Boilers....

[jamesonontherocks]

Can someone talk to me about boilers? The house that we are contracted on's boiler is not functioning at all. They had a plumber out to check it out and said that he will try to order the parts or they will credit us. We are dealing with a foreclosure so we don't know when it was functioning last, only that its probably on its way out anyway.

I don't know the first thing about them. How to know what is a good one to buy for my home, who installs it (HVAC? Plumber? Etc). any suggestions would be helpful

[prazenjc]

not sure how it applies in a residential set up, but i know that across the country, depending on the state regulations, you have to be a certified boiler technician to work on a boiler. this also applies only if it is a certain pressure (which i'm guessing residential ones wouldn't be). you might want to talk to a plumber about its removal if you are leaning that way and installing a new/efficient unit to meet all of your water heating needs.

[FoxInFiji]

Good point praznjc but the certified technicians are only for high temp/high pressure commercial boilers. Like at a boiler plant. They don't do residential work.

OP what you want is a condensing boiler if you need to get a new boiler. They are a higher efficiency than a standard high efficient boiler. They cost only a little bit more than a standard boiler but they pay for that difference in a short amount of time. On the small commercial buildings we do design they are the only way to go but are sill pretty new in the residential industry. The only other thing you will need upgrading to a condensing boiler is possibly a different vent pipe. Code requires a maximum length, number of elbows, and material type. Normally a PVC pipe is used out a side wall just above the basement/location of the boiler. If your current vent snakes through in a different location it might need to be relocated.

Any new boiler should be an easy install for a competent HVAC/mechanical contractor. Plumbers can do it too but may not have the knowledge with gas piping and electrical work. Most mechanical contractors have a department or person who specializes in each of those things. Restoring an old boiler is much trickier and will quickly add up in maintenance cost because it often takes a lot of tweaking to get it right (ie. many trips for the contractor that they will charge you for). I would get some recommendations for a good HVAC contractor and have them come see what they recommend. If the problems are easily identifiable with your current boiler it doesn't matter the age. Boilers are not like furnaces that which have a lifespan. Old boilers are much more simplistic and if kept well maintained can worth for +50 years. And unlike furnaces there have been only a few innovations in boilers over the last 70 years so although a condensing boiler is more efficient it's usually not a big enough difference to justify replacing an old boiler that is working fine.

HTH

[mrs.jacinthe]

My parents have a boiler and it is at least 30+ years old, still running like a champ, and still pretty darn efficient. If they can fix it, let them - you'll save a LOT of money versus buying a new one. Don't replace unless you absolutely have to.