Hello! I’m a new homeowner who just discovered your channel and admire how informative your videos are. I am in the process of replacing my old and oversized Peerless oil steam boiler and wanted to ask your opinions on the 2 brands that I’ve been quoted on: Crown and Dunkirk. Which one would you recommend? We have a 3 family home that’s about 4820 sq feet in NY. All of the windows are new and we renovated so the house is well-insulated. Based on calculations, we need to cover about 442 square feet of steam which would be a 175,000 BTU boiler but the store I went to doesn’t have that one available for either brand. They checked if other brands had 175K BTU in stock but they didn’t. To my understanding, they told us to get a 200,000 BTU boiler and have the plumber change the nozzle so it functions like a 175K BTU and we’re not wasting oil and using the appropriate gallons per hour for the size/steam requirement of our house. Should I go ahead and buy the 200K BTU boiler and change the nozzle or keep looking around for the 175K BTU one? Is there anything specific I should make sure they do during installation to make sure this works. It’s a pretty big purchase and I don’t want to get it wrong so I figured I’d get a second opinion from an expert about these brands and check if the nozzle advice is common practice before I made my final decision. Thanks in advance!
Thank you for your kind words! As far as the proper size for your new boiler, the steam "sees" only the inside of the radiators and seems not to care about new windows & insulation - not that they are not important - they are - but as far as sizing your new boiler, not so much. So, I assume, someone went around and counted up the connected load and came up with 442 sq feet of radiation. So, just assuming, boiler A's smallest rating is 396 sq feet and the next size up is 513. You are advised to go to the size that is at, or above, your load of 442 sq feet, i.e. 513 sq feet. Yes, the oil tech, if they are good, should be able to match the load with the CORRECT NOZZLE and set the boiler up using Combustion Efficiency Analyzer Equipment (and show you the printed results, or it's a lie). As to specific boilers for oil fired steam, I do have an opinion (and it is only an opinion - I'm just some guy on ytube). I'd go with the Crown Freeport. But, really, the most important thing about steam boilers is not the boiler per se - But The Installer! The Installer Must Read, UNDERSTAND, and Follow the installation instructions that come with every boiler! I suggest getting a copy beforehand of your chosen boiler's manual and looking over the piping diagram and ask your installer to explain how they plan to follow it. Ask your installer how they plan to clean the boiler after the install and pay attention to their response and check what your manual says about cleaning. Ask about steam main vents (check my other videos on that) and the relationship between air and steam.
@@gordonschweizer5154 Thank you so much for responding! I truly appreciate the advice. I just double checked and I was quoted for a Crown KSB Kingston model. I will inquire about the Crown Freeport. Thankfully, I have an installer who was recommended by a lot of people including the plumbing supply company so I’m hoping everything goes well on that front. One last question, do you think it’s worth the hassle to change the nozzle or will it not make that much of a difference?
You are very welcome. Your installer might be more "comfortable" installing the Kingston & that also might be what their supply house stocks. As I said, it is much more important that the properly sized boiler be installed *correctly* on your existing piping than what the boiler's make and model are. But do check out the Freeport, as it is the same as the Burham MegaSteam, which is, IMHO, the best residential oil fired steam boiler extant. BTW, what type of water feeder is your installer planning on installing? Yes, it is worth the hassle to closely match the boiler's firing rate to the connected load. Any *competent* oil tech should be able to do that for your boiler's commissioning.
@@gordonschweizer5154 I’m not completely sure about the water feeder but I can find out. If you have any recommendations, please let me know. I will be sure to ask all of the questions when I meet with him tomorrow.
Real, Real nice install.
@@smalljobrob6432 I thank you for your kind words!
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@@Mike-rm7vf As far as I know, I have no control of what Ads get inserted.
Ytube's gonna ytube.
Hello! I’m a new homeowner who just discovered your channel and admire how informative your videos are. I am in the process of replacing my old and oversized Peerless oil steam boiler and wanted to ask your opinions on the 2 brands that I’ve been quoted on: Crown and Dunkirk. Which one would you recommend?
We have a 3 family home that’s about 4820 sq feet in NY. All of the windows are new and we renovated so the house is well-insulated. Based on calculations, we need to cover about 442 square feet of steam which would be a 175,000 BTU boiler but the store I went to doesn’t have that one available for either brand. They checked if other brands had 175K BTU in stock but they didn’t. To my understanding, they told us to get a 200,000 BTU boiler and have the plumber change the nozzle so it functions like a 175K BTU and we’re not wasting oil and using the appropriate gallons per hour for the size/steam requirement of our house. Should I go ahead and buy the 200K BTU boiler and change the nozzle or keep looking around for the 175K BTU one? Is there anything specific I should make sure they do during installation to make sure this works.
It’s a pretty big purchase and I don’t want to get it wrong so I figured I’d get a second opinion from an expert about these brands and check if the nozzle advice is common practice before I made my final decision.
Thanks in advance!
Thank you for your kind words!
As far as the proper size for your new boiler, the steam "sees" only the inside of the radiators and seems not to care about new windows & insulation - not that they are not important - they are - but as far as sizing your new boiler, not so much.
So, I assume, someone went around and counted up the connected load and came up with 442 sq feet of radiation.
So, just assuming, boiler A's smallest rating is 396 sq feet and the next size up is 513.
You are advised to go to the size that is at, or above, your load of 442 sq feet, i.e. 513 sq feet.
Yes, the oil tech, if they are good, should be able to match the load with the CORRECT NOZZLE and set the boiler up using Combustion Efficiency Analyzer Equipment (and show you the printed results, or it's a lie).
As to specific boilers for oil fired steam, I do have an opinion (and it is only an opinion - I'm just some guy on ytube).
I'd go with the Crown Freeport.
But, really, the most important thing about steam boilers is not the boiler per se - But The Installer!
The Installer Must Read, UNDERSTAND, and Follow the installation instructions that come with every boiler!
I suggest getting a copy beforehand of your chosen boiler's manual and looking over the piping diagram and ask your installer to explain how they plan to follow it.
Ask your installer how they plan to clean the boiler after the install and pay attention to their response and check what your manual says about cleaning.
Ask about steam main vents (check my other videos on that) and the relationship between air and steam.
@@gordonschweizer5154 Thank you so much for responding! I truly appreciate the advice. I just double checked and I was quoted for a Crown KSB Kingston model. I will inquire about the Crown Freeport. Thankfully, I have an installer who was recommended by a lot of people including the plumbing supply company so I’m hoping everything goes well on that front. One last question, do you think it’s worth the hassle to change the nozzle or will it not make that much of a difference?
You are very welcome.
Your installer might be more "comfortable" installing the Kingston & that also might be what their supply house stocks.
As I said, it is much more important that the properly sized boiler be installed *correctly* on your existing piping than what the boiler's make and model are.
But do check out the Freeport, as it is the same as the Burham MegaSteam, which is, IMHO, the best residential oil fired steam boiler extant.
BTW, what type of water feeder is your installer planning on installing?
Yes, it is worth the hassle to closely match the boiler's firing rate to the connected load.
Any *competent* oil tech should be able to do that for your boiler's commissioning.
@@gordonschweizer5154 I’m not completely sure about the water feeder but I can find out. If you have any recommendations, please let me know. I will be sure to ask all of the questions when I meet with him tomorrow.
I would in the strongest terms recommend a VXT-120 automatic water feeder