Weil-McLain flipped us the bird

I think they should have run a single on the Williamson and other down brands and kept the two supply on their premium WM brand, but what do I know? Not much! 😂

i wonder if improper installations that created stresses on the boiler sections caused warranty issues that influenced their decision to go to a single tapping ?

I’ve learned much from this forum and TLAOSH. None of what I’ve learned says one tapping on a steam boiler. Use both tappings, never reduce. The manufacturer guidelines are a minimum. I’ve fought many plugs out of EG blocks swearing at them. Never did I imagine it was going to be a fond memory. I’m disappointed.

Would never let those abominations sit in my truck. Strait to the garbage for me

I respect the skill of many here, but it is physics and cost. That is why people have steam to begin with. Steam was the cheaper option for heat in it's day. It was the fin tube against the premium option which was gravity hot water. Steam is the Ford, hot water was the Lincoln. Knowing the truth of it's place in the hydronics history puts it in proper perspective.

I am not going to get into the 2 riser debate on this subject. What I would like to comment on is the terrible customer service here.

I work for an OEM manufacturer of industrial HVAC and Refrigeration equipment. There is no way, absolutely no way we would change a product and not tell people about it. If a change is to be made to any product that potentially impacts the installation of that equipment a bulletin is sent out notifying customers of the change before the change is implemented at the factory. I can't imagine just dumping on a contractor like that.

Customer service is the cornerstone of any business that actually values their business.

"Excellence is achieved by caring more than most people think is
normal and expecting more than most people think is reasonable."

That is one of our company slogans (borrowed from somewhere) and is printed at the top of our employee review sheet. One of the standards that every employee is "graded" on.

You need to dust your books off @Charlie from wmass. And maybe sell the stocks you clearly have in Weil McClain

Just think of the savings from not purchasing & installing that plug, let alone drilling & tapping the casting! All that green can go to someone's pocket.

Would've been a better idea to just stop supplying the plug, although I suppose that it would have made some ...creative... piping arrangements that might have been a little simpler if there was just a single tapping open.

I meant dust off your books on steam and it’s place in heating history. And I already explained why I use 2 risers, it doesn’t only have to do with velocity. And again, I never use bushings. Both tappings, full size. There’s no right or wrong here it’s preference. I have no preference for Weil McClain. Hey, more stock for you @Charlie from wmass

I think if some dead-men took a vote on having one versus two risers on the WM EGs I think 100% they would go with the two...

I think there is only great disappointment that a manufacturer would alter the design in such a way as to make it more difficult to install, and then not making that change more known before the boiler is sitting in the basement!
Even if you favor the use of the one riser layout over two, for such small boilers, you may miss the option of piping on one side or the other of your choice, instead of the manufacturer’s.—NBC

SeanBeans said:

I think if some dead-men took a vote on having one versus two risers on the WM EGs I think 100% they would go with the two...

I've seen quite a few original boilers piped in the 20-30s that didn't have hartford loops or a header. If you asked most of them to vote on how to pipe an EG series they wouldn't care.

They just wanted to earn a living and go home. Most of them would've used propress, pex and PVC if it was available too.

Ironman has it right IMO. I've only had one boiler manufacturer stand out from the crowd when it comes to relationships to the contractor and that was Slant Fin. It's pretty much the same everywhere. Of course in some cases it has seriously come back to bite the manufacturer. One I heard of was Hoffman's unannounced change to the manufacturing process of trap discs where they would no longer work in vacuum. I've been told on some large jobs here in Chicago, the couple thousand brand new Hoffman trap capsules all had to be pulled and replaced with a competitors model. I'm pretty sure the contractors and engineers that got stung on those jobs to the tune of a couple hundred thousand dollars don't use Hoffman anymore. I've had the same experience with a vacuum pump manufacturer and it's no wonder one of their competitors is having record breaking sales of vacuum pumps and related equipment. Unfortunately everytime one of these stunts is pulled, you end up with dissatisfied customers and that pushes them that much closer to tearing out thier steam. The manufacturer's are often times doing a very good job eliminating their own market. Its the same story all the time......get rich quick mentality and to hell with the future of the industry and even their own company's future.

