Raypak 402 TP Salvage Worth? Resale Value?

[mjwalsh]

I did some checking & it appears that brand new modulating Raypak boilers in the 400K BTU range sell for over $6K. Since we have been able to keep our heated concrete free enough of ice with our high output Spirec Heat Exhangers for many years now ... we plan to get rid that 1980 era Huron Valley Sales Raypak boiler to free up space in our small equipment room. For us the fact that we need no heating BTUs night time within our main closed loop boiler system in our laundromat is what proven for this to work out. Most of the car wash BTU heating needs are during our nights when it is colder. The car wash domestic water always was tempered & brought in from the laundromat's domestic part of our 92%+ boiler closed loop system so that having priority is not an issue. It is helpful that concrete can store its temperature for long periods of time.

We are not sure on how much salvage the copper within it will bring from the local salvage yard? Any thoughts? Since its copper finned heat exchanger has very little pressure drop ... it seems like we can re-purpose it as a heat exchanger ... a heating radiator even without a fan ... if you will. That is what we are leaning towards doing rather than possibly practically giving it away to the salvage yard. That could make it even more comfy in our dog wash it seems.

There must be some owners here who have faced a similar situation with a Raypak TP boilers. The heat exchanger just seasonally used & at lower actual temperatures than most non snow melt boilers & being what I believe to be extra top notch seems like what I have in mind might be a good bet. The circulator for the extra hot floor heat inside the 2 room console in the middle dog wash should easily handle the minor 3/4" copper extra loop tie in ... which will help keep the installation costs down. I know 2Biz did a nifty makeover that improved his efficiency from possibly a similar 80%+ modulating boiler.

I figure I would touch base to see what others have done with their RAYPACK TP 400K+ BTU ice melt boilers if & when they ever revised them with another way.

It seems like if I sold it to someone in the countryside or wherever ... they most likely would have to have some expertise & cost to change the modulating boiler internally to allow it to operate at higher temperatures etc.

 

[mjwalsh]

So nobody has taken their old floor heat boiler for its copper within it to a metal recycling yard for a huge sum of money?

 

[PaulLovesJamie]

I sold my used 400k raypak on craigs list, iirc I got ~400 for it. I Threw in the double wall stack. I dont recall if I also gave him the circulating pump or if I sold that separately.
I do go to the scrap yard occasionally, copper does bring a decent price but it varies depending on the commodity market, and every scrap yard doesnt give the same. Also you have to separate the copper, steel, brass, and toss any plastic or they will reduce the value. Call for current pricing.

A couple weeks ago I dropped off a bucket of old brass parts that had accumulated over the years, it was about half full. I got around 50 bucks for it.

 

[bert79]

We scrapped out an old Raypak 330k btu boiler about a year ago. We took it apart and took the asbestos (?) panels out. We took it apart as much as possible and separated the copper and brass that we could. Mostly it went as is because we didn't see the benefit of spending the time to separate each piece of copper or brass. We sent it with some other scrap so I don't recall exactly what we got for it but I'm guessing between $20 and $30. We installed a new Lochinvar wall mounted boiler and are very, very happy with the increased efficiency.

 

[mjwalsh]

I sold my used 400k raypak on craigs list, iirc I got ~400 for it. I Threw in the double wall stack. I dont recall if I also gave him the circulating pump or if I sold that separately.
I do go to the scrap yard occasionally, copper does bring a decent price but it varies depending on the commodity market, and every scrap yard doesnt give the same. Also you have to separate the copper, steel, brass, and toss any plastic or they will reduce the value. Call for current pricing.

A couple weeks ago I dropped off a bucket of old brass parts that had accumulated over the years, it was about half full. I got around 50 bucks for it.

Paul, Bert & others,

It appears that you also replaced the circulating pump. The specification for the pump on the original engineering large blueprint from Huron Valley Sales states Pump Head: 31.15 Flow: 32.16GPM. Slab tubing length: Close to 500' of 1/2" Polyethylene Hydronic tubing of course balanced with two header boxes with the 2" pipe. I would think that the high GPM is mostly to help protect the boiler by keeping its coils at the lowest temperature possible when the Raypak Boiler's burner would come on. Without the boiler coil concern ... I am thinking that the HEAD ABILITY OF A NEW PUMP IS FAR MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE GPM. Then again if I put on a 1-1/2" flanged pump low amp pump made to achieve the 31.15 head with way less GPM ... I not sure if that will change the head enough to be concerned about.

To think positive ... I hoping to luck out getting more life out of the Taco 133 with the 3JEM quadra-flex coupler. We found a 3/4 HP Dayton motor from Zoro that is a close enough fit to replace the pump's motor that went out about 5 years ago... so the motor portion is a non issue. The Taco 133 pump maintained with oil every season & other than the flex coupler & the low cost motor it has been 100% trouble free for 39 winter seasons since 1980. Jeff Deal at a laundry clean show told me that there are a lot of those Raypak systems that his dad sold that are out there longer than that. I notice some of the new systems come with a 25 year warranty.

I am curious to know if any of you matched with the same pump brand new during your renovation or did you do something more creative like 2Biz did to save on amps or whatever? My 1-1/2" UPS-50-160 three speed Grundfos in the laundromat meets the range but it is about the same over $1600 price tag as the new version of the Taco 133 pump. The advantage there would be to possibly invest in a spare on the shelf if either would go out.

I do thank you guys for giving me a heads up on the skimpy amount of from salvage. Even though the Raypak 402TP was installed in the fall of 1980 ... the use was only seasonal & much less after 1991 when we put in the more efficient Spirec Heat Exchangers. The technicalities of re-installing somewhere else tells me that it would be hard to find someone interested in setting it up somewhere else. So you helped finalize the decision to use just the Raypak's top notch heat exchanger to enhance the room temperature output more than just the non antifreeze protected hose (meets specs) buried in the totally enclosed 2 stall dog wash indoor area's floor.

The existing small Grundfos & existing controls make the tie-in extra easy & certain. Most of the extension will be 3/4" copper ... we are still debating on some flex on the final few feet to the heat exchanger to allow more flexibility of placement just above the floor within our dog wash console. It is surprising how good just convection can work eliminating the need for a fan. The temperature of the boiler water in that specific loop we isolate & run much higher than the snow melt system which has its own Spirec.

Supplementing with electric heat can be atrociously expensive during a horrible steady -20° F cold long term spell ... like we had a few months ago.