Peerless 63 Series... Discontinued???

AdmiralYoda

Saw in another thread the mention that the Peerless 63 Series boiler is being discontinued. Is that true? I don't have my ear to the ground but this is the first time I've heard of this.

Peerless does seem to have it on their website still, alive and well.

If this is true I'm a bit bummed. I have a 43 year old Peerless G-461 which became the 61 Series in 1984 and eventually the 63 Series. Runs great but at some point it will inevitably need replacement. The 63 series was going to be a one-for-one replacement since much of the piping will be in the same place.

Any more details on this? The Peerless 63 was known to be one of the better gas-fired boilers that typically last a long time.

If the 63 is going extinct… what is the best natural gas steamer these days?

***EDIT I saw that the 63-x is the new Peerless steamer. Not sure how I feel about a single supply and only 7 gallons of water capacity. I also don't know if I want to be a guinea pig either. And the controls/piping are on the opposite side. 😭

ethicalpaul

The 63-x is the Burnham steam max or whatever they call it. Peerless is slapping their label on it. The documentation is nearly a 100% duplication of the Burnham docs. Apparently a pretty good boiler. I think it is a more modern design with one or two points more efficiency (not noticeable on your bill).

Peerless hasn't said anything that would be heard by the public on this topic, as you say, their web site gives zero clues. The only clue I saw back some months ago was the mysterious addition of the 63-X which led me and others to believe the discontinuation of the 63/64 series was forthcoming.

Now if you look at any of the big online suppliers, they all say it's discontinued as of August 2025

Again, zero word from Peerless to the public. They are a very opaque company when it comes to the public. Maybe contractors and distributors have more information, I have no idea.

I bet if you call around you might still be able to find one, and frankly, I would say that would be worthwhile.

If I had to replace mine today it would probably be a WM or frankly maybe a Utica/Dunkirk which, even though it has the less-than-optimal side steam outlets, it is a very nice casting IMO and uses steel push nipples instead of WM's gaskets which my gut doesn't like as much (I have zero actual data to back up my gut feeling).

The 63-X might be great, but I have a strong distrust of Burnham just due to the fact that they are STILL offering the IMO flawed Independence line which again, IMO, should have been re-engineered or cancelled years and years ago given how fast it seems to rust out.

EBEBRATT-Ed

@ethicalpaul

 but I have a strong distrust of Burnham just due to the fact that they are STILL offering the IMO flawed Independence line which again, IMO, should have been re-engineered or cancelled years and years ago given how fast it seems to rust out.

Me too.

There was a post here just a few days ago about an independence that failed installed in 2013 I think the op said.

They (all the mfgs) design a boiler that then go with that design for 20, 30, 40 years or more.

The HB Smith 28 the first one I saw installed was 1977 and they still make them today. A few changes but the sections are interchangeable.

Once they go with a design they ride it to the bitter end . If its bad they will still sell it and will only drop it if it will not sell.

The Weil McLain Gold oil fired is basically the same boiler they have made since the at least the mid 80s. Even though it is rubber gaskets it seems to hold up pretty well.

Utica/Dunkirk have been around for years as well. Any boiler can fail if neglected but they seem to hold up as well as anything.

Peerless (or the Boyertown Foundry whoever that is) has been making the boiler sections for Smith & Peerless ever since Smith closed their foundry in Westfield which must be 35? years ago.

Don't know what is going on with Peerless.

STEAM DOCTOR

I just got off the phone, with the Peerless rep. They are absolutely continuing to manufacture the 63 series. But they won't be packaged anymore. They will be knocked down. Which means that you need to assemble the jacket and controls yourself. Which for many of us in my part of the world, is a major upsell. Virtually every boiler that I bring in, a need to knock down myself. The boiler is simply do not fit properly with the jackets on. So in a nutshell, nothing meaningful is changing.

ethicalpaul

Thanks @STEAM DOCTOR, that would explain why it is showing discontinued from all the big online sellers—they all sold the packaged ones.

Does that mean that even the tiny 63-03 with just the two end pieces and one middle section will come on a pallet with all three sections separated and some rope and sealant and tie rods to let you build it all in the basement?

STEAM DOCTOR

No. Not at all. The block will come fully assembled. Meaning all the sections connected to each other

ethicalpaul

Thanks again for that clarification. So just the jacket and the rest of the trim pieces, that's pretty good. Everyone likes Legos!

STEAM DOCTOR

Will need to field assemble the wiring. No big deal. The wiring comes marked. Not well, but if you look at the wires, you will see tiny notes as to which wire goes where

STEAM DOCTOR

First time time might involve a tiny learning curve. But it's really very easy.

AdmiralYoda

Thanks guys…this is great news! It will also force me to assemble the boiler myself which was not my first choice.

At least I won't have to figure out how to get the assembled boiler down my steep, janky, crooked old bulkhead stairs when it comes time!

And hopefully that time will be a long way away. Runs like a champ and shows no signs of slowing down. Impressive considering it is 42 years old and was completely neglected for the first 25 years of its life by the previous owners.

EBEBRATT-Ed

Good that the 63 is still available.

EdTheHeaterMan

Timken does not make boilers anymore. You may need to do what timken owners do. Replace it with different boiler. Or you could be proactive and just buy a 63 now. Just keep it in your basement for another 30 years or so, until your G-461 fails.

mattmia2

doesn't timken make bearings…

mattmia2

is that what the reader's digest complete do it yourself manual referred to as a "pot type oil burner" but offered no diagram or picture?

EBEBRATT-Ed

@mattmia2 A pot type burner used kero or #1 oil and was gravity fed from a 275 no pump. It had a constant level valve, and the fire didn't go out. It was like a lantern with a wick almost. When the thermostat shut it down the constant level valve closed down but not off and kept an oil pilot. When the thermostat called for heat, it opened the constant level valve and the flame increased. Perfection Furnace were the ones I saw.

If it was Timken it was a different animal. They had a motor and it was a vertical rotary burner and fired straight up like a pot burner. The motor shaft spun and slung the oil out by centrifugal force.

Timkiens (and there were other vertical rotaries like torrid heat) were very efficient burners. Better than most gun burners at that time. They burned clean with a high Co2.

mattmia2

oh, the timken burner is like a blowtorch or coleman lantern/stove where it vaporizes the fuel in to a gas before burning it. I bet that makes a real mess if it doesn't light.

EBEBRATT-Ed

Pot burner just kept a small flame going and vaporized the oil based on heat.

Timken or any rotary burner vaporized the oil by pumping the oil into a spinning usually tapered cup. The oil got slung off the cup by centrifugal force.

bburd

Several of my childhood neighbors had Timken burners. They were very quiet, but they would start with noticeable blue smoke from the chimney for 30 to 60 seconds. IIRC that caused their demise, due to environmental regulations.

They were all eventually replaced with gun burners.

mattmia2

i'd imagine what happens when someone presses the reset on the stack relay 20 times when it finally does light off was their demise.

mattmia2

i'd imagine that like atmospheric conversion burners they are kind of a pain to install and service compared to a power burner.