Okay, I hope I'm not wasting anyone's time with this post. I have a Weil-Mclain CG-4 boiler in my house. I believe it was installed in 1992. The boiler, since I've lived in my house (2008-ish), has made some popping/kettling noise when it fires. The last couple years it has gotten markedly worse. In the last couple years I've had to introduce a lot of new water. One year my hydronic garage heater was replaced...lots of new water. The second year a radiator elbow started leaking...drain, fix, lots of new water. When I moved into the house, there was also a leaky solder joint leading out to the garage, so I have no idea how long that was leaking. So that was a long build up to me thinking I could have sediment in the system. The noise is pretty much isolated to the boiler, the pipes are pretty much silent around the house. I'm also having a tough time finding a good tech in my area. A lot of companies come in and say the boiler is 20 years old, you need a new one. I just can't believe that is the answer. I also think that some companies are afraid of using solvents due to causing new leaks, etc. I talked to a family run/owned company today about inspecting/cleaning my boiler and maybe looking in to the noise I'm experiencing. The tech on the phone suggested I take an angled mirror and look inside the boiler for build-up. So I'm trying to gather information. I'm not sure what that would tell me or what that would be a sign of. Not having an angled mirror, I reverted to using the iBoiler (iPhone taped to a wire hanger) and took this video. Does this look normal? Is the build-up normal or heavy? Does this tell me anything on the health of my boiler? Also, are there any suggestions for internal solvents to remove sediment? I'm just trying to arm myself with information. It seems I'm always learning more and more about how these work...which often leads to more questions/mystery. [video=youtube;xXMDlt27m_g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXMDlt27m_g[/video]

While a plumber was replacing galvanized pipes with copper in the common area of a condo where I rent my unit out, he said I really should replace my 2003 50 gallon Bradford White gas water heater with a 40 gallon new one, although I haven't had problems with it. He replaced the 30 gallon water heater for the unit next door during the re-piping for $2500 including new parts and permit/inspection. He said he'd charge me $4000, even though the price for a 30 gallon and a 40 gallon is the same, because the neighbor's water heater is closer to the pipes (or something like that). The two water heaters are on opposing sides of the same ground floor wall, about two to three feet apart. The neighbor wrote me a list of things the plumber would be installing, to help me decide whether the price is too high: Bradford White 40 gallon water heater thermal expansion tank drain pan with overflow channeled to outside the building another overflow valve channeled outside the building new temperature and pressure relief line ten year warranty cost of Los Angeles Building and Safety permit and inspection ***************** Small indoor tankless water heaters sound good except for electrical requirements I don't meet, and the homeowners association discourages outdoor ones. Are there any brands of regular water heaters that stand out? What is the usual price range for this?