Posted by jtown on September 07, 2001 at 11:19:12:
In Reply to: Should I replace an old steam boiler? posted by Andrey on September 07, 2001 at 10:11:18:
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I would put my money into any improvements that save heat loss and put the savings toward a future replacement/upgrade. Perhaps a hot water conversion. A new steam boiler will cost at least $2,500 unless you can do it yourself. They aren't much more efficient. You may be able to add baffling by throwing some firebrick or iron scrap into your boilers flue passages to bounce the heat off the walls better. With steam you want to keep a cardigan/zip sweatshirt handy and turn on the boiler late and off early. The hour warm up doesn't as hurt much in the real winter. A lot of that heat stays in the boiler and piping and gets wasted if you just needed to nudge the thermostat a little. Are you burning oil? Gallons mean more than dollars.