boiler and water heater replacement

Mr.Trump

I live in an old poorly insulated 3,000 sq. ft. farm house that was/is heated by an old U.S. Boiler rated at 135,000 BTU's. The boiler originally heated @2,000 square feet and is connected to old flush mounted cast iron radiators. 10 years ago the previous owner added @1,000 sq. ft. and heated this addition with base board hydronic by tying into the original boiler. A leak appeared somewhere in the original heating pipes embedded in concrete servicing the older half. It was determined that the leak was too difficult to locate and the supply line going to the older half were capped off at the boiler and electric base board was added for that half. This worked but now both my boiler and water heater need to be replaced. I am presently working with a heating contractor who also tried to locate the leak as I would like to use the original cast iron radiators. Because of the limited crawl space leading to the concrete where the leak has been narrowed down to they too determined that it is not cost effective to pursue hooking into the old system. I can block off the older half of the house when not in use and when in use I usually heat it with a wood burning insert. I now need to replace the boiler and a separate 30 gallon gas water heater. My contractor has proposed a 50,000 BTU Weil-McLane Ultra efficiency boiler with a cast aluminum boiler which can also be used to supply my domestic hot water by use of a "side-arm" water heater or they can install a separate gas water heater. I've done some research on my own and I am very interested in the wall mounted MZ Boiler along with an indirect water heater or I am also interested in the tankless gas water heaters for my domestic hot water. One of my concerns is will I be able to hook into the old heating system in the future if and when I find a way to bypass the leak in the concrete. (i.e. through a wall or soffit) I need to make up my mind quickly as it is getting rather cold here in Wisconsin. I have heard that the high efficiency boilers do not work well in older homes lacking in insulation. Any advice or experience with either of these boilers or water heaters would be appreciated.

Mr.Trump

boiler and water heater

I live in an old poorly insulated 3,500 sq. ft. farm house that was/is heated by an old U.S. Boiler rated at 135,000 BTU's. The boiler originally heated @2,000 square feet and is connected to old flush mounted cast iron radiators. 10 years ago the previous owner added @1,500 sq. ft. and heated this addition with base board hydronic by tying into the original boiler. A leak appeared somewhere in the original pipes embedded in concrete servicing the older half. It was determined that the leak was too difficult to locate and the supply line going to the older half were capped off at the boiler and electric base board was added for that half. This worked but now both my boiler and water heater need to be replaced. I am presently working with a heating contractor who also tried to locate the leak as I would like to use the original cast iron radiators. Because of the limited crawl space leading to the concrete where the leak has been narrowed to they also determined that it is not cost effective to pursue hooking into the old system at this time. I can block off the older half of the house when not in use and when in use I usually heat it with a wood burning insert. My contractor has proposed a 50,000 BTU Weil-McLane Ultra efficiency boiler with a cast aluminum boiler which can also be used to supply my domestic hot water by use of a "side-arm" water heater or they can install a separate gas water heater. I've done some research on my own and I am very interested in the wall mounted MZ Boiler along with an indirect water heater or I am also interested in the tankless gas water heaters for my domestic hot water. One of my concerns is will I be able to hook into the old heating system in the future if and when I find a way to bypass the leak in the concrete. (i.e. through a wall or soffit) I need to make up my mind quickly as it is getting rather cold here in Wisconsin. I have heard that the high efficiency boilers do not work well in older homes lacking in insulation. Any advice or experience with either of these boilers or water heaters would be appreciated.

Mr.Trump

boiler and water heater

I live in an old poorly insulated 3,500 sq. ft. farm house that was/is heated by an old U.S. Boiler rated at 135,000 BTU's. The boiler originally heated @2,000 square feet and is connected to old flush mounted cast iron radiators. 10 years ago the previous owner added @1,500 sq. ft. and heated this addition with base board hydronic by tying into the original boiler. A leak appeared somewhere in the original pipes embedded in concrete servicing the older half. It was determined that the leak was too difficult to locate and the supply line going to the older half were capped off at the boiler and electric base board was added for that half. This worked but now both my boiler and water heater need to be replaced. I am presently working with a heating contractor who also tried to locate the leak as I would like to use the original cast iron radiators. Because of the limited crawl space leading to the concrete where the leak has been narrowed to they also determined that it is not cost effective to pursue hooking into the old system at this time. I can block off the older half of the house when not in use and when in use I usually heat it with a wood burning insert. My contractor has proposed a Weil-McLane Ultra efficiency boiler with a cast aluminum boiler which can also be used to supply my domestic hot water by use of a "side-arm" water heater or they can install a separate gas water heater. I've done some research on my own and I am very interested in the wall mounted MZ Boiler along with an indirect water heater or I am also interested in the tankless gas water heaters for my domestic hot water. One of my concerns is will I be able to hook into the old heating system in the future if and when I find a way to bypass the leak in the concrete (i.e. through a wall or soffit)or will the boiler be undersized. I need to make up my mind quickly as it is getting rather cold here in Wisconsin. I have heard that the high efficiency boilers do not work well in older homes lacking in insulation. Any advice or experience with either of these boilers or water heaters would be appreciated.