Best Of

Knowing that you have the P-468 from WM indicates that you have what is equivalent to the WGO oil fired boiler available today from WM. The only big difference is the door to access the combustion chamber is on a hinge. It is still a pin type heat exchanger that is difficult to brush clean when needed. The combustion efficiency may have gone form 82% to 85% over the years as a result of the clean cut pump and some other burner tweaking. So grabbing that burner from eBay may be a nice to have on hand since the seller is verifying that the unit is only 10 years old. You would than have all the regular parts that could fail over the next 10 years or so. You will gain no fuel savings with a new piece of cast iron. So, wait until the old girl starts to leak before considering a complete boiler.

The electronic primary control and the clean cut pump would be the first two things I would replace if you purchase the eBay burner. That will give you some benefits. If the eBay burner does not come with the electronic Primary control, then the burner is really not worth the price. You can purchase the primary control and the solenoid valve new from SupplyHouse.com for about $200.00, so that is what I would do in your situation.

Mr. Ed

The boiler is a P-468 Weil McClain install 9/1990. I am only considering a newer burner unit for peace of mind. My controls are older but not original. The burner is flame retention unit. I thought having the purge and fuel cut setup might keep the unit a bit cleaner. I understand it won't be any more efficient or fuel saving.

I wouldnt want to go to a scrap yard for any oil burner parts. If it comes to it I would feel more at ease with new parts.

Thanks very much for reply!

You're right. But that V-74 was made before we had 15-second primary controls with purge periods.

Any of the current electronic primaries is better than that R8184G. They all cut the ignition off after the flame is stable. But to use the purge periods, you need an oil delay valve. This can be part of a new fuel unit, like the Beckett CleanCut, or can be added on like this one:

https://www.supplyhouse.com/Beckett-2182602U-Beckett-F84-Valve-Kit-w-Precision-Delay-Timer

There's nothing wrong with bringing these older burners into the 21st Century. The pre-purge, also called valve-on delay, goes a long way toward cleaning up the startups. The post-purge, a.k.a. motor-off delay, cleans up the shutdowns. That means less brushing and vacuuming at the next service, and increased efficiency for the customer.