boiler replacement

Al Letellier_21

For gas fired steam, go Weil McLain. Period.

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Ryan T

boiler replacement

I just pulled old converted coal burner out of my basement and am looking for a brand name to replace with. I need about 100k btu's. The gas company here can seel me a 82% afue boiler for $800. it is a burnham Qpin4sni-he2 natural draft/electronic ignition/chimeny vent.what do you all think?

Brad White_201

Hold up just a wee bit, Ryan

1. Is your 100 KBTU load a calculation or a guess? Is it the old nameplate or firing rate? Assuming this is hot water heating, ALWAYS calculate the heat loss. No substitutions.

2. 82% for $800? I would not take that if hot water. (EDIT: Steam? Maybe.) Not that it is not a good deal but with boilers available in the 95% range, the lesser efficient boilers do not have much demand, even if the higher efficiency units command higher prices. Someone wants to unload that one. Need a reason?

3. The gas company does what? Sells gas. Why would they spend a lot of money to get you to burn less?


Do yourself a favor, seek a good modulating condensing boiler (you at least have gas), find out the best way to vent it (I take it you are a pro) and live more happily ever after.

A bit more to it than that but you get the idea.

My $0.02

Brad

EDIT: I did not gather it was steam (that boiler can do either). 82% is rebate-eligible but you can do better. Listen to Steamhead. The selection and installation is everything.

Rich Kontny_3

Ryan

Can you tell us your location and the utility that is offering this gas guzzler?

Ryan T

I am in the rhode island area and it is national grid doing this special. I am smart enough to know that there just trying to real in customers with low up front boiler prices. It is for a steam system. to get a boiler for steam i would have to spend about $3000 on one that is really efficient.I need to heat about 300 square feet of steam radiator and pipe. after better calculation i think i need about 140,000 btusi got the calculation from dans book.

I am a apprentice plumber and am confident i can install a hydronic system myself. the gas company also has 95% effectient boilers for $999. direct vent electronic ignition.with new base board pipe fittings and boiler i will be looking at $2800 doing it myself. my house is only 26 x 45. I spent $2400 on oil last year so anything will be a huge improvement..

help its a long weekend i can ruff in this house in this weekend if it is cost effective. help help help

Al Letellier_21

boiler replacement

For gas fired steam, go Weil McLain. Period.

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Steamhead (in transit)

Some thoughts

National Greed is not your friend. No fuel supplier is. Think twice before taking their bait, especially with the economy having gone down the toilet. If regulation in RI is as bad as it is elsewhere they can, and will, raise rates whenever they want. If you have a boiler that can only burn gas, you'll be stuck.

Instead, check out boilers that can go either way. If you've been around The Wall for a while, you've seen some of our Smith G-8 steam boiler installs. The same boiler is available with either oil or gas burners, and can be converted in the field by someone who knows their stuff. Not all manufacturers offer this option, but you'd do well to go this way since it would put YOU in control. Since you had an old coal-converted monster, you should be able to save a lot with this boiler. I've attached a few pics of G-8 boilers we've installed. Note that Smith is pretty bad at marketing these units, so you may encounter people who aren't familiar with them. Don't let that stop you.

Next: A steam system can run as efficiently and comfortably as a hot-water system, assuming both systems are in good condition and have similar boilers. Forget what "someone" told you- there has never been a scientific comparison of the relative efficiencies of transporting BTUs by steam as opposed to hot water. If there were, we'd know about it. The "studies" we have seen compare neglected steam systems on the verge of total failure to brand-new hot-water systems. This is not a true comparison and never will be.

Also, the newer super-efficient hot-water boilers must be installed properly, and there are many differences from standard cast-iron boilers. One in particular is how you exhaust them: they cannot use a standard chimney like you're used to. Sometimes you can run the intake and exhaust using an old chimney as a chase, but most times we sidewall-vent them. Sidewall vents must be well above the maximum snow accumulation your area has had, and must not be so close to windows and doors that exhaust gases can get back into the house. This would raise the possibility of CO poisoning.

You describe yourself as an apprentice- your steam system is a golden opportunity for you to develop professionally. Despite what some people will tell you, there are millions of steam systems still working, and they're not going away. If you can get to the point where you can fix ailing steam systems, or add to them, or even design and build entirely new steam systems as we have done, you'll be much more valuable to your employers than someone who can just run pipe all day.





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