BadgerBoilerMN
Hydronic Heating Designer
"even if you replaced it with a 2-3 plate 50-60KBTU/hr cast-iron thing rather than a high efficiency modulating boiler.
BLASPHEMER !
BLASPHEMER !
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- Thread starter mrm143
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Sorry, Morgan, I know how much mod-cons mean to you. 
But in fact, I'm a big believer in replacing ANY atmospheric drafter burners with direct-vent/closed combustion, to zero out all chance of back drafting no matter how tight you make the house, then going whole-hog on air sealing and weatherization. In the replacement boiler world that's pretty much an all-mod-con show, with a few measly exceptions.
And a right sized modulating boiler would be MILES ahead of any cast-iron solution on raw comfort, as long as the shortest baseboard zone won't cause it to short-cycle itself into an early grave.
At this point I'm thinkin' he'll be way better off fixing the most egregious envelope deficiencies prior to boiler-replacement time, and tracking the improvements to the heat load with fuel use calculations to know what that whole-house load really is, to avoid buying yet another oversized boiler. It takes some real convincing with some people that their heat loads are as low as they really are, and there's nothing like tracking it for a few years ahead of time to get it to sink in.
There's no economy in scrapping a functional boiler in the meantime, but comfort can go way up once you start nailing down the heat leaks in the building envelope. When the CG6 is really starting to crap out or leak is the time to lobby for the beloved mod-con. I suspect he's still at least a half a decade away, maybe more than a decade- some of these beasts just won't DIE, even with stake in their cast-iron-zombie-hearts! (Silly me, I scrapped my ~ 15 year old 6-plate Burnham while still fully functional, but I'm more dedicated to air sealing the house than most.)
But in fact, I'm a big believer in replacing ANY atmospheric drafter burners with direct-vent/closed combustion, to zero out all chance of back drafting no matter how tight you make the house, then going whole-hog on air sealing and weatherization. In the replacement boiler world that's pretty much an all-mod-con show, with a few measly exceptions.
And a right sized modulating boiler would be MILES ahead of any cast-iron solution on raw comfort, as long as the shortest baseboard zone won't cause it to short-cycle itself into an early grave.
At this point I'm thinkin' he'll be way better off fixing the most egregious envelope deficiencies prior to boiler-replacement time, and tracking the improvements to the heat load with fuel use calculations to know what that whole-house load really is, to avoid buying yet another oversized boiler. It takes some real convincing with some people that their heat loads are as low as they really are, and there's nothing like tracking it for a few years ahead of time to get it to sink in.
There's no economy in scrapping a functional boiler in the meantime, but comfort can go way up once you start nailing down the heat leaks in the building envelope. When the CG6 is really starting to crap out or leak is the time to lobby for the beloved mod-con. I suspect he's still at least a half a decade away, maybe more than a decade- some of these beasts just won't DIE, even with stake in their cast-iron-zombie-hearts!
(Silly me, I scrapped my ~ 15 year old 6-plate Burnham while still fully functional, but I'm more dedicated to air sealing the house than most.)
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BadgerBoilerMN
Hydronic Heating Designer
There are all kinds of ways to get hurt when you DIY a residential boiler. Lets start with 200°F water in a boiler bumping off high limit when the circulator fails. Turn off the power and fuel supply, wait for the boiler to cool off to room temperature, isolate boiler/pump from the radiation, drain boiler/pump, pull pump and replace, fill system with water below 7 grains hardness (not soft), purge air using accepted methods, turn power and fuel on, run combustion test to assure safe, clean and efficient operation. Cross yourself...
BadgerBoilerMN
Hydronic Heating Designer
"It takes some real convincing with some people that their heat loads are as low as they really are"
Amen brother
Amen brother
