new construction

berwick

WE are building a new 1600 square foot ranch home in southern maine. It will be well insulated. We want to go with an lp gas boiler with indirect hot water.Slant fin baseboard.This is a year round retirement home. We are looking for reliability above all. Should we go with a cast iron system boiler ? The mod con boilers are all new to me and i read a lot of horror stories about them. Thanks

hot_rod

A heat load calculation is the best first step, here is an ap for that.

Try sizing the fin tube at a few different supply water temperatures.
If you are considering a mod con, size to 120 supply if you want to maximize the efficiency.

https://www.slantfin.com/slantfin-heat-loss-calculator/

GroundUp

Is there a particular reason for wanting baseboard? In a new ranch I don't think you could pay me enough to have BB in my home versus a radiant floor. There are many ways to skin this cat, but if you were to go with a standard high temp BB emitter there's little sense in a mod/con boiler IMO. Cast iron is going to last longer and be less trouble, though a little less efficient. Now with low temp BB or radiant, a mod/con will thrive efficiency-wise but again be more maintenance with a shorter lifespan than a properly piped cast iron boiler. If it were my home, I'd go with floor radiant and a mod/con but I don't mind a little maintenance. If it were my parents' home I'd push for floor radiant with a CI boiler as the maintenance side of things is not welcomed over there. If I were forced to have BB, whether high or low temp, I'd be happy to pay a little extra for fuel and run a direct vent cold start CI unit like a Slant Fin VSPH or WM CGI series.

berwick

Hi guys,thanks for getting back to me.I guess cost of the radiant floor is the main reason for going with the bb .

GroundUp

The additional cost of the radiant floor is minute, barely into 4 digits and will be recovered tenfold at resale down the road. A rental or quick sale house is one thing, but a brand new forever home might be worth reconsidering the option.

berwick

I was led to believe it was very pricey.So glad you mentioned that.

hot_rod

I'd also look at panel radiators, quick responding, easily zoned. some prefer panel rads to fin tube.
Panel rads can run down in the 120- 140F supply to give you the best efficiency.

Is the home on a slab, basement, or crawl.

http://qhtinc.com/purmo/

berwick

Home is a full basement with a walkout

GroundUp

If radiant is out of the realm of possibility cost-wise, you're definitely not going to like the cost of panel rads. Radiant is expensive, but not as high as you'd think compared to a properly installed BB or panel rad system. The insulation under a radiant floor is a cost that most people scoff at, but realistically that insulation should be there regardless of heat emitters. It can be skipped of course, but it's a corner that everybody regrets cutting. The tubing itself is cheap just like BB but radiant is a much more efficient heat emitter IMO.

berwick

We have to watch our pennies , so its a balancing act between reliability and efficiency. slant fin seems to make a low water temp baseboard but i am a bit leery of mod con reliability

kcopp

Are you located in Berwick, ME?

berwick

We are building in ogunquit maine

kcopp

I will DM you.

berwick

Thanks

GW

Bb is a little 1980s, look at the European panel rads,