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  1. ess

    Upgrade or repair oil boiler?

    Okay, then sorry for my confusion - were you saying that I'd see about the same fuel savings adding the Intellicon to my current boiler, or if not, what was I adding it to? :) From this:
  2. ess

    Upgrade or repair oil boiler?

    I am so not surprised, as everything else put in by those same people was basically the cheapest crap they could find. I don't know about the Firebird, but doesn't the Energy Kinetics have smart controls / ODR stuff built in (like the Buderus high efficiency ones with Logamatic)? Would there...
  3. ess

    Upgrade or repair oil boiler?

    I did that at one point, and I think we have a 1.5 gpm and a 2.5 gpm (which I'll switch out at some point). The kids are too little for their own showers right now, but that will change in the future, so it's good to be prepared. I think that's why my very rough estimate was more around what...
  4. ess

    Upgrade or repair oil boiler?

    It does still have that tag on it! The tag references 1994 energy prices (although maybe they just didn't update them regularly). GE PE50M9A 50 gallon water heater (licensed from Rheem) http://products.geappliances.com/ApplProducts/Dispatcher?REQUEST=SpecPage&Sku=PE50M9A Energy factor 0.91...
  5. ess

    Upgrade or repair oil boiler?

    That would be assuming that the current one is working properly. :) We're hoping that our electric bills are high partially because our water heater is running poorly (I'm not sure how to confirm that). We could be wrong, but considering the age of the unit, I figured it was prudent at least...
  6. ess

    Upgrade or repair oil boiler?

    Do you know if there's a standard estimate for gallons of oil used per year for hot water with the EK-1? If I'm remembering correctly, during the winter the hot water tank gets purge heat from the boiler, but obviously during the summer, the boiler will only be running for the indirect tank...
  7. ess

    Upgrade or repair oil boiler?

    So I checked the basement, and we have basically a full floor to ceiling exposed section of vertical cast iron drain pipe (about a foot from the wall? I didn't measure). There are some joins, but I think there were 4 feet of pretty basic pipe there (again, didnt measure exactly, so I guess it...
  8. ess

    Upgrade or repair oil boiler?

    Luckily (or not so luckily, since we're thinking / hoping that our way too high electric bills are due to our old water heater), we do have an existing electric HW heater. So I do need to make sure I'm understanding the operational costs here. I can do more research, but is there a standard...
  9. ess

    Upgrade or repair oil boiler?

    Wow - $5500 a year in fuel would pay back a $10k system in two years, so that's impressive! You must have been using at least twice as much oil as us (or have much higher oil prices). I'm a little confused about why we would be adding on a pellet boiler to our existing boiler - would it be so...
  10. ess

    Upgrade or repair oil boiler?

    Sadly enough, Mass Save seems happy getting us from horribly leaky to just leaky (they sealed the upper floor in the attic and plumbing stacks, mostly). I may see if I can get (pay) someone to come out and test us again after we get the basement insulated and sealed, with the stipulation that...
  11. ess

    Upgrade or repair oil boiler?

    Useful note. I think it makes sense to investigate whether we can put one in (if we end up going with a heat pump hot water heater, it might mean the difference between the Airgenerate ATI66, which has a Mass Save rebate, versus the ATI80, which doesn't), but I don't know whether it would fit -...
  12. ess

    Upgrade or repair oil boiler?

    I am willing to put money into this project as long as it will save us energy overall and pay back in a reasonable period of time (generally 10 years max). However, I'd really rather not spend the money if there aren't very clear benefits. So for example, if an oil boiler upgrade costs $10,000...
  13. ess

    Upgrade or repair oil boiler?

    We do run a dehumidifier in the basement during the summer, so that is a side benefit (I don't know if it would be able to replace the dehumidifier). Would insulation help with the dehumidification needs as well? I've bookmarked a bunch of posts about using EPS / XPS foam, no vapor barrier...
  14. ess

    Upgrade or repair oil boiler?

    Right, I think that's what I was missing - BoilerBadgerMN was suggesting the Bock heater if we went with a radiant zone, instead of plumbing a new radiant zone on the existing boiler (please let me know if I'm still incorrect). It's a really neat idea, and in that case, I agree that comparing...
  15. ess

    Upgrade or repair oil boiler?

    Thank you so much for replying! We do get annual maintenance under our oil service plan, and I agree that new windows will not help us as much as some other areas (I'm thinking air sealing around badly installed replacement windows, replacing the badly leaking front door, and basement...
  16. ess

    Upgrade or repair oil boiler?

    Hi - I've been lurking on this forum quite a bit gathering all sorts of tips on boilers, insulation, etc. etc., and I was hoping that if I posted my situation, I might be able to get some of the great advice as well. Summary: We have an newish but kind of mediocre boiler, and I'm trying to...
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