Boiler reviews

[pittendrigh]

My question sounds (to me) like a FAQ but I didn't find it.

I have a 5 year old Triangle Tube Prestige boiler that has been nothing but trouble. Constant trouble.

I'm thinking about replacing it. My plumber said Lochinvar and Rinnai boilers are in stock locally. Others would have to be ordered and shipped in.

Does anybody have a recommendation? Between those two or perhaps another?

I want a boiler that does not require the plumber to come twice each year.

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The original boiler was an 85% efficient Burnham that worked without a hitch for 30 years. The Burnham had a 6" inch triple (or maybe double) wall exhaust pipe going up from basement through two stories to the roof.

We added on and needed a bigger boiler. We chose Triangle Tube Prestige because it was "high efficiency." The Triangle Tube exhausts to PVC almost at the foundation level.

I could consider going back to the old exhaust pipe but that would require moving a (new) wall to the machine room (that didn't used to be there). So a metal pipe exhaust would be possible but difficult.

I'd like a PVC exhausted system that is reliable. But perhaps there is no such thing.

 

[wood4d]

you can get weil mclein that exhausts out the wall through stainless pipe and is a traditional boiler. I think all the combi boilers are high maintanance.

 

[pittendrigh]

Boiler information is hard to find online. Most of what I've found are manufacturer sales pitches. For "efficient" boilers they all say the high cost will pay for itself......but no. Not when the plumber has to replace broken fans, exploded screens, wipe up glycol and retune combustion mixtures every Winter.

I'll look into Weil McClain.

 

[wood4d]

In my opinion the old cast iron boilers are the way to go. The triangle tube boilers claim to fame is a stainless chamber verses aluminum on others. When I am installing a boiler I want something that my wife cant pick up. I have a "instahot" water heater in my house because I have a jacuzzi that my wife sits in once a year and a traditional heater wont fill it up. I have had great luck with it but I dont think you ever recoup the cost especially if you pay someone to install it. I get paid to fix this stuff but I dont want to work on anything at home. if you put in a low tech cast iron unit it costs about the same as the high tech units that you have to fix all the time. Every 5 years or so I actually look at my boiler to see if its leaking anything. How much more dependable can you get.