Looking for oil boiler replacement

olpert

I plan to replace an oil boiler in my house in the Poconos PA. We don't live in the house permanently and want to keep the temperature as low as possible when I'm not in. Looking for best available options to replace the boiler in terms of cost and efficiency for this application.

Don't want to switch to propane, new boiler should be oil fired with existing water baseboard. Around 150K BTU, but hope installer will properly calculate. Chimney exhaust, 3 existing zones with existing network thermostats. New boiler must be efficient and quiet.

Need advice on below:

1. For DHW should be water tank-less coil or another decision? Don't need to keep hot DHW all the time.
2. Should I fill baseboards with glycol/anti-freeze?
3. What kind of controller can you recommend? Need something I can control remotely. Looking for outdoor temperature sensor to automatically shut down boiler in case of outside temperature above 50-55F

Need advice for reliable boiler manufacturer and model ##.
I would appreciate advice on additional functions I have to integrate in new boiler.

Jamie Hall

As far as brand, any of the major brands will be fine. It's far more important that the installer knows and understands the brand and how to set up its particular controls and piping -- and is willing to give it the service (both regular and emergency) which it might need. And will size it properly to the actual heat loss of your building.

Remote thermostats... I'd look at the Ecobee series, but there are folks who like the bling of the Nest. Any of the remotes will require working wi-fi. As for the outdoor shutoff, almost any thermostat could be wired in to turn off the heat at some convenient temperature. That's part of your installer's job.

I'm a somewhat conservative chap, so... in a building with hot water heat in a climate which can freeze which is unattended for more than a day at a time, add glycol. Don't even think about not doing that.

HVACNUT

If you're looking for efficiency, a cast iron pinner with a tankless coil is the polar opposite of efficiency.
For efficiency, a 3 pass boiler with an indirect water heater.
For better efficiency and super quiet, an Energy Kinetics System 2000 EK-1 Frontier is an excellent option. However, the contractor must be an EK dealer. The Frontier, matched with their water heater has everything you're asking for except warm weather shut down. But that can be incorporated into the controls without a hitch.
You can do the heat loss calculation by downloading the Slant/Fin calculator. I'm sure you'll see you dont need anywhere near 150K, unless the home is over 6K sq ft.
@STEVEusaPA is in PA. Don't know if he's near the Poconos though.

STEVEusaPA

HVACNUT said:

For better efficiency and super quiet, an Energy Kinetics System 2000 EK-1 Frontier is an excellent option. However, the contractor must be an EK dealer.

@STEVEusaPA is in PA. Don't know if he's near the Poconos though.

Only if I'm on a mini vacation...2.5 hours away.

Probably don't even need to do a heat loss with the EK.
I would definitely do glycol if there is a fear of losing power. Not having a storage tank helps if you fear freeze ups, and the EK should keep up fine for domestic, unless this is a big vacation home and 3 people are taking simultaneous showers as everyone gets ready for dinner.

In all honesty, most of the vacation places I've stayed up there are all electric-baseboard and all. Not that it's the most comfortable, or affordable.

I would definitely make super nice with the person who will be servicing the boiler, as you are going to have to really rely on them if you are monitoring remotely.

Jamie Hall

"I would definitely make super nice with the person who will be servicing the boiler, as you are going to have to really rely on them if you are monitoring remotely."

My daughter and I do this -- among other things -- for a living. May I suggest for remote monitoring and relying on people locally -- pay the a generous retainer. So when the alarm goes off at Oh Dark Hundred and 10 below and snowing they will be happy to oblige...

EdTheHeaterMan

Just a thought: I have a summer home customer with Buderus boiler and Buderus indirect. There is a switch (I installed) near the water service valve for the home. The customer can disable the DHW thermostat and turn off the water service when he leaves for the winter. When the customer arrives for a weekend or returns in April for the summer, a valve open and a switch on and the hot water is there in 17 minutes.