Old boiler is rusted out and in desperate need of replacement.

229Mick

After not getting anyone out for the last few crazy years, I had a local oil company out to service my existing 'summer winter' baseboard heater / hot water boiler they found it had completely rusted out.
We wanted to replace with a propane system but the tanks are still ridiculously expensive (in our area three times what they were a year and a half ago), so we're stuck with oil for now (which is three times as expensive as it was a year and a half a go!:) )
They came back with a recommendation for replacements of a Energy Kinetics EKIT + Ascent Combi 87% Oil Boiler which they said could be swapped out with a propane burner in the future if pricing comes down or whatever. I looked around these forums as well as texting a couple folks who might know about them, and everything I saw here appeared to be generally positive, but a lot of the terminology is lost on me, so I figured double checking and making sure i understood it correctly would be a good idea.
This morning one of the folks I texted called and said he doesn't use them, and wasn't familiar with them, but the one person he knew who had an opinion, a local plumber he's worked with, said they were problematic for cleaning.
I tried to search on 'Energy Kinetics EKIT + Ascent Combi cleaning problems' but found nothing.
The 'alternative' they quoted appears to be a more standard, or at least more similar to what I already have (and have seen in previous homes when I was younger) Utica SFH-414SWT 85% Oil Boiler (that I was surprised to see was a about $700 more than the EK [I know we don't discuss price here, but I'm hoping a differential is OK?[)
The price for the EK seems good, but I definitely don't want something problematic or overly complex or something I won't be able to get serviced if I move from the original installer.
Any thoughts, recommendations or other things to consider are much appreciated!
Thanks all!
Here's the existing system:

mattmia2

An EK is a great boiler but you need someone that is trained on EK to install and service it. In general you need someone that understands hot water heat well to install it or you will have a bad experience with any boiler.

Someone from EK is on here frequently.

It might be better to use an indirect rather than a tankless coil for fuel efficiency.

EBEBRATT-Ed

EK is #1 with the right installer.

Your boiler looks like a leaking tankless heater gasket. If it was mine, I wouldn't give up on it if that is the only problem

229Mick

EBEBRATT-Ed said:

EK is #1 with the right installer.

Your boiler looks like a leaking tankless heater gasket. If it was mine, I wouldn't give up on it if that is the only problem

They said with the age of it it was not worth the effort, expecting that he'd have to drill and tap where the bolts are etc. The feel I got was that he could try, but we might get stuck with a system that can't be repaired and that then won't function at all. It appears to be about 30 years old (we've been here for 21).
If that adds any consideration or you have any other thoughts, let me know. Thanks much!

229Mick

mattmia2 said:

It might be better to use an indirect rather than a tankless coil for fuel efficiency.

Very good insight, thank you. Your last statement I don't understand since I don't really know the terminology or which the EK actually has. I'll look it up and see if I can get a better understanding of what they are, but if you have any other thoughts or clarification it'd definitely be helpful.
Thanks again!

STEVEusaPA

I'd replace it with the EK, up on the stand.
If the installer can get it, that would tell me they have been approved by EK. There's only one proprietary part, that can be bypassed in a pinch while they get the proper part (if they don't have it in stock).
Click on one of the ads for EK while you wait for someone from EK to comment.


I wouldn't bother trying to fix/replace that coil. Could turn into a nightmare.
Propane supplies out in your area can get sketchy and scarce when the demand gets high, and prices gyrate quite frequently (up).

JayMcCay

Thank you for your questions, @229Mick , and for everyone's posts. We only sell through our dealer network and since you have a price on the Ascent Combi , that means that you are working with a trained professional that we know and is very well qualified.
Regarding some of your other questions, Energy Kinetics boilers are designed with nearly all industry standard components and are extremely easy to clean with a swing down door (like an oven). Since oil heat now has ultra low sulfur content, it essentially runs as clean as gas when properly tuned (which is easy to do with a very wide window of operation). Oil heat systems are able to convert to natural gas or propane, and they are certified to run with up to B20 biofuels (20% biodiesel, 80% fuel oil).
The Ascent Combi has demonstrated savings of 20% over tankless coil boilers, and our boilers with a tank and energy manager have been shown to save up to 40%. There are "stackable" versions with a tank and boiler in a small footprint as seen on this webpage if you are interested in even greater savings and even more hot water.
Please let me know if I can help, we can also assist if you ever need additional support from your heating professional.

Thanks
Jay McCay
Energy Kinetics
908 328-7154 m

JayMcCay

Here is a link to our EK1F stackable model

https://energykinetics.com/system2000-quietest-most-efficient-boiler/

If you have any questions, let me know

joeba

There is a plumber on YT from Ma who would say, that is a crusty one