New Burnham ES-2 series Hydronic Boilers

fltrt521

Any opinions good or bad on the new Burnham ES series boilers. I'm considering installing one in my home but have been hearing of some issues.Any input would be appreciated, Thanks, Bob Sessa

Robert O'Brien

No problems

Just a CI boiler w/ spark ignition and a new control setup. Basically a freebie  upgrade on LI,NatGrid has a $500 rebate for 85% boilers

bob eck

new boiler

ES-2 boiler gives you 85% afue and needs to be vented into a lined chimney. no federal tax credit.

if you are going to a new boiler look at the burnham alpine 95% afue and a alliance indirect water heater this boiler qualifies for federal tax credit of 30% up to $1500.00

also look at using triangle tube prestige solo 95% afue boiler with their smart stainless steel indirect water heater. triangle tube also has a boiler model PE110 110,000 btu input with 14 gallon stainless steel indirect built in. all triangle tube boilers qualify for the federal tax credit of 30% up to $1500.00

both the alpine boiler and prestige boilers vent with pvc pipe and fittings so you do not have to line the chimney.

Last year I removed a 33 year old oil fired weil mclain boiler with domestic coil and installed a triangle tube PE110 95% boiler with built in 14 gallon indirect water heater and my heating and domestic hot water cost was $1050 lower with high efficiency nat gas boiler and indirect with outdoor reset control. both the burnham and triangle tube boilers come with outdoor reset control.

you can get outdoor reset control for the buenham ES-2 as a adder

find a professional heating contractor and they can help you with what boiler would be best for you and your home.

Steamhead

But there isn't always a good place

to vent a mod-con like the Alpine, is there?



The ES-2 series is a definite step up from the usual inefficient atmospheric boiler. It's almost as efficient as a 3-pass with a gas power burner, and the control system is pretty well thought out. We've installed one of the smallest, the ES-23, and like it. Here's the link to the thread- with pics of course:



http://www.heatinghelp.com/forum-thread/129307/Our-first-Burnham-ES-2-Install

bob eck

Es-2

use the triangle tube prestige boilers you can vent the boiler and take in fresh air in two different pressure zones. if you have a strait chimney you can run pvc pipe up the chimney and bring in fresh air from another source. triangle tube is coming out with a approved venting system where you use the chimney with pvc vent pipe and use the surrounding area in the chimney to bring in fresh air and run it to the boiler. this should be available soon. check with your triangle tube wholesaler or check with your local triangle tube rep.

CMadatMe

ES-2

Nice little cast boiler. Sold a few no problems. Must line the chimmney though. The cost once you start adding the liner,reset card, low water cutoff card etc starts to get you in the mod/con range. Weigh out the cost difference you may be surprised.



As for venting a mod/con you could use your existing chimmney as a chase but may be limited to whose boiler due to the way they take in fresh air. The Vitodens 100/200 by Viessmann allows you to take fresh air from the room or if you are able, you can pull fresh air from the side or vertical while still allowing you to use the chimmney as your vent chase. Can vent upto 86' on 2" S-636 CPVC and as far as 200' on 4" S-636 CPVC. They don't allow PVC venting on the boiler. You can use it on the fresh air side though.

Steamhead

Seems to me

pulling a liner into a chimney is quite a bit easier in some cases than finding a route for PVC/CPVC vent piping- especially in a finished basement or if you have to go thru an old stone foundation like mine. For some of these you need a jackhammer. It all depends on what kind of stone was available when they built it.



Since that Triangle Tube chimney kit isn't available right now, it doesn't do us much good if we have to do the job this week, does it?

Steamhead

You say

"I removed a 33 year old oil fired weil mclain boiler with domestic coil and installed a triangle tube PE110 95% boiler with built in 14 gallon indirect water heater and my heating and domestic hot water cost was $1050 lower with high efficiency nat gas boiler and indirect with outdoor reset control"



Your numbers need to be put into perspective. Obviously much of that saving came from the indirect and the reset control, so the boiler no longer maintained full temperature all year. Which model W-M was it, and how badly was it oversized? Had it been maintained properly? Does that 14 gallon indirect give you enough hot water? How many people are in your house using the hot water?

bob eck

es2

had a 3 section cast iron WM with domestic coil. cleaned every year. the TT Prestige excellence with 14 gallon indirect water heater is not always the best for domestic hot water for all jobs. my house 4 people two daughters that take long showers. can run two showers with 1.6 gpm alsons shower heads and not run out of hot water. in the winter time when the house is calling for heat and you have a domestic call for hot water the domestic gets the priority over heating and you can set a time limit that the boiler is in priority for domestic hot water.

CMadatMe

Your Right

Concerning at times it is a pain to chase with hard pipe. Viessmann just released a new PPS vent kit that is in a 30' roll and is as flexible as traditional liner. It's new here but not new technology. They have been using it across the pond for some time. They kit gives you everything you need to connect to the boiler.  Can vent vertically over 100. They make a coupling to connect rolls together. It is pricy though but nice to get you out of a jam.

eluv8

There are almost always options.

I cant say much about the Burnham, not a fan and dont follow the line much.



Peerless Purefire 95% + is approved for chimney installations, if you cant drop a pvc vent down Simpson Duravent makes an AL29 flexible chimney liner that should get you down and out.



The Purefire can be matched with any indirect and has the ability to read a thermistor instead of a simple on off aquastat.  I like the Heat-Flo line due to the smooth wall coil and all stainless construction made in USA.



Peerless Boilers include a factory paid labor warranty to boot for the first year just in case something hiccups.