What else are they replacing besides the boiler? Circ pump(s) or zone valves, flow valves, regulator, expansion tank, low water cutoff, thermostat(s), sleeving the chimney, getting permits or running in and out????? If the system has a problem, will you be able to find them?

If the contractor is just cutting 2 pipes and sliding a new boiler under the old system, you will get what you pay for. If he is bringing the system up to code and replacing old components you will most likely get a very reliable system but pay more for it. there ain't no free lunch.

Weil Mclain makes a very good boiler. Smith is OK, Solia is not sold in my area. I'll let the oil guys fight it out over who has the best burner. Personally I like Beckett.

The Weil McLain PWGO-5 boiler is a 175,000 Btu boiler. I hope you have a very large home in a cold climate because that is a lot of boiler. Are you replacing an old 175,000 Btu unit with the -5? If you want to replace with the proper size, your contractor should do a Manual-J on your home, count the radiators or measure the baseboard lengths to determine the correct boiler size. The new boilers make hot water on demand and do not store hot water like the old units. If the boiler is over-sized it will short cycle and cause you no end of problems.

Good luck,

Do you live near an efm dealer? (efmheating.com). They offer a limited lifetime warranty on their boiler to the original purchaser, plus Beckett has 5 years and efm covers 3 years for anything at all.

Riello burners can be intimidating. The Beckett is very simple and efficient, but the Riello is loved by people in the field who take the time to learn about it.

We live in Massachusetts, and have about 2500 square feet to heat, including two rooms with cathedral ceilings. Does that seem right for 175,000 Btu?

"Also included are 3 new circulators, a multi zone circulator relay, extrol tank, fluepipe and barometic draft regulator. The oil line & emergency switch will be upgraded to meet the exisiting codes."

All three quotes come from well established oil companies in my area that will also do the ongoing oil delivery and service calls. They all measured my baseboards and radiators, and this will be hooks up to a 60-gallon Super Stor if that means anything.

The closest EFM dealer is 80 miles away.

I'm not concerned about the overall price -- I know its a lot of work. I'm just trying to understand the price difference to know if it is worth $2700 more for a Weil-McLain instead of a Solaia ...

A Solaia is in a class by itself. It's a beautiful boiler and very easy to clean. Weil-McLain ? They make low end units and better ones.

175K BTUH should work in your house, but you really need a Manual J calculation done to know for sure. If your existing radiation has done a good job, you count up the number of feet of finned baseboard and multiply that by 600 BTU. In other words, 10 feet of finned baseboard is about 6000BTUH. You match the radiation with the net output of the boiler.

I would definitely insist on a manual j calculation since radiation capacity is no criterion for sizing; you size based on design load, not on radiator capacity. 175K BTUH for 2500 square feet looks pretty darn high to me. The new boiler will be at least 10-15% more efficient and moreover his existing old boiler may have already beeen underfired with smaller than design nozzles.

As a case in point, I live in CT and at 2200 sq feet, I have a 20 year old 100,000 BTUH furnace which is way oversized. I had to change nozzles from .75GPH to .65GPH and it is still too much.

I agree with having a manual j done. I'm pretty sure that 175k is way too big for your house.

My house is in SE WI (-4 design) and is 1000 sq ft up, 1600 sq ft down, and 600 sq ft basement rec room. (3200 sq ft total) Total heat loss of just under 70k BTU. This is an 1890's farmhouse that was remodeled in 1963. R-13 walls, R-25 ceiling, and decent wood framed windows.

We helped our in laws, who live in Mass, look for a boiler replacement. I think only the Solaia is a multipass boiler. Solaia uses a similar casting as Biasi, both well known european mfgs. Given the AFUEs of all 3 are within a few percentage points of each other, you won't see payback for a long, long time going with the WM or Smith. I'd consider installing a boiler control that includes outdoor reset and a boiler purge to increase effeciency. The folks at heatinghelp.com are another source to help in your decision.

and, you might want to look at the buderus g115.

I also agree that the 175,000 BTU boiler is alomost certainly oversized, and second the recommendation for a room-by-room heat loss calculation.