Forum Archive: Posts by: MacD

Hello all, here’s the situation:

Boro Fuel (my oil supplier as per HEAT USA, the fuel buyer coop) came today to clean my 40 y.o. + boiler (steam heat) that I inherited when I purchased my 3-family brownstone in Bed Stuy two years ago, and pronounced it dead. It still produces heat, but has a huge crack from top to bottom and is leaking water everywhere. The Boro Fuel guy said it will probably work a little while longer, but will guzzle huge amounts of oil in the process and needs to be replaced. Fair enough.

I anticipated that my boiler would have to be replaced soon, so I purchased a separate equipment policy as part of my homeowners insurance through Chartis (used to be AIG). For a $500 deductable, Charitis claims that they will replace things like a boiler for up to 125% (or $100,000 tops – which this won’t be) of the replacement cost for a like-boiler that is energy efficient.

I expect that even though I have insurance, this will cost me more than $500 – that’s just how things usually work. However, because my personal resources are limited, every decision I make needs to be well considered.

That said, here are some questions:

1. Should I go with whatever new unit is suggested by Boro and agreed upon by Chartis, or should I take this opportunity to purchase the best quality, most energy-efficient unit with all the bells and whistles and pay for the difference? I’ve heard about systems that are able to be controlled via. remote access, and this is appealing to me as I am the sole owner and have tenants that rely on me to keep things running smoothly. It would be nice to go away for a weekend without having to worry.

2. My current boiler also heats the water for the home. Should I get a hot water tank in addition to the new boiler, or just go with the single, integrated boiler/hot water system?

3. The boiler room itself could use some upgrading in terms of fire-proofing the ceiling, etc.. Should I do that while the boiler is being replaced, or wait until after everything is done? I do not expect that this will be something covered by insurance.

4. Also, there is asbestos on the pipes in the boiler room, and I don’t believe Chartis will pay for the removal. However, it needs to be removed to replace the boiler. How much will it cost to remove and will the oil company be able to do the removal? Do I need to hire someone else?

5. Finally, I am having someone from Federated come to spray insulation into the roof of my home next Saturday. This will cost between $1800 – $2000. Should I keep the appointment or wait until after the boiler is replaced to see what kind of a difference a new boiler has in terms of subsequent oil bills?

Thanks in advance and stay warm.

P.S. If all goes well, I will be happy to provide contact information for all involved. I am particularly interested to see what the insurance adjuster has to say in this situation.

Anyone have any thoughts, ideas, feed-back, etc. on converting a 3-family brownstone currently heated by an oil burner, into three seperate gass meters — so that each apartment pays their own heating expense? Do I need special permits to do this, is it cost effective? I’m seriously considering doing this, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

I am in the process of doing research on how to handle the oil for my 3-family brownstone for the next 12 months. So far I have contacted my local drop delivery oil COD guy, whose price today is $4.49/gal. There is also Petro who is offering a $4.74 lock or $5.19 cap rate (also a $4.29 drop rate, but I’m told that may be a “teaser”), then HEATUSA is at $4.32 today and you sign a 1 year contract. Rates are not fixed with HEATUSA. Finally, there’s an organization called NYIRG. With them you join by filling out an application and submitting a $30 fee, but I couldn’t get anyone on the phone to tell me what their rates look like. Anyway, can anyone else tell me what they are finding/doing for the coming year?

Thanks.

Dear fellow brownstoners:

This was my first winter in my new brownstone, and I learned a lot about heating and heating costs. I don’t have to tell you that oil prices were sky high over the past 8 months. Not only that, but in my case, the boiler which is old but functional, kept breaking down. I’m told this is due in part to the fact that the tank is 1/2 full of sludge. As a result, I could only fill about 100-150 gallons at a time, and I had to pay close attention, lest the sludge clog my boiler and shut it down. This constant attempt to keep things regulated was pretty sucessful, but I still had about 12 episodes when I had to call a dear neighbor or friend to come by and check out/fix my system.

The long and the short of it is, I am considering all of my options for next winter. Here are the options that I am aware of:

– Clean out the sludge in the tank and see how things go next winter.

– Convert to a gas system.

– Figure out some other, more green option.

No matter what I decided to do, it has to be cost effective, not break down 12 times, and hopefully have some kind of pricing incentive program.

Please share your ideas, suggestions, knowledge.

Thanks so much.