Natural Gas Boiler / Wood Stove Insert

[Caseybc]

Greetings All,

I've been reading post after post throughout the forum and getting some wonderful ideas and plenty of education. I do have a question I thought I could solicit some advice on. My current situation is as follows. I live in the western suburbs of Boston in a house built in the mid 60s. The house is a two story cape style and approximately 1500sqft and heated by an American Standard gas boiler. It is the original boiler from when the house was built - I'm told. It seems to work as designed but it is approximately 40 years old and probably past it's expected life span. In the winter I keep the thermostats (2 zones) at 68 degrees and the boiler is constantly kicking on. And my wife and I are constantly cold.

We also have a traditional open fireplace. I realize that the fireplace is a huge waste of any heat the boiler is sending throughout the house but we do occasionally light a fire and sit nearby to take the chill out of our bones.

Lately I've been considering putting a wood insert into the fireplace. I would not expect to get off the boiler all together but I would like to produce more heat into the area where me and my wife spend the most time which is the room with the fireplace. I would like to accomplish this without cranking up the thermostat to 75 degrees.

I love to burn wood in our fireplace and would love a wood insert. I am concerned though that it might be foolish to go that route first before replacing the boiler. Also both my wife and I work so we're not home during the day so the house gets pretty cold in the winter during the day.

I am planning on adding more insulation and sealing up some cracks around windows/doors. My question is should I install a wood insert and try to get more heat from the fireplace and keep the thermostats down low so the boiler doesn't kick on as much. Or would it be wise to get a new boiler first as the original one is fairly old. I can't do both as the cost would prohibit. Any thoughts or advice would be so much appreciated.

 

[summit]

as much as i would like to say get a stove... i gotta say take care of your central heat first before you get a zone heater going.. sure the stove can take care of your house most of the time, but you need your ultimate unattended to by you whole house heatsource to be in working order (and efficient order) before you start buring anything else... get a nice new natty gas boiler 1st (you can get a tax credit on many out there, now) and use the fuel savings/tax credit to buy an insert.

 

[Caseybc]

Thanks for the reply. I suspect what you say is right. I can't really make a good argument in my head why I should go stove first other than I love a wood fire. I guess I better start over and begin the gas boiler research which I know nothing about. I realize this forum is mostly about wood but if anyone has some pointers on gas boilers - again much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[begreen]

There is a boiler room forum here that might be able to help you. It would be good to find a competent local gas boiler service person to look at your system. There could be minor issues like a weak pump, failing valve, or other system tweak that might make things work much better for you. Get a good service guy in there to do a thorough physical on this system.

As far as inserts go, good plan. We'll need some dimensions on the fireplace (W, H, D and taper). There are several inserts that will make a world of difference from an open fireplace or perhaps you would like a freestanding stove on the hearth in front of the fireplace? Dimensions and if at all possible a picture of the current setup would be very helpful.

 

[DBoon]

I'd say that you want to maximize your ability to take the 30% tax credit by getting the new boiler first. That will save you more money quicker, and allow you to also get a wood stove/insert in the future with money saved on the natural gas.

 

[Later]

Have you looked into a gas insert? It might just do what you want. Although there is no federal tax credit for them as their might be with a higher efficiency gas boiler.

 

[Caseybc]

Thanks for the replys. I'm going to invest in a new gas boiler to replace my old almost in the grave boiler. The next step after that is a gas insert, unfortunately that is going to have to wait until next year. Thanks again for the advice.

 

[firefighterjake]

I see you've pretty much already made up your mind . . . and I agree. Spend the money first on central heating . . . go with something more efficient and reliable . . . and by all means insulate. After all this is taken care of I would then take a good, hard look at whether I would want or need to go with woodheat.