Replacing my nat gas forced air in house with high eff mod/con boiler------ recommendations welcome

[Frozen Canuck]

MY situation: Way too much work. There is no way I am getting into the bush this year. SO instead of running an old system I have decided to go to a gas replacement that should (I hope) last 20-30 years.

SO... what I am asking is; for any feedback on the high eff mod/con boilers. I have already decided from reading elsewhere that I will not be a crash test dummy for those whom are using aluminum in their heat exchangers. I know, I know they may be the best thing since sliced bread but I will let others prove that.

So far I am leaning toward a Veissmann 100 or 200 as well as TT Prestige. I know that there will be others that are worthy of consideration, just haven"t had the time to look at them all, or even most of them.

I will be eliminating the forced air in the future for heating & going with floor tubing & prob the upnor system or one like it. She (the boss) has said she would like new floors & that will be my opportunity to install the upnor & tubing. I will however keep the forced air system in place for AC.

So for now high eff boiler with a low eff distribution system. I know that sucks...but in future high eff total home heating system is the plan.

SO... fire away with your thoughts on high eff mod/con boilers. I welcome all the input.

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

I can speak for Viessmann's quality. My unit is oil, not a mod-con.

If you have Forced hot air right now and are moving to radiant, remember too that there are trade offs there. When the Boss comes inside and she is cold, you can't turn up the stat and get a blast of hot air. If you get a blast of cold air (some numb nutz opens the door and lets the wind blow in) again, no quick warm up. A lot of builders and supply houses push the benies of radiant, but often you will find they don't have it in their homes. Don't get me wrong, I like mine and I would do it again. But having a hot/cold air delivery system would be a very nice touch. Sounds like you are headed that way.

Have you been over to http://www.heatinghelp.com/ for info on the Mod-Cons? I would think Buderus would also be on your short list.

Jimbo

 

[bpirger]

I'm not an HVAC professional...so beware. When I was looking for an oil boiler a few years ago, Viessman and Buderus appeared to be the cream of the crop. I found Buderus was recongnized locally, but no one even had heard of Viessman it seemed. Maybe I was talking to the wrong HVAC companies, or maybe I'm not in the realm of the truly top of the line. The Buderus wasn't that much more expensive that the American boilers, maybe $100-$200. I was surprised.

I've had no problems with my Buderus oil boiler....though with the 0.6 gallon per hour nozzle and being a primary wood burner (woodstove, with the Garn coming online shortly!) I do have issues with the nozzle junking up. But that is the Riello burner...and 0.6 GPH nozzle is a little bitty thing. Have to love the ability to take low return water temps when running with radiant though....I couldn't find any other boiler that was happy with this. But with gas, all those dirty issues go away.

I have radiant, love it, but if you are looking to drop back temps and whatnot, radiant moves really, really slow! Completely second the previous post.

 

[heat4steve]

I researched this two years ago before buying a condensing boiler. I decided to heat with propane (so I could convert to nautral gas if it ever come through the area). In my case the additional cost for this type of boiler was justifed since I have a large old farmhouse to heat. At the time there was no energy tax credit but now that there is this should be the clear way to go - sorry I see you are not in the States. Considered Weil, TT Prestige, Buderus, Knight, Munchkin, and others. I went with the Knight because it had a good reputation, a 12 year warranty, and at the time it was a better value than the others. It was easy to install, setup, and so far has been problem free. Rough pricing at the time: 80,000 BTU/hr unit $2500, 1000,000 Btu/hr at $3000, and a 150,000 Btu/hr at $3500. I purchased the boiler from radiant heat products here in New York. You could probably find lower prices elsewhere. However, I would recommend calling Daryl High the owner to pick his brain 1-800-466-7566. Good Luck.