It's not uncommon to measure the feet of radiating baseboard, the finned part of the baseboard and multiply 600 btu per foot.

Other than that, have someone do the heat calculations on the house.

Oil-fired boilers can be downfired to a point. You still want to keep the stack temperature above 350 degrees in an unlined chimney.

15 years is not old for a boiler. What is the brand name? There are many things you can do to alter the efficiency of your boiler. I doubt it needs replacement.

Thanks for the info. Not only is my boiler old but I have been told that it is to large of a unit for my house. It was also setup for a summer/winter hookup which is also making it inefficient. Would you have a general idea on what a boiler would cost for a house that has 3 floors and about 2500 sq ft of living space? I am trying to get a ballpark figure on how much it is going to cost to replace. Thanks-Dan

An installed quality boiler in this area of PA usually costs from 4-7K and they include a domestic coil. If the coil provides enough water for the family, I don't know why anybody would tell you to use another system. It's certainly not inefficient.

Before replacing a working boiler, I would look for other options, such as downfiring or a new burner.

baymee- Are vertical pin style boilers with tankless coils still popular in your area? Most boilers installed in my area are three pass horizontal boilers with indirect water heaters. Even when someone installs a vertical pin style boiler like a Weil-McLain, Smith, Peerless, Utica or Burnham they usually have an indirect unless space is a problem or it's a lowball job.

I would say the tankless cast iron boilers are still popular, but it's not really my area of knowledge (market share). I had one for 25 trouble-free years with a 4 gallon coil and never ran out of hot water in my family of 5. I cleaned it exactly 3 times, but then again, I only used it for domestic hot water.

The steel, triple pass horizontal tube are popular here as are the vertical tube alternatives (efm and new yorker). They offer 5 and 7 gpm coils.

There are circumstances where an indirect is warranted, such as in untreated hard water areas or high demand for hot water. We sell very few indirects; most people have plenty of hot water with a coil.

Hot water is basically "free" during the heating season, loosely said, and during the off-season, the boiler can be turned down to 130. It's not a good idea to shut down a boiler entirely.

That's interesting that steel boilers are popular in your area. We don't see too many steel boilers other than System 2000, Burnham LE series and the really old tube style boilers.

In the past many people were sold on the idea of cold start boilers and shutting down boilers in the off season.

Our water conditions in some areas plug those small diameter tightly wound tankless coils in a short period of time.
Weil-McLain Gold series boilers with tankless and QB180 burners used to be one of the most popular boilers in the area. We always stocked plenty of Weil-McLain chambers, tankless coils and a few new and used Weil-McLain blocks.

A local distributor will deliver the boiler to the basement for free, so many guys use that company's products. They also handle cheaper lines of boilers for transients who don't want to buy a boiler that will last for 30 years, even though the cost isn't much more.

Some installers refuse to pay a $10 delivery fee and sometimes the distance involved to deliver is 150 miles away. They say: no fee or we'll buy a boiler somewhere else.

markjames, whats your opinion on the System 2000 boiler? I have two I have to tear into next week which is a first for me with this particular kind of setup. I attended a seminar on them a few months ago so it won't be a mystery but I'm curious to know what other techs are thinking about them. Should I expect any surprises, etc.? Cleaning those things likes totally different then most of the older CI heating plants I'm used to. I guess the big question,,,,,would you put one in your own house? I won't be able to answer that myself I guess till after at least one season.

The Solaia (spelling)cast iron oil boiler is one of the nicest boilers I've seen demonstrated. It's from Italy, direct vent, and uses a Riello burner. To clean, you open the door with the burner attached, and it can't take more than 5 minutes to clean. It's not much bigger than a microwave oven.

Hi J, long time, no see. I'm getting laid off soon in the lawnmower and tractor forum and I've been rehired in the Heating and A/C dept for the winter.

mr. havc- We've had a couple dozen customers with System 2000 units. We've referred them to an EK dealer for service since they carry parts like the manager, sensor, board, relay, chamber etc.

