slant/fin boiler specs?

jpf321

as you know I am shopping around for a boiler .. I have decided to stay with Oil for the foreseeable future so gas conversion now or anytime (perhaps in my lifetime) is not really a consideration .. I am leaning towards the Slant/Fin Intrepid line which was suggested to me by Steamhead and seems to be loved by Boilerpro.



I have gotten 2 of three quotes so far .. I am leaning toward working with one company over the other b/c he seems steamier and did most of the right things on his visit....



That all said, he feels that I should add ANOTHER 30% to the spec sheet for the Slant/Fin and put me into a TR-40 instead of a TR-30 for approx 390sfEDR.connected. I clarified on the wall previously that the Spec sheet ALREADY factors 33% for pickup.



This contractor has been burned in the past installing Burnham based on the connected load and the Burnham Spec sheet .. he fell short on a couple of jobs and has decided going forward that it's best to add ANOTHER 30% to the spec sheet. He also admits that Peerless' Spec seems to be normally on the money.



My question for you, since he has limited experience with the Slant/Fin is, <strong>how accurate is the Slant/Fin Intrepid TR-30 Spec? And is there a possibility that it will fall short?</strong> Additionally, <strong>since I no longer have a consideration for a GAS conversion down the line, is the S/F INtrepid still a recommended unit .. or is Peerless or another a better steamer?</strong> I seem to live in Peerless, WeilMclain, Burnham country and almost noone is pushing the S/F guys who are just down the road.



He would rather install a larger Vessel (TR-40) and downfire it than put in what the spec sheet says is correct and have it fall short .. as a businessman that needs to maintain a reputation, I don't blame him one bit. But he and I just aren't sure if the Spec is lying.



Thanks, I really appreciate the feedback on this one.

Unknown

Oil Boiler

if you're going with oil, have you considered the Burnham Megasteam?

- Rod

jpf321

i hadn't..

i hadn't asked the guys to quote for this .. i suppose that I should. thanks for the reminded.

arches

oil/gas

Just curious what your logic is for ruling out gas. On initial inspection, gas seems considerably cheaper on a $ per BTU basis...but I know you're a quantitatively oriented heat enthusiast, so I'm wondering what you've uncovered in your search.

Maybe too much upfront cost to bring in a large enough gas line to heat your house? Or maybe the gas vs oil BTU/$ advantage breaks down when you add in all our local fees/taxes/etc for Keyspan?

jpf321

gas thoughts...

1) yes it would be costly to bring a 1-1/4 pipe which the one guy said i needed from the meter in the front to the boiler .. even though there is a perfectly good 3/4pipe dropped right to the boiler now.

2) I'm stuck with the monopoly of the utility company .. and as has steamhead said several times .. why do that to yourself

3) probability of being required to install a stainless steel flue liner (or at least feeling more comfortable if it were installed) add $2K to job.

4) i have a 550gal IN-GROUND oil tank about 4feeet under my side lawn .. it would have to be "abandoned" to NYC specs .. add $2.5K to the job .. on the downside, if it fails and starts leaking .. that's a much much bigger problem ..hmmm

5) i think that if you look at a long term chart of gas vs. heating oil .. you will find that they dance together .. sometimes gas is up and oil is down and vice versa .. here are the only two charts I have been able to find for historical pricing data ..

NG NY = http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/ng/hist/n3010ny3m.htm

 #2 Central Atlantic States (incl NY) = http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=D200112002&f=M



comparing the charts ..

There are 1000 Cubic Feet per MCF or about 1,020,000 BTU's

and we know that 1gal of oil = 140,000BTU .. so you need 7.28gal of oil = 1000cu ft of gas ..

based on the above historical data, I have come up with the following charts .. on the left is the BTU normalized price data .. on the right is the difference OIL - GAS price .. you will see that it has only been recently that OIL is now more expensive and that historically, oil has ALWAYS been cheaper than gas. now I know about Peak Oil, and Terror Oil and Mid-East Problems and import, etc .. but I'd hate to find myself in  position in 5, 10, 20yrs paying more for Ngas than oil .. since that has historically on average been the case.





Here's an interesting article I just found .. http://www.projo.com/news/content/gas_08-20-08_R9B9M9T_v3.be00b5.html



Damn .. I wish I had one of these for queens .. http://www.newenglandoil.com/newhampshire/zone2.asp?x=0

jpf321

boiler sheet spec accuracy?

are there any comments about the accuracy of manufacturer spec sheets? are they on the money or do they need to be "adjusted"? thanks.