Buy New, Buy Used, or Limp Along?

J. Young

I'm renovating a 90-year-old, 40-unit building, and I've made pretty good gains revamping the steam heating system, often thanks to the advice and Q&A here. (The previous owner didn't heat the building for ~10 years.)

I've spent the last couple of weeks replacing leaking return lines and now I've worked my way back to the Hartford loop. Likely due to vibration and torque from replacing the 2" returns, the 3" lines, reducing tees, and companion flanges that make up the Hartford loop (which were once only corroded and slightly delaminated) are now leaking, and how. Fixing it is beyond my know-how or the time to figure out the know-how, so I called a contractor I very much trust.

He's not optimistic and has no idea how the thing was put together in the first place. (In Detroit, we're used to hack jobs.) He thinks he'll have to start at the 3" return line that connects directly to a boiler section and cannot guarantee that when he's done that the boiler sections won't leak. Further, he gives the boiler five years, tops.

I'm caught between making this fix and having the boiler fail, replacing the boiler (which is okay by me if need be), and just dogging it for as long as I can, hopefully until May next year because nothing's worse than market-rate tenants without heat in February.

Wild cards: I'm not penny wise and pound foolish, which is how hack jobs get done in the first place. I don't especially mind replacing the boiler, especially if a higher efficiency one will save on the gas bill, but I don't want to be a chump if I can limp along. I like to use things until they're really dead.

A nearby building is being converted to condo, and the 4-year-old steam boiler is to be replaced by individual furnaces. The developer is looking to scrap the boiler and I may well get it for a good price but I'll have to take it apart myself. Is it worth my time, effort, and sanity to even consider reclaiming it? (It is almost exactly what I need.)

My current boiler is likely ~50 years old and ~1,000,000 btus.

Many, many thanks in advance for any advice.

kevin coppinger_4

wow...

a boiler that sat dormant for 10 years...does it run? has it been inspected? Makes me wonder if anything nested in the boiler, flue pipe or chimney...
I would replace it ASAP go new...warrantee issues will be good and it will be properly sized for your building.
Most of all get a steam contractor who really knows steam...
It's getting colder by the day and if you have this boiler let go on Christmas eve you will have more problems than cold tenants aka. frozen/burst pipes and prop. damage...kpc

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

Geo_5

10 years/no fire-up

I can't see an insurance company letting you just fire up a boiler that size that has laid dormant for 10 years.

pitman9

I think you answered your own question.

You siad, "nothing's worse than market-rate tenants without heat in February."

Likely the job you're currently considering would be made somewhat easier piping to a new boiler so it should offset the cost a small amount.

When we make a recommendation to folks one thing we like them to consider is just how much of a hassle is it going to be to replace the unit in the coldest part of the winter. In your case it sounds like you already realize it'd be a major pain in the butt.

J. Young

Thanks for the responses; they help confirm my suspicions about going after the used boiler.

Sorry, too; I might have mentioned that the renovations have been going on for seven years and that I had the boiler inspected before I fired it up then. I was also told then that the boiler wouldn't last the year, but I've babied it along until now. It's been inspected yearly by the city and, although it is outdated, it has passed every year.

So, after sleeping on it and crunching numbers all weekend, I'm kind of kicking myself for keeping this inefficient beast around so long.

Any recommendations for a high-efficiency, gas-fired, steam boiler for a building this size?

jerry scharf_3

how much boiler do you need

You need to start by working out the size of each radiator. That plus a pick up factor will tell you how big a boiler you will need. Dan has a great book called EDR that has the output of many different radiators. If you don't have it, you also need the "Lost Art" book.

That and a general sketch of the steam distribution will get you a long way on getting just what you need. With the understanding from Dan's books and the help from the wall, you should be able to smile every time you look at the system.

jerry