Peerless TW-4

Dick Charland

Dan, I'glad to see that your Peerless boiler appears to have served you well. As the Peerless rep in New England I can honestly say that has generally been the case in spite of complaints about the JO series boilers being to restrictive on the flue passage side. As you consider replacing your boiler, there are several things I'd like to bring to your attention. Sizing a steam boiler based on the square footage of your home is not an accurate method, in fact I do not recommend anyone size any heating equipment, steam, forced hot water or warm air based on square footage.

A steam system will heat your home based on the ability of the boiler to provide enough steam to fill the piping and radiation with steam. Problems arise when a unit is undersized and the boiler cannot adequately provide enough "heat". Similarly, an oversized boiler in not an advantageous piece of equipment in spite of the old addage bigger is better.

Unfortunately, in too many cases, the replacement of steam boilers is done on the basis of what is there, a 4 section needs a 4 section, a 5 needs a 5 and so on. In order to verify the correct unit for your home I recommend that the heat load be calculated. This is a simple procedure involving determining the heat output of each radiator. The radiator section design and height have a rating and that is then multiplied by the number of sections to give us an output in square feet of steam for each radiator. Add up all the radiators and we then have a better idea what size boiler you need. A survey of the rest of the system will determine if there are any other factors which need to be addressed, chief among these is whether or not the supply piping still is insulated. With concern over asbestos, the common insulating material at the time, insulating the piping after its (asbestos) removal is critical. A failure to do so ends up adding to the heating load of the appliance.

Allowing for a properly sized unit the next important aspect is the proper installation/piping of the boiler. In too many cases, piping is cut and new boilers are installed with no attention to the manufacturer's piping recommendations. Your system's operation for so many years does not guarantee it was installed correctly and this factors into efficient operation. Included in this is the need to look at the entire system and address the need for main vents, leaking stems on radiator valves and leaking or malfunctioning radiator vents.

Once the equipment has been installed it then is necessary to make sure the burner is correctly setup and that the boiler is cleaned on the water side. These are not complicated things but vital to ensuring proper operation. Along these lines, I am finding today that we need to address treating boiler water on a periodic basis to ensure continued long life. In speaking with a boiler treatment company their recommendation is that the pH level on cast iron steam boilers be maintained in the range of 13-14. This can be done with routine addition of a boiler treatment product. Additionally, I recommend that the boiler water line be manually maintained and monitored to assure that if a leak developped in the system you'd be made aware and avoid damage to the boiler from a condition called oxygen corrosion. This condition has become all too common today on sytems using automatic water feeders to provide this function.

Lastly, we continue to manufacturer what I call full size residential steam boilers at Peerless. The ECT Series has provided fantastic service in this area. I am familiar with the Megasteam and it represents an innovative introduction in what has been a stagnant part of the heating business. I can say however, that our products are no more than 1-3% differrent in efficiency depending on input and much depends on the issues I outlined above to make sure your system is working properly.

Lastly, if you are in the New England area please contact me, I have been contemplating a project which I'd like to discuss with someone replacing a steam boiler.

**** Charland
E.R. Stephen Co.
(978) 667-6399

daniel Flaherty

Peerless TW-4

I am considering replacing my old boiler with a new one. My current boiler is a Peerless TW-4. Does anyone know approx. how old this boiler would be and what new one would you recommend? My house is about 1900 sq. feet . About how much should I expect to pay for a new installation? Also I read in Dan's book that there were burners that had a High flame for heating the water then when the steam pressure was right , would switch to a low flame to maintain pressure. Is there any such burner on the market today? Thank all of you for your help. Dan F.

Steamhead (in transit)

For oil-fired steam in a residence

the Burnham MegaSteam is the best. Period. It's more efficient and much easier to maintain than that model Peerless.

We don't discuss pricing on this board.

Unfortunately, low-high-low firing hasn't quite made it down to residential boilers- yet. But I'm sure it will at some point.....

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Robert O'Brien

The

JOT-TW replaced the JOT in 1985 and continued until replaced by the EC series in 1994 or so.The Megasteam is the ne plus ultra in residential steam at the moment.