What's Inside a Boiler Quotation (and What We Ask You First)
Buying Guide · 6 min read ·
The short answer
A serious boiler quotation is built from your answers to a few questions — what your process does with the heat, how much steam you need and at what pressure, what fuel you can get, and what your site and timeline look like. The document itself should state the recommended model and size, the scope of supply, the exclusions, lead time, and warranty terms. Compare offers on the cost per tonne of steam over the boiler's life, not on the sticker price.
You email three suppliers for a boiler price and get three numbers that have nothing to do with each other. One quoted a bare vessel, one a complete system, and one apparently guessed. Comparing them is impossible because none of them asked what you actually need.
A quotation is an engineering answer, and an engineering answer needs a defined question. That is why the first thing a serious supplier sends you is not a price. It is a short list of questions.
the questions we ask before quoting
First: what does your process do with the heat? Cooking, sterilizing, drying, dyeing, washing, space and water heating — each points to a different answer. Hot water covers low-heat duties like hotels and hospitals; steam covers most industrial processes; and where a process needs roughly 300-degree heat, a thermal oil heater delivers it at low pressure, where a steam system at that temperature would need extreme pressure.
Second: how much, and at what pressure or temperature? Steam demand in tonnes per hour, working pressure, and how the load swings across a shift decide the series and size. Third: what fuel can you actually get at your site — diesel, bunker oil, LPG, natural gas, coal, or biomass like rice hull, wood chips, or coco shell? Fourth: the site itself — floor space, access for delivery, water quality, stack location. Fifth: your timeline.
why we will not skip the questions
An oversized boiler cycles, wastes fuel, and costs more than it should have. An undersized one runs flat out and still starves your line at peak. Right-sizing is the single most valuable thing a quotation does for you, and it is impossible without your numbers.
Fuel choice matters just as much, because fuel is most of what a boiler costs over its life. As a rule of thumb, gas, coal, or biomass firing typically costs less per tonne of steam than diesel, and plants that displace a diesel-fired boiler typically see the fuel savings pay back the project in a matter of months — the exact figure depends on your local fuel prices, which is why we calculate it with your own numbers rather than quoting averages.
what a proper quotation contains
Expect a specific recommendation: the series and model — say, a fire-tube WNS for steady steam up to around 20 t/h, a water-tube SZS for larger duties, or a chain-grate unit for biomass — with capacity, pressure, and rated efficiency stated.
Expect a written scope of supply: what is included, item by item — burner, feed pumps, water treatment, economizer, controls, valves. Expect the exclusions stated just as plainly: foundation works, fuel storage, stack, electrical supply, whatever falls to you or your contractor. And expect lead time, delivery terms, commissioning, training, and warranty terms in writing. A quotation missing any of these is not cheaper; it is just incomplete.
cheapest sticker versus cheapest steam
Here is the trap: the lowest sticker price often buys the most expensive steam. A few points of efficiency, an economizer included or excluded, a fuel you cannot source reliably — over years of operation these swamp the purchase-price difference many times over.
So compare quotations on what a tonne of steam will cost you, and on what happens after delivery: spare parts availability, service response, and preparation for the annual DOLE inspection. If you want to see how the parts fit together before you commit, our products catalog and the 3D boiler builder on the site are good places to walk through a machine. And when you are ready, the quote page asks you exactly the questions above and returns a tailored quotation in about one business day.
Quick questions
What information do I need to provide to get a boiler quotation?
Five things: what your process uses the heat for; the capacity you need (steam in tonnes per hour, or heating duty) and working pressure or temperature; the fuel available at your site, such as diesel, bunker oil, LPG, natural gas, coal, or biomass; basic site conditions like floor space, access, and water quality; and your target timeline. With those answers a supplier can recommend a correctly sized boiler instead of guessing.
What should a proper boiler quotation include?
A specific model recommendation with stated capacity, pressure, and efficiency; a written scope of supply listing every included item such as burner, pumps, water treatment, and controls; clearly stated exclusions like foundation works or fuel storage; lead time and delivery terms; and commissioning, training, and warranty terms. If any of these are missing, the offers you are comparing are not comparable.
Why is the cheapest boiler not always the cheapest option?
Because fuel dominates a boiler's lifetime cost. A less efficient unit, a missing economizer, or a mismatch with the fuel you can reliably source will typically cost far more over years of operation than any purchase-price saving. Compare offers on the expected cost per tonne of steam and on after-sales support, not on the sticker price.
Talk this through with an engineer
Tell us your process and fuel — we'll reply within one business day.