broken boiler

i have a tough question i have been thinking about for a couple day.:
i have a oil boiler that is about 12 years old and had it serviced recently and the guy said i need to replace the burner and the firebox which will cost $1000 or i can buy a new boiler for 2500-3000 what should i do? i also have a Alaska channing III which i use as the main source but you need a good reliable backup should something happen.
what would you do, fix or buy new?

Ask him why you need to change the burner. Get a specific answer and post it here. I don't know what brand of boiler you have, but all efm boilers have replaceable chambers.

fishhunter wrote:i have a oil boiler that is about 12 years old and had it serviced recently and the guy said i need to replace the burner and the firebox which will cost $1000 or i can buy a new boiler for 2500-3000.
What would you do, fix or buy new?

I would find a new service man. A 12 year old boiler should not NEED all that.

Dear broken Boiler
Look on Craig list for a spare oil gun just in case.
Are you talking about replacing the refraftory?
It cost 65 dollars to put new refractory in my 15 year old weiler mclain.
Not that big a deal it took me 3 hours to clean the boiler and about 15 minutes to replace the refracctory.
BDD

The burner itself consists of several different sub-assemblies. There is a frame that everything bolts on to, a motor, fan, pump, pump coupling, nozzle assembly, and it may have a transformer on it and a few other pieces that will never fail unless physically abused. The only thing that will hurt the frame is a sledge hammer and it is doubtful all those other pieces could fail together. The pump would be the pricey piece, MAYBE $200 bucks, everything else mentioned would be well under $100 except the motor which would be in that neighborhood and all of these items would take just minutes to install. As mentioned, you can usually pick up a good used burner for $20-100 from craigslist, flyers, etc.

I've got a couple of used Becket oil burners. PM me, if you need one.

I have seen complete oil fired boilers listed on craigslist for <$1000 in the last couple months. Lots of people have switched to alternate sources of heat and are selling the used boilers. Take a look around, you might find a good deal on a quality used boiler.

he was able to replace a few parts on the burner ( the pump,and the control unit) and replaced the firebox as is was clearly worn thin. once he pulled it out and showed me he tapped it with his hammer and it broke through.we had a flood in the basement earier in the year during one of our swell foot of rain in a weekend deals and the sump pump quit. there was 18 inches of water in the basement before i noticed and replaced the pump. parts and labor -$500 so i guess i got out of it ok.. its a burnham boiler. i just want it to last another 5 -7 years until i have the coin to convert to geothermal.

Well, on the good side, a little knowledge saved you $500

Burnham is a very good boiler.If taken care of it will last a lifetime(50 years or so) as will most cast iron boilers.
DON