seeking advice on new propane boiler selection

Consumer123

I have to switch from oil to propane because of an unsolvable chimney problem, and need to go with a high efficiency boiler mainly because of venting considerations. The new boiler needs to serve: 1) hot water baseboard heating to two small rooms that are not used much, but probably need about 30,000 BTUs, 2) a hot water Modine blower used to keep a greenhouse above freezing -- thermostat set at 40 -- there are some tropical plants and a swimming pool/spa in the greenhouse, and the existing 20-year-old blower handles 93,000 BTU, I believe, and even when it is very cold it certainly does not run anywhere near most of the time, and 3) a new heat-exchanger pool heater -- for a 7000 gallon pool and adjacent spa. The pool is not used in the heating season, so the boiler will not be being used to for space heating needs simultaneously with heating the pool. I believe I need something like a 140K BTU boiler, though perhaps I can get by with less. The unit that has been recommended is the Peerless PF-140 or perhaps the 110, but I have been spending hours reading online about other brands and wonder if there are similarly priced boilers that might be better for some reason (or as good and less expensive, of course). We also need to choose the pool heat exchanger, and I would appreciate any help with that as well. I have noticed the Triangle Tube Maxi-Flo unit being mentioned, but don't know the issues there either. Many thanks in advance to anyone who gives me any advice.

nicholas bonham-carter

Boiler selection

It's not just about the boiler....................it's about the installer who will certainly want to do a very comprehensive heat loss survey.

Most people are touting the benefits of the fire-tube heat exchanger, such as found on the Lochinvar WHN series, and others. I wonder if there would be any benefit to separating the pool as a separate load with it's own boiler.--NBC

Consumer123

boiler selection

Thanks much for your reply. I'm sure you are right that I am getting ahead of myself trying to understand the various issues on my own. But I do wonder why there would be a possible benefit to separating the pool as a separate load with it's own boiler, as you suggest. Thanks again.

JStar

Boiler

My guess is that the pool will require a much higher load than the rest of the system, making the boiler way oversized in the winter.