Maine steam boiler installation professional recomendation

ScottInMaine

Can anyone recommend a steam boiler installation company in the Portland, Maine area?

I think it's time to replace my circa 1980 Weil-McLain boiler and oil burner. I have a two pipe steam heat system in my 1,500 square foot 1.5 story bungalow.

More than once over the last 10 years the technician performing the annual maintenance has said that we should think about replacing the boiler for one reason or another. I'm going to be spending this winter in a state that is warmer than Maine is, so I don't want to have to worry about my heating system in Maine.

Thank you for your help.

vaporvac

I know Aaron will travel to New Gloucester so it wouldn't hurt to ask. I think there was someone else, but darn if I can find my emails.
https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/state/ME

Steamhead

Is that a Weil-McLain 68-series boiler?

ScottInMaine

Steamhead, I'm not sure. Here are some pictures.

ScottInMaine

Vaporvac, I'll give Aaron Hamilton Heating a call. Thanks.

Steamhead

It's a 62 series, 5 sections which makes it a 5-62. These were made between April 1962 and January 1975 according to a rating CD from W-M that I got when we visited the factory some years ago.

It's been a while but I think the flueways in this series were the zigzag pattern as seen in the American-Standard A-3 and Utica ACE and OU boilers, rather than the later pin type. Not as efficient, but built like a tank.

The burner is the ABC 45-CU that was built for W-M. It was a guaranteed soot-maker. If you're planning on keeping this boiler, I would upgrade to a true flame-retention type like a Beckett AF which will run all year without making smoke or soot if tuned properly. This will increase the unit's efficiency.

My preference would be to replace the boiler though. If you're staying with oil, the Burnham MegaSteam is the way to go. It is the most efficient residential steamer out there, and like your 5-62, it's built like a tank.

ScottInMaine

Thank you Steamhead! I will indeed be replacing the boiler so I appreciate your replies. Now I just need to find 2 or 3 companies to get estimates from. I will ask them about the Burnham MegaSteam. Do you recommend the Beckett AF burner for use with that boiler?

ScottInMaine

Reading online about the Burnham MegaSteam and I see it comes with a Beckett burner.

https://file.ac/mK-fR5nVO5s/MegaSteam Product Data Sheet.pdf

Steamhead

Right. Burnham supplies the Beckett AFG with a special mounting flange on that boiler. The AFG would be overkill on your present boiler.

ScottInMaine

What boiler would you recommend if I want one that can be oil fired now but converted to natual gas (or propane) later? I think the Burnham MegaSteam is oil only.

BobC

Burnham will not certify the megasteam for gas, it has been done and seems to work BUT you void your warranty if you convert it to gas. That may be a moot point because burnham has a history of voiding warranties for almost any reason.

Bob

Steamhead

I cannot for the life of me come up with any reason why Burnham has a hissy fit every time someone wants to fire a MegaSteam on gas. They would sell a LOT more MegaSteams if they didn't do this. Why alienate some 70% of potential customers?

Paul48

Can anyone site a case where a residential customer made out well on a boiler warranty?

ScottInMaine

Since Burnham won't certify the MegaSteam boiler for use with a gas burner, what boiler would you recommend if I want to start with an oil burner and then convert to natural gas once the gas company runs a gas line down my street?

BobC

The slantfin intrepid has proved to work well with gas.

http://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/153026/new-slant-fin-intrepid-with-ez-gas-burner

Bob

vaporvac

Slantfin makes an awesome boiler with fantastic customer service. There are also other fine burners that work with the Intrpepids depending on the size boiler. I chose my Riellos because they were quiet, a consideration since I was used to a regular gas burner on a dry-based boiler. However, if gas is a big maybe, get the Megasteam. It's a three-pass boiler which has many advantages besides excellent efficiency. It's the only boiler with any guarantee against water corrosion, for starters. I'm on gas and currently getting 87.2% Eff readings.
Which brings me to my last point. Before considering any boiler, figure out your rads' EDR so you get a properly sized boiler to start with.
I'm just a homeowner, but I had/have tremendous appreciation for the Slantfin Co. They really helped me out and seemed to get a kick out it.

PostmodernVDG

Not to hijack the tread completely, I'm also looking for a boiler installation outfit in Maine, just a little further North. I'm located in Bangor. I have a pretty large Smith Boiler that is getting to the end of her life.

Anyway, a little about the system. It is a two-pipe air vent system with a few one pipe legs feeding roughly 900 ft of steam. The system seems to be mostly un-tampered with except for a few steam traps being added.

There are a few beautiful radiators cast in Boston in 1872 that aren't even in Dan's book.

Let me know if you guys would like photo's

-Matt

vaporvac

We always like pictures, especially of the unusual. ; ) I would still give Aaron a call as he does travel. At the very least, he may be able to recommend someone in your neck of the woods. I take it you have oil?

PostmodernVDG

Vaporvac,

Thank you for the recommendation, I'll give him a call.

Yes, I do have have oil and would ideally like to have a system I could easily convert to gas, as the coverage is expanding in my area.

I have the access covers to the boiler's baffles open, since I'm doing the yearly cleaning.

The radiators are Walker Pratt & Company Of Boston with a patent date of Jan 1, 1867 and a reissue date of June 2, 1874.







Boiler plate


Burner Info




Before and during cleaning




With the shroud off last fall


Near boiler piping, my apologies the cellar isn't very bright





Hartford loop, I believe



Returns joining together



Anyway, I can add more of the pipe work if you guys are interested, there is a ton of it. I also have a hand drawn schematic I've done that I can scan on Monday.

