thomase00
New Member
Here is the situation...
I have a 33 year old Weil-McLain oil-fired hot water boiler in the basement vented into a MASSIVE brick chimney 13 feet away in the garage. The chimney has problems: The fireplace flue liner is collapsed and the boiler flue liner is not in the best shape. Given the collapsed fireplace flue liner, we were considering a propane fireplace insert, but we don't like the look of the 70's fireplace facade and started to investigate demoing and redoing the facade. One thing leads to another and we discover that the chimney is poorly constructed, leaning away from the house, and starting to pull the framing of the wall away from the house.
After talking to several masons, I am becoming convinced that the masonry chimney should be taken down entirely (the boiler flue is the only thing using it currently).
Assuming the chimney comes down, I will need an alternative venting solution for the boiler. My options are:
1.) Keep going with the existing boiler and have a steel chimney installed up the side of the house. I'd probably want a chimney chase built around it as well. This would be a bit closer to the boiler than the current chimney (maybe 8' away).
2.) Install a power vent for the current boiler. The boiler is located at the back side of the house, right near where the stairs for my deck meet the ground. I wouldn't want a power vent so close to the deck stairs, so I'd like to have it as far away as I can get away with. The problem is that I have a walkway along the back of the house 2' to 3' from the foundation. On the plus side, the basement is partially above grade, the power vent would be plenty high, AND we would need only need to cut through sheathing and siding rather than through the foundation wall.
3.) Get a new higher-efficiency direct-vented oil boiler. Again, I wouldn't want the vent coming out right where the boiler is because it's too close to my deck stairs, but I don't know how far a direct vent pipe can go or how many elbows it can have. Also, my boiler service tech says he doesn't like direct vent because it might not be suitable given the direction of the wind relative to the house.
4.) Get a new higher-efficiency direct-vented or power vented oil boiler and move the WHOLE system to the opposite side of the house. If it is vented out the side of the house, it will be far away from the deck and walkway. However, the install cost is MUCH higher if everything is moved.
4.) Get rid of the oil tank, and get a buried propane tank with a new high-efficiency gas boiler. I'm not as concerned about venting this out the back of the house because its just CO2 and water. However, when you compare the highest efficiency gas boiler to the highest efficiency oil boiler (95% vs. 87% AFUE), it looks like the per-gallon price of propane needs to be about 75% of the price of oil in order to make up for the lower BTU content. Currently, propane is more like 80% to 90% the cost of oil.
I'm leaning toward option 1. I'm assuming if/when I get a new high-efficiency oil boiler in the future, it can still use the new chimney. However, I've heard of people abandoning perfectly functional chimneys when they install a new boiler with side-wall venting as an option.
Also, I have an indirect water heater running off the boiler, so it WILL be running occasionally in the summer time when the yard is in use.
Opinions?
I have a 33 year old Weil-McLain oil-fired hot water boiler in the basement vented into a MASSIVE brick chimney 13 feet away in the garage. The chimney has problems: The fireplace flue liner is collapsed and the boiler flue liner is not in the best shape. Given the collapsed fireplace flue liner, we were considering a propane fireplace insert, but we don't like the look of the 70's fireplace facade and started to investigate demoing and redoing the facade. One thing leads to another and we discover that the chimney is poorly constructed, leaning away from the house, and starting to pull the framing of the wall away from the house.
After talking to several masons, I am becoming convinced that the masonry chimney should be taken down entirely (the boiler flue is the only thing using it currently).
Assuming the chimney comes down, I will need an alternative venting solution for the boiler. My options are:
1.) Keep going with the existing boiler and have a steel chimney installed up the side of the house. I'd probably want a chimney chase built around it as well. This would be a bit closer to the boiler than the current chimney (maybe 8' away).
2.) Install a power vent for the current boiler. The boiler is located at the back side of the house, right near where the stairs for my deck meet the ground. I wouldn't want a power vent so close to the deck stairs, so I'd like to have it as far away as I can get away with. The problem is that I have a walkway along the back of the house 2' to 3' from the foundation. On the plus side, the basement is partially above grade, the power vent would be plenty high, AND we would need only need to cut through sheathing and siding rather than through the foundation wall.
3.) Get a new higher-efficiency direct-vented oil boiler. Again, I wouldn't want the vent coming out right where the boiler is because it's too close to my deck stairs, but I don't know how far a direct vent pipe can go or how many elbows it can have. Also, my boiler service tech says he doesn't like direct vent because it might not be suitable given the direction of the wind relative to the house.
4.) Get a new higher-efficiency direct-vented or power vented oil boiler and move the WHOLE system to the opposite side of the house. If it is vented out the side of the house, it will be far away from the deck and walkway. However, the install cost is MUCH higher if everything is moved.
4.) Get rid of the oil tank, and get a buried propane tank with a new high-efficiency gas boiler. I'm not as concerned about venting this out the back of the house because its just CO2 and water. However, when you compare the highest efficiency gas boiler to the highest efficiency oil boiler (95% vs. 87% AFUE), it looks like the per-gallon price of propane needs to be about 75% of the price of oil in order to make up for the lower BTU content. Currently, propane is more like 80% to 90% the cost of oil.
I'm leaning toward option 1. I'm assuming if/when I get a new high-efficiency oil boiler in the future, it can still use the new chimney. However, I've heard of people abandoning perfectly functional chimneys when they install a new boiler with side-wall venting as an option.
Also, I have an indirect water heater running off the boiler, so it WILL be running occasionally in the summer time when the yard is in use.
Opinions?