Smith G8

stamato_8

ME: "I would like a quote for a G8".

Tech: "Sorry, Never Heard of it, but I could sell you a my brand atmospheric"


Steamhead, I got curious (imagine that) and called Smith. They told me that they no longer sell the 8 series with a power burner as a package. They said you would have to purchase them seperately. They also don't know the efficiency of it. They stopped all marketing on this setup. The guy on the phone said he himself is using atmospheric. Plus I am learning that I would need to dispose of my oil tank making future conversions much more expensive. I am so confused. I believe that your information is correct and that more steam customers with gas should probably be using these. I just cannot understand why no one in the industry is using this setup. Will I be the only person outside of Baltimore with a power burner? I am concerned that the only person willing to do this job leaves town in a year or two. What is the deal? Help.

Here is another interesting conversation.

Me: "can you come do an estimate"?

Tech: "When will you be home"

ME: "My mother in law is always home, come by and look anytime"

Tech: "You have to be home"

ME: "I have to be home to watch your guy measure radiation"

Tech: "Yes because if you like his estimate you can sign it right then."

Me: "Beat it"!

Steamhead (in transit)

Smith needs some marketing help

to put it mildly. We actually discovered the G-8 on our own. Whenever Burnham gets around to offering a gas-fired MegaSteam, it won't take much for them to out-market Smith.

The Smith website has a page for the G-8- some minimal marketing:

http://www.smithboiler.com/html/g8.asp

and we just got two more of them in, to be installed over the next few weeks. Watch for pics.

The 8 series boiler is actually available with several different oil burners as well as the EZ-Gas, so we have to specify which burner when ordering one anyway.

With the degree of respect Palmer Heating has, I doubt you'd be the only one in your area for long. You might be the first, but you probably won't be the last with a G-8. When I talked to Scott Secor, I suggested that he stock EZ-Gas parts as we do, so if the burner does go down he can get it going quickly. He thought it was a good idea too.

If you have an older oil tank, it's best to remove it anyway. If you go back to oil later, you can get one of the newer double-containment tanks (such as Roth) which are much less prone to leakage. It's a worthwhile upgrade, and you still wouldn't need a new boiler.

As for the techs you mention- that kind of thing is one factor that keeps our company in business.

"Steamhead"

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