Thinking Warm Thoughts

Over the holidays, I talked with my father-in-law, an HVAC tech, about my current boiler and possible future options. Our system is hot water, which lends us to greater efficiency potential than is possible with a steam heat system. He had just installed a Burnham Alpine boiler in the church across the street, and had primarily good things to say about the company. As a tech, he appreciates that it is still easy to get parts, quickly, for 35+ year old systems, while some other manufacturers discontinue parts after 10 years.

Although he wasn't able to give specific numbers, he thought, given our usage, that a new boiler would probably pay for itself in 5 or so years. The problem becomes then one of determining how we will pay the $5000-7000 that it will probably cost for the purchase and installation of the system.

The issue that this brings to mind for me, however, is one of venting. The Burnham Alpine uses PVC pipes for ventilation. High efficiency boilers and hot water heaters have special ventilation requirements to meet and as a result of their higher efficiency. They draw air in from outside because it is cleaner, and therefore burns more efficently than, say, sawdust or humidity laden air. They must exhaust outside, rather than into the chimney because their exhaust is cooler, more humid, and more dense, and would lead quickly to the collapse of the chimney in just a few years.

The normal installation would be to just run the vent pipes through the wall of the house. I find the idea of two bright white PVC pipes poking through the wall of my house rather unattractive. Yes, they could be painted to match the brick, but I'm still not completely comfortable with that solution.

One alternative that my father-in-law suggested was to run the vent pipes up the existing chimney. Our boiler and hot water heater use one chimney, while our fireplaces use another, so this wouldn't be a problem. He thought it wouldn't be too difficult to run things that way - just a matter of dropping two or three lengths of PVC pipe down the chimney. While this would cost more, I think the result is worthwhile.

This all leads me to thinking about the hot water heater and its eventual replacement with a tankless model. Tankless hot water heaters have their own special ventilation requirements, which seem to tend toward stainless steel, but which could probably be fit into the chimney if necessary. If I could settle on one system, it seems that it might be reasonable to drop in the vent pipe for the water heater at the same time as the vent pipe is being installed for the boiler.

Of course, I'd love to hear other ideas, including less ugly ways to conceal vents run through walls.

I need plumbing help

First of all, we're seriously considering a new hot water heater. The one we have at present is a ten year model that is 14 years old. The faucets in our showers seem to yield warm water at best. This morning, I turned up the temperature on the tank, and hope that will help, but I expect to have to buy a new hot water heater in the immediate future. Given how difficult it can be to find someone to install a tankless hot water heater, this is something I hope to address sooner rather than later - before it becomes a real problem.

I'm inclined toward the Rheem models at present simply because they only require a single vent line, something that I think can be accomplished more easily given the current set up in the basement - I have a small window that a single vent line could be run through. Alternately, I'd like to run the vent through the chimney, as is the case with the current hot water heater, but this doesn't seem to be an option. I'd be interested to hear any thoughts, feelings, or recommendations on the subject.

Another plumbing related issue - three of the five toilets in our house are original, 1926 vintage TePeCo (Trenton Potteries) models. I'd like to replace the guts, as they all seem to be starting to fail, but I can't seem to find a good source for parts, especially for the rubber bits. If you have a source for such things, I'd love to hear about it.

Finally, in my search for the perfect stove, I found this incredible 1920s or 1930s Magic Chef in Pittsburgh, for a mere $250. While it won't fit our kitchen, I know that someone out there must need it.

[Edit:

Perhaps I should clarify my question. Given that there are several window wells in the basement, a chimney that is presently used by the boiler and hot water heater, and that the exterior walls of the house are brick, is there a non-ugly way to vent a hot water heater? ]