Need to replace single stage oil boiler...options and thoughts?

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Nwin

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I'm in Connecticut in a house built in 1988 with it's original Burnham single stage oil boiler with a becket burner. I have baseboard heat with 3 zones and for hot water, there's a coil in the boiler from what I've been told, so no tank.

It and the oil tank are end of life so I'd rather replace it before it becomes a problem.

Most companies have touted the 3-stage Viessman boilers with an indirect 40-gallon water tank. They have all said I'd need to look into getting a chimney liner. The average cost for the boiler has been around $13k plus an extra $2500 for the Chimney liner.

One plumber spoke with me and said I didn't need any of that. He still sells/installs/owns and swears by the New Yorker single stage boilers because 1) I save money on the boiler which would be around $8-9k, 2) I don't need a chimney liner, 3) they run forever and he loves them. For hot water, he recommends a separate electric water heater and says it should only charge me about $12-15 a month for hot water versus the unspoken amounts I'm spending right now using oil in the summer for my hot water.

I like what he's saying and it makes sense to me after thinking about it. He says his New Yorker can produce 87% efficiency which is close to the Viessman 3-stage oil. Plus I save about $6k doing this. Running the numbers, it would take me quite a while to recoup that $6000 in oil costs if I went with the Viessman plus the chimney liner. I also like that I could basically turn off the boiler during the summer since I wouldn't use it for hot water at all.

What are the thoughts here? I have no access to natural gas, I've played around with Propane but the quotes for the system + tank are looking to be about $17k plus and there's not a whole lot of savings using Propane right now when I compare pricing. My house is 2000 square feet, two stories with an unfinished basement. My Air conditioner also has a heat pump which I plan on using to help heat the house during the winter to save money on oil.

I've thought about a hybrid electric water heater but we're considering finishing the basement at some point so I'm concerned with it getting too cool in the winter time which means I'd need to add a source of heat to the basement...maybe I won't need to do that if I keep the hybrid water heater out of the equation.
 

Nwin

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Viessman is design for 167° water can be raised but don't know what it does to afue efficiency.
New york are you looking at AP- U? Is the chimney tile lined? Size of boiler?
Good questions/sorry, I just moved in to this house 2 months ago.

I know it was built in 1988 but im
Not sure if the chimney is tile lined or not. How would I check that?

The New Yorker-the plumber just told me it was 87% efficient.

For size of the boiler-not sure. My current Burnham has a placard on it that says

Boiler number V-13A-T
D.O.E heating capacity MBH = 89
Water MBH = 77.4
LT Oil GPH. = 0.75

Does any of that help?
 

Fitter30

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Probably the ap- u boiler. NY boiler recommends a lined chimmy. Might consider a heat pump water heater is basement is large enought. Outdoor reset for boiler varies water temp based on outside temp.
 

Nwin

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Probably the ap- u boiler. NY boiler recommends a lined chimmy. Might consider a heat pump water heater is basement is large enought. Outdoor reset for boiler varies water temp based on outside temp.


Sorry/what do you mean by the outdoor reset?
 

Fitter30

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Outdoor Reset controls respond to changes in weather by changing the boiler water temperature circulating throughout the building. It sends out cooler water to the system during the warmer outdoor temperatures. And sends warmer water to the building in cooler outdoor temperatures.
 

Ctreefer

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Just curious if you made a decision. I also live in CT and am dealing with a heating system of similar age ('92) using oil with no NG available. I similarly also had to replace my liner that I'd been putting off for some time when i was contemplating what to do last year. In the end, I just had the chimney relined but am still dealing with old equipment and my indirect water heater likely needs to be replaced due to age and not properly maintaining.

I'm not overly excited about going electric (heat pump or similar) due to our crazy electric prices here that are going to get significantly worse come Jan 1.
 

Nwin

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Just curious if you made a decision. I also live in CT and am dealing with a heating system of similar age ('92) using oil with no NG available. I similarly also had to replace my liner that I'd been putting off for some time when i was contemplating what to do last year. In the end, I just had the chimney relined but am still dealing with old equipment and my indirect water heater likely needs to be replaced due to age and not properly maintaining.

I'm not overly excited about going electric (heat pump or similar) due to our crazy electric prices here that are going to get significantly worse come Jan 1.
I haven’t made a decision yet…the only things I have done are:

-Replaced the oil tank because mine started to leak. I got a Roth tank with a tiger loop installed because most installers were recommending I do that for the Roth tank.

-had the chimney inspected and cleaned. They told me I have a clay-liner installed and it’s in good condition. I have no idea what’s required for the new boilers.
 

Ctreefer

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thanks for the response. my tile liner was pretty well falling apart. Lot's of chunks falling into the cleanout so each time the boiler was serviced they'd shovel some out.

For "efficient" new boilers, it's my understanding that due to lower venting temperatures of exhaust gas, condensation can occur on the liner surfaces and if they are tile/clay, that's a bad thing and they will fall apart rather quickly. Hence, you'd need a stainless liner in there to be able to deal with the moisture.

On the plus side for me, I guess I've now invested for the future with my $2,500 stainless liner lol.
 
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