When a boiler is worth saving, and when it isn’t

Every October the phone fills with the same call: the boiler is loud, the radiators are lukewarm, and somebody on the internet said it needs replacing. Most of the time it does not. Here is how we decide, and it is the same test we use on our own apartments.

Save it if

It is under fifteen years old and has been serviced at least every other year. The problem is a part — a pump, an ignitor, a pressure valve, a thermostat — and that part is still made. The heat exchanger is not leaking. In that case a $149 tune-up plus a part is the whole story, and the unit will run another five to eight winters.

Replace it if

It is past twenty years and the manufacturer has stopped making parts. There is water on the floor under the heat exchanger. The gas bill has climbed for three winters with nothing else changing. Or it has failed twice in one season — at that point every repair is money you will not see again.

What a replacement really costs

A high-efficiency boiler installed, flued and commissioned starts at $5,490 on our board. That includes removal of the old unit, the permit, and a written commissioning sheet. It does not include radiators, and we will tell you if yours need bleeding or balancing while we are there — that is $149 for the whole apartment and it often fixes the cold rooms on its own.

If you are not sure, book the tune-up first. If we find the unit is not worth it, the $149 comes off the replacement quote.