Welcome! Here are the website rules, as well as some tips for using this forum.
Need to contact us? Visit https://heatinghelp.com/contact-us/.
Click here to Find a Contractor in your area.

Boiler vintage?

Eric Johnson
Eric Johnson Member Posts: 174
in THE MAIN WALL
bump

Comments

  • Eric Johnson
    Eric Johnson Member Posts: 174
    Boiler vintage?

    I'm trying to find an approximate installation date for (age of) an old Weil McLain gas-fired boiler. The Model number is H5 Series 3. A number on the lower-right-hand corner of the plate is 487-52-SA. The plate also says that it's rated for 240,000K btu/hr (input) and 192K but (output). It looks to me like something from the '50s, but I really have no idea.

    Also, do the btu ratings indicate that it's 80% efficient? What would a modern boiler have for efficiency?
  • Todd_24
    Todd_24 Member Posts: 9
    Vintage

    Series 3 H was made between May 1956 and August 1961. This is in the orange service parts book.
  • Steamhead (in transit)
    Steamhead (in transit) Member Posts: 6,688
    If it's that old

    the annual efficiency (AFUE) might be a lot lower. Fuel was not expensive then so there was no incentive to make efficient equipment. The only incentive was to make it cheap. As imperfect as the AFUE tests are, they're better than what was available when your boiler was made (nothing at all).

    There are much better boilers available now. Do you have a steam or hot-water system?

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


    The steady state efficiencies of the 1950's and earlier boilers were 80%, and were a requirement of the AGA standards of the time. Steady state efficiencies of modern atmospheric boilers really haven't improved much over 80% because of the requirement to avoid condensation in the flue and chimney.

    Where modern boilers have improved is in reduction of standby losses, which occur when the boiler is full of hot water but not being fired. This has been accomplished by reducing heat exchanger mass, water content, electronic ignition and use of automatic flue dampers. The AFUE rating take the standby losses into account, while the old AGA system did not.

    Savings in fuel consumption you will gain by replacing the boiler will depend on your system configuration and whether you can replace it with another atmospheric boiler or a much more efficient condensing type. Replacing it with another atmospheric may not save you much unless your present boiler maintains constant temperature of 180 degrees, even when there is no call for heat.
  • Eric Johnson
    Eric Johnson Member Posts: 174
    Hot water

    It's a hot water system, but from the tag it looks like it will do steam as well.

    Anyway, I heat with wood and use the Weil-McLain simply as a distribution system for hot water from the wood boiler. We fire the gas up in the late spring and early fall, and when we're not around to tend the wood boiler. When running on gas, it doesn't maintain a set temp when there's no call for heat. Given the way I use it, I'm not all that concerned about efficiency, but I think that a motorized damper would be an excellent investment in any case.

    Thanks for all the help. I figured it dated from the '50s, but that was just a guess. That's probably when nat. gas became available and they tore out the old coal-fired boiler. They tell me nat. gas used to be cheap. Not no more!
This discussion has been closed.

Categories