Baseboard and pinnacles/munch

singh

Is it worth the effort and $$ to swap out oilfired C.I boiler with a pinnacle L.P. gas. Existing baseboard loops with 180* supply.
Pinnacle won't condense as much with high supply and rturn temps. Or will it? Savings may not be there??

Uni R

Baseboard and pinnacles/munch

How often and how long are the heating cycles at colder temps? If you are only running heat 10 minutes out of the hour, then you could be heating more effectively and more comfortably at lower temps and take advantage of condensing even away from the shoulder seasons.


Do you know what your cycle frequency and duration is?

R. Kalia

180?

As stated in the other post, you don't need 180F supply all season. The Munchkin will use an outside temp sensor to determine how much heat is needed, then reduce the water temperature correspondingly, which increases the running time. This gives you more continuous and even heat, fewer expansion/contraction noises, increased energy efficiency, etc. With a Pinnacle, a separate reset controller can and should be added.

Old houses with radiators typically had too many radiators, so they can be operated with cooler-than-180 water even on very cold days. Baseboard, however, is generally not installed to excess because it is limited by the room perimeters. So on the coldest days the reset controller will probably have to run the water temp up to 180. Thus, for part of the cooling season you won't get condensing, and for the rest of it you will.

Unfortunately, the period where you don't get condensing is the period when you burn the most gas.

But even when you don't get the efficiency boost due to condensing, condensing boilers with reset are good because they give you more even heat. If you have rooms or areas far from the thermostat which get warm when the heat is on and cold when the heat is off, well, with reset they'll have a much more steady temperature. Temperature swings can be very large in spring/fall, even at the thermostat, because the 180F water is so much hotter than needed; reset solves that. Another big advantage is the Pinnacle/Munchkin's modulating burners, which increase efficiency, particularly if you have one or more small zones that cause short-cycling in regular boilers.

On the other other hand, the Pinnacle/Munchkin is awfully expensive to have installed, compared to a cast-iron boiler, and its long-term reliability is unknown.

kevin coppinger_4

what do you pay....

for oil now...how old/efficient is the oil boiler AND what would you pay for LP should you switch. How long would you be there?
I generally am not a fan of LP for heating because I would pay $1.50+/ gallon @91,800. Compared to 140,000 for oil and I locked in @ $1.19/gal. You could stay oil and get a good new boiler that would be very nice and cost effective.jm2cents

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Ken_15

What is the life expectancy of these condensing units? I like the lifetime CI, but I am curious as to the benefit of a 10-15yr boiler. (if that is what it is)

Ken

singh

propane is $1.69 ,oil is $1.20.
In addition to pinnacle it sounds like I need outdoor sensor to get the most from system, payback maybe years from installation?
Current boiler cycles about every 6-8 minutes.

Uni R

Baseboard and pinnacles/munch

Monitor has a condensing oil fired boiler. Is your current boiler working okay?