tigerdunes: We're in northwest NJ, and we've gotten down in the single digits for the past few nights. But this isn't unusual. I don't remember a problem with the heat/thermostat ever happening before. Always been able to be as toasty warm as we wanted. The house is under 3000 sq feet. The boiler size? Hmmm... how do I tell that? Thermostats are pretty old -- simple dial models. Maybe replaced it once in 20 years. But would both fail at the same time? Unlikely. We're warm enough, we certainly won't freeze -- 60s is fine, but the system should work properly and WE should decide what the temp is, not the heating system! Thanks!

i'm in the same situation. one installer told me the alpine has issues, and national grid will stop selling them in june 09. let's face it, the utility is contracting with burnham to buy trailer loads of boilers for oil to gas swaps, and hi efficiency is really not their goal. you get what you pay for, imho. i'm considering the wm155 ultra, upon recommendation of an installer. however, others, like triangle tube, buderus, veissman may be even better. the whole technology is so new, many installers simply don't have the sweat equity or knowledge. any installer will basically install what you want, as long as they make a sale/money. we're doing our research online, which we have to, and hopefully we can teach ourselves to make a wise choice. i dont think we can make too much of a mistake with any of these new mod/con gas boilers. i'm more concerned with heat loss calculations, and proper sizing and piping of the installation. i'm in blue point, where r u located? have you decided or come close to deciding which installer you will use?

Both units are good quality, but the Buderus is a 3-pass boiler, and 3-pass boilers are usually a little more efficient than the pin-style boilers like the V8 you mentioned. If you want to compare apples to apples look that the MPO from Burnham, which is also a 3-pass boiler with 87% efficiency. It's a very nice running unit, and should match up well with the G115. The MPO has some features that G115's don't include, and it is made with some impressive-looking castings. My experience has been that the MPO's are easy to install, the combustion is excellent, and it's easy to clean and service - which helps keep them running efficiently. Oil burner set-up is important, because it has a big effect on how efficiently the boiler heats. I've been in the heating business for about 15 years, and worked on both of the units you mentioned - they're both good boilers. But for the dollar for dollar, I think the MPO's are simpler and do more for the $ especially since the IQ reset cards can be added to them. The V8, it's a good option if you have a tankless heater for making hot water in the boiler. The efficiency isn't as high as the MPO, but the quality is very good - the cracking issue was fixed about 10 years ago. I also like the fact that that Burnham's are still made in PA - not imported. Do some research, but you're probablly on the right track.

Andy, I understand your frustration. Hydronic heat specialists are getting more difficult to find, I understand. Just be glad that you don't have steam. If you ever decide to replace the boiler, your engineering background might help. There a several variables and lots of calculations that need to be done to be sure you end up in a working envelope -- water temperature, heat loss from the structure, heat transfer via the radiators, circulation rate, temperature drop in the individual loops,... You could have a new hobby. The boiler heads in those two fora will be able to help you out a lot, I think. Someone there, maybe several people, will know that boiler well. Just tell them you are tired of the excess heat and give them your boiler and indirect hot water tank details. Be sure to ask them about scheduling the boiler on and off when it is only needed for water heating. Look at that this way, if you have your boiler off 16 hours a day while working and sleeping during the week, and 8 hours on Saturday and Sunday, you've solved nearly 60% of your problem. The flue can go in two ways and depends on what kind of boiler you have. There is subtlety that I am skipping. Condensing boilers have low temperature flue gas, and use plastic pipe going horizontally out of the side wall of the house. They are usually using outdoor air for combustion eliminating another heat loss point. Condensing the steam means heat recovery from that steam that used to leave boilers up the chimney. Now it runs down the drain after giving up its heat. All old fashioned residential boilers used to be non condensing. They will have a metal flue pipe that goes up to the roof line in some kind of double wall, insulated metal, or a metal joined to a masonry chimney. The problem is a mismatch between boiler and flue. Obviously a high temperature boiler will melt/burn plastic pipe. I've never heard of that happening. Exhausting wet (and acidic) flue gas in a masonry, or inadequately corrosion resistant chimney will cause a much slower failure and that happens even though it should not. Particularly bad are very old, unlined masonry chimneys no tile liner. The acid gets to the mortar and eats it up leaving gaps. Sometimes, with a change to a more efficient condensing boiler, a plastic flue can be installed within an old-fashioned chimney and go up through the roof if going out sideways is not convenient or not eye-pleasing.