OUR V-8 SERIES DONT LEAK

paul sr

Hi...During a routine tune-up last Saturday, I was told the Burnham V-8 Model AFG that was installed January 2001 is leaking and the block needs immediate replacement. I had another person (from the same company, who originally did the install in 1/01) take a look at it and he also said it's leaking and needs replacement. Burnham will replace the block under warranty, but not labor and I am being told it will cost $800. I have no baseline on whether this is a reasonable labor charge or excessive labor charge. I live on the South Shore in Massachusetts. Any hints/tips/sympathy?
Thanks!

todd s

V8

What type of system is this hooked up to? what are your pipes made of? Also price is not discussed on this forum. Choose a reputable company that you are comfortable with and accept whatever their rates are.

lchmb

so many variables

Although price is never discussed here. Your question is not an easy answer. How hard will the access be. How much piping will they have to do. What type of piping is it. I would say that if your comfortable with the company your dealing with and the original install came out good with no problems then you should probably stick with them...:) Good luck..

Mellow_2

sorry to hear that

what if the next block leaks? what is the warranty on the second block? will burnham still give money for labor tward the replacement and how much? This is what I would ask before installing another boiler and have them show you the leak in the cast iron. The boilers can leak in other places on them that could be fixed. I would just want to make sure it was leaking out the cast and not just a coil gasket. good luck

Unknown

Tired

Without knowing all of the information related to this installation, no one here or at our factory can answer the questions you are posing here. The questions I have are:

What type of system is this (Steam or Hot Water)?

Is it a large mass system if hot water (Cast Iron Radiators or Radiant)?

Is boiler equipped with a tankless heater?

Has a representative of Burnham been to the jobsite to determine where and why this is leaking?

If you have not spoken to a representative of our company regarding this dilemma, then e-mail me with the pertinent information and I will put you in touch with one on Monday. I will need your Name, Address and Contact #'s (Home and Work) as well as the Model # and Serial # of this boiler. Also the Oil Company that you have been dealing with (Name and Number). Hope this helps.

Glenn Stanton

Manager of Training

Burnham Hydronics

www.burnham.com

joel_19

sorry

Sorry to hear of your problem, you know this could be related to a piping problem on your job that needs to be corrected. We just repiped a Burhnam that had been replaced under warrantee by another contractor. I'm fairly convinced that the new Burhnam would have failed as well because it was piped improperly. Two leakers in the span of a couple years?? I'd be looking further than just the casting. Although we don't like to discuss price here as it varies so much fom job to job for what it's worth i'll tell you that i just quoted one in Mass and it was quite a bit more than that. Hope my fellow wallies aren't too bent about me saying that.

Robert O'Connor_6

Actually

I had a leaker in my own house ,45 feet of baseboard on two zones.

Leaking at the nipple port top of the section.

This was a defect .

I have also found a couple of others leaking.

When I toured the Burnham factory they emphasized the new machine for making push nipples . I suspect this was the culprit.

Burnham knows all about it. They are gonna have lekaers they make lots of boilers.

What I can't figure out in my case is why no labor on a three year old boiler.

On some of the v-7's they paid $500 regardless of who the original purchaser was.

Regards

Robert

ME

Unknown

Robert

As you stated, when you toured the plant earlier this year you got to see the two new machines we put on line to take control of the nipple machining process. These were added to do away with the possibility of scratched or dinged nipples that could happen in the process of having these machined for us and shipped. Now they are handled with kid gloves after being machined in plant less than 25 feet from where they are put into the sections. The incident you encountered happened before these machines were put on line. We felt that incidents like yours should not have happened so we invested in the machinery to take charge of that process and handling ourselves. We have also changed the nipple lubricant that is used when the sections are assembled. We are now using Loctite #592 which is a thicker consistency and remains pliable throughout the life of the boiler.

As far as the story behind this post, none of us know the whole story of what the cause may be, what kind of a system it is, where the leak may be and how it is being handled. As of this point in time I have yet to hear from this individual with the information I asked for. So it does no good to sit here and theorize what the cause may be or how it is being handled at this point. I too have seen hundreds of installations such as Joel described that could cause due harm to any brand of boiler. But that may not neccessarily be the case here. Whatever has happened here we will attempt to deal with it in a fair manner. Hope this helps.

