Steam Weil McLain VS Burnham, Utica, or Peerless?

Dick Charland

Robert, check out the Peerless 64 Series boilers, the 64-09 would take care of your load requirements. I rep Peerless, the 63/64 Series has been out for a coouple of years and have only heard good stuff.

Robert_16

I'm a contractor in metro Detroit. We do a lot of residential steam jobs, mostly smaller boilers. I'm bidding a larger residential job....1,111 EDR. I put in a lot of Burnahms, but installing a big one in a residential basement can be a nightmare! The block is preassembled and they (Burnham) don't want you to take apart, lifting on to the base is brutal, etc. We've also installed Weil Mclains, Uticas, and Peerless. The Weil McLain has the advantage of being easy to disassemble and reassemble, although some people don't like the gaskets. Also I'm looking at the weight differences and the WM is much lighter then others. Almost too big of a differance. I understand most contractors (like myself) like to work with certain manufactures, and suppliers. That being said, would anyone be interested in giving some suggestions on what to choose for larger, residential, steam jobs? Obviously taking into consideration quality, price, water capacity, ease of installation (in a basement with no steel overhead to hang chainfalls), and good selling points for the customer. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Unknown

I like

the Peerless EC line for steam and splitting . They are on the heavy side so we sectioned quite a few and reassembled in the basement . This was our boiler of choice for a long time , we have hundreds out there still purrin' along .

We started using the Burnham V8 for steam and I really do like these in this application . It has a much lower water line so it'd be an ideal choice when you have low steam mains . We have split a few apart to get them down , no problems as of yet .

I also like the Weil , but for steam and the chance of someone adding the wrong chemicals , I'd rather have cast iron or steel between the sections .

Robert_16

Isn't the V8.......

just for oil? We're dealing with just natural gas here. Thanks

Unknown

oops

Sorry , when you mentioned splitting the sections I just assumed they were oil . I've split apart the Peerless gas steamer a few times and it went back together smooth . Reinstalling the gas train , controls and jacket were another story . There are many others here much more knowlegable in gas steam than me .

DD_3

weil Mcclain packaged boiler or not

It would seem to me if you had a problem with access to base with boiler then assemble the boiler in place as an unpackaged boiler.

Robert_16

Exactly.........

No offense, but thats what my original post pertains to. I do like the Weil McLain because of ease of taking apart and reassembling in the basement. Also the fact that the base is part of the cast iron, where the Burnham has to be lifted onto a seperate base makes it a real pain. Biggest drawback with the WM is the gaskets. I only found one leaker (I didn't do the install, but was called in to repair. They didn't like my T&M quote so I did not do the repair either. It did look like the leak was coming from between the sections of this newer boiler). As I was saying......some potential customers do not like the idea of gaskets. They get hammered by salesmen of other boilers. This is sometimes a tough thing to overcome. Bottom line, we do great installs no matter what boiler. But on these residential "big" jobs, moving around 800 to 1,500 lbs of cast iron ain't easy. Don't want that 2nd hernia! Also don't want my other techs missing time due to bad backs, etc. Thanks

bob young

burnham

with a large size burnham do you actually lift the block onto the base ??

Steve Ebels_3

How complicated would it be.........

I'm no expert with steam, there is very little of it up North of you, so take this with a grain of salt.......or two. How complicated would it be to put in a pair of smaller boilers and tie them into a common header? Just a thought.

bob young

extra boiler

with the xtra boiler , controls & labor it should at least triple the price. and is much more intricate as far as piping. a run of the mill mechanic might not comprehend the piping and control arrangement. better off getting a helper with muscles. if the customer has plenty of cash & doesn't mind throwing it your way , then it is a great idea.

Ross_7

Steam heat up North

Steve,
We have LOTS of steam heat above the bridge in the Upper Peninsula.
Ross

PG

Whats the dif between the Peerless 62 and the 64?

Robert_16

I'm suprised at the lack of responses on this subject.......

kind of. If the authors were unrecognizable would there be more opinions on this (and other) subjects? Just a thought. I'm sure there are a whole lot of steam guys out there. How about a hidden ballot?

Ross_7

Steam Boilers

I personally like Peerless. I've installed some some smaller steam boilers by them. I've also installed Burnham and Weil-McLain, Dunkirk, and L.E.S(not a big fan!). Serviced lots of Kewaunees. Just Preference, I guess.

Robert_16

Thanks for the input Ross