Boiler replacement

[joe l]

help is needed, I think I'm loosing it. I'needed to replace a 30 plus boiler. I would like other peoples thoughts on this: 1. old cast iron weil mc type cg ser vs burham 2. med condenser weil mc gv-90 ser vs burham
3. top condenser weil mc ultra vs burham alpine( lots of stories bad and good)

My priorities are as follows:
maintenance of unit ( old case iron lasted a long time. Replaced one pump and cleaning done yearly.( few. electronics, few moving parts, etc) I wish I could have the boiler call me on my cell phone when it gets sick.
life long..20 yr
efficient is last

two items to mention 1: need help first what to choose then i will seize
2. house is empty, from nov to march each year ex for all the hoildays

I would like any help I can get at this point. thank you all joe loggia

 

[Tom Sawyer]

It's even more complicated than that. To do it right you start with a manual J heat loss for the home because I guarantee that when the original system was installed, a manual J was never done and therefore the existing boiler is most likely 2x larger than it needs to be. Next you need to know how many BTU/hr your heat emitters are capable of at 180degree inlet temperature, although that factor will change considerably with a condensing boiler installed because the whole point of condensing is to run lower water temperatures but the emitters don't put out as much heat at lower water temperatures so therefore, the boiler won't condense and won't reach its maximum steady state efficiency. Again, 99% of homes will not have enough radiation installed to match the new boilers capabilities. Then we get into the added cost of increasing the radiation and or installing a rather large buffer tank (200 or so gallon is not unusual) and of course in the end it's all about return on investment which in many cases amounts to never. My advice would be to find a reputable and local company to come in and do the leg work for you.