Posted by Frank Gieske on February 15, 2000 at 20:15:34:
In Reply to: Re: Boiler replacement? posted by Harold Kestenholz - Hydronic Network on February 13, 2000 at 22:29:59:
: You can get a totally unvalidated and unverified efficiency rating. I hope noone is going to believe that a boiler installer can estimate final efficiency by an eyeball guess. Efficiency ratings are done at a factory to new boilers under strict procedures. You will have a new burner on a 40-year-old boiler and a verified efficiency examination will cost more than two boilers to perform. The best you can get is a combustion efficiency test, which is not a boiler efficiency test, as you can have an 86% burner efficiency with a resulting 40% boiler efficiency. If you are looking for true efficiency buy a new boiler that is rated by engineers from the factory and rating laboratories. You will also be able to get parts for new units.
Sort of what I thought -- but was wondering if there is any source of old literature that would give me an idea of the efficiency of the A-3 so I could justify a 3 or 4 thousand dollar layout to replace what seems like a perfectly good boiler.