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Recommendations for steam boiler

jiggy72
jiggy72 Member Posts: 11
Any recommendations for a new gas steam boiler (any brands that should be at top of list vs bottom of the list in quality or stay away from?). I live in Northeast and it gets real cold in winter.

Comments

  • Danny Scully
    Danny Scully Member Posts: 1,416
    Peerless
    newagedawn
  • HVACNUT
    HVACNUT Member Posts: 5,804
    Depending on the EDR, the Peerless ECT and a Carlin EZ gas burner is a nice setup.
  • AMservices
    AMservices Member Posts: 610
    Mostly I look at the size of the system (EDR of radiators)
    Then find the boiler that matches. Watch out for the hidden 33% pickup factor most manufacturers add in for you.
    Try to find a boiler with 3" supply tapings off the top.
  • jiggy72
    jiggy72 Member Posts: 11
    So depending on my EDR will determine which is a better brand boiler to go with?
  • AMservices
    AMservices Member Posts: 610
    > @jiggy72 said:
    > So depending on my EDR will determine which is a better brand boiler to go with?

    Yes, start by find the EDR, then look at boiler ratings.
    Peerless
    Weil-mclain
  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 23,168
    Also pay at least some attention to which boiler or boilers the people you choose to do your installation prefer to work with. The actual make of steam boiler is considerably less important than either proper sizing or proper installation.

    Or to put it another way... an incompetent install (and we see a lo of them here on the Wall) will make any steam boiler work poorly.
    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
    AMservices1MatthiasDouble Ddelta T
  • STEAM DOCTOR
    STEAM DOCTOR Member Posts: 1,953
    Installer is much more important than boiler. Avoid anything with side Outlets. Peerless is a good boiler but if I'm not mistaken it comes with a cycle guard low water cutoff. Make sure installer replaces if you go with peerless.
  • jiggy72
    jiggy72 Member Posts: 11
    Thank you for your recommendations. Does piping always need to be done/changed whenever steam boiler is installed?
  • Dave0176
    Dave0176 Member Posts: 1,177
    For a gas atmospheric boiler there is only two brands I can recommend, Weil-McLain and Peerless. I’m a Weil-McLain dealer so that’s what I’d be installing. Burnham would be at the bottom of that list, but at least it makes the list. They need to be installed right and the water quality needs to be monitored. Here in the North east coastal NJ, they don’t seem to do so well.

    Here are boilers to stay away from in my opinion any ECR Dunkirk branded or rebadged boiler and Utica boilers, to me and a lot of guys these boilers are just not well suited for steam applications.

    And most of all pick a good knowledgeable STEAM WORTHY contractor. We can install any brand and have them work right.
    DL Mechanical LLC Heating, Cooling and Plumbing 732-266-5386
    NJ Master HVACR Lic# 4630
    Specializing in Steam Heating, Serving the residents of New Jersey
    https://heatinghelp.com/find-a-contractor/detail/dl-mechanical-llc

    https://m.facebook.com/DL-Mechanical-LLC-315309995326627/?ref=content_filter

    I cannot force people to spend money, I can only suggest how to spend it wisely.......
    New England SteamWorks
  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Member Posts: 23,168
    jiggy72 said:

    Thank you for your recommendations. Does piping always need to be done/changed whenever steam boiler is installed?

    That's one of those questions. If the new boiler is the same as the old one -- and I do mean exactly the same -- and the old piping is correct, then no. Otherwise... it would be very rare that you wouldn't have to change the near boiler piping. Vanishingly rare...
    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
    1MatthiasNew England SteamWorks
  • jiggy72
    jiggy72 Member Posts: 11
    Do peerless come with auto damper? Does it matter if a boiler has auto damper or natural draft?
  • STEAM DOCTOR
    STEAM DOCTOR Member Posts: 1,953
    every gas boiler comes with an auto damper
  • STEAM DOCTOR
    STEAM DOCTOR Member Posts: 1,953
    Auto damper and natural draft are not opposites. Natural draft and power vents are opposites for our purposes
  • lchmb
    lchmb Member Posts: 2,997
    Have any installer you look into explain how they sized the boiler and have them show you photo's of previous installs. Make sure you contract includes time to skim the boiler not only at the time of install but a second time if necessary. I like to replace vents as well, mains and radiators... do it once, do it right..
    Check the list of installers on here.. good place to start.. :smiley:
  • Danny Scully
    Danny Scully Member Posts: 1,416
    Where are you located @jiggy72?
  • The Steam Whisperer
    The Steam Whisperer Member Posts: 1,215
    Motorized dampers are only standard on boilers under 300,000 btu/hr input. In the Peerless line this is the 63 series steamer boilers. Power burner boilers have much lower standby losses, so the dampers are not nearly as useful. Power vent steam boilers( the only smaller one is the Burnham Independance) also don't have dampers since the standby losses are much lower than atmospheric burner boilers.
    To learn more about this professional, click here to visit their ad in Find A Contractor.
  • Koan
    Koan Member Posts: 439
    you may want to consider a Carlin EZ-Gas burner Firing a Slant-Fin Intrepid Steam Boiler
    New England SteamWorks
  • New England SteamWorks
    New England SteamWorks Member Posts: 1,505
    Koan said:

    you may want to consider a Carlin EZ-Gas burner Firing a Slant-Fin Intrepid Steam Boiler

    If you are going to go this route (wet base + conversion burner), use a Weil SGO.

    Otherwise, Weil EG or Peerless 63. Accept no substitutes or regret will be your companion.

    It's correct to say the installer should know. But if the installer knows steam, -he won't suggest anything else.

    New England SteamWorks
    Service, Installation, & Restoration of Steam Heating Systems
    newenglandsteamworks.com
    Koan
  • Koan
    Koan Member Posts: 439
    my installer suggested the slant fin, and he knows steam
  • Danny Scully
    Danny Scully Member Posts: 1,416
    @New England SteamWorks, the intrepid is ok, the galaxy isn’t lol. You didn’t get burned by an intrepid. The slant/fin intrepid is a tank of a boiler. I completely agree with you on the galaxy but that’s not what @Koan is talking about.
    SnowmeltKoan
  • ethicalpaul
    ethicalpaul Member Posts: 5,695
    Here is my recent thread. I came out of it leaning Weil-McClain (or more likely its value brand label, Williamson. The Peerless looks great too but it’s quite salty

    https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/167838/best-small-gas-steam-boiler
    NJ Steam Homeowner. See my sight glass boiler videos: https://bit.ly/3sZW1el
  • Of course it depends on which brand is supported locally.—NBC
  • brandonf
    brandonf Member Posts: 205
    What about Burnham megasteam with a Carlin EZ gas?
    Homeowner, Entrepreneur, Mechanic, Electrician,

    "The toes you step on today are connected to the butt you'll have to kiss tomorrow". ---Vincent "Buddy" Cianci
  • Fred
    Fred Member Posts: 8,542
    brandonf said:

    What about Burnham megasteam with a Carlin EZ gas?

    It can and has been done but Burnham will void the warranty. They have not certified the Megasteam for gas, just oil.
  • Koan
    Koan Member Posts: 439
    @Snowmelt

    I would like to hear why you disagree with @Danny Scully
    Would you please elaborate?