ContinuousPilot vs Electronic Ignition

Dale Gross

He came up with 323 sq. ft of radiation which he multiplied by 240 which gave him 77520. Then he recommende the PSVB-5D 150k. Are all the modulating boilers usinf hot water vs steam? Thanks again steamhead. Oh, by the way what about your preference as to the consistent pilot vs E.I.? Frank C

Dale Gross

Continuous Pilot vs Electronic Ignition

I am geting ready to order the Dunkirk Plymouth II Series PVSB-6D or PSB-6D the difference being consistent pilot vs E.I The company shows that the E.I. model is slightly more efficient(about 3% more efficient) but I have been told that the E.I. is more problematic. Which is preferable as I was told that experts in the field would prefer the consistent pilot. Frank C

Boilerpro_5

Thats a big boiler you're looking at....

I myself prefer standing pilot in my humid midwestern summers. A standing pilot combined with a stack damper will keep the heat exchanger 100F or up, keeping it nice and dry during the summer. Electronic igntion boilers get quite rusty around here over the summer. When you take into account the extra rust on The EI boilers, I bet the Standing pilot units are actually more efficient. EI I would expect to be useful where gas pressure is not very stable... the pilot is automatically relit if the pressure drops too low and the pilot goes out.
If you actually need that big a boiler (that boiler can heat in the range of 5,000 to 10,000 sq ft in Norhtern Illinois), you may want to seriously consider something more efficient, like the multitude of condensing boilers available. A boiler that size is going to cost alot to operate in terms of fuel usage...assuming its the chief heating source. The upfront cost of more efficient equipment will be paid back quickly with those king of heating loads.

Boilerpor

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Steamhead (in transit)

Uhhhh, BP

that Plymouth is a steam boiler. For hot-water it would be PWB or PVWB.

But I'm curious, too- how was the boiler size determined?

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Dale Gross

Thank you Boilerpro and Steamhead for your fast and informative responses. The salesman calculated according to the 11 radiator sizes I gave him that the 150K model PVSB-5D would be adequate and that something larger might be wasteful. My home has 3 floors and no more than 2200 sq. ft.
Right now there is a Sears/Homart 6102 200K BTU. It was installed in 1957 by a previous owner and I was reluctant to go too much below that. I am now beginning to realize that I would be using more energy to do the same job at higher cost.
I had asked him whether there was a unit that could be adjusted for the amout of BTU so if you wanted to bring it down from 180K to 150K for instance. He said there was a modulating unit available but seemed to discourage me re price(said might run around $9000. I only saw 2 units in brochure but they were hot water boilers and my system is set up for steam going in and out of same pipe from each radiator location. The Dunkirk models were the Q95M-200 and the Q90-200. with 95 + 90% AFUE respectively.
The salesman works for Sears and may be limited in what he can offer. So it might be best if I just come down one size as my order was placed Friday evening and I have a couple of days to alter order. Thanks again. Frank C.

Steamhead (in transit)

If you installed one of those Q95 or Q90 boilers

you would have to replace the entire heating system to use them. Not very cost-effective at all.

But now that you mention Sears- I think you'd better check those EDR ratings again. Post pics here if you're not sure what types of rads you have- we can ID them.

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Steamhead (in transit)

Hmmmmmmmm

eleven radiators, 323 square feet EDR?

It's possible, but I'd want to verify that figure.

Take pics of your radiators and post them here.

Oh yeah- I prefer EI. It lights the pilot every time there's a call for heat, so we don't have to worry about pilot failure- gas pressure on the old low-pressure system in Baltimore has been known to vary more than it should. Also it can shut down in less than a second on flame failure, whereas standing pilot takes up to 3 minutes to shut down.

And if the basement is that damp, I'd recommend a dehumidifier.

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Dale Gross

Thanks Steamhead. I am not too good at this stuff I may need a couple hours to take the pictures and put them on computer and post them (not sure how to do the posting of them part). Jack of all trades here. Frank

Steamhead (in transit)

Save the pics

as .jpg images, shrinking them to roughly 600x400 if you can. Then, when you post, click on the Attachments button at the bottom of the form- you may need to scroll down to see it. When the Attachments form comes up, browse to where the files are stored, add them and click OK. This will return you to the original Post Reply form, when you've typed in the text you want, click Post to finish the job.

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Dale Gross

I am having a problem with camera but measured radiators accurately.. Have 11 radiators.

L H W Sections Columns/tubes
1 29 26 9 12 3
2 27 26 9 11 3
3 27 26 9 11 3
4 19 38 9 8 3
5 12 22 9 5 3
6 14 36 5 18 4
7 31 22 5 6 3
8 28 19 5 16 4
9 7 19 5 4 4
10 72 10 2 1 ?
11 72 10 2 1 ?

I believe #10 + 11 are identical Burnham Baseray baseboard steam radiators and are 6 ft long + 10" high but don't know how many fins. I calculated about 264 sq. ft. without #10 + #11. The sq. footage of house is now only around 1800 sq ft. The 2200 sq ft figure was including basement space which we don't intentionally heat as no radiators in basement.frank C.

Boilerpro_5

OOPS...Didn't catch the S...NM



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