Best Of
Re: Packing Heat
The only solar thermal heating besides pool heaters that I've seen operating for years is direct air heating. I forget the name of the company. It blew solar heated air into industrial buildings where ~60° sufficed. When sun did not shine then good old NG kicked in. If your entire roof is covered with solar panels then you save something on your A/C use. Otherwise Contrarion & Kaos observations match mine.
jumper
Re: Thinking of buying a spare used oil burner
It's not a terrible idea. However most parts on standard oil burners are interchangeable and is much easier than swopping the entire burner. Using it for a parts burner might be your better option.
Intplm.
Re: Replumbing: Solder or Threads for Ball Valves
Still waiting for evidence that shark bite fittings fail more than sweated or threaded…
Re: System 2000, nearly double the cost of Weil McLain, is it worth it?
I'll keep it simple guys, 48 years in the field, installation and 24/7/365 service. We installed EKs for 15 years, over 1000, maybe 2000. 100% customer satisfaction. When you deal with oil customers on a service contract you hear it if ANYTHING is wrong. Even replacements of fairly modern low mass boilers (WM468, Peerless ect03,4, et al), have had substantial fuel savings. Tech support has always been excellent, though rarely needed. These are the facts men.
Re: 1972 HB Smith OHB13W-7T 7 Section Combustion Chamber Replacement
Your as low as you should go with the stack temp. 325 net is it.
The general rule of thumb is around 100 deg over water temp.
You may get flue gas condensation if you go lower.
Re: Circulators with IFC internal flow checks, some discovery.
If someone was getting ghost flow, the ifc failing would be one of the last things I would think of but apparently it should be the first.
mattmia2
Re: System 2000, nearly double the cost of Weil McLain, is it worth it?
Thank you all, this thread has been incredibly helpful and I don't want to start an argument! :-)
I'm going to get additional estimates for both options (@Roger I will get in touch with you for a referral), and I like everything I'm hearing about the EK. Given the state of the house though, and a limited budget, it sounds like it might make more sense to save money on the boiler and make the biggest possible investment in the insulation / airflow improvements. But I'll need to really work the numbers and then decide.
riny
Re: System 2000, nearly double the cost of Weil McLain, is it worth it?
@Roger that involves someone staying in one place for 20 years just to break even vs putting the same after tax money into another tax advantaged investment (401k, IRA, etc) without that restriction. The duration is 1 hang up, 2 is future weather and 3 is future fuel prices.
Ha I think it’s a funny part of our modern age that all sort of purchases now become “investments”. Haircuts, shiny fridges, boilers, etc. Why can’t we just buy things?
Re: The "equalizer" is mis-named. It does nothing to equalize anything.
Use 45s to get your lateral spacing. Drains better.
Re: System 2000, nearly double the cost of Weil McLain, is it worth it?
@Hot_water_fan, please take a look at the study. New boilers are included. As a quick reference point, the 87.5 AFUE low mass with thermal purge actually had a higher annual efficiency than the 95 AFUE modulating condensing boiler. I like your choice of words, many dealers comment that System 2000 "sips" fuel in comparison to others that are "thirsty,"
Another advantage of low idle loss boilers (low mass and thermal purge) is that there is virtually no oversizing penalty, so weatherizing after installing still can have good benefits and the boiler will still run at nearly the same annual efficiency.
Roger
Roger