Upgrading nat gas hot water boiler heating system

T. Traceski

After about 20 years in townhouses w/ forced air & heat pumps, I moved into my first house about five years ago with an old hot water boiler & radiator heating system. I'll never go back! But now I am contemplating upgrading my 25 year old natural gas (NG) boiler and separate NG water heater. I suspect that NG prices are going to stay up and only get higher, so increased efficiency as well as a reasonable price are paramount concerns. Where do I start by way of selecting a particular model/manufacture? Is anyone aware of any consumer and/or professional association reviews or evaluations of the different types of NG boilers suitable for residential monoflow radiator application in the northern Virginia area? Any information the WALL could provide me along the lines of a reliable, cost effective, higher efficiency NG boilers & hot water systems would be greatly appreciated. Thxs

Steamhead

Try Dan Foley

at Foley Mechanical, in Northern Va. just outside DC. I'm pretty sure he has an ad on the Find a Professional page of this site.

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

R. Kalia

read, read, read...

I'm an HO too, and everything I have learned, I learned here. There are lots of issues, and the brand and model are the least of it.

There are many experts here on the Wall. Unfortunately, there are a lot of hack hydronic contractors out there in the real (non-web) world, who will try to sell you the only thing they know (and their knowledge is 30 years old) while badmouthing everything they don't know. Oh, and they will figure the boiler size by looking at your old boiler, or by counting radiators. I have seen it all, and I haven't even gotten a new boiler yet.

I will have to decide exactly what I need and then find the guys who are able to do that for me, rather than the usual process of finding a local contactor who did the bolier for someone I know and letting him sell me what they want to install.

Do you know about outdoor reset? Constant circulation? Pumping away? Estimating heat loss, and why boilers should not be oversized? Modulating boilers? Condensing boilers? If not, time to start reading.

You might also want to post more details of your house and heating system, so people can make more informed suggestions.

R. Kalia

read, read, read...

I'm an HO too, and everything I have learned, I learned here. There are lots of issues, and the brand and model are the least of it.

There are many experts here on the Wall. Unfortunately, there are a lot of hack hydronic contractors out there in the real (non-web) world, who will try to sell you the only thing they know (and their knowledge is 30 years old) while badmouthing everything they don't know. Oh, and they will figure the boiler size by looking at your old boiler size, or by counting radiators. I have seen it all. I will have to decide exactly what I need and then find the guys who are able to do that for me, rather than the usual process of calling a local contactor based on a friend's recommendation, and letting him sell me whatever he wants to sell me.

Do you know about outdoor reset? Constant circulation? Pumping away? Estimating heat loss, and why boilers should not be oversized? Modulating boilers? Condensing boilers? Low mass boilers? Venting out the side of house rather than chimney? Indirect domestic hot water heating? If not, time to start reading.

You might also want to post more details of your house and heating system, so people can make more informed suggestions.

Ted_9

RPG,
That is the smartest Home Owner recommondation I have ever seen. Good luck on your project.