I am biased towards efm PK models. They are quiet, very easy to maintain, quality built and an excellent warranty. efmheating.com

Thanks. I looked into efm - unfortunately there are no dealers near where I am (Westchester County, NY)...

Do you have a view on which is better: Burnham or American Standard? From the three quotes I got, all do Burnham and Weil McLain, and one does American Standard. All thought Burnham was better than Weil McLain, and one thought the new American Standard ones were better than Burnham.

Would love to have your opinion on this.

TIA.

I'll ask around.

How long do you have to make this decision, so I can get several different opinions?

Not long, I am afraid. I need to make a decision on the boiler/contractor within the next 24hrs. The boiler needs to be replaced before the winter kicks in, and I am having a lot of other work done to my house at the mo as well. If I make a decision in the next day, there is a good chance I can get the work done in the next 2 weeks.

Thanks a lot for your help on this.

I only got to talk to two different men today and both had a negative comment about American Standard. They recommended Burnham (of the two choices)

Thank you very much for that.

Perhaps because the AS units are new, it has been very difficult to get any perspective on them.

I think I will go with Burnham to be safe.

Really appreciate your perseverence on this!

Sorry, I just got some info on the Burnham cast iron series boilers. Thousands of units were recalled because of cracking of the cast iron. They made some changes and I hear that they are cracking at the same place. I don't know what other options you have in your area. Ask the company about this.

I remember Burnham had problems with some of the older V series boilers, but wasn't aware that they had a problem with current boilers. There are a lot of homeowners and people in the business with a particular bias, an axe to grind or that are just plain miserable who spread rumors, exaggerate the truth or accentuate the negative as well.

If you have any questions about Burnham boilers, Glen Stanton of Burnham monitors and addresses questions over at the HeatingHelp forums (The Wall). There aren't many boiler manufacturers with Burnham's level of support that stand behind their products. You'll have much better support, leverage and accountability from boiler manufacturers with a strong internet presence since homeowners, installers and service techs will let them have it with both barrels if they encounter a problem with design, manufacturing defect or quality control issues.

As far as boiler choices are concerned, I tell customers the installer is as important, if not more important than the boiler itself. When three installers quote a Burnham MPO the boilers are all the same, but the system design, piping, additional components, burner setup, skills, support and service after the sale of different installers are not.

Just my 3-1/2 cents.

This was helpful - I was able to ask the two shortlisted contractors about this. Apparently the problems were with the Burnham V7 models - though the company did very well in reacting to it. The V8 model, which I would get, does not have the same issues.

I am also beginning to hear good things about American Standard (which are rebadged Trane boilers). These are made in Italy, and seem to be performing very well.

All that said, it seems Burnham is a safer bet: good reputation, good support and local availability of parts.

Good point re confidence in the installers. Given my lack of knowledge in this space, I can be easily fooled and so it is going to have to be some degree of luck in choosing the right contractor...and hence the right boiler!

Thanks again.

The Burnham Jubilee in my Mom's basement was installed in 1956 and is still running well.