Boiler lifespan

[Michael FosterParticipant @michaelfoster47072]

I am contemplating buying a nice 5″ loco but the boiler is 42 years old. It has a hydraulic and recent steam test but I’m  concerned  about the age of the boiler. Should I walk away?

 

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Bump in hope a boiler expert will comment.

My feeling, not worth much, is the chronological age is almost irrelevant – it’s run-time that wears machines and boilers out.   A carefully stored unused 42 year old boiler will still be ‘as new’, whereas one that’s been steamed enthusiastically every weekend and badly maintained is likely to be in a poor state.   Any history or signs of heavy usage?

That it’s passed hydraulic and steam tests recently is probably more important than any sight unseen comments we might make here.  Unless someone knows of an ageing mechanism that allows a boiler to pass tests even though it is   toast.

Dave

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

At that age and scale it is likely to be of copper so unless something really weird has happened to the boiler (or it’s been abused) it should be fine while it still passes the standard hydraulic and steam tests.

It would be worth knowing if it lived mainly on soft or hard water. The latter may have deposited a lot of lime-scale that would need careful removal with a mild descaler such as citric acid or kettle de-furrer.

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