can anyone help me with this? What is the difference between a mpo boiler and a v8 series ?

 

They're both Burnham boilers.

http://www.burnham.com/residential/new51260.cfm

http://www.burnham.com/mpo/index.htm

 

The MPO is a brand new design. It's a 3 pass cast iron boiler that is comparable to a Buderus. It seems to be very well designed from what I have read. It has been designed for long life and easy cleaning and servicing. It has dual returns which can make it easier to pipe in an indirect water heater. The supply manifold for probes, aquastat etc. is top mounted and this is helpful for the installer. It has an insulated jacket, and has an injection loop on the return so that it has built in protection from condensation when the return temps fall too low. I don't believe it is currently approved for using Riello burners, but I'm sure that certification will come soon.

The V8 is not a bad boiler, but it's not quite as efficient. It does have a good history of service (unlike the V7).

After the problems that Burnham had with the V7 I doubt they would be willing to repeat their mistake on a new boiler. The MPO should be an excellent boiler.

 

The V-8 is a pin style boiler & can be used with an internal coil to make domestic hot water.
The MPO is a 3 pass style with no provision for the domestic coil. To make domestic with the MPO, you would need an indirectly heated water heater. The indirect is far preferable to a domestic coil. With an internal coil, the boiler has to stay hot 24/7/365 to provide domestic hot water on demand. The indirect stores hot water (usually 40 gallons) & the boiler only fires when the temperature of the tank drops.

 

Just wondering, what's the difference between a pin-style and, say, a tube-style or a 3-pass boiler? I've seen these terms here and elsewhere, but never found a decent comparison of the types of boilers. Which is best from an efficiency standpoint? 3-pass?

Not really a pressing issue, just curious.

 

A pin style boiler has hundreds of little projections of cast iron made as part of the heat exchanger. These projections increase the surface area of the heat exchanger thus allowing more heat to be transfered from the hot gases to the water. Burnham's
V-8 is an example.

A three pass makes the hot gases travel thru the boiler three times before going out the flue pipe, thereby increasing the contact time with the heat exchanger. Burnham's MPO is an example.

A tube boiler is a single pass type where the hot gases pass thru tubes on their way to the flue pipe. Burnham's RSA is a tube style boiler.

I list all Burnham boilers simply to make it easier for you to go to one web site & see all three types.
http://www.burnham.com/

 

Thanks Grady.

 

You're welcome. Hope that site was of some help. To see the actual design, you may have to look at the installation or parts manual.