?'s about new proposed system to replace arcoliner

gypsy

I have an old arcoliner. gas fired tankless boiler and water heater.

it was originally oil fired and i was told maybe coal before that. it

has been well maintained, has a new burner, and low water cutoff. The

aquastat? needs replacing but isnt affecting anything the way it is now.

I currently have endless hot water on demand(and it is really on

demand, immediately hot except in the summer when it takes about a

minute to heat up.) It heats the house very well despite there being no

wall insulation(old stucco house), heats the basement, and two extra

rooms that dont have radiators in them.







Ive had a bid to replace it and am concerned that what is proposed is

not sufficient-and maybe not accurate, and have read bad reviews about the proposed boiler.

Any info/suggestions/comments would be greatly appreciated.







I was told that what would be installed is a Dunkirk 124/4steam boiler

with an 82% efficiency rating with a burner and an indirect fired

Burnham 30 gallon water tank. I was told the water tank supplied 6

gallons per minute of 125 degree water and had a recovery rate of 100

per hour and that i would have endless 125 degree water.







My concerns are these, I have read horrible reviews about the Dunkirk

boilers, and cannot find any info about the burnham indirect fire water

heater. i also have a 120 gallon bath tub(to the overflow), and we are

tub people and sometimes take back to back baths while other appliances

are running in the house(washer, dishwasher, sink, etc). Im also

thinking the basement will no longer be heated with a new boiler which

would mean cold floors as they are not insulated either, and i was told

that a vent would need to be cut into the side of the house to vent it

instead of using the chimney which would increase the effeciency.







Any thoughts?

Robert_25

hot water

I have no experience with Dunkirk boilers, but I can comment on the hot water.  A 30 gallon indirect water water is not a good match for a ~100 gallon tub.  If that tub has a fast-fill fixture, you will empty the tank quickly and have to wait for it to recover.  There is no way that 30 gallon tank can handle a 6 GPM draw for more than a few minutes.  My parents went through this in their home, and so did my wife and I. 

lchmb

suggest

I have never used the Dunkirk but I will say, if I looked for information on it and saw nothing but bad review's I wouldnt install it in my house. You'll never have peace of mind until you replace it again, even if that's 20 years. And if it did fail fast, you would be kicking yourself every day. As far as the indirect, I would at least go with a 50 gal with mixing valve myself. I would have to check all flow's requred and make sure the tank could supply what you want..