Hoping someone can offer guidance.
Purchased a house (1248 sq ft) that was built in 1950. The heating system is forced hot water that uses the baseboard radiators. Currently has a Vaillant Model No. F70-W-30 PP oil fired boiler that was converted to natural gas using a Wayne conversion burner. The original Vaillant boiler is at least 20/25 years old. The Wayne conversion burner was installed sometime between 2000 and 2006. It seems to run a lot and the temperature gauge seems to stay at 130 degrees. Isn’t that too low? A 20/25 year old boiler seems old to me – how long do these things last?? It seems to be using a lot of gas – 530 MCF in 30 days. The monthly bill seems extremely high to me.
Called a local HVAC company that does chimney cleaning to come out to inspect and clean the chimney just because I figured it hadn’t been done in years. They came back down and told us there are a number of issues with the chimney – mainly that there is no liner and there are cracks and spalling. They did take photos of the damage. We were told that a chimney liner should have been installed when the oil boiler was converted to gas and that it is not up to code. Not sure why one wasn’t installed when the conversion was done. It is a brick chimney. Is it true that it should be lined?
My thought is that we just forget about lining the chimney altogether and purchase a new direct vent boiler. One reputable HVAC company suggested a Utica UB90-100V boiler. He did a heat loss calculation etc. and seemed to be knowledgeable. It is a condensing boiler – are those good to use with baseboard radiators? Is Utica a decent brand – I don’t see much in the way of reviews. Is there a certain type/brand of boiler we should be looking at specifically for baseboard radiators?
Any help greatly appreciated - thanks!
Purchased a house (1248 sq ft) that was built in 1950. The heating system is forced hot water that uses the baseboard radiators. Currently has a Vaillant Model No. F70-W-30 PP oil fired boiler that was converted to natural gas using a Wayne conversion burner. The original Vaillant boiler is at least 20/25 years old. The Wayne conversion burner was installed sometime between 2000 and 2006. It seems to run a lot and the temperature gauge seems to stay at 130 degrees. Isn’t that too low? A 20/25 year old boiler seems old to me – how long do these things last?? It seems to be using a lot of gas – 530 MCF in 30 days. The monthly bill seems extremely high to me.
Called a local HVAC company that does chimney cleaning to come out to inspect and clean the chimney just because I figured it hadn’t been done in years. They came back down and told us there are a number of issues with the chimney – mainly that there is no liner and there are cracks and spalling. They did take photos of the damage. We were told that a chimney liner should have been installed when the oil boiler was converted to gas and that it is not up to code. Not sure why one wasn’t installed when the conversion was done. It is a brick chimney. Is it true that it should be lined?
My thought is that we just forget about lining the chimney altogether and purchase a new direct vent boiler. One reputable HVAC company suggested a Utica UB90-100V boiler. He did a heat loss calculation etc. and seemed to be knowledgeable. It is a condensing boiler – are those good to use with baseboard radiators? Is Utica a decent brand – I don’t see much in the way of reviews. Is there a certain type/brand of boiler we should be looking at specifically for baseboard radiators?
Any help greatly appreciated - thanks!