Hydronic Contractor Recommendation Central CT

kfCT1

Hi All -

Looking for ideas from homeowners in similar situations and for a recommended contractor experienced with hydronic systems in my area (West Hartford, CT). Home is a 1931 Dutch colonial, half solid masonry and half stick built with cedar shingle siding, limited to no insulation in walls, under insulated in the attic (yes, working on this).

Heating system is a converted gravity hydronic with large cast iron radiators with 250k BTU Utica cast iron boiler and Taco 007F circs. The majority of the 4200SF home (incl heated 2 car garage is on a single zone with a 2nd zone added during a kitchen renovation about 20 years ago (cast iron baseboard and kickspace units). I suspect the circ pump for the main zone is likely undersized for the amount of water in the system (large diameter piping still in place from original gravity system).

The system overall seems to work despite the (sort of) single zone setup. When the boiler fires, it fires for about an hour and raises the water temp from about 100 to 140 degrees before call for heat ends (yes, I'm aware of the condensing concerns).

With rising gas prices I'm interested to see if it makes sense to explore reducing the size of the boiler and/or going to a mod/con setup. Current gas usage in heating season ranges from 120-370 CCF/month depending on month. Usage is heating only - HW is supplied by separate gas fired tank unit.

Any recommendations and experiences from similar situations are appreciated!

Hot_water_fan

You can use this to size your boiler:

https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/article/replacing-a-furnace-or-boiler

From first glance, it looks like your heat loss is around 100kbtu, so you're oversized for sure but the long run times mean you're not paying too much of a price for the botched sizing. Modcons can often save more than the AFUE % differences suggest when compared to the existing boiler, but a new non-condensing boiler can often also handily beat the old boiler as well.

Those circulators seems fine for the application!

EBEBRATT-Ed

Try @Charlie from wmass you can pm him