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Biasi v. Burnham

alexcran
alexcran Member Posts: 3

Hi, I'm currently looking to replace an ancient Burnham Fiesta oil fired hot water boiler with electric hot water heater to one of 2 proposed options we shortlisted which follow:

Biasi B-10-6 w/50 Gallon Bock indirect hot water heater
Burnham MPO-IQ147 w/Alliance SL hydrastone lined indirect hot water heater

So community, what would you choose?

Thanks in advance.

Comments

  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 16,796
    How did they size these boilers? Did they do a room-by-room heat loss calculation?

    You can't go wrong with either model, but they have to be sized correctly, and simply installing the same size as what's there is wasteful without verification.
    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
  • alexcran
    alexcran Member Posts: 3
    Steamhead, they were given gross sf for the house and did visual inspection of existing unit, piping and so on. The 2 contractors, one a plumber and one a heating oil company, are within about 8-10% of each other on cost so that isn't the biggest concern but when doing research on the brands I get more confused as some people have seemingly very positive and some very negative experiences with the same units.
  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 16,796
    Then they're doing it wrong. Don't hire either one. Go here and follow the instructions to find someone near you who will do it right with a heat-loss calculation:

    https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/

    I bet they propose a smaller boiler, which will cost less to buy and operate.
    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
    STEVEusaPA1Matthias
  • Robert O'Brien
    Robert O'Brien Member Posts: 3,540
    147k? At least 2x more than needed
    To learn more about this professional, click here to visit their ad in Find A Contractor.
    1Matthias
  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 15,452
    @alexcran as both the above experts @Steamhead & @Robert O'Brien mentioned

    You have to do a heat loss. Most contractors think it's time wasted....it's not.

    a boiler too large will waste fuel, short cycle and cost more to install and maintain.

    You can get good advise here my suggestion is to take it.
  • newagedawn
    newagedawn Member Posts: 586
    burnhams are garbage
    "The bitter taste of a poor install lasts far longer than the JOY of the lowest price"
  • alexcran
    alexcran Member Posts: 3
    Ok, heat loss calculation seems to be a baseline I wasn't even concerned about. That's the first step. Thanks!
  • STEVEusaPA
    STEVEusaPA Member Posts: 6,506

    burnhams are garbage

    You should make a more professional comment on your posts, before trashing all of one manufacturer's product line.

    Maybe start your own thread about it and explain why.

    steve
  • bob eck
    bob eck Member Posts: 930
    Burnham MPO is a very good oil boiler.
    Baxi boiler I am not familiar with.

    Depends where you are located at take a look at using the Trio Cast Iron low mass boiler. Can be fired with oil, natural gas or LP gas burner.

    Trio boiler video and literature check it out.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gaD_Nz2dGY&feature=share

    http://www.pureproproducts.com/htg/trio_boilers.html

    Trio Cast Iron boilers are sold by F W Webb to professional heating and plumbing contractors.
    This boiler is approved to burn oil, natural gas and LP gas. So if you are starting out using oil and if you ever need or want to go to natural gas or LP gas the boiler is already tested and certified for all three fuels.

    You do need a professional heating contractor to size your boiler for the correct BTU need of your house. With the correct control you do not need to add extra BTU for your indirect water heater.
    Putting in to large of a boiler will cause the boiler to short cycle and this is not good for the boiler and the burner / controls.

    Find a good professional heating contractor.


  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 16,796
    The Trio is Biasi-based.
    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
  • newagedawn
    newagedawn Member Posts: 586
    how many stories of burnham boilers leaking in 5 yrs or less on this site and people still defend it, all i can say is, how many peerless, buderus,wiel-mclain,new yorkers,utica,hb's,etc boilers have we heard that leak and if they leak its usually in 30 or 40 yrs, i have spoken my 2 cents worth, seems like only .25 of a cents worth but heck its what i believe, NO BURNHAMS
    "The bitter taste of a poor install lasts far longer than the JOY of the lowest price"
  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 16,796
    The V7 and V8 series had issues. So far, I haven't heard anything bad about the MPO and MegaSteam. However, Burnham needs to get with the program and stop throwing tantrums when we talk about firing the MPO and MegaSteam with gas burners.
    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
    Grallert