Glenn Stanton

Manager of Training

Burnham Hydronics

www.burnham.com

Robert O'Connor_6

Not theorizing

I wasn't theorizing Glenn. It's obviously a fact that Burnham had trouble with the nipples or nipple ports on some the 1999 thru at least 2001 V-8's . I have seen it and Burnham has taken steps to correct it. Exactly when was the issue corrected?

As far as the original post I have no idea without looking at the job. I was just adding to the conversation. What I wrote is my experience and not theory.


When I come across a V-8 I take out the 2" knock out in the jacket and check for leaks

As far as lack of labor payment goes, to a customer on a 3 year old boiler .. This does not inspire confidence in a customer that Burnham is giving them anything better than they had .

All the best

Robert

ME

gerry gill

hey Glenn,- push nipple question.

Does your new machinery and procedures make ALL your push nipples? reason i ask is we like your gas boilers for steam and push them hard against what is the local favorite with the rubber gaskets..and its the push nipples we emphasize..thus far we have not had a single burham problem, knock on wood, ..were your previous push nipples outsourced?

Mellow_2

Glenn has a problem with HIS nipples?

Unknown

Gerry

I think what I need to clarify here is that we have always made our own push nipples in our foundry and that we used to have them machined by a local company. There has always existed the possibility of scratches and dings on these during the process of machining and shipping to our plant. This has never been a major issue whatsoever but we chose to take charge of the machining and handling process by installing the milling machines in house. A choice few nipple leaks were a few too many and we felt it important to do something about it. This has not been an issue with the steam boilers probably due to the much lower operating pressures.

The point of this post was to attempt to convey that whenever something may occur with a product in the field, we take the issue seriously and do whatever is neccessary to keep it from happening again. As Robert stated, we manufacture and sell a tremendous share of boilers due to the efforts of you folks, our sales force and great network of distributors. It would be our desire as well as any manufacturer to not have to deal with issues like this post. It would be our desire to have all of our products be perfect and to do our best to keep them that way. I'm not that naive to know that it is not a perfect world and what is important is how we deal with issues that crop up from time to time. Thanks for your continued support Gerry and others. Your input is always appreciated and we will continue to try and make the best products we can possibly make as well as providing the best support that can be provided.

Glenn Stanton

Manager of Training

Burnham Hydronics

www.burnham.com

Unknown

Cute!



Glenn Stanton

Manager of Training

Burnham Hydronics

www.burnham.com

Unknown

Robert

The point that you are missing is that I am attempting to resolve this situation with this person. We don't know all of the facts of what has been discussed with our area salespeople or if they have at all. We have been far more fair than any other manufacturer on this site in dealing with field issues.I don't have to be here on weekends fielding these posts, but I am. I do it on my own time by my own choice because I really do care. I can assure you that if I don't hear from this person by Monday morning that I will be in contact with our salespeople that cover the MA South Shore to see if they are aware of this. Beyond that, if this person does not respond, there isn't much more I can do. Hope this helps.

Glenn Stanton

Manager of Training

Burnham Hydronics

www.burnham.com

Robert O'Connor_6

I

never miss the point that you are always trying to help Glenn. As I stated I was just being conversational about my own experience with the V-8./

Actually, my response was a subthread to Joels .


When was the isssue with the nipples corrected? ( again)

Regards

Robert

ME

gerry gill

thanks for the clarification Glenn,

we really like burnhams boilers cause we were using another blue boiler before, and frankly didn't have any problems with it either, but when we put in our first burnham, we felt it was a better made machine and we have used them ever since..we pay on average 500 dollars more for the burhams but we feel we are getting added value in quality and no longer offer the other boiler line anymore..proof that little things do matter..keep up the good work..

Wes Weber

Burnham

We have been installing V-8s for a number of years now and have found them to be exellent in both quality and support from the factory. I was recently on a job were another exellent cast iron steam boiler was leaking. We are a small company but I was able to have a factory rep come the next next morning and look the situation over.

It was discovered that this leak(it was not a burnham) was because of neglect and an auto feed that covered up a leak. We all know what this will do. We have taken Dan's advice and will install a low water cut off over an auto feed.

My point though is a profesional company should have the recourses to call Burnham or their local supplier and inquire for the customer.


We love Burnham Boilers and find the company to be first rate!

Wes weber
WM Boalton Plumbing

jim lockard

sounds like

the jurys still out,lets give everyone sometime to look at the problem. J.Lockard