Weil McLain vs. Buderus

Musix

Musix

Buderus vs. Weil McLain

I hope this isn't a stupid question but I am about to change my current American Standard boiler in my house to a new unit. I am planning on an entire package, getting rid of the electric water heater, old boiler, and probably a new water tank. I do like my oil company and their service. They have recommended a Weil Mclain WPWTG03 appliance with an Amtrol 40 gallon tank vs. the Buderus G115-#28 with Riello Burner, Buderus Logomatice control, S120 indirect hot water tank. With money out of the equation, any ideas on which is better? Your thoughts will be very helpful.

Musixman

Ted_9

This is a no brainer. The Buderus wins hands down.. Its superior in every way.

PATRIOT HEATING & COOLING, INC.

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Musix

Thanks

Thanks for the reply. I have noticed your company and others from Patriot in the replies. I would therefore think that you would recommend going all of the way with everything i mentioned including indirect hot water and the new oil tank. Why not, it's only money?

Steve Eayrs

Buderus wins every argument here

And Amtrol has so many problems w/ the indirects, a few years ago, I vowed to never install another one.
A lot of other indirect tanks out there now days that are better.

Steve

Weezbo

Buderas with riello *~/;)

they gonna hate me buh there are other types of controls... thats of course my take on the deal. the water maker from buderas is also a honey...theres like 600' of insulation around it would you belive 500, with some new age sealer? i jokes...it sure is well insulated though.i have seen hot water come out of the thing with the boiler down for a day...Hot water just seems tostay put in them unless you use a recirc pump.

ScottMP

There is no comparision

The Buderus boiler is a better casting, better design, better quality control. Intergrated controll will provide you will levels of comfort and fuel savings that the WM can only dream about.

The Amtrol tank vs Buderus Not even in the same league. I would'nt install an Amtrol if it was given to me.

Scott

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Bruce M.

Wal-Mart vs Neiman-Marcus

The fact that your oil company recommended Weil-McLane tells me that you need to seek an expert who is familiar with the Buderus way of installation. I would ask the oil company if they have ever installed a Buderus. I know that I would not want to be their first installation. Some oil companies have great installers but they may not have the experience with the Buderus. Keep in mind that the average boiler replacement customer wants the job done as cheaply as possible.

paul sr

Buderus and a Riello are the bomb, YES! But also, picture this. Its -2 degrees out. You have a service contract. Your cold, thermostat is at 62 and dropping quickly. (Oh yeah its also midnight. Joe oil man comes in sees it and almost crys while hes telling you how sorry he is, but he cant work on it (no training and hes 22 yrs old). He is probably gonna say we will have to send the "riello guy" in the morning. But i bet hes got r8184s, 8124s and every part for that beckett burner in his truck. Something to think about, ive seen it happen many times.

Bruce M.

The Riello Guy?

Here on Long Island almost everyone is a Riello guy. If your oil company does not have a Riello guy at night it might be time to change oil company.

paul sr

I hope for the homeowners sake he lives on Long Island. Or may wind up with frozen pipes. Kind of a bad time to find out the oil co doesnt have a riello guy. Seen it happen all too many times. Riello burners are rare in my parts.About 1 for every 20 or so.

Constantin

Fear, Uncertainty, Deception

FUD, a marketing tool used all too often by a certain software company that, despite $$$ lobbying, ended up being convicted of monopolistic behavior. Your experience certainly may hold true in your area, but the way you are stating it seems exagerrated. After all, if worst comes to worst, you always have the choice of:

• Throwing a gazillion electric heaters into a home. Most heating companies seem to have half a truckload just for such a contingency. They're cheap, easy to install, and will keep most places above freezing until morning.
• Swap the Riello for another burner for the night until the "Riello Guy" can come along and fix the Riello. I'd like to think that a well-run company would have a spare burner for just that sort of emergency. Nevermind even more advanced options like a propane burner and a "day tank" that allow the heating of the home regardless of what happened to the oil supply or the burner.
• For that matter, a well-run company wouldn't dispatch someone who is trained on one type of burner to service another. After all, your company records should reflect what was installed when, what was done to it in the meantime, etc. Such record-keeping is so easy to do today... plus there is that thing called the telephone that allows you to confirm with customers what they have the in the basement in case it's a new account. Allegedly, 95%+ of Americans can read and write.
• Another option is to swap oil companies to one that actually trains their techs to work on different kinds of equipment instead of just Beckett, Carlin, or Riello. IMHO, anyone who is miserly on training should be avoided, period.
• Play the lottery, considering how rare it is these days for a well-maintained burner to fail. For, if the PM was done properly, there should be someone on hand at the company that did the PM that knows Riello.
• Never mind the old-school options like lighting fires inside the fireplaces, leaving the oven on, etc.

