Looking for steam Boiler Replacement - Long Island (Suffolk County)

@Mad Dog_2 is your man.

If you're staying with oil, I'd go with the Burnham MegaSteam boiler. It's somewhat more efficient, is easier to maintain and has the best warranty in the business.

In addition to making sure the current boilers match the connected edr, make sure the returns under the floor aren't leaking.

@lovebug11768

Are you coming back to answer some questions?

here is a reply I sent on a PM with @lovebug11768 after he stated his concern about waiting for a replacement boiler in the middle of the winter and being without heat for an extended time.


EdTheHeaterMan 11:46PM

A 30-year-old boiler does not need to be replaced simply because it is 30 years old. If the cast-iron sections are not leaking and the boiler is operating safely and efficiently, it may have many years of useful life remaining.

The worst likely failure is a leak in a cast-iron section. Even then, the homeowner may not immediately be without heat. A small leak can often be slowed or temporarily sealed with a boiler stop-leak product. That may keep the boiler operating while a replacement is ordered and the installation is scheduled. Stop-leak is not always a permanent repair, but it can prevent a minor leak from becoming a six-week no-heat emergency.

Most other failures involve replaceable parts, such as the burner motor, fuel pump, igniter, primary control, aquastat, or low-water cutoff. Those components can usually be replaced within a day. The greatest inconvenience may be waiting until Monday for a supply house to open if the failure occurs during a holiday weekend.

It may also be worthwhile to keep a few correct spare burner parts nearby. A used burner identical to the existing one can sometimes be purchased inexpensively on eBay, and kept as a source of emergency replacement parts. Any replacement part must still be properly installed, adjusted, and tested by a qualified technician. Those spare parts will work on both of your Weil McLain boilers with Beckett oil burners.

If the cast-iron block does not leak for another 20 years, replacing the boiler today would have accomplished nothing except creating a large unnecessary expense. New boilers can also have manufacturing defects and early failures. You could replace a dependable boiler today and later find yourself wishing you had kept it, especially if you happened to purchase a factory defect boiler and need to replace the factory defect cast iron sections in the first few years.   Those warranty sections may be free under warranty but you need to pay the labor to replace them after the first year. That labor is sometimes more that the cost of the actual part(s).  

If these boilers were in my house, I would maintain them properly, monitor it for leakage, and continue using them. I would plan financially for its eventual replacement, but I would not replace it merely because it has reached its 30th birthday. A coat of paint would not hurt either. The flue connector pipe with the off balance barometric draft control can be adjusted to operate properly also. You might want to show your oil burner service tecj this photo so they can get it right for you.

I wanted everybody that might come across this post in the future to see what I believe after over 40 years of oil burner work. Being without heat for a month in the middle of winter is a concern and in many cases where parts are scarce for some older ModCon boilers that are nearing the 20 year mark. These Cast Iron Boilers with standard Beckett burners do not fall into that category. These boilers just need some TLC from a qualified oil burner/Steam technician. That may be two different people, but if you have one that knows both, keep that company that they work for, for as long as that person works there.

Mr. Ed