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QUESTION:We bought a house last year that still has its original gas-fired
boiler, circa 1968. It got through last winter OK (it was a mild one
here in Connecticut), but the house inspector did warn us before closing
that the boiler was near the end of its useful life.
Gas company inspected it and found it safe. Plumber told us that most
people wait for heating equipment to die before replacing it (on an
emergency basis on a cold February day, no doubt).
Can anyone offer any arguments for replacing it now? Is there a way to
calculate the increased efficiency savings that a new boiler would
provide? Rating plate on the current boiler says that its output is
151,000 BTU/hr. Our gas bills last winter were in the range of $350/mo
in mid-winter. Local gas company is of no help whatsoever.
ANSWER: YUP AGAIN! We're working on one now that they want to get another year
out
of it. They said that 2 years ago. So far, it has a bad pump & bad
bypass
assembly. To fix, they would be 1/3 of the way to a new one! That's a pretty healthy gas bill. That alone would be an incentive to
get into an efficient boiler. Oldies are about 55-60% annual efficiency
where most new ones are at least 80%, often 82-84% without fancy
technology.
At least suggest getting a couple of prices to decide. If you want to
wait,
you have some advance info in case you may need to make a fast decision
if
it fails during cold weather. No ideas on new prices. Low end of $2400
to
nearly $4000 if an old heap has to be torn apart in the basement.
A rough figure says $1000 annual heating bill with existing unit would
change to about $735 with an 80% model.
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