Who has the best residential gas steam boiler

prairiekats

couldn't get back on the forum yesterday!

Thanks for info

I still don't know what I'm doing though ha ha.

I keep hearing things about burners. They don't come separately I hope? Is it just that the boiler companies use different burners made by other companies?

I did want you all to know I appreciated your responses and I'll be back when we're closer to actually buying, I hope real soon. Then you can help us figure out how to install . . . Is there a recommendation for easiest to install? The old boiler here doesn't have much attached to it, doesn't LOOK hard, except weight. BUT . . .

(thx enreynolds)

Becky

prairiekats

ps to enreynolds

we're in Kansas - closest location in the link you gave is Indiana

SWEI

gas power burners

Are not made by the boiler manufacturers, but by third parties (Carlin, Midco, Riello, etc.)



I just looked into this about a month ago for a customer.  Smith used to ship the G8 / EZ-Gas combo but no longer provides it as a prepackaged SKU.  No warranty issues from either manufacturer with the combo, but they do need to be purchased separately by the installer.

Enreynolds

Prariekats

Call the sales rep in Indiana and ask him/her to provide you with the nearest distributors to you.  I would bet there is one closer than Indiana.  Otherwise, the internet has made the world a smaller place, so the sales rep should be able to arrange to ship you a boiler.

Eric

StatenIslandhomeowner

help choosing a gas boiler

I stumbled on this thread at the right time, since someone just revived it. I own an old home (1920s) with a gas heat, steam radiators & a 30 yr. old boiler that finally died. Leak, plus shot pilot ignition that will cost $1100 to replace. Made it through last winter with leak but now I need to get a new boiler quickly. I'm not very knowledgable, having been an apartment dweller for years, but I don't want to just take the installer's advice, since the few I've had in seem to disagree and didn't bother counting or measuring radiators. Brands mentoined are WeilMclain, Peerless, Crown, and New Yorker (owned by Burnham). Currently have Slant/Fin galaxy. Looks like 175,000 btu input/140,000 btu output. I'm going to try to learn to calculate btu needs myself. Can't afford to spend more than neccessary - we need a new roof, too. Any help with choosing greatly appreciated.

Also, seems like most new models have electric ignition but after power outages courtesy of Hurricane Sandy, I'm womdering if there are other options. It's gonna be cold tonight.

ChrisJ

Boiler brands

  I prefer atmosphereic boilers as they are quieter and simplier.  Electronic ignition or pilot both need 24V AC to operate.



That said,  in my opinion the brand of boiler you buy is moot as they are all about the same.  What is NOT the same is who installs it and this is extremley important.   Once you find a good steam expert allow him to choose the boiler of his choice as well as the associated equipment.

Forget about the name on the boiler and whether it uses rubber or steel connnectors and concentrate on finding a good steam expert to install the boiler, or learn to do it your self as I did. 

Rod

Replacing Boiler

Hi-   I hope you weren’t too badly affected by Sandy, As to boiler replacement,  it would help if we knew a little more about your present system.  What type of system is it? Where is the leak  that you mentioned located?  It would also help if you posted some pictures of your system. Take the pictures from farther back so they include the boiler and the connecting piping. That way we can trace out the piping and determine where / how  it is connected to the boiler. If we need to see more detail we can just zoom in.

    If you don’t have it already I’d recommend you get a book available in the Shop section of this website. It’s called “We Got Steam Heat!” and wiull be a great help to you, Here’s a link to it:



http://www.heatinghelp.com/products/Steam-Heating-Books/25/61/We-Got-Steam-Heat-A-Homeowners-Guide-to-Peaceful-Coexistence



The following links are to articles/videos that may be of help to you:

Video on the Importance of Boiler Piping Configuration

http://www.heatinghelp.com/article/107/Steam-Heating/118/Steam-boiler-near-boiler-piping



Replacing a Boiler Article

http://www.heatinghelp.com/article/236/For-Homeowners/1490/How-to-have-a-boiler-replaced-without-getting-steamed



Steam Heating Primer

http://www.heatinghelp.com/article/321/Steam-Heating-Basics/128/A-Steam-Heating-Primer



Boiler Ratings Explained

http://www.heatinghelp.com/article/364/Boilers/143/Boiler-Ratings-Explained



You mentioned about calculating the BTUs of the Radiators. I’ve attached worksheet that will help you with this. It will give you the figures to calculate the EDR (Equivalent Direct Radiation) in Square feet, of each radiator. If you then want the BTUs you multiply the EDR by 240. (1 Square Foot of steam radiation  equals 240 BTUs) though usually you can just use the total EDR to figure out the size of boiler you need. Be sure to read up on “Pickup Factor”.and IBR boiler ratings, The pickup factor in the IBR ratings is already figured in so you can match the total EDR of your radiators to the boiler directly to the boiler’s IBR rated out put in square feet of steam (with out including a pickup factor)



I’m sure this is a bit overwhelming at first but with the help of the above articles and the book, it should quickly fall in place for you. Don’t hesitate to ask any questions that you might have and we’ll do our best to answer them.

- Rod

prairiekats

Thanks Eric and Rod

am taking all your information and suggestions to heart!

as soon as I get the funds together . . . .

StatenIslandhomeowner

thanks

Thanks for all the advice. I'm going to digest it and move forward. I've been all over the internet and this is the most helpful site I've found.

Re: Sandy. We were lucky and just lost power for 2 days. Sadly, lots of people worse off.

jumper

pancake hydrotherm

My recollection is that hydrotherm was made with horizontal castings unlike HB Smith, Weil-McClain & SlantFin which were the other ones I commonly saw.



I also agree with ChrisJ that atmospheric is simpler. CGA mandates that you can turn off gas burner with a wall switch. But it's possible to set up emergency battery for electric outage . Not so with powered burner.

vaporvac

No emergency battery for PowerBurner?

Wow! That's a drag. Why can't the power burners use a battery back-up?



 We often get tornadoes, ice-storms etc, where we've been without



power for as long as ten days! I didn't have a back-up the my old



atmospheric, but I'd have liked to have that option on the power



burner.



I do like the quiet of the atmospheric, but for the minimal cost



differential I just can't justify the added fuel usage.  In a large,



older home every bit helps ...alot. I've never heard an oil burner, so



it's hard to get a fix on how loud these power burners are in



comparison. Mine seems loud enough already, but I suppose it's



something one gets used to? Thanks for re-viving this post. Colleen

ChrisJ

oil burner noise

I was able to hear my oil burner up in my livingroom as it was in the basement directly below the livingroom.  I can't even tell when my WM EG-45 (atmospheric) is on unless I'm in the basement with it.



My oil burner was also a newer style with an acoustic cover on it.



Now being fair I would say the typical oil burner is no louder than the averaged forced hot air furnace.