HS Tarm OT50 Boiler Replacement

Liz77

Any thoughts about the feasibility of replacing the oil burner on a 30-yr-old HS Tarm boiler with a gas conversion burner such as a Wayne? The Tarm has primarily burned oil in the past though we have burned coal for part of this past year. We now have natural gas available and are considering either a whole new gas boiler or a burner conversion for the Tarm. Apparently a new chimney liner will be necessary either way. Any recommendations for a quality gas boiler with domestic hot water heating capability if the Tarm is too old to make an oil-to-gas conversion?

Jean-David Beyer

Mod-Con?

Have you given any thought to using a modulating-condensing boiler? It would depend on whether you have enough radiation to run the lower temperatures required to get condensing.  Or, if you do not, whether it would be cost-effective to increase the radiation.

Liz77

Mod-Con Requires drain or pump?

We initially were considering a condensing type boiler but a friend who has one said that it needs a drain and our basement has no drain. We also thought that the life expectancy of this type of boiler would be shorter than that of a conventional boiler. Our water comes from a well and is somewhat acid. We thought that a high quality boiler with a cast iron block would be most likely to hold up. Any brand recommendations that would fit this description?

Jean-David Beyer

Those issues are worthy of consideration.

My mod-con is in my garage, and it has no drain. Instead, I have a small condensate pump to eject the water outside my house. I imagine this is not according to code in all places. But the pump could pump the condensate if you have a suitable drain somewhere near by.



As far as "bad" water is concerned, I might have more trouble with my boiler than many others, since its heat exchanger is aluminum. According to my water company, the water they supply is well within the specifications required by my boiler's manufacturer. Yet my manufacturer supplies Sentinel X-100 additive I am supposed to have in the boiler water. Other mod-con boilers come with stainless steel heat exchangers that may last longer in acid water conditions, or in very basic water conditions. I am not a pro, so I cannot give you any data on this. I do not know if cast iron boilers like acid water any more than stainless or aluminum ones do.



I have had this boiler only since May 2009, so I cannot give you any long-term data on it.