oil fired condensing boilers

carol_3

Ken, could we talk live? Email me your phone number at carol@carolfey.com.

carol_3

oil fired condensing boilers

Do any of you have experience with oil-fired condensing boilers. I'm writing an article about condensing boilers and have the impression that there aren't many oil-fired in the US because of high sulfur in the fuel and lack of interest (price?) from consumers. Ken Secor--Tom Schwarz says that you have one and seem happy with it.

Robert O'Connor

CAROL

> Do any of you have experience with oil-fired

> condensing boilers. I'm writing an article about

> condensing boilers and have the impression that

> there aren't many oil-fired in the US because of

> high sulfur in the fuel and lack of interest

> (price?) from consumers. Ken Secor--Tom Schwarz

> says that you have one and seem happy with it.

Robert O'Connor

CAROL

> Do any of you have experience with oil-fired

> condensing boilers. I'm writing an article about

> condensing boilers and have the impression that

> there aren't many oil-fired in the US because of

> high sulfur in the fuel and lack of interest

> (price?) from consumers. Ken Secor--Tom Schwarz

> says that you have one and seem happy with it.

Bob Gagnon plumbing and heating

energy star boiler

I recently put in a Utica oil fired 86% efficency, non-condensing boiler that vents into a standard chimney. I was very happy with that boiler. It uses regular oil and the vent fumes won't blow back through a window. Bob Gagnon

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Steamhead (in transit)

Carol, as I understand it

there's less water vapor contained in oil flue products than in those of gas, so there's less to condense in the first place.

Ken Secor has a Monitor FCX condensing boiler in his house in upstate Vermont, and loves it. But it is a bit more complicated than a standard boiler, so the flameheads will likely choke on it.

If you're looking for oil-fired EnergyStar boilers, there's a great selection. The Solaia line of hot-water boilers is one- you've probably seen some of our install pics of this type of boiler. The Burnham MPO is another extremely nice hot-water unit. Both of the above product lines have 86.5-87% AFUE ratings. Also check out the Slant/Fin Eutectic (see this thread: http://forums.invision.net/Thread.cfm?CFApp=2&Thread_ID=48794&mc=24 ), the Weil-McLain Ultra-Oil, the Dynatherm, and various European models like Biasi, Buderus and Viessmann.

For steam, the Burnham Mega-Steam boiler is head and steam-dome above anything else on the market today. It features an 86% AFUE rating which is unsurpassed in the steam boiler industry. Now if Burnham would offer this boiler with a power gas burner, the Mega-Steam would rule the residential steam boiler market.

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[Deleted User]

Funny thing.

Saw & asked about several oil condensing boilers I saw @ ISH. Never a mention of requiring special fuel. Last German oil guy I talked to said their #2 heating oil has sulfur content to 2,000 ppm.

Peerless is selling an oil fired condenser. Boiler is made in Holland. Fired w/ a Beckett AFG. Nothing special. Burns the standard 1,500+ ppm sulfur #2.

Ken_40

Carol,

To say I like my oil-con would be gross understatement.

My instruments tell me I'm at 91%. The wizards suggest adding ~7% to that for the condensing (latent heat) my instuments cannot measure.

Living in an 8,000 degree day climate (extreme northern Vermont) and burning under 300 gallons of # 2 for a year, which includes heating AND all my domestic hot water needs makes my wallet smile as well.

I cleaned it once and saw the already mandated low sulphur evidence first hand. Absolutely no corrosive action on primary or secondary HX and a thin soft grey powder "residue" that looked more like the film on a dirty beer glass than a byproduct of combustion.

Let's just say the eternal "cynical skeptic" is a convert.

It's heated the house and made hot water for almost two years now. Next cleaning will occur in early fall.

I had one problem. My own fault. Long story short: A hairline crack in the oil filter allowed 8 months of trace air bubbles to "contaminate" the suction side of the 2-pipe fuel tubing and components. The results were grossly accelerated rusting of all ferrous components in the fuel piping.

I have tons of photos of the boiler insides, outsides, the first cleaning, the install, etc.

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Dick Charland

Carol, worth taking a look at the Peerless Pinnacle oil boiler, which is a condensing oil boiler in the 91-93% range.

Mike T., Swampeast MO

Just curious Ken.

Presuming you use reset have you measured flue gas temperature at various supply temps?

I can certainly believe 98% gross combustion efficiency but honestly suspect net efficiency to the system is at at least 5% less as modulation [appears] to be the only way to increase the net efficiency...

My Vitodens when maintaining "Eurocave" conditions in "typical" weather appears to have a touch right at 98% net system efficiency for the heating season but I have a bit of a hard time believing such is possible.

Ken_40

Mike,

I have no reset. A simple bang-bang face mounted aquastat and internal mixing valve that sets the ratio between the low and high supply temps. The setting we use all year except when 10 below zero - or lower is ~ 145F out, about 120 return. When it drops to below 10 below, I need to crank it up to ~160 supply. I believe 165 is max setting. Of course it only runs at that temperature when I do morning return temps from deep night setback. That happens only on design day(s) which is about 5 days a winter.

Even when the high limit is 160F, I have never actually seen that on my gages, but I know it must be happening or the boiler would never cycle on those deep recovery morning "hits."


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chapchap70_2

In the Long Island area, it is not easy to get under 2000 ppm heating oil that the Peerless Pinnacle boiler requires. The sulfur content of the heating oil is about twice that here. It seems that heating oil is the last distillate to get federally regulated. I believe you would have to get red dyed off road diesel which is federally mandated to be under 500 ppm.

Chances are, the diesel would meet heating oil specs. However, the tolerances for viscosity are greater than that of heating oil so one could get a delivery that is too viscous. I'm not sure how big of a deal that would be but I think it would be less of a problem than the high sulfur content.