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Oil Boiler Options

hotquestions
hotquestions Member Posts: 10
in Oil Heating
Hello
(I'm sure this will get many comments :-)
Does anyone have thoughts on high efficiency oil boilers that are less expensive than the Energy Kinetics systems?
Miata

Comments

  • pecmsg
    pecmsg Member Posts: 5,591
    Up front yes they’re cheaper. 
    Down the road, no there not!

    Get the energy kinetics 
    Intplm.
  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 25,372
    A contrarian opinion. The bigger Weil-McClains are no slouch for steam... if they are installed correctly.
    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
  • HVACNUT
    HVACNUT Member Posts: 6,504
    If not EK, then a reputable 3 pass cast iron boiler. Controls and piping will effect efficiency. Even the smallest boiler is probably too big. 
  • hotquestions
    hotquestions Member Posts: 10
    @HVACNUT what do you recommend?
  • EdTheHeaterMan
    EdTheHeaterMan Member Posts: 9,840
    edited April 2024
    I have been very happy with the Crown Freeport by Velocity Boiler Works out of Philadelphia. Pa. Available in both Steam and Hot Water. They also make a Kingston that has a tankless coil for DHW. (not a fan of that one) still a good boiler. I just don't like tankless coil boilers in general. The concept is ill conceived to reduce initial cost of heat and hot water equipment. Wasteful with fuel oil though.

    EK has the most efficient concept and a good piece of equipment. Worth the extra cost in my opinion. I would have started selling them after I installed a used one for an employee of mine. Cut her fuel usage by 28% from the Dynatherm that it replaced. Dynatherm was a super efficient boiler back in the day… So I was surprised by the savings.

    What are you replacing? Age, brand, model?

    Edward Young Retired

    After you make that expensive repair and you still have the same problem, What will you check next?

    Rogerdelta T
  • hotquestions
    hotquestions Member Posts: 10
    Thanks! Replacing a 30 year old boiler that is on its way out. I’m also looking at the Buderus…
  • HVACNUT
    HVACNUT Member Posts: 6,504
    hotquestions said:
    @HVACNUT what do you recommend?
    The EK-1 Frontier. 
    A heat loss calculation should be done of course, and domestic hot water needs, but a small (3 section) with a control that has some type of economy settings like the Hydrostat 3250 Plus.
    Buderus G115, Viessmann, Trio, and others all make good cast iron 3 pass boilers. Heavily vet the contractor. 
    Intplm.EdTheHeaterMan
  • alias2102
    alias2102 Member Posts: 10
    edited April 2024
    I faced the same question 14 years ago. I needed to replace my ancient 40-year-old boiler. After conducting extensive research, I chose Buderus. In fact, I liked Viessmann's best due to its high efficiency, but it was extremely expensive. Buderus's high efficiency was one of the reasons. The fact that it was made in Europe was another. EU countries impose very tough regulations on fossil-burning appliances, and manufacturers try to squeeze every bit of efficiency. It is understandable because gas and oil are much more expensive in Europe than in the US.
    Also, Buderus comes with the Riello burner made by the Italians. It was an outstanding burner 14 years ago, and it still is. My latest combustion analysis (1 month ago) showed 85% efficiency. That's just 2% short of the 87% AFUE, 14 years after the installation and still with the original Riello.
    Finally, I am a fan of German engineering. Everything is in its proper place and designed with maintainability in mind. The inlet, outlet, and exhaust pipes don't stick out from random places on the boiler.
    Finally, carefully read the manufacturer's installation instructions and general boiler installation guidelines to ensure the installer does things right. I didn't bother with this and ended up with an incorrectly installed burner installed at 0" insertion depth instead of 6". Also, the installer didn't install a draft regulator with my 30' high chimney.
  • HVACNUT
    HVACNUT Member Posts: 6,504
    @alias2102, you must have the G115-5. With the Riello, it's the only application where the air tube is extended into the combustion chamber. 
  • alias2102
    alias2102 Member Posts: 10
    @HVACNUT Buderus G115 WS3
  • rbeck53
    rbeck53 Member Posts: 8
    The most important step is proper sizing. That is where fuel savings start. Oversizing the boiler will cost more to install and operate. Look at the 3 pass MPO-IQ by US Boiler. You can get an OD reset card that plugs into the control to assist in fuel savings and improved comfort.
  • HVACNUT
    HVACNUT Member Posts: 6,504
    alias2102 said:
    @HVACNUT Buderus G115 WS3
    It should be a 6" insertion depth with the F3 Riello on the 3 section. Only the 5 section gets a 10" insertion. And that's with the F5 Riello. 
  • Greening
    Greening Member Posts: 35
    We paid up for the Energy Kinetics system with a "passive" 40 gallon stainless steel water tank. Very happy with EK. Old system was American Standard coal conversion with 30-year old Beckett burner and on-demand hot water.

    * Major savings in winter. Part of this was because the old American Standard kept the (unheated) basement "hot".

    * Biggest savings in warmer seasons when only calling for hot water. Because basement isn't being heated anymore, house is cooler and AC costs are lower.

    I think we pulled some extra winter efficiency with the following:
    - fresh air intake from outside
    - no draft regulator (pending install. you need to confirm this is to code on your system and area)
    - adding 2 zones for upstairs (these zones are off most of the year)
    bburdRogerHVACNUT

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