Should I replace a 45 year old boiler?

bob young

DO yourself a favor and treat yourself to a new Burnham boiler. don't forget to include all the near boiler piping done like the experts on this forum live and die for. new returns and you are good to go for the next 50 years give or take. you will not regret it. consider it like buying a new car ---only much better..no depreciation for a long while.

Mike Hurley

Should I replace a 45 year old boiler?

I recently purchased a big old house that has steam heat. The boiler was last replaced in 1957. The heating system seems to work fine.
Should I replace the boiler simply because it is old. Will I see a big reduction in energy costs?
The house was built in 1930 and is 6200 square feet, I plan on staying for at least 10 years.

Steamhead

You would probably lower your fuel consumption

but without knowing the make and model of the boiler I couldn't begin to say how much.

It might be better to start with upgrading your system (vents, insulation etc). Get a copy of Dan's book "We got steam heat" to start with, and "The Lost Art of Steam Heating" for in-depth coverage.

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heretic

Consider

Perhaps consider weatherization improvements first. The cost/benefit ratio is generally much better.

Jed_2

Why should he..

care about 50 years, when he's only planning on 10!!!!?

Jed

tim smith_2

steam boiler replacement

> I recently purchased a big old house that has

> steam heat. The boiler was last replaced in 1957.

> The heating system seems to work fine. Should I

> replace the boiler simply because it is old.

> Will I see a big reduction in energy costs? The

> house was built in 1930 and is 6200 square feet,

> I plan on staying for at least 10 years.

tim smith_2

steam boiler replacement

no no, no no no , Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy, if you saved 15% on your heat bill and figure your replacement cost will be 10,000. Do the math, save it and baby it. These beasts will purr if you take care of them.

tim smith_2

steam boiler replacement

no no, no no no , Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy, if you saved 15% on your heat bill and figure your replacement cost will be 10,000. Do the math, save it and baby it. These beasts will purr if you take care of them.

Steamhead

Tim, if his old boiler

is efficient enough that he'd only save 15% by replacing it, it might make sense to wait, or to upgrade the existing one. But if the old one is as inefficient as some I've seen, he could cut his fuel bill in half by replacing it.

So Mike- what kind of boiler do you have?

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Gus Ruggiero

Do not replace with a Burnham.

One poster recomended Burnham. Mine lasted 5 years before leaking. Burnham has offered little in the way of customer satisfaction. With Burnham it's all good until it's bad. Very unhappy customer here.

GW

I think

he should let it run until it drops, then stree out out when he can't find anyone on January 1st when it drops.

Gary

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Steamhead

Rugger, have you

talked to Glenn Stanton about that Burnham? He's one of the best in the business, and will want to know about it and why the problem wasn't taken care of. You can e-mail him at gstanton@burnham.com .

Mike, there are many good boiler makers out there. I like Burnhams too, also Slant/Fin and Columbia for steam, and have heard lots of good things about Peerless. Weil-McLain is another good company but their boilers have rubber gaskets instead of iron push nipples at the joints between the sections. That said, they seem to hold up well.

The most important thing is a good installation. Try the Find a Contractor page of this site to locate one near you.

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kevin coppinger_4

was it an.....

old V-7? They were very good in working on replacements. Call Glenn, he's the man....kpc