Replacement options for leaking Burnham V7/V8

Emerscape

Hi All:

 

My wife and I bought a house on the south shore of Boston about a year ago. House was built in 1998 and has approximately 2,900 sq. ft. of living space and a 1,264 sq. ft. unfinished basement (that I'd like to finish). Two weeks ago I came home and found a puddle of water under my Burnham V7/V8 (I have to get the model information off of it when I get home). Called my oil company, they came out and showed me the crack in the side of the block. Unfortunately we are the second owner (not considering the bank that foreclosed on it previously) and the boiler is not covered under warranty. Burnham is offering a rebate of $625 if we replace with another Burnham. I've had three companies come out and give me quotes, all within the same price range. I'm not sure which to go with and could use some input from you all. Quotes are as follows (including discount from Burnham):

 <ul><li>Company 1 (current oil company): </li><li></li><li>Burnham MPO IQ 84-3 with Beckett burner all new controls (4 zones) - </li><li>Company 2:  (all with new controls)</li><li></li><li>Buderus G115ws/5 boiler with Riello oil burner -</li><li>Burnham MPO IQ 115 boiler  - </li><li>Burnham PV 83 - </li><li>Company 3: (all with keeping existing controls)</li><li></li><li>Buderus G115ws/4 boiler - </li><li>Weil McLain WGO-3 - </li><li>Burnham MPO IQ 147 with Becket Burner  - </li><li>

 

Only one company did measurements and came up with a  heat loss of 91,000 BTUs. Any thoughts on which model would be best for me? They are all within $1,000 each other</li></ul>

Steamhead

Have you considered

switching to gas?

Emerscape

sorry!

shoot I just read that I'm not supposed to discuss pricing. Well, I'm not really concerned about the pricing so if an admin wants to edit I'd be perfectly fine with that. I'm more worried about getting the right machine in place. Unfortunately I don't have the option for natural gas. I do have the option for propane but I think that would be too expensive.

STEVEusaPA

You can....

You can go back and edit it yourself.....:)

Stick with the oil.

Emerscape

Burnham? which one

Thanks. edited to remove costs.



I'm leaning towards the Burnham MPO-IQ but I'm not sure if I should go with the 84, 115 or 147. I actually don't even know what the different numbers mean. Help?

STEVEusaPA

...

84,000 Btu's, 115,000 Btu's, 147,000 Btu's (gross)

64,000 Btu's, 87,000 Btu's, 112,000 Btu's (net IBR respectively)

If your heat loss is correct, I would go with the 115

STEVEusaPA

Can't seem to edit...

Make sure you get a proper heat loss calculation. 91000 BTU'S seems light unless you're well insulated. Are you on the water (I'm thinking about constant breeze/wind)? The right installer will make all the difference. It's most important to have the properly sized boiler.

Buderus is good too.

You didn't mention what controls you have, but new matching controls will be better, and outdoor reset.

I would avoid the WM-WGO. Anyone who would put in a pinner has no plans to clean it.

You didn't mention if you need the boiler to do domestic hot water.

Emerscape

response

Steve - thanks for responding. I live about 5 miles from the ocean but am fairly protected by dense forests. I personally don't think the house is well insulated but it was built in 1998 so not sure if that helps at all. Nothing like our old Beacon Hill condo where you could fly a kite in the living room on a windy day but it doesn't seem as "efficient" as it could be. I think I'm going to go with a Burnham. Yes we do rely on the boiler for hot water. There is a large blue tank next to the furnace that I'm told houses the hot water but doesn't have its own burner (sorry I don't know much about this stuff).



Lastly, our handyman stopped by yesterday and said that he thought just replacing the core might be the best option. He said it should only cost $2k but the companies providing the proposals have said $3,600 or so. To me it sounds like throwing good money after bad. Thoughts?