining it once a week.

Noel

Sean Aitken_2

So there is hope.... :-]

Thanks for the feedback, Mad Dog!

It's acutally quite an old stone house with the boiler, and unfortunately, I AM the one paying the gas bill each month.. so what I'm trying to do is somehow present the owners with enough fact to persuade them to do something about this 'ticking time bomb', as it seems.

(Good way to describe it... it definately has 'ticks' about it!)

Unfortunately, it looks as though that the online database provided on this site doesn't have any specialists listed within 150 miles of me... Does anyone know of a good contractor to call, or can give me good questions to ask to determine if they are qualified in working with these old steam boilers??



Many thanks!



-Sean

Raleigh, NC

Steamhead

Sean, Try This

Go to the Find a Contractor page of this site and follow the directions. This should put you in touch with someone who can handle the job.

As Noel and Mad Dog will tell you (we have all installed new steam systems) steam heat is great- but like anything else, it has to be properly designed and maintained to work properly.

To Learn More About This Contractor, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Contractor"