Heating

Old old boiler/furnace

Our “new” 100+ yr-old brownstone has an American Standard boiler installed in 1953 (I have the original manual with the penciled-in date). The water heating component of the boiler doesn’t seem to work well (we have VERY limited hot water for the house, which will only get worse when we get tenants and winter gets…

by HomeSweetstuy
09/04/2007

Our “new” 100+ yr-old brownstone has an American Standard boiler installed in 1953 (I have the original manual with the penciled-in date). The water heating component of the boiler doesn’t seem to work well (we have VERY limited hot water for the house, which will only get worse when we get tenants and winter gets here). I have no idea how to maintain/clean/care for the unit. Also, I want to install separate water heating capabilities (either a tank or an on-demand unit) but don’t really know where to begin. Does anyone have any suggestions on who to call to learn how to care for the thing until we can replace it (our reno budget is getting spent elsewhere in the house at the moment) and who to talk to about installing separate water-heating equipment? Thanks.

Heating

Comments

  5. Lost in some of the responses was your question regarding hot water. You should be able to have insatlled and plumbed an oil-fired hot water heater. This is an uncommon animal, so not every plumber will be familiar with them. You will love it, it should be installed for less than $2500.00, and even after you replace your older boiler with a new high efficiency model, the hot water heater will still perform economically. A brief comparison of the recovery rate from an oil fired vs gas, electric, or coil is a no brainer.

    You will laso have a better selection of high efficiency boilers, because you will not require a coil in the unit for hot water.

  6. When we moved in, we had an American Standard boiler of a similar vintage. Do *NOT* make the same mistake we did – replace it right now. We had a service contract with the oil company (a lifesaver), but the guys were there about once a month that winter. The hot water coil was shot, the circulator was shot, the ignition burned out, the regulator wasn’t working, etc, etc… I’ve been there as far as the whole budget thing goes, but in retrospect, I would do the boiler first and let something else slip. It certainly cost us the most of any of the problems we had in the first year.

    Between the change in efficiency over the last half-century, and having alot of components not quite operating at peak, we cut our oil usage in half by upgrading to a new boiler. With the jump in oil prices (at the time), it paid for itself in a little over a year.
    With that rant over, let me add my opinion on the hot water heater. The savings between a hot water heater and a boiler with a hot water coil are pretty minimal – maybe ten to twenty dollars a month – and the boiler gives you unlimited hot water. Aside of the trade-off, you don’t save that much compared to the added cost. But seriously consider replacing the boiler – you’ll recoup half to two-thirds of the cost in oil savings this winter alone.

  7. Is it a gas or oil furnace? If it is oil, I would contact the company who delivers oil to you and check costs for mainenance contract. I have a seperate water heater as well and had it installed by a plumber.I use hot water heater in the summer instead of the boiler and it saves alot on those oil bills.

  8. DO NOT let Keyspan anywhere near that boiler! The first thing they’ll say is to replace it right away b/c it won’t last. Also, most of their techs are too young to know how such old boilers work. Get an independent heating professional. My grandmother has a boiler as old as yours in her limestone & in over 40 yrs it has never given her any problems. She never had it cleaned – just flushed the water out weekly.

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