How many BTU's do I need

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bulldogbones

Member
Feb 10, 2010
72
Upstate NY
Hey guys as some of you have read I have an ancient taylor outdoor boiler yadda dadda dadda. My question is how many BTU's do 5 cast iron radiators require/consume if I want to keep my house at 68. As some also might know I am going to be switching to a more efficient heating system by this fall but I have no clue what kind of BTU's I will need, since my old boiler just eats wood and makes heat. Keep in mind I have an old house that is insulated in parts and not in other parts.


I founds an atmos boiler that is 68k BTU's for $3k thats why I am asking
 
Insulate first, fastest ROI you will find when it comes to home improvement. Once you are insulated & have done your heatloss calcs then you can size your emitters etc. A boiler & emitters that can heat the great outdoors as well as keep you warm in the house well....they are huge, similiar to the size of the woodpile you will need to stay warm.
 
How far upstate? Exposed ridge or nestled in the trees? How big of a house? How much glass? How much wood have you been putting through the Taylor a year? What is the most you have put through it in a week?

Have you tried doing a heat loss calc? My initial guess is the 25 is too small.
 
bulldogbones said:
Hey guys as some of you have read I have an ancient taylor outdoor boiler yadda dadda dadda. My question is how many BTU's do 5 cast iron radiators require/consume if I want to keep my house at 68. As some also might know I am going to be switching to a more efficient heating system by this fall but I have no clue what kind of BTU's I will need, since my old boiler just eats wood and makes heat. Keep in mind I have an old house that is insulated in parts and not in other parts.


I founds an atmos boiler that is 68k BTU's for $3k thats why I am asking
Click to expand...

Hard to give you a good answer based on the info here. To find the output of those rads you would have to calculate the EDR (equivalent direct radiation) to see what they will produce at a given water temp. Go to Dan Holohans website, heatinghelp.com to find info on how many btu's those things will grind out. You will also want to calculate the actual heat load of your house to find out if that Atmos will crank out enough BTU's to heat it. 68K is not a lot of heat when dealing with old drafty houses.
 
SolarAndWood said:
How far upstate? Exposed ridge or nestled in the trees? How big of a house? How much glass? How much wood have you been putting through the Taylor a year? What is the most you have put through it in a week?

Have you tried doing a heat loss calc? My initial guess is the 25 is too small.
Click to expand...

LOL more upstate, I'm in Turin NY just south of Lowville. I just bought this house last Aug. I am in town, we live in the down stairs and from what I have found upstairs the walls are blown in insulation and I found the trap door to the attic and found out my entire attic is blown in insulation. I dont have that much glass standard windows and out of the six rooms down stairs there are only 7 windows and one sliding glass door which is faced due West so that room heats up after noon. The most I have put through in an entire week is a cord of wood, not a "full cord" .

Does anyone know where to find info on the old Taylor boilers???
 
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