The cast iron heat exchanger in my Weil gas boiler has developed a large hole in it. It is leaking condensation to the bottom of the boiler case. The bottom of the boiler case has about a half inch of water buildup. A serviceman said rust is a possible cause.
Has anyone else had such a problem with a gas boiler? I really don't want to spend a fortune on a new unit. But even a simple replacement of the exchanger would be a possible 2-3 thousand dollar job.
Another question: Our present boiler is a 155,000 BTU type. A replacement unit suggested is only 130,000 BTU. Would this difference in BTU rating substantial enough to make a noticeable difference in heating our home? The present 155,000 BTU is seeingly more than enough to do the job.
Without doing the calculations no one can say for sure if it is adequate. The new smaller unit is probably more efficient, meaning more heat is going to the house and less up the flue so you can get the same amount of heat in the house and save money.
In my last house, I replace my old oil fired boiler with a System2000 from Energy Kinetics. Paid for itself with oil saving in 7 years. Gas would probably take longer.
You're lucky you didn't have a carbon monoxide tragedy in your home! Your existing boiler is probably less than 80% efficient. Replace it with at least a 92% model. Also today's models have more efficient blowers so lower BTU rating often does the job just fine. Depending on where you live, you'll probably amortize the increased cost of the higher efficiency boiler in fewer than 5 years. This is especially true as natural gas prices continue to rise. If you're using a trustworthy HVAC company, believe and accept their recommendations.
The boiler is located in our basement which is open to a first floor enclosed rear porch. Our main home is a up about 7 feet from the enclosed porch, with steps leading up to the kitchen. Chances are the monoxide, if any, was not strong enough to get further than the basement or porch. We never noticed any such problem.
We did learn from an installer that the exchanger get condensation in it that is of an acidic nature. The exchanger should have been flushed out every year, which it wasn't. That could explain the hole eaten out in the base of the cast iron exchange.
We did order a new model instead of trying to repair the number of problems with the old boiler. The new one is an ultra efficient one modern upgrade of the same brand as the old boiler. From now on, we will have the exchange flushed each year.
That is probably why there recommendation for the lower BTU replacement. If 155K is more then adequate, then a higher efficiency 133K may even be too large, if the difference in efficiency is significant. But better to err on the side of a bit too large than too small. I replaced a 150K old furnace with a
120K 93%, it's about the same output and can raise the house 6F an hour when it's 25F out.
Also today's models have more efficient
It's a boiler, not a furnace. But, even with a furnace, I don't see how blower efficiency has anything to do with BTUs being sufficient to heat the place. It just affects electricity usage.
Depending on
Now I'm confused. What blower and what efficiency? The draft induction blower? Again, I don't see how the efficiency of the electric motor in that is going to make a difference in anything but the cost of the electric usage and for that small blower, it's so small it hardly should matter. it won't affect the comfort of the house. that's for sure.
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