Anybody with advice would be great. My gas and electric bill for Dec. is $700,with $530 of it from natural gas.I have a Burnham boiler from 1997.The house is 2200 Sq. Ft ranch built in 51.Its all stone. I have new doors and windows and 2' of attic insulation. The thermostat is set at 65 all the time.I'm using 450 therms of gas according to my bill. I have no other home in the area to compare it to. My neighbor is the same size,but he is two story with forced air. His gas part of the bill is $270,about half of mine.I do have a large attached garage with a 180000 btu electric ignition reznor heater that I use about 10 times a month, 6 hrs each time I'm out there. The garage is heavily insulated, ceiling and walls. The garage furnace runs about 15 min. every 1.5 hrs.I do expect to be higher than most other comparibles, but I think $300 is a bit much. Any help would be appricated. I am waiting for a heating friend of mine to come by, but that will not be til Tues, Maybe later, as we are expecting severe cold this week. Oh, I live in the tax hell, called Milwaukee WI.

 

First thing I would look at is your water pressure. There should be a gauge on the boiler itself that shows water temperature and pressure.

You should see 15-20 p.s.i. While you are looking at that, note the water temperature as well.

Next, feel the supply and return lines at the boiler itself, they should both be fairly hot, so be careful. The supply comes from the upper part of the boiler, and the return usually has the circulator pump on it, and goes in toward the lower portion of the boiler.

Report back here after that.

 

I'm unable to check the things you noted.I'm not at home,until the morning. I do know that the aquastat is set at 180. And the boiler seems to be working OK. But I will report back with the readings ASAP. Thank You

 

Sounds good.

Your Welcome.

 

OK My wife took a look and reported that its not running at the moment and the temp is at 120 and the press. is 10.

 

The water pressure may go up when the temperature goes up, but it sounds like it could use a little more water. Is the house one or two stories?

Does it have more than one zone?

I usually like to turn the limit on the aquastat up to 190-200, also.

 

Its a ranch but the basement has heat also.So it has two pumps or zones I guess.But I only have one boiler.The basement is very seldom on above 60. I did bleed the system in the fall.I also let some water out of the overhead holding tank,because water was leaking out of the relief valve. After I drained the tank it no longer leaks.That was Oct. when I did that.

 

Most zoning is done with zone valves, sometimes with pumps, but not usually.

Do you know off hand what BTU the boiler is?

I like to see water pressures on single story houses at least 15 psi, and will be fine up to 20 psi.

There should be a pressure reducing valve on the water supply line feeding the boiler. You can adjust the pressure in the boiler with that.

When you can, let me know if you have something similar to that, and I can tell you how to adjust it. It will be on a 1/2" line coming from the house water. The pressure reducing valve, if there, should be red or gold, with a jam nut and slotted adjusting screw on the top.

 

I want to say its 80000 btu. But I,m going off my memory. Will you be on here sometime Tomorrow? I will check the rest of these things as soon as I get home. My job keeps me away for 24hrs at a time. I get home at 830 in the morning. Thanks Again Megacab.

 

I should be around!

Let me know what you find.

 

I have been having the same problem with the 1950s version Weil Mclain boiler that I have... Similar gas usage, 2200 sq ft, 1 floor, no basement.

Installed a forced air furnace about a week ago and hoping to see some difference... will report back when I can figure out my usage and how it compares.

 

It is 80000 btu and I turned up the pressure.It does have 2 seperate pumps. The temp seems to fluctuate from 120 to 170 and back to 120 quit fast within a few min.

 

It should hold the water temperature better than that...

Do you have a vent damper installed on the flue pipe?

If so, is it functioning properly?

If not, I would highly suggest one. They keep the water you just paid to heat, hot, and not let it go out the chimney.

When was the last time you pulled and cleaned the burners and pilot assembly?

Dirty burners cause incomplete combustion, and will cause severe soot, especially on boilers.

80,000 BTU's is on the small side for the size of your house. Bigger is better when it comes to hot water systems, because they don't have to run as long to heat the water up, but unless you want to replace the boiler, I know that's not an option for you.

 

It does have a damper on the flue and I can here it working,not that,that counts as functioning properly.It was cleaned a couple of years ago.However it is set to be done today .

 

As long as it is closing when the burners shut off, whether or not the thermostat is calling for heat, the damper should close, and only open just before the burners are set to come on.