Replace steam boiler? Or just have it decarbonized?

Steamhead (in transit)

something is wrong with either the chimney or the burners. But these are easily fixed and cleaned. I doubt you need a new boiler now.

Get a second opinion. Go to the Find a Professional page of this site to locate someone near you. There are plenty of good steam men in the NYC area who could straighten this out.

<A HREF="http://www.heatinghelp.com/getListed.cfm?id=367&Step=30">To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"</A>

Clueless

Replace steam boiler? Or just decarbonize it?

We just moved into our house two weeks ago and we are not really sure if we are having problems with our gas boiler or not. The sight glass was dirty and since I don't know anything about boliers I wanted someone to come in and service it for me. There was also one day when the heat wasn't coming on and I went down to look at the boiler and there was no water in the sight glass so it had turned itself off. Not sure why but I thought that it had something to do with the electricity being off for a day the day before. I some how figured out how to refill the water level and it came back on. The water level doesn't seem to stay the same. But I'm not sure if it is a problem with the boiler or if I have turned a knob or valve somewhere where I shouldn't have.

I had a plumber come and he said that I needed to have a new boiler installed. (I have a late 1985 Bryant boiler. Model 235AAW007112AADA. I don't have an owners manual and Bryant doesn't have one.) He said that there were ashes underneath the burners, etc. and that also the safety features for the water feed were outdated and that it would be much better to just upgrade. He wasn't too excited about how the the thermostat was wired to the boiler and about how some of the piping was arranged. He would replace this unit with the New Yorker boiler by Burnam. All for $5500. (I live in Queens, NY) He said that to just clean it would be around $2000.

I had another plumber say basically the same thing. But the funny thing is he really didn't even turn the boiler on. He did actually show me pieces of ash or something and told me that I needed to have the boiler decarbonized. Would cost around $600-$700. He said that it would just be better to get a new boiler (the New Yorker) and also he didn't like the wiring and how some of the pipes were arranged. His cost $4500. (He did show me how to flush the system so I did do that myself.)

I called the Bryant dealer. He said that I should be able to get a couple of more years out of the thing. He said I should have a chimney guy come out and clean the chimney and the furnace. (Did he mean clean the boiler?) I have a chimney guy coming out on Wednesday but he doesn't clean the furnace. Is there someone who does that?
What exactly is decarbonizing the boiler? Should I just get a new boiler? Am I putting my family at risk for trying to make it through the winter with this boiler?

Guy_6

H2O

The water level in a steam boiler will often fluctuate, depending on where the boiler is on its cycle. I have always recommended to my customers that they check the level at the same (time) every few days. I say "time", but that is general, meaning early AM, early evening, etc..
If you were to check it in the early AM, you may find the level down (the water is now steam-upstairs). Later in the day you may find it back to normal. By checking it consistently you will find that it is easier to read.
Also, don't be too quick to add fresh water all the time- when you add fresh water, you are adding all of the "contaminants" that come with it. Ideally, you want the boiler water to be stale, so you want to add only as necessary. Usually, the less that you add, the less you will have to add.
As far as the carbon, the above posts ring true- it sounds like repair is more in order than replace. Hit the Find a Contractor" link and get a third opinion.