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W.C. Butler Heating and Air Conditioning Blog

How to Tell You Need to Replace Your Old Boiler

condensing-boiler

We’ve got good news about your home’s boiler! If you take good care of it, scheduling annual maintenance and prompt repairs as necessary, you can expect your boiler to outlast most other heating systems. Where gas furnaces and heat pumps usually last for about 15 years, boilers can last for over 20 and may even reach 30 years of effective service. This is one of the reasons people still invest in boilers for home heating: they provide an excellent return on investment.

But no boiler can last forever, and it’s better for you to recognize early signs that your home’s boiler is reaching the end of its lifespan. You don’t want to get trapped with a dead boiler in the middle of the winter, nor do you want to spend extra money to keep a boiler going when it should’ve gone to the recycling yard years earlier. 

We’ll help you with our expert knowledge about boiler and water heater replacement in Rocky Mount, VA to detect the indications you need to replace your boiler.

The boiler’s age

Although a boiler that’s over 20 years old doesn’t automatically need a replacement, it’s a good point to start paying closer attention to it. Any of the other signs on this list become more serious the older the boiler is. We also strongly recommend replacing a boiler that’s 30 years old or more, as the chance of it failing suddenly or becoming prohibitively expensive to repair becomes much higher.

Leaks

A boiler can spring a leak at any point. When an older boiler starts to leak on a regular basis, it usually means the pipes and connections are too worn down with age to work effectively. If you notice leaking from the tank itself, this often means the boiler needs replacement right away.

Corrosion

Boilers are constructed to resist corrosion for most of their service lives, although lack of maintenance can cause corrosion to strike early. Extreme age can lead to corrosion in the system, so if you notice corrosion forming on the tank, the pipes, or the heat exchanger of your boiler, it’s time to get a new one.

Uneven or inferior heating

One major warning that a boiler is on its way out is when it can no longer meet the standard heating needs of a house. You might notice some rooms are getting warmer than others as the boiler struggles to evenly distribute enough heated water to all its terminal points. Or, your house in general may not be getting warm enough. If the boiler is old, these heating problems are a sign to invest in a new boiler.

Rising heating bills

Has the cost to heat your home during winter risen over the past few years? It might be due to an increase in energy costs or the need to run the heater for longer periods of time to accommodate more people in your home. If you can’t find a reason for the rise in heating costs, it might mean your boiler is in its final decline.

You don’t need to make the choice to replace your boiler on your own. Rely on the experts at W.C. Butler Heating and Air Conditioning.

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