How long can I live with a cracked boiler?

Today our plumber who came to service our boiler informed us that it's cracked. There was a small puddle and he showed me where it's leaking from with his wet hand. Should I get a second opinion? How long can we live with a cracked boiler? Thanks!

Maybe a while, maybe not... It's a ticking time bomb really. 

Better to deal with it now while it is mild and not yet an emergency. Schedule with a plumber.

we had this issue, we were told it was common with a certain brand. My husband was able to repair/patch it (after our service guy would not touch it) and we got a few more years out of it. He's pretty handy...if you want specific details I will have to ask him! 

What was ironic to me was that we had it serviced every year and were never told about the issue until it was "you need a new boiler, this one is cracked and can't be fixed."

Also report it to your insurance company. Sometimes a cracked boiler is covered.

just had the same issue with my mother's furnace, only 7 years old.  Serviced every year, this year, it's cracked.  Two days later it stopped working due to water in the chamber.  New furnace being installed tomorrow. 

Tried insurance company also, no luck

Thanks everyone -- just learned it's rotted, not cracked. Oh well. Ordered a new one to be installed Monday. Happy holidays!

As Jim said, it might last a while longer, but you also could suddenly wind up with no boiler at all.  Makes sense to replace it sooner than later, but I would get at least one other vendor to look at it.

BTW, is it an old boiler?  If so, it might have a lot of corrosion that will accelerate the problem.  

Aha, that is it.  Corrosion.  Glad to know you now know.

We had a similar situation in the spring and the cracked/rotted boiler worked for us for the rest of the spring heating season and also into Nov when we had some section of it replaced.  The boiler was still under warranty and so we got whatever that massive cast iron part is at a reduced rate. So, yes, it can last a while, but it is kind of scary if suddenly dies on you and causes a flood. 

And we did get a second opinion from another plumber but it cost us $150 -$200 more. 

When we had a cracked boiler, insurance didn't cover repair/replacement of it, but it did cover damage caused by it.