"mike" wrote in message
oups.com...
Now it is fitted with a 2.8
gph nozzle. right now i'm burning roughly 3000 galllons of oil per
year for a 4000 square foot house. Seems excessive to me. Even if I
reduce the size or amount my radiators wouldn't the existing piping
still require me to use a large boiler?


You are going about this the wrong way. No matter what type of heat you
have, no matter how large the heater, that is not the main culprit. I don't
know where you live but that amount of oil is not uncommon on a house that
size in a cold climate.

First, think about how the heating system works. You have a thermostat.
When the temperature drops, the thermostat sends a signal to the heater to
start up. When the temperature goes up, it tells the heater to stop. If
you have a heater that is small, it may take a long time for that to happen.
If you have a heater that is too large, the heater will go off in a short
time. In either case, the amount of energy needed to satisfy the thermostat
is about the same.

Once you burn fuel to make heat, you want to keep it. How is the
insulation, windows, doors, etc? Before spending a lot of money to change
the boiler, find out where the heat is going and stop it from going. A 1931
house had no insulation. If some has been added, then yes, you can get away
with a smaller boiler but first, put that money into saving the heat and
then you can change out the mechanicals if needed and pay for it with the
savings.