Oil to Propane Conversion Cost?

songkrai · 01-05-2013, 01:47 PM

The "Munchkin" story.

Munchkin is a brand of boiler produced/marketed in Fairhaven, Massachusetts.

An acquaintance of mine purchased a new lakefront home. Built by one of the largest best known builders on the lake. Name of builder begins with the letter "S".

This home had a Munchkin boiler and as I recall propane. The home had hot air heat. So the boiler fed a couple of large radiators and fans.

The 2nd winter. No heat in middle of winter. Through the original builder the original installer of Munchkin was called for repairs. The homeowner, concerned with breakdowns ordered a 2nd Munchkin. To run in case the other malfunctioned again. All installed by the original plumber/heating contractor. Some sort of alternating "switch" or valve would turn one on if the other stopped.

Then - no heat. Both broke. A telephone call to original installer - gets going again. Then no heat. A call to original installer - and this time no reply. Again, and again. No reply.

Then a call to Munchkin in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. Munchkins reply was to telephone the original installer. No response. No one else in area would attempt to fix. So another telephone call to Munchkin. This time homeowner wanted to take the boiler directly to the Munchkin factory to have them fix it. No, "we don't actually fix the boilers here" was the response. Call the original installer as he is the only authorized repair person.

Both Munchkins were removed and a brand name boiler was installed.

A look at the Munchkin web site shows a completely different boiler. Maybe all has been changed and fixed. Maybe.

01-05-2013, 01:47 PM	#11
songkrai Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 742 Thanks: 35 Thanked 149 Times in 101 Posts	The "Munchkin" story. Munchkin is a brand of boiler produced/marketed in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. An acquaintance of mine purchased a new lakefront home. Built by one of the largest best known builders on the lake. Name of builder begins with the letter "S". This home had a Munchkin boiler and as I recall propane. The home had hot air heat. So the boiler fed a couple of large radiators and fans. The 2nd winter. No heat in middle of winter. Through the original builder the original installer of Munchkin was called for repairs. The homeowner, concerned with breakdowns ordered a 2nd Munchkin. To run in case the other malfunctioned again. All installed by the original plumber/heating contractor. Some sort of alternating "switch" or valve would turn one on if the other stopped. Then - no heat. Both broke. A telephone call to original installer - gets going again. Then no heat. A call to original installer - and this time no reply. Again, and again. No reply. Then a call to Munchkin in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. Munchkins reply was to telephone the original installer. No response. No one else in area would attempt to fix. So another telephone call to Munchkin. This time homeowner wanted to take the boiler directly to the Munchkin factory to have them fix it. No, "we don't actually fix the boilers here" was the response. Call the original installer as he is the only authorized repair person. Both Munchkins were removed and a brand name boiler was installed. A look at the Munchkin web site shows a completely different boiler. Maybe all has been changed and fixed. Maybe.