Help... Brand new home owner with a hot water system in it I have no Idea what I am looking at.

TimLa · 12:01AM

Hi All. We are in escrow with a home that has a Triangle tube boiler oil fuel fired model HMF 35 Automatic instantaneous W/H. Which heats the hot water for showers ect. and also heats the house with a ducting system and a big air/heat ex changer under the house. also from what they say it de-ices part of the driveway too. Age of the unit is at least 25 years old. This is servicing a 3000 sf house. From the tag on the side of the unit it looks as though it has been serviced very regularly. Question. Is this a problem just waiting to happen with age? Heating oil is 6 dollars a gallon where I am. for 75 gallons delivered is 450 bucks. Is it a case of run it till it dies? Ask for a larger portion off the asking price of the house? in a colder climate how many gallons (average) will these sucker burn? I have been a plumber for 40 years only typical free standing water heaters have I ever installed. I have never seen anything like this… ever!

mattmia2 · 12:19AM

Triangle Tube went out of business the end of last year so getting parts for something older like that might be difficult(or someone might have a stash of surplus).

It looks like there are several ways it could be set up, if it is using DHW through the hydroair coils that isn't the best of ideas but it also could be isolated with a heat exchanger in a couple of different ways or it could use an indirect water heater for the dhw. If it is doing snowmelt I would hope it is isolated with a HX.

If you don't have natural gas available oil may still be less expensive per btu than propane. You might try to ask what the seller's oil usage history is because that is a lot of space to heat regardless of fuel so you have some idea what to budget for.

25 years is typically around the end of the lifespan of an appliance like that although it could last much longer. No reason to replace it if it isn't leaking and you can still get parts for it.

HydronicMike · 12:37AM

It may have been $6 dollars because you only got 75 gallons. Many companies have price points at 100 gallons and 150+
The current owner should be able to tell you how many gallons they burn a year, and if there were tags on the equipment, you could contact them.
If it’s doing snow melt at least part of your system most likely has glycol in it. It would need to be checked/replenished, and eventually replaced.
Don’t quite know how much leverage you have being in escrow.

psb75 · 10:43AM

I think you should be able to decommission or shut off the snowmelt zone and save some fuel that way. Oh, and do more snow shoveling as a consequence.

pecmsg · 11:22AM

I have been a plumber for 40 years only typical free standing water heaters have I ever installed.

Then you should know others that have more experience in that system. Without seeing the entire system, we can only guess. Check with your supply houses, trade groups. Get experienced eyes on the equipment before pulling the plug.