Choosing a replacement boiler

edward44

I own a large and old wooden house in a cold place (rural New Hampshire). Sometimes I go there in winter, but I'm mainly in the south now. So the house may be uninhabited for a few months in very cold weather. Some winters I drain and freeze the house.  It has steam heat, and the old boiler has developed bad leaks in the core, so it is time to replace the furnace.  One bid proposes a MPO MST 629 steam boiler, the other bid proposes a "Weil McLain steam boiler and a McDonald Miller boiler feed".

(1) Is there any strong reason to prefer one to another?

(2) Are there obvious questions I need to ask before deciding between the two installers?

(3) How important is it to replace all the old radiator valves and re-level the radiators (house has shifted a bit over the decades.)?

edward44

addendum

Burnham MPO etc boiler...

lchmb

preference

I personally like the fact that Burnham has put so much effort into a steam boiler and created a higher efficiency and quieter boiler. I have installed a number of them and think they are top notch. I have also installed the Weil Mclain and had good luck with that. I would personally go with the Burnham do to the design and performance I have seen.

As far as questions for installers, have they done steam? Do they have references? Will they do all steam piping in black iron? Will they follow all manufacturer specs? Have they verified the sizing of the boiler or are they just looking at the data plate on the old boiler? (that doesnt alway's work and shouldnt be the final say). Alot of information is needed to do the job right

As far as vents, they are very important to a steam system and I would not do an install without replacing all. Do the entire job right once...

kcopp

I have to ask....

Where in  New Hampshire.? Burnham is a good boiler. But more than anything iots the contractor. If its not piped proper and sized proper it will cost a a bunch to opertate....and be loud. I am in Dover, NH