Replacing a Boiler

Mark Hunt

to Mr.Moore and he is in good hands. His heating contractor has the bases covered and will be installing a great system.

Keep us posted as the winter progresses.

Best wishes Charles!

Mark H



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Charles Moore

Replacing a Boiler

I need help regarding the purchase of a new boiler.

I recently purchased an historic home in Albany, NY. It is about 4,300 square feet, with a garden level, and three floors on top. It has good to very good storm windows, but the ceilings in the house are quite high. My current boiler is a cast iron gas CIS Boiler, built by Weil McLain in 1976 and is located in the basement. Intake BTU is 450 and output is 360 ( I hope this makes sense).

The garden level of the house and 1st floor has radiation heat. The 2nd and 3rd floors are heated by two large heat exchanger HAVC units, which are located in the attic.

Last winter’s gas bills were astronomical. I barely heated the 2nd and 3rd floor and kept the house at 60 degrees, and I was still paying $1,500-$1,700 a month. We also often ran out of hot water (our hot water heater is a 45 gallon, electric unit).

I have been advised by a heating/ventilation friend of mine to get a new boiler. He said that our existing boiler was originally designed for all-radiation, but since half of the radiation has been taken out it is over-kill and inefficient. He therefore has suggested that we get a new Buderus natural gas boiler (210,000) BTU output, with Buderus 79 gallon indirect domestic hot water heater. The Installation would include low water cutoff, new expansion tank, new oo6 circulator, all piping would adapt from existing pipe to boiler, all electric and gas piping would be included, exhaust vent would go through existing chimney.

QUESTION: Is this a reasonable suggestion? Thanks, Charles

Brad White_9

Part of the solution and part of the problem

You may not want to hear this but...

Last winter was a record for fuel prices to be sure. In our house granted with an over-sized boiler, we had $500-$600 per month gas bills for an insulated 1,600 SF house built in 1922, near Boston. On a per SF basis and considering your climate and that the walls may not be insulatable (a guess only), you are not far off from ours.

As to boilers, if I take your capacity (360 MBH output) and divide into that your floor area, I get about 83.7 BTUH per SF.... (This is a capacity ratio, not a heat loss.)

This 83.7 number is huge; I would expect a heat loss in the range of 55-60 for uninsulated older construction.

Have you had a heat loss calculated? That is the only place to start. Then you can go about sizing your proper plant if it is hot water. (Hard to tell if you are talking a conversion from steam or if it is water).

If it is steam we have to know how many EDR (SF of radiator surface) your radiators have. That is the only way to size a steam boiler.

Now, is there a way to insulate your walls? Tighten up the envelope further? That is where I would spend my first dollars if there is a way to do that.

If the system is hot water you are in a good position to size the boiler to heat loss and to capture reset efficiencies.

Empire_2

CM...

Your old boiler was a BEAST,....;-) Without complete heat loss calc's I could not give any accurate advice about the size, but 360M is very excessive. The only thing that rings a bell with me is the 006 Taco pump being used. Sounds a little light on the load factor. 010 sounds more like a match, but it all depends on how the house is currently pipped. Seriously look into Primary/Secondary pipping arrangement with a Amtrol Boiler mate or the like to heat the water. I am going out on a limb here, but I think your fuel bills could be cut by 1/3 to 2/1 if you really want to do the job right.

ALso, look in the "Find a Professional" tab on top to see if someone is close to your location.

Mike T.