80 hits yesterday alone–thank you!

Now that we’ve decided to spread the word about Weil Mclain Boiler Hell, the site is getting it’s first burst of traffic. Thanks to those of you who have spread the word. Big thanks to Dominic, who has sent a heads up to home efficiency upgrade specialists in BC! Finally, we really appreciate all your comments and suggestions. We hope other homeowners can avoid Weil Mclain’s terrible “jet-engine” experience.

Our terrible experience with Weil-McLain

IT BEGAN WITH A ROAR

We had no idea that our decision to trust in Weil-McLain and their Canadian representatives, Ken Wilson (at Delta B.C.’s Wesmech Sales Inc) and William Sheppard, would be such a disaster.

In 2007, we did a major renovation on our house in Vancouver, Canada. We wanted an efficient boiler that would heat our water as well as our house. Our plumber recommended Weil-McLain, since, as you can see on their web site, the company produces “clean, quiet, dependable, trusted and efficient” boilers.

Our nightmare began shortly after the Weil-McLain CGi-4 boiler was installed. The neighbors complained that the boiler exhaust sounded “like a jet engine.” They couldn’t sleep at night, nor could they get work done, nor could they use their patios and porches. The noise was that disturbing. They called us outside to listen, and in fact they were right. The area between our houses was as noisy as an airport! Worse, the rumbling noise carried right out to the back and front of our houses.

APPALLING SERVICE

When we contacted Weil-McLain Canada to ask for their advice on how to remedy the problem, they were no help at all. Instead of suggesting ways to deal with the noise, we got this baffling note, in April 2008, from their distributor, Ken Wilson at Wesmec Sales:

   ” Where are you located?

    The unit has not been “Red-Tagged”?

  Any modifications to the Boiler or Vent must be “Field Approved”

Regards,.”

That’s all he wrote. Red-Tagged? Field Approved? What the heck?

It became clear, after more requests for help and clarification, that Ken Wilson and Weil-McLain would not do anything unless the boiler noise actually exceeded the legal limit in our city. It didn’t matter how disturbing the noise was. It didn’t matter that we had spent thousands of dollars on their product. They were going to stonewall us unless the government declared their boiler over the legal noise limit.

Our neighbour eventually made a formal complaint to the city. City inspectors found that the Weil-McLain boiler exhaust far exceeded the limit. It was 65 decibels, when the nighttime maximum in Vancouver is 45 dbA. That’s more than 50 percent too loud!

Clearly, the Weil-McLain CGi-4 boiler should not be sold for residential settings. The exhaust is just too loud.

MORE FRUSTRATION

 When, in August 2008, we asked Ken Wilson or Weil-McLain’s William Sheppard to either reduce the boiler noise, replace the boiler with a quieter model of equal or greater efficiency, or refund the cost of the boiler and assist in the cost of replacement, we got a most unhelpful response.

 The company sent out an engineer, Godfrey Nash. Rather than coming up with a real solution to the noise problem, he instead made a list of installation irregularities. We got a letter in September saying that the company would take no responsibility unless these irregularities were taken care of. Only one of these had anything to do with noise:

 “The combustion supply air duct…was found to be resting on top of the boilers’ exhaust fan motor, which places undue strain on the fan motor housing and may cause premature failure of the fan motor and must be rectified. It may also cause excessive noise and vibration to be transmitted to the outside through the combustion air intake opening.”

 It was clear to anyone looking at the unit that this was not the source of noise. In fact, a heating contractor who came to help us with the noise told us that he no longer installs Weil-McLain boilers, specifically because of the noise problem.

 DANGEROUS LACK OF COMMUNICATION

 Curiously, the Weil-Mclain engineer also pointed out that the boiler exhaust could create buildup of dangerous fumes, since the houses were less than 6 feet apart. We wondered why Weil-McLain representatives did not bother to mention this on earlier visits to the site! Apparently the company’s boilers have had problems like this before.

 After months of frustration, after nearly destroying our relationship with our neighbours, after thousands of dollars, we are now borrowing $7,500 in order to replace the boiler with a quieter model from another manufacturer.

 We can only encourage other homeowners to be very careful when selecting a boiler. The noise is a concern—but the level of service you get from your manufacturer is equally important.

 Sincerely,

Charles Montgomery

Vancouver, Canada

PS: here’s another unhappy Weil-Mclain site: Buying Weil-Mclain was a mistake

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