Switched Boiler from Oil to Gas -House doesn't feel as warm

Reese

With rising fuel costs and an old oil tank and boiler, I decided to have a new gas boiler put in for our steam heating system. The company  originally recommended a Weil Mcclain Eg 40 and on the day of installation put in a 35 ( DOE 83,000 BTU's) instead.  The old oil boiler was a Model 68 with a DOE output of 113,000 BTU's. Supposedly,  experts in the field used to measure the pipes and square footage of the house and then put in a boiler two times larger than what was really needed. All I know is the old boiler made the house feel much warmer.



The new boiler seems to run constantly and the house never feels warm. The steam radiators only get fully hot when you initially turn up the heat several degrees. As it maintains the temperature the radiators only heat up 1/4 of the way. It feels like I have baseboard hot water heat instead of the steam heat that radiates through the room, the walls, and floors as desired.



I'm wondering if having the boiler changed to the next size (Eg 40 = 104,000 BTU's) will heat the house better and actually get the radiators hot each time it kicks on? Or is this just how gas fueled boilers run? My plumber said the old system was like having a v6 engine and the new one is like having a 4 cylinder that is more efficient. My goal is simply to save some money with fuel costs while still having a home that has a nice source of heat/warmth? Thanks for any input you may be able to provide! 

Long Beach Ed

Gas Steam

If the new boiler is capable of heating all the radiators fully -- all the way across -- in a reasonable amount of time, your boiler is properly sized. 



If it runs for hours and the radiators do not completely heat, it is either too small or the water is still dirty. 



That's it in a nutshell.  



A steam boiler is sized by measuring the radiators, not the building's heat loss.  



If the boiler's sized properly, the thermostat's heat anticipator setting may need adjustment or the boiler may need cleaning.

Jamie Hall

Long Beach put it one way;

I'll put it another: does the new boiler ever -- ever, even after a long long run (a couple of hours) shut off on pressure?



If it doesn't, it's too small.  It should have been sized on EDR, not square footage. 



The good news is there may be a chance to upfire it, depending on what burner combination they have in it.

gerry gill

yea, i'm curious

on how it was sized..Long Beach Ed & Jamie pretty much got the rest covered.

nicholas bonham-carter

New gas boiler and chilly

Just to be sure of one other possibility, can you please post some pictures of the new boiler, and piping. The new boiler may or not have been sized properly, or may not have been piped properly.--NBC