Customers seem to like them since they're quiet. We were turned off by the hyperbolic marketing strategy, proprietary dealer network parts and pricing so we never jumped on the EK bandwagon.

We've had a quite a few service techs calling to see if we had boards or chambers, so I imagine these are common replacement items. At one time we had three complete new systems from oil to gas conversion jobs in rental properties.

I definately know what you're saying about the proprietary parts. Matter of fact at the seminar I attended on one of the breaks I mentioned that to a couple of the reps who were teaching the course. Their response was,"if you call earlier enough in the day we can overnight ship parts to practically any part of the country" My response was "oh great, but this is northern New England and like some other parts of the country that can hit minus 20 or 30, [overnight] can burst pipes and turn a regular domestic water system into a sprinkler! As for that fancy control board, if you attend a seminar, along with the manual they also pass out a diagnostic board that can replace the regular board in an emergency just by changing the limit and operating set points. One of the biggest potential problems I see with that system is how the valve manifold is piped and installed out of the factory. Its piped right smack over the control board. A leak in anything in that manifold is gonna take that board right out. Poor design. Well now that I think about it it looks like I'm not to impressed with them already and I haven't even removed a single fastener yet! We shall see. I'm a little partial to steel boilers anyway. Call me old fashioned.:-)
Hey baymee, whats up, howz that wood pile coming along? I got about 6 cords seasoning here in a nice neat pile thanks to the power company. To bad I still have to cut, split and stack it,,,,,,when it starts getting cooler.

We have sub zero temps here as well and service rural areas, so having repair parts on the truck, at the shop and at the supply houses is important. I also hate to make two trips to fix something when your swamped with no heat calls. Once you get into some of the rural areas you're lucky to find someone that can service a Riello burner. Fortunately many people in the rural areas have alternative heat like a wood, gas or pellet stoves or fireplaces.

If a large percentage of our customer base had EK systems we'd become a dealer and stock all necessary repalcement parts. I don't think we could fit many more parts in our service vehicles unless we start strapping things to the roof.

I'm one of the few people in my area that doesn't badmouth steel boilers and the people that install them. Most problems with all boilers are the fault of the installer, service tech or caused by customer neglect.

"Most problems with all boilers are the fault of the installer, service tech or caused by customer neglect."
You make a good point there, I preach that quality is more important then brand in this forum. I have to keep in mind that goes for hydronics just as much as warm air. Thanx for the reminder. What part of the country do you keep warm?

J, I might use 3 cords a year, tops. I don't use any other fuel for heat; never have. As you know, I installed a old wood/coal boiler last year and was having trouble with creosote. I just installed a 316 stainless rigid liner system with a ceramic fiber wrap from Olympia, Scranton, PA. This should stop the problem. I had to be creative in getting the liner down the chimney because the top of the chimney is 6 feet above the roof and I devised a crude crane and pulley to get the 10' sections down.

What flue temperature were you running the stove at? I never let mine go below 450 and every morning when I reload it I open the damper wide and let it roar for about five minutes. Any creosote that might have accumulated overnight then gets zapped to harmless soot. We run a brush down the chimney from the top down at the beginning of each season and have never had a creosote problem.
Geez, look at us, we shanghaid dans post. Sorry dan, can we still be of assistance to you?

On the other side of the house I have had a woodstove that I've used for 30 years to heat the house before the boiler. I never once cleaned the chimney. Always kept it running hot. I'll have to play with the boiler till I get it down pat.

"You make a good point there, I preach that quality is more important then brand in this forum. I have to keep in mind that goes for hydronics just as much as warm air. Thanx for the reminder. What part of the country do you keep warm?"

I'm in Upstate New York. We always tell customers to shop for the installers not the equipment. Most installers are offering roughly the same Good/Better/Best choices of boilers, indirects and burner/control packages. The difference between installers as far as system design, sizing, piping, zoning, control strategies, burner setup and service after the sale is like night and day.

I'm in Upstate New York.
I have relatives in Middleburg/Huntersland. Beautiful area. If it wasn't for your taxes I might even consider.