low volume boilers vs std boiler

hph

what advantage does a low volume boiler (penzotti- biasi-burnham le)have if any over a standard volume boiler (peerless burnham new yorker). does one out perform the other on a retrofit project ie; multi zone bseboard or cast iron radiators.

Ken_40

look at them as more energy required this way...

If you wanted a cup of tea, the fastest, most "efficient" way to get it would be to just put enough water in the kettle to make one cup - plus a tad more for assurance and perhaps evaporation?

Heating four cups of water would take four times the energy, typically, by taking four times as long OR; four times the burner output.

So, the more water in the system (or metal in the boiler block, e.g.,) the more energy needed to heat an emitter somewhere in the house.

OK?

Brad White_9

Ken nailed it.

I might add only that with low water volume, (boiler or a steam kettle) you want to make sure you have water in there at a predictable rate. A dedicated primary circulator is a good thing in these cases especially if you are modulating your radiation-side (secondary-side) flow. It takes little effort to starve these of water (mere seconds) and then the fun begins.