Company: Weil-McLain
Customer: Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Installation: Three Weil-McLain Evergreen® 399 boiler units
Completion: November 2015
Objective: The Saucon Valley Country Club, founded in 1920, lies nestled in the Lehigh Valley, one hour north of Philadelphia. Situated in the rolling hills of the Saucon Valley, the club’s 10,000-square-foot Weyhill Guest House operates as a historic boutique bed and breakfast, offering 12 guest rooms and a suite. It also serves as a venue for corporate meetings, weddings, and other events. The building’s heating system consisted of a boiler nearly as old as the facility itself — a 1.15 MMBtu steam boiler installed in the 1950s that was deteriorating rapidly. Weil-McLain boilers were installed to upgrade the heating system, improve facility comfort, improve access to hot water, and reduce energy bills.
Work Completed: At 96.5 percent AFUE, the Evergreen 399 from Weil-McLain is used for light commercial or large residential projects and offers simple controls, flexible functionality, and durable design. To complete the update, two 80-gallon Weil-McLain Aqua Plus® indirect-fired water heaters were also installed along with the necessary system pumps and valves. The HVAC upgrade project presented several logistical challenges. First, the conversion to the new unit had to occur while the Weyhill Guest House was still occupied. Allentown, Pennsylvania-based Dual Temp Co. Inc. developed a detailed operational timeline over several weeks to ensure no disruptions took place. Another challenge included moving equipment in and out of the building. Dual Temp also engineered several modifications and enhancements to ensure optimal operation, including the installation of three-way valves and configuration of the Evergreen units to designate one for domestic water use. Piping changes were made to make the system more serviceable. In addition to installing and re-piping the new hot water heaters, Dual Temp ran a new hot water loop that connected all equipment and removal of the steam bundle to convert it into a dedicated hot water system with zones. The entire operation was complete and operational in just a few weeks.