Rand and Reardon oil boiler

donaldmc

Home Depot sells a hot water oil fired boiler called Rand and Reardon, anybody have any comments on that?
It is made in the USA ? Not much on it online and I could not find mention of it on this forum.
A home owner wants me to put one in.
It looks like a Crown or an old Weil- McLain gold.

STEVEusaPA

Never saw one before. I wouldn’t put in a HD boiler.

Steamhead

Oil models look like re-branded Burnham V8 series. Their gas models look like Burnham Series 2. Here's their site:

https://randandreardon.com/

donaldmc

I agree, I also do not want to install a HD boiler. Trying to give them a "Boiler Education" is a tough sell!

John Mills_5

Looks like a New Yorker with a gray paint job.

Steamhead

And where did they get the name "Rand & Reardon?

EdTheHeaterMan

According to their website, their cast iron is oil-filled !?!

"An efficient, oil-filled cast iron, water boiler from the company you have trusted since 1858!"

I wonder how they do that!

STEVEusaPA

EdTheHeaterMan said:

...I wonder how they do that!...

Flame loss plus primary contacts welded shut...that'll fill it with oil, in a bad way.

I just imagine this is a boiler made for HD. Cheapest production, handled/dropped/banged around at the warehouse and the store with someone still learning how to use a forklift.
Bought/returned, parts missing.
Poor warranty, poor support.

Think about their business model. Won't be long until you're seeing 'slightly used' boilers for sale there at 1/2 price.

If they've been around since 1858, unless they are in a very specific market, I've never seen or heard of one.

EdTheHeaterMan

just a quote from the website

I thought it was funny, "Cast iron oil-filled" is probably a type-o for OIL-FIRED

You would thing they might correct the type-o, since they have been in business from 1858. You, know... back when Al Gore invented the internet!

jimna01

If you look at the bottom
Of the page you see a copyright notice by Hajoca Corporation. They are primarily a wholesale supply house . Google them . They have been in business since 1858 just not making boilers. I am a homeowner and firmly believe like most of you do that the most important cog in the wheel is the designer/installer and trust the brands they work with all the time. But it fromHD and if anything goes wrong (and what could possibly go wrong. 😬) and now you have the typical buy it form HD finger pointing and nothing gets resolved .

Deano817

They are made by the US Boiler Company in Lancaster,PA. It is they same boiler as Burnham S2. I have one from HD getting ready to fit it in a few days.

Deano817

Update. Fitted my Rand and Reardon boiler before Christmas and it is working very well.

RandandReardon

Just came across this. Rand and Reardon is my work. The name is a combination of Ayn Rand a political author and Hank Reardon a character in one of her novels. I have provided The Home Depot with hydronic product since 1992. They are a good company and a good partner. Because Home Depot is the boogey man to many trades people and manufactures, I could not get the traditional manufactures of boilers to give us the right pricing on product. I felt Home Depot and its customers were being treated unfairly; while no one seams to complain when Amazon and others destroy margins. Because my company was acquired by Hajoca Corp, the second largest wholesaler of plumbing and heating in the US and Canada, manufactures began to take us seriously. So Americas largest boiler manufacturer was willing to produce private label boilers for us. Home Depot is one outlet but others offer it as well. Essentially the gas product uses the 2 series block that has been used under the Burnham name for decades and the Oil uses the same block as you will find in the New Yorker product as well as the private label boilers of other large national plumbing supply house chains. It is a good boiler at a great price. The money you pay for the brand has been backed out and you are paying a fair value. Hajoca has been around since 1858 and we did make plumbing fixtures, valves and boilers under our own name back then. We make no secret of any of this. It is all about creating value for customers and giving them choice. If you have questions you are welcome to give me a call. Chris 978 651 3301

STEVEusaPA

Well then...who is John Gault?

mattmia2

uhh

Steamhead

If you offer the MegaSteam boiler equivalent with a gas burner in it, we'll talk.

Jamie Hall

Well, it's good to hear from the company, and I hope that @RandandReardon will make it his practice to visit this site from time to time. If the product is good, we will not disparage it. We don't operate that way here.

However.

I, at least, am absolutely firmly convinced -- and have said so many many times -- that for a heating system (and it doesn't matter whether it's a big steam boiler, a little wall hung hot water system, a heat pump, a hot air furnace -- anything) the system will be only as good as the installer. The best hardware in the world is worthless without good installation. The worst hardware can at least be made to work by a great installer (he or she may not be happy, but...).

Which brings me to.

I regret to say that I, and others I work with, have had widely varying experiences with the contract installers from the big box stores (not just Home Depot). Sometimes they are good. Sometimes... not so much. And, at least in my experience, the customer has no way of knowing, nor any control over, who will be doing the installation -- never mind who will be responsible for follow up service or adjustments, both for startup and through the years.

If Rand and Reardon has some mechanism for selling and installing through the big box at a low price, and if they also have some mechanism for ensuring that the installation -- from choice of equipment through to final startup -- is done to the highest standard, then I applaud them enthusiastically. Otherwise... I'm sorry, but I can't.

Roger

Thank you for your question, @ron .

We’ve covered this topic from several different angles on this forum, although the easiest way to find out more is to visit our website and even read the Department of Energy Lab studies that back up those savings. Here’s a link:

https://energykinetics.com/afue/

Best, Roger

Steamhead

Just want to add- we recently acquired our first customer with an EK boiler, and will be servicing it next month as they're not happy with their local oil company. @Roger has been quite helpful getting us ready to do so, and we appreciate this level of support. Not every manufacturer does support this well.

Waher

Steamhead said:

And where did they get the name "Rand & Reardon?

Looks like someone cobbled a brand name from Atlas Shrugged ? Nationwide product rep is listed as "Ayn Galt".

Edit: Ah... I didn't see the company rep posted earlier in the thread.