Does anyone have a combo boiler and on-demand water-heater? Work pretty well? Any major drawbacks?

We have a 20yo Utica cast iron boiler serving 4 zones, each with a pump, and a 20yo 40gal BradfordWhite. The 40gal has a small tank leak, and I’m wondering if it’s time to replace both.

Hit me with your smarts! It sure feels like a smart move to roll the labor for both into one job. /wrists

I have the smallest Navien combi in my shop. 60k heating, up to 120k hot water. It works very well. It cost very little to keep my 40x30 shop at 60* over winter.

My friend has a big one for his shop (half of which is furnished as nice as my house). He has 3-ish zones IIRC & has had no issues (and why I went with the Navien)

I did a TON of research because I wanted to do it myself. I ended up paying a local company to do it for $1200 more than I could have bought the parts for, got 300 rebate & 400 tax credit, plus I had a warranty call out of the box.

Thinking of replacing a 20 y/o cast iron boiler which should last 50-60 years.... ?

Um.... NO

One place has a cast iron boiler (1961) and I plan to replace with a State Proline XE Combo boiler:

https://www.askthebuilder.com/...awt_m=JxrQM_HJT5NiL5

I cant give specifics on make / model, but my landlord put in a heat and hot water NG fired boiler system that serves a 4 townhouse building. I was skeptical during the install and had concerns about the new system being able to meet the needs and demands during our cold winters.
The system has turned out to be amazingly efficient. Ample heat and plenty of hot water. I once owned a home with an older, oil fired system that was very inefficient and required all kinds of maintenance. The difference in systems is like night and day.

Yes, we replaced an ancient oil-fired 40+ year old traditional boiler with a NG Bosch Combi unit at my previous house and it was great. Very quiet and efficient, I would marvel that this kitchen cabinet sized thing would be able to heat a 1900 sq foot house AND provide hot water on demand.

This was ours:

The unit in my townhouse building looks just like PAsigs.

Thanks all.

The leak was getting progressively worse and last night we pulled the trigger on getting the whole thing replaced, including the boiler.

quote:

Originally posted by Excam_Man:
Thinking of replacing a 20 y/o cast iron boiler which should last 50-60 years.... ?

Um.... NO

Yeah... I know. It should have lasted for 50-60, but everyone we called around here said the cast iron isn't as good as it used to be and that there are valves that go bad on the new ones? I suppose it could be a total racket, and they're all in cahoots.

It certainly wasn't as expensive as I thought it would be. They're still installing the Veissmann as I write this. Looks pretty nice.

Man, how do you guys post pictures so easily now. Do I just need to sign up for a picture storage site? I still haven't recovered from when TinyPic went offline.

quote:

Originally posted by Veeper:
Man, how do you guys post pictures so easily now. Do I just need to sign up for a picture storage site? I still haven't recovered from when TinyPic went offline.

I use Imgur

quote:

Originally posted by Veeper:

They're still installing the Veissmann as I write this. Looks pretty nice.

I’ve never really heard of that brand, is it a European brand? They’re the ones who pioneered these ultra-efficient boilers as all heat there is hot water based radiator type and they had to because of their high energy costs.

I looked at Peerless, Weil-McLain and Triangle Tube boilers but my HVAC guy who I trust 100% and does amazing work recommended the Bosch as they were one of the first to build these and something about their heat exchanger being made of aluminum alloy instead of cast iron so no issues with it rusting out.

quote:

Originally posted by Veeper:

quote:

Originally posted by Excam_Man:
Thinking of replacing a 20 y/o cast iron boiler which should last 50-60 years.... ?

Um.... NO

Yeah... I know. It should have lasted for 50-60, but everyone we called around here said the cast iron isn't as good as it used to be and that there are valves that go bad on the new ones? I suppose it could be a total racket, and they're all in cahoots

Complete BS.
What valves(?) assuming gas control, as there are no factory installed valves on a boiler. The installer connects the piping directly to the cast iron section. Unless their referring to the pressure relief, which all boiler installs should include.

People don't want to mess with cast iron because they are heavy.

One thing I hate worse than a thief is a lying salesmen!

My boiler just went out and an ex-navy 30 year HVAC tech recommended Triangle Tube https://www.triangletube.com/p...densing-solo-boilers

I have a 3 three zone finned baseboard with DWH now and this new unit is so much more efficient. The solos are awesome with all the monitoring features and graphs that help you dial in the system. There customer/tech support is amazing as well.

My cast iron boiler was fine but the gas control valve would not stay open.

The guess was the boiler was over 60 years old.

There were no parts to be found even from the manufacture. The serial number records did not go back that far.

Also a lot of companies would not let their employees work on a system over 20 years old..

I had to bite the bullet and replace it all.

We went with a Lochinvar boiler with and indirect 45 gal water tank off the boiler.

I have not had any problems and faster recovery from the regular standard gas 30 gal water heater

The pay back looks like it is going to be less than 10 years in savings over the gas bills from the old boiler to the new high efficiency boiler.

The Government gave me an interest free loan to replace it as well as $4000 in rebates

quote:

Originally posted by Veeper:

quote:

Originally posted by Excam_Man:
Thinking of replacing a 20 y/o cast iron boiler which should last 50-60 years.... ?

Um.... NO

Yeah... I know. It should have lasted for 50-60, but everyone we called around here said the cast iron isn't as good as it used to be and that there are valves that go bad on the new ones? I suppose it could be a total racket, and they're all in cahoots.

It certainly wasn't as expensive as I thought it would be. They're still installing the Veissmann as I write this. Looks pretty nice.

Well, if the cast iron isn't as good as it used to be, then what they installed isn't as good as your 20 YO Cast Iron Boiler...

Excam_Man knows what he's talking about here! Valves, burner/ignition components, etc are service parts. You don't replace the engine / get a new car when the fuel pump, or ignition coils/spark plugs fail....Unless what you REALLY want is a new car!

Oh, I know he knows what he's talking about. He's insane smart about all things HVAC, and tells it like it is.

This forum is a better place because of his insight and help on threads like these.