Burnham MST.....

kcopp

Does Burnham/ US boiler still frown upon gas conversion burners? Have they seen the light?

Robert O'Brien

No

Shortsighted IMO

Steamhead

Every time I talk to someone at Burnham

I remind them that we want a gas MegaSteam.......

BobC

I contacted them last year

when I was about to buy the Smith G8 and put a Carlin EZ-Gas on it. I explained that I would like to use the MegaSteam instead because I thought it a superior boiler. They replied and told me they would not sanction putting any type of gas boiler in the Megasteam and they referred me to the IN series of gas boilers.



There obviously someone very high up at Burnham who is very much against the idea of a wet based gas fired boiler and from the reply I got it is not the sales staff.



Bob

Dave in QCA

Energy Star Rating?

The Burnham Megasteam is rated at 86% when firing oil and that gets it into the Energy Star club. There are few others that can make that claim, if any. The Smith 8 series running on steam and firing oil does not quite make it.



When the efficiency of oil firing and gas firing are compared side by side at the AHRI site, gas always runs 1.5%-2.5% less efficient. So, if the Megasteam was marketed with a gas burner, one might guess that the efficiency might be in the area of 84% That is not bad at all, but it is not good enough to get the Energy Star rating. And that would be bad for the marketing plan for what is perhaps the only energy star rated steam boiler.



The obvious solution to the dilemma is to market a gas version of the megasteam with a different name. Perhaps it could be the Burnham Supersteam gas. I would have bought a couple of them!



I would also guess that there is disagreement on this whole issue inside the Burnham corporate management structure. The side of the argument that says "we can't market the Megasteam as a gas burner" is winning. The other side that wants to do it (there has to be someone inside Burnham that thinks it's a good idea!) simply has not figured out how to go about it. And so, the silly story continues. Burnham won't market the Megasteam with a gas burner because for some reason they think that they can't. But, they just haven't figured out how, or the person in charge who decided "we can't" won't listen to new ideas, and perhaps doesn't want to admit that he's wrong.



Corporate Management 101. How to admit you're wrong without admitting you're wrong, and taking someone else's great idea and making it like it was your's all along.