Life Expectancy

What is the average life expectancy of a s-130 boiler?

The figure the local dealer gave me seemed pesimistic and gave me cause for concern.

I have a AA260 which is very simular just twice as big.
Mine was manfactured in 1950 and is perfect shape.
That Boiler should out, last you even in your 20 years old.
BDD

I regularly see coal guns at twenty plus years that look great. The original prototype (circa 1979) is still running about 45 minutes from my home.

The key to keeping a boiler alive is never shut it off except for maintenance, if you have a coil then your set and have a reason to keep it going.

So true Mr Mayor. Downtime is our enemy. However, even in winter only use, twenty years has been achieved over and over.

I have a 1954 AA-130 - still kick'n... looks brand new! Down-time is the enemy, so running it for DHW over summer time, if possible, may cost a few dollars extra a month (currently) but you'll be maintaining a boiler that will outlast you! 40 years of boiling sounds better than 20 years... and if running 24/7, 365.25 days a year gives me 40 years over 20... it's worth the extra $.

I live in Central Pa, so coal is not expensive here. Even at 20lbs a day, I'd pay about 10 bucks more a month for about 6 months to keep my boiler 40 years as opposed to 20. 60 dollars a year for twenty years... even at a 4% avg. rate of inflation, you'll only spend a bit more than 1700 dollars over the CURRENT rate of electricity. We all know that is going to change... So, BURN BABY BURN! In the long run, you are much better off.

I'll be burning through the summer if I can maintain a draft!

Domestic hot water discussion moved here: Coal vs Electric Costs for Domestic Hot Water

My AA 260 is also a 1950 model, it was worked very hard and never maintained.. I had a bit of work to put it back into good shape, but it now is good for another 20-30 years..

The periferal items, like motors, flue pipes, grate rollers, electronic controls etc,, they may need replacing ocassionally,, but the boiler itself should last a long time as long as you don't have really nasty water in it.

Greg L
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So true Greg. Coal boilers seem to be the tanks of the solid fuel world. They may get uglier, but they don't stop chugging along. Of course, if you run an open system it won't last as long, but under pressure, they seemingly last forever.

Richard S. wrote:The key to keeping a boiler alive is never shut it off except for maintenance, if you have a coil then your set and have a reason to keep it going.

why is it, if you keep the boiler running all of the time it is better for it then shutting it off during the summer? Also what is an open system patrick mentioned in the last post?

BrockWilt wrote:why is it.... better for it then shutting it off during the summer? Also what is an open system

Coal ash plus moister equals acid. This acid eats away at the metal. If you do shut down for the summer it's wise to clean it well, try to kill the acid (baking soda & water bath?) and keep it dry (Light bulb running in it all summer?) I think you'll find more info on storage by searching this forum.

An open system is not under pressure. Some wood fired systems use huge tanks to store the heat. It's cheaper to use open tanks, but with this open type of system water is lost and replaced. The new water brings new corrosives.

Besides what Freddy posted there's a few other reasons:

• If the boiler has gaskets (like around where the domestic hot water coil is) they will start to leak over time from the expansion and contraction caused by turning it off.
• There are moving parts inside the boiler, they can get corroded together over a summer. I've seen one that was shut off for the entire summer and as soon as they started it the shear pin snapped because the mechanism inside was all jammed up. Those parts are heavy built so after a few turns of the wrench on the shaft to loosen it up it was alright.
• You'll get a much longer life out of galvanized flue pipes.
• Lastly if you have a hot water coil it really makes no sense to shut it off because you're still utilizing the heat. We use about one ton during the warmer months to keep it going. It's certainly worth it for us and saves money. If you're far away and paying a lot more for the coal it might not be as cost effective.

They are meant to be run 24/7/365 and built like that, you'll most likely have corrosion issues before anything else poses you a problem such as the mechanisms.

i have AHS-130

i left it down one summer. will never do that again

alot of corrision in the burn pot... tank side.

i did the baking soda thing and coated the entire inside with motor oil
what a mess.....

this year ran all year long into october for its annually pm..

almost no corrision... also where it did corrode the previouse year i used
a rust neutralizer seemed to work with high temp paint


also in a open water system you are intriducing fresh oxygen all the time... combine
this with water and bare metal you get rust ....
is whats starts eating the metal.... in a closed system you end up with "dead water"
no "free" oxygen to attack the steel. why its so important to have a air scoop in a
closed system to get rid of fresh oxygen as soon as possible when you fill it.