Boiler Replacement - Eastern MA

ST140

Hey everybody, I'm located in MA between Boston and Providence RI. For some reason it's been difficult to find a reputable steam specialist in the area. I have contacted a few in Massachusetts, and really wish I could use one of them, but I can't justify having them come 2 hours to here. We are in need of a new boiler as our current V8 burnham w/tankless water has the automatic feed valve running 10+ times per day, white "smoke" out of the chimney, and we're burning through oil like no tomorrow, oh and did I mention there's copper piping exiting the boiler currently? I need somebody we can trust that isn't over an hour away. Any suggestions? The find a contractor tool doesn't give me much. Just wondering... Also, just for kicks, we were originally thinking switching to gas (already in the house for stove - baystate gas), but now after reading a lot on here about the Burnham Megasteam, maybe sticking with oil makes sense. TOO MANY OPTIONS! Thanks in advance if anybody replies to this... Just ordered the "We got steam heat" book...

Charlie from wmass

If you change your mind

You have our contact information. would a mega steam and tankless be more of what you were looking for than?

billtwocase

I would stop by

Oil Tech Talk. There may be someone in your area that frequents there. I am on Cape, too far for me, but there are some close to you that go there, and the site administrator is the nicest guy, and can maybe get you some volunteers. good luck

ST140

Hi again.

Thanks Charlie.



After getting a few estimates, it's starting to seem like gas is out of our price range for most setups when factoring in chimney liner, enlarging gas line, etc. If we stick with oil, maybe there's another option for the MegaSteam if you think it's a good way to go and would bring the overall cost down. I wish we could get the best of the best, but that's a little cost prohibitive at this point... Maybe there's another MegaSteam setup with repiping and checking our vents, etc. that could save us money on our oil bills every month? I don't doubt you could work some Magic! Also, we're not the original owners of the V8 Burnham, so as I understand it, we're SOL with the warranty - sort of unbelievable considering it's only 6 years old! Let me know what you think, I need somebody we can trust - and if they need to drive 2 hours, then so be it!!! Still dumbfounded about the warranty...

BobC

Check your water

I live just south of Boston and i just ran the numbers for gas vs oil. My numbers show gas is less than 10% less than oil at this point.



Getting a boiler installed properly is the the way to go, it costs more but it will pay off in spades down the road. Also the area between Boston and Providence is known for having high chloride content in the water. the Megasteam is redesigned to counter this but get your water tested and take whatever measures you have to do so your new boiler lasts 30 years.



My Burnham v75 will be 15 in March and is doing just fine.



Bob

ST140

Not to get off topic...

Thanks Bob. I've read some about that on here - high chloride levels right? We bought our house a little over a year ago - part of an estate sale, the previous owners lived here for 90+ years and left it to their church (5 siblings, 0 kids between them). That being said, we got the house w/all contents including their service records for a V7 Burnham installed 1996, and a V8 Burnham installed in 2004, both by their oil company (haha, yes). Now that it's 2010, looks like we need to get a new boiler... I know talking $ is taboo on here, but what are people doing to counteract the chloride levels, and how much is this costing these days?

BobC

Chlorides kill

I don't know what they do specifically (others hopefully will jump in to tell us what has to be done), but I know it has destroyed a lot of boilers. First find someone who knows steam and can install a new boiler correctly - that will require some real homework on your part. Then ask them to submit a claim to Burnham, I don't know if this will work because you didn't buy the boiler yourself.



I do know that Burnham has been pretty good about standing behind their product. Also consider buying some of the books offered for sale on this site so you can tell if your being handed a load of crap by someone who doesn't really understand steam.



Bob

ST140

Ordered the book today...

Just ordered We Got Steam Heat! this morning from the site. Looking forward to reading it. Currently trying to find a system we can afford that'll last us a long time, obviously the installer is most important! Trying to balance a great installer with a decent system. It's been tough considering we weren't expecting to replace a boiler that was installed in 2004! As the "adoptive grandchildren" of the former owners of our home, we feel bad for them because they had the oil company install and as far as they knew, had them "maintain" their boiler regularly... Obviously the oil company they used wasn't perfect, but 2 boilers in 14 years seems outrageous - AND NOW WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT!!! Ouch.