Inefficient boiler heats basement. Should I keep basement door open or closed during winter?

CoachBoilermaker

I have an (infficient) old oil boiler in the basement. The boiler is tanklesss coil for hot water. In summer, it gets the basement warm, so we close the basement doors to keep the heat trapped downstairs.

Now that it's getting colder, should I leave basement door open to let wasted basement heat get to main floor, or will this cool the basement and cause boiler to work harder, reheat the hot water storage more often? Seems a tradeoff.

Should I keep basement door open or closed during heating season?

Hot_water_fan

keep it open but also do what’s more convenient. This is pretty insignificant

pecmsg

insulate the piping.
Outdoor reset

we Need pictures

Jamie Hall

Where do you want the heat? It really isn't waste heat, it's just that perhaps it isn't where you want it. I'd set the basement door to where you are getting the most comfort…

bburd

if it were my house, I would leave the basement door open if the basement was consistently warmer than the first floor. That would help get some of the waste heat upstairs where it can do more good.

If the basement was the same temperature as the first floor or cooler, I would leave the door closed.

ethicalpaul

and use a water heater to heat your water instead of a giant inefficient boiler

CoachBoilermaker

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1814029#Comment_1814029

Since the large oil boiler is 80 years old, I plan to wait until the boiler needs replacing, and do both/everything at once. Adding just an external hot water tank now may just need to be moved/adjusted/redone when the boiler needs replacing. Is that sensible to do everything at once?

ethicalpaul

the timing is up to you, my opinion was general

pecmsg

They never fail during mild weather but always when bad weather is upon you. I need one NOW is never cheap and always rushed.

Start the process, get it sized properly, have the contractor chosen and get it done while there's time to do it properly.

CoachBoilermaker

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1814079#Comment_1814079

This is good advice. I will get some estimates for a new boiler/water tank this Fall (now)

EdTheHeaterMan

For 80 years that boiler has been heating that home comfortably. Was it coal fired originally or oil fired. Back in 1944, (I think there was a war going on) a boiler may have been installed as an oil fired with a tankless coil.

That said, there may have beed some minor updates that may make it burn less oil than the original design. But If you are burning more than 800 gallons per year and it has been that way for the last 20 years, then you will have consumed 16,000 gallons of fuel. Based on the ever increasing cost of fuel oil over the last 20 years you spent over $45,000 over that time frame.

If the boiler is really that inefficient then, you may be spending 20% more that you need to to heat the home and DHW. That means that you overspent $9000.00 since 2004. The average cost of a new boiler system 20 years ago was about $6,000 to $8,000. So you have already purchased the new boiler that you NEVER got in 2004.

Waiting for an inefficient boiler to "NEED" replacing is never a good idea! You can either modernize the old boiler by stripping it down the the bare block and adding a new combustion chamber, High Efficiency oil burner, adding high density insulation and putting new controls with more efficient energy saving logic.

OR

Replace the boiler with a super efficient system like EK 2000 or a conventional cast iron with a three pass design that will suck more hear from the oil and let less heat out the chimney.

hot_rod

hows it smell, when the doors open?

CoachBoilermaker

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1814153#Comment_1814153

Couple of flaws with your math.

1. $7k invested in SPY in 2004 is now worth $33k
2. The 2004 boiler may already need replacing by 2024

In light of the above, it can sometimes make more financial sense to keep the old boiler.

EdTheHeaterMan

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1814269#Comment_1814269

Did you actually put $7000.00 in SPY in 2004?

My cast iron boiler (Buderus) that I installed in my father house in 1991 was repurposed when that house was demolished in 2003, and is still going strong in 2024 in my son's home (that used to be my home where he was born and raised), We are even thinking if adding a gas gun to that boiler (and keeping the oil gun on a shelf nearby.)

And the savings from all the wasted fuel was also not invested in 2004, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24 because it was wasted and given to the oil company. Allowing for the inflation of the price of fuel and 3% amortizing every year, you put those wasted dollars into SYP or even just a simple guaranteed whole life insurance policy, You would get over $53,000.00 by putting the savings into the conservative savings device of your choice each year.

But you probably would not put the savings from the fuel oil that wasn't delivered into the SPY either. The argument works both ways!