wrote in message
oups.com...
i have a 85 year old 4000 sq. foot masonary with no insulation in the
walls and insulation blown into the attic. the windows are old. my
boiler is an oil fired weil mclane from the early 70's rated for 1500
ft of steam. i have been burning about 3500 gallons a year in
northeastern PA. i'm trying to figure out if there is something wrong
with my boiler or vents etc. i know my house could be better insulated
but, given the current insulation situation is 3500 gallons a
reasonable amount of oil to burn? Could heat be escaping somewhere in
pipes, vents? i have asked professionals to look at my boiler and have
received several answers. most have not spent much time really
examining my steam system. some say it should be replaced, some say it
is fine and the issue is insulation related. any ideas?

My father in-law has a house in Maryland (not as cold as your area) that is
1800 square feet and he goes through aboit 1000 gallons during the winter,
so your consumption sounds about right. Probably nothing wrong with the
system. Sounds like you are heating the surrounding real estate.

Follow some of the suggestions from Bob and Ed and you could probably knock
off quite a bit of that oil usage.

Or you could move to Florida...

;-]