Life span of heating system?

Joe

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Feb 9, 2008, 1:43:42 PM2/9/08

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Natural gas service...

Forced hot water baseboard heating...

Furnace is in the basement and the baseboard heating is on the first floor
only.

Water service to the house has a regulator to limit pressure.

Not worried about the B&G pump, but the furnace lifespan itself... Any
ideas how long these things last on average? I've heard 25 years. Google
has a million different answers depending on who you listen to.

Joe in Northern, NJ - V#8013-R

Currently Riding The "Mother Ship"
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George

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Feb 9, 2008, 1:54:55 PM2/9/08

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First, a furnace heats hot air. It sounds like you are describing a hot
water boiler. A lot depends on the quality of the boiler. Better boilers
are made from cast iron but even some cheaper brands use steel push
nipples instead of cast iron which tend to rot out. So one brand/model
may go a lot longer than another in the same service.

Joe

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Feb 9, 2008, 2:06:33 PM2/9/08

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> First, a furnace heats hot air. It sounds like you are describing a hot
> water boiler. A lot depends on the quality of the boiler. Better boilers
> are made from cast iron but even some cheaper brands use steel push
> nipples instead of cast iron which tend to rot out. So one brand/model may
> go a lot longer than another in the same service.

Yes... I guess it is called a boiler.

What are the worst case and best case scenarios for each? Mine is at least
15-18 years old.
--

Charles Quinn

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Feb 9, 2008, 2:38:33 PM2/9/08

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"Joe" <really-fake...@yunx.com> wrote in
news:yvmrj.283$qV2.269@trnddc04:

> Natural gas service...
>
> Forced hot water baseboard heating...
>
> Furnace is in the basement and the baseboard heating is on the first
> floor only.
>
> Water service to the house has a regulator to limit pressure.
>
> Not worried about the B&G pump, but the furnace lifespan itself...
> Any ideas how long these things last on average? I've heard 25 years.
> Google has a million different answers depending on who you listen
> to.
>

The answer is ------- depends!

How often is the boiler used?
How has it been maintained?
Was it a high quality unit?
Was it a good installation?
Is it in good working order now?
Will you be living in the place for a long/short time?

Since the newer units are much more energy efficient you need to run the
numbers and look at how much more efficient a new model is. Will it have
a good payback rate for the new unit? Are there rebates available?

http://www.njcleanenergy.com/residential/programs/warmadvantage/warmadvan
tage
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=boilers.pr_boilers

--

Charles
The significant problems we face cannot be solved
at the same level of thinking we were at when we
created them. Albert Einstein

Stormin Mormon

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Feb 15, 2008, 12:06:17 PM2/15/08

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How hot does the air have to be, before it goes into the furnace? Can a
furnace heat cold air, too?

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

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