500k Weils Mclain in a 3000sf house

kmh5147

I'm under contract for a house with a steam boiler in need of work.  Currently it has a hole in the side of the boiler case, and is oil..... its a weil mclain 78 series 578 Boiler.  The house is two stories with a finished attic totaling out to 3000 ft.  Does the 500000+ btu's that the weils 578 puts out sound like overkill?  It's an old stone 1930s tutor... I understand without adding up all of the radiators I couldnt get an exact number.  I guess I'm just interested to hear if that is an extremely large boiler for the type of home I discribed.

kmh5147

also

I forgot to mention that I am located in Reading Pa..... Ive had one tech come in and give me a rough estimate of replacement being about 5 times what I see steam boilers of this size cost to purchase online.

nicholas bonham-carter

Replacement boiler cost

That 500 k seems wildly big, but until adding up the radiation, the choice of replacement would be unknown.

As far as price, which we do not discuss in specific, there is a lot of work, and skill in the replacement. The existing supply and return piping must all be redone to the layout provided by the manufacturer.

If you buy some of the steam books here, and read them, you will see how much work goes into a properly-functioning, quiet, even, silent, and economical system-starting with just getting the old boiler out, and the new parts in place.--NBC

Athana

I am no expert...

But I have a WM478....400,000 btu that I understand is oversized..heating a 5600 Sq ft house.