Jim R. Okay, here you go. When I was a kid my neighbor was Bill Walton of Collins & Walton a big and successful mechanical contractor in Elmira, NY. I spent a summer working with them when I was16 & 17 (65 & 66) When I ran out of money to finish college, I got a call from Bill telling me that Local 109 of the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters was accepting apprentice applications. I applied and forgot about it until I got a call from Harry Bauer, the BA for 109 telling me to report to Hogg Nichols tomorrow morning with a 6’ folding rule, a torpedo level and a pair of Channel locks. I told Mr Bauer that I was working for the railroad on the section gang and had to give notice. He said, “It’s your choice.” I showed up at HG and began my apprenticeship in 1970. I met some wonderful men, journeymen, my fathers contemporaries, WWII veterans. There was one fellow, Lou Ferrara, who I credit with getting my head together to finish the program. The day I finished my 5 yr apprenticeship I put my travel card in Beaumont , TX, just across the river from Vidor, the hometown of the TX Chapter of the KKK. Many stories there. . Sarnia, Oswego, Pasco, Edmonton, Craig, Fargo, Tucson, Omaha, Sioux City, Healdsburg and others as a nuclear grade welder. There was a time I could pass any test anywhere. In ‘78 I quit the trade and went into the contracting business in the Napa Valley. In CA I am a licensed GC, Plmgb, Solar and other trades contractor. I had a great opportunity there, but I just cratered. I got so I hated the business. I didn’t go belly up, but it was so close that today, I can’t tell the difference. I had an opportunity to go back east and have a Union job at Cornell. I was supposed to run a crew there, but it became apparent that no one I was supposed to run had any interest in anything but making the job last. Having been self employed I knew that at the end of the day you have to produce. I quit that job with nothing but a wonderful woman and a 2 & 5 yr old. I went back to working with the tools and went to a shutdown at the Fitzpatrick nuclear facility in Oswego(85) My previous shutdown was at a plutonium plant in Pasco (77). Interestingly, last year I got a letter from the DOE asking that I get a physical. I have to kinda chuckle at that. I do have a bit of Cobalt in my thyroid and elsewhere, but perhaps that will offset the asbestos I worked with in my teens. Who knows! After that shut down I was back in Ithaca, NY, finally back with my girls and I ran into an old college classmate. He offered me a job covering the 6 New England States for him in his rep business. I began my career as a Manuf Rep. That is what I think a lot of people in the contracting business should do. I did n’t know I’d be good at it, but with my successes and definitely, my failure, I saw that I could do this really well, and I worked my **** of to be successful at it. In my business as a Rep I never took success for granted because at that point I definitely knew what it was like wonder how you were going to pay the rent. I was lucky. I had a woman who could turn nothing into something.. To this day, I work scared. When things went sideways with the rep company I was working for I was able to get out on my own. My first line was Metalbestos, then Z-Flex and the I introduced Rinnai to the New England Market.. that was in ‘91. I had 20 yrs as a rep who understood the relationships of the homeowner, contractor, distributor and manuf. my early experience working with the tools and my failure as a contractor helped me be successful. I frequently, in training classes with contractors would say that I failed as a contractor, but I had had 20:yrs to think about it, so perhaps they should listen to me. I have great respect for those people who have been successful at the contracting business because I didn’t do it, and that still bothers me. I began to see that I was running out of patience with the “new “ managers to whom I was reporting and knew that I was perfectly capable of turning a good thing into nothing, so I told my business partner that I wanted out. Both my children were in CA and as I have girls I will say that they can run but they cannot hide. We moved west in ‘11 and until 4/18 I worked on a consulting basis with Rinnai. Today, at 70, I am newly retired and trying to come to terms with it. It is not easy. I miss the people. I miss the action. Jim, I will lay a lifetime of failure and success out there hoping that it is taken the right way. I am out of the business...regretfully, but time tells its tale.
I know it is the internet and I shouldn’t take offense, but, Jim, I am highly offended by YOU and your accusations. Someone said it was my responsibility to maintain a sense of decorum here...but your accusations are so deliciously low.