Hope you enjoy the photos,

Matt

Steamhead

Those look a lot like Bundy radiators.

PostmodernVDG

I calculated their EDR based of the "Crane Standard' in Dan's book. I'll look into the Bundy's, do you have any more info about them?

Matt

Steamhead

https://heatinghelp.com/heating-museum/ratings-for-gold-nason-bundy-and-reed-radiators/

It pays to wander off The Wall.

PostmodernVDG

Thank you very much. I'm pretty new around this place. There is so much information to digest about these old systems.

ScottInMaine

Thanks for all your help. I've gotten 2 quotes and hopefully the new Burnham MegaSteam boiler with Beckett burner will be installed next week.

Danny Scully

@ScottInMaine, we don't discuss pricing.

Steamhead

Danny Scully said:

@ScottInMaine, we don't discuss pricing.

Second that. It says so at the top of the page, in the area highlighted yellow.

Were these quotes from contractors who advertise here?

ScottInMaine

No Steamhead, they do not. I don't think any of the 6 contractors I spoke to had ever heard of heatinghelp.com.

KC_Jones

ScottInMaine said:

No Steamhead, they do not. I don't think any of the 6 contractors I spoke to had ever heard of heatinghelp.com.

For some reason that scares me a little.
Have they ever heard of Dan Holohan, you know the guy that wrote the books about steam heating?

Steamhead

Did you call Aaron Hamilton, who was linked to earlier in the thread? He's posted some fine work on here.

ScottInMaine

I will call Aaron Hamilton in the spring. We have decided to postpone our heating system replacement until next year. I have lots of people telling me we should consider alternatives other than a steam boiler, such as mini-split heat-pumps. So we are going to have a plumber winterize our house and we will turn of our existing boiler while we are away this winter. Then I will take make time making a decision after the heating season is over.

vaporvac

Heat pumps?... seriously?... in Maine? My Dad lives in Me. and I've spent plenty of time there during Winters. Does comfort and aesthetics play any role in this situation? The people who suggest heat-pumps, do so because they don't know steam, don't want to learn it, and make a lot more money installing something new than merely putting in a boiler. They make a boiler replacement seem like rocket science and try to make out steam to be "old-fashioned". There's nothing old-fashioned about comfort and the MEgasteam is super efficient as is the SF Intrepid. My current EF #s on the latter are over 87%.

PostmodernVDG

The state is subsidizing the installation of heat pumps. I personally don't buy their claims of efficiency, especially when heating in very low temperatures.

ChrisJ

Heat pumps in Maine?
That's as useful as a screen door on a submarine.

BobC

I had some work done to my house this year that involved siding, insulation, and replacing of some 97 year old windows that were not in great shape. I also had a Mitsubishi ductless heat pump installed on the first floor for cooling and supplemental heat. It's rated for 12,000 BTU cooling and 13,600 BTU heating with a COP of 3. At 5 degrees F its rated to put out 80% of that 13,600 BTU's.

I used it for heat this morning to take the chill off, it was 42 outside and 64 inside. I snapped on the unit and within a few minutes 92 degree air was coming out of the inside unit and the condenser was pushing out 35 degree air.

In my area electricity costs 19.5 cents per KWH and natural gas is about $1.35 per therm. I sat down and figured the cost to run either system in the shoulder seasons when you need some heat but don't need the brute power of a steam system. If the system efficiency were 70% the cost of running the steam would be 27 cents per hour by my calculation while the cost to run the heat pump comes out to 26.4 cents per hour.

Now my assumptions may be off but it seems this system will do a good job in the fall and the spring when you only need a little heat to take the chill off. If i wanted to heat the house on a cold day (20-30 degrees) I would need about 4X more capacity than the present heat pump has.

Even if I had the capacity i would never depend on it to heat the house on very cold days because it would spend to much time in defrost mode so I think the efficiency would suffer.

Bob

Aaron_in_Maine

I would travel into Portland in the spring I couldn't do it this time of year. I talked to Matt as well and if his holds together I will take a trip to Bangor in the spring too.

You would be surprised mini split heat pumps are going crazy up here. I put a Mitsubishi hyper heat in my own house more for the ac in the summer than heat but I am going to hold off my boiler as long as I can. The problem is guys not doing them correctly as far as sizing. To size them correctly for heating in most houses it requires multiple heads and sometimes condensers. Which makes it expensive to do. I don't recommend them as a sole heat source without some backup.

ScottInMaine

Hi again. I wanted to let everyone know that I had a new Burnham MegaSteam MST396 boiler installed yesterday by Dan Desrochers Plumbing and Heating of Gray, Maine.

I also had a Ruud PROUH50 hybrid heat pump electric water heater installed in July by Dyer Electric of Monmouth, Maine.

Thanks again to everyone on this forum.

New England SteamWorks

Overall, you did fine, and you picked the best boiler. I can only nit-pick.


You definitely want bigger main venting though.

j a_2

That is a great looking job...I know it's just me but I really don't like the very near boiler piping insulated I like looking at the piping...your choice of maluable fittings is not my first choice but I used them on occasion...JUST ME..

Danny Scully

Do the returns connect above the waterline? (Pictured behind the boiler) If so, that should be corrected...surprised you didn't pick that up with a colored arrow @New England SteamWorks

New England SteamWorks

@Danny Scully has an eagle eye! That connection could cause a little trouble...

ScottInMaine

Here are some more pictures of my new Burnham MegaSteam boiler installation. I appreciate your comments.