Posted by Harold Kestenholz - Hydronic Network on September 02, 2000 at 20:59:23:
In Reply to: Need to replace gas fired steam boiler posted by Scott B on September 02, 2000 at 16:44:59:
You already have a gas fired steam system for whatever reason it was installed before. Every time the burner shuts down the heat stored in the boiler goes out the boiler walls and up the chimney. The tankless coil uses some of that heat, so it helps make the boiler a bit efficient by using the heat that is wasted. But also whenever hot water is drawn or the boiler cools down when heat is not required in the building, the boiler fires up to keep a minimum temperature wasting heat. They work very well for tall apartment buildings with frequent draws, not so well in terms of efficiency for homes with only two or three draws per day. So if it is a home and you don't care about keeping a museum piece for historic reasons, change to a hot water system for maximum efficiency and savings.
If you ask around you will come to a very definite conclusion as to which boiler is the best. The answer is always that: It is the boiler that a friend in the business thinks is the best. From long experience, I find that the best boiler is the one that the person who is installing it has had the most long-term success with. The particular brand name of which one that is, changes as often as the number of installing businesses in the town. Every major boiler manufacturer now has over half a century of confronting design problems - some over a century. The boilers come from supply houses in the local area who will stop selling boilers that make a bad reputation for themselves, so ask around for which boilers have been sold by whom for the longest time.