Look, I don't want to knock your experience. However, there are a lot of burner techs out there that know several kinds of burners inside and out. Furthermore, good companies will keep a track of what was installed where to make their tech's life easier (i.e. have the right things on the truck, and the right person in the truck). Otherwise, it's time to change companies.

Ron Schroeder_2

Even with the same burner and controls, the Buderus is by far my favorite over anything else for oil.

You don't have to use the Buderus controls or a Riello burner.

The only thing that I don't really like about the Buderus controls is that they don't use the same thermal well as Honeywell and the others. Buderus can supply the boiler with a "american" thermal well and a L8148 Honeywell controller. You could use Tekmar or other controls too.

I prefer Riello over the others for several reasons, including less electrical usage.

You don't have to use the Buderus indirect. There are several other fine ones, I just don't like the Amtrol.

My personal system is a Buderus G115-21, Riello BF3 burner, Honeywell L8124 control, Taco zone valve relays, Taco ESP, Caleffi, Danfoss and RTI zone valves, Buderus indirect, Grundfos pumps and Tekmar, Honeywell, Hunter and GE thermostats. Is that enough of a mix?

Ron

Joe@buderus

Buderus products stand apart because of design and quality of materials used in construction. The Buderus oil fired boilers are a three pass design which extract more heat from the flue gases. The swing away front door allows for cleaning the boiler completely from the front. No jacket or insulation removal is required. Because the unit can be completely cleaned the efficiency of 85% to 86% can be maintained year after year. There are many other features that set Buderus apart. I suggest visiting our website www.buderus.net or contact us at 1-800-283-3787.
The burner selection is based on preference. It is suggested to consult with the service company to see which burner they are familiar with.

If there are any questions, please feel free to contact us at 1-800-283-3787.

John_44

Qualified Tech

It does pay to have someone familiar with the whole setup. Our new Buderus/Riello/2107 installation had a Heating Err after 310 hours a few weeks ago. I called at 9pm and had someone onsite by 10pm. It took 2 plus hours to figure the problem out (it looked like the solenoid actuator wasn't being triggered to let fuel into the nozzle). The part was replaced and we now have heat. We had a bid from a company that wasn't as familiar with Buderus and Riello combination and decided not to go with them.

John

Dan_15

Buderus is best

I am a homeowner in New England and just replaced my 75 year old boiler with a Buderus G215, Riello 40/F5, Crown Megastor indirect tank, with taco relay, taco valves and Grundfos circulators. I love the Buderus; among other reasons, it seems to have an output that virtually matches my DHW usage, so I could run a shower all day long and never get cold. I did a lot of research before committing and ultimately reasoned that the Buderus was just as good as Veissman and about 40% cheaper. I also got a couple of competing quotes for Weil that were only a few hundred dollars better than Buderus, which clinched it for me. I decided not to opt for the outdoor reset because my installer advised that the boiler would self-modulate in a single zone and the Honeywell L8148A was good enough. I concur that the installer's experience is key. One installer kept pushing Weil because its their flagship product and they had never worked with Buderus. In their opinion, Buderus was just a prettier package but Weil was better value. This is the same installer who quoted Weil only a few hundred bucks less than Buderus. And he had no idea what "three-pass" system was all about. Go figure. My current installer has worked with Buderus a lot, and cannot admit to ever seeing one break. They know a heck of a lot about the product, a heck of a lot about hydronic heating and the installation was trouble-free and very clean looking. Experience is key. I can only imagine the result if I had convinced the Weil guy to install a Buderus.