Anyone heard of Ray Condensing Boilers by Mestek

Dave Stroman

Hey Tim, Are you saying that the boiler you have pictured weighs 650#?

Dave Stroman

Jim_162

Anybody ever used a Ray Condensing Boiler

made by Mestek. It's a mod-con with a cast iron section. Weird looking thing. I'm planning on replacing my Glowcore GB90 that's 11 years old and still chugging along for those who can't believe it. But I admit I'm getting nervous about it's continued life span. Maybe I've just been lucky thus far. Have also been looking at the Knight
KB as a replacement. Any thoughts on which way to go. I fell into the ginnypig category 11 years ago with the Glowcore and don't particularly won't to do it again. Thanks for your opin's.

tim smith

Knight boiler seems ok, Ray boiler interesting and heard some

decent things about it. The Triangle tube prestige has been my choice for past 3 yrs and I am very happy with it. Just my .02 worth. Tim

Chap

Been to the RAY plant

and witnessed its construction from scrap-iron, to liquid cast iron poured into section molds to assembly and final product.

We will be using one (or more) in the future. Pete Caruso is involved, which greatly enhances my comfort-level.

The single largest issue, for me, is the weight.

Jim_162

Yeah, I thought the same thing about the weight

As I think I remember years back, Mr. Yates, you also had the displeasure of owning a Glowcore. Your experiences as reported on the "Wall" then, have had me nervous for sometime know. Recent post as well have not relieved any of that nervousness. My only thoughts as to why it has lasted this long is that I only use it for winter time heating. I live in Chester County, not all that far from York co. and use "Off-Peak" electric for dom. hot water. Only averages $1 a day so I haven't seen the need to switch that over to the boiler yet. I was a ginnypig then and don't want to necessarily be one again if the RAY boiler is new enough to not have a track record. The whole concept of the cast iron section with the down fired burner to help remove condensation sounds interesting but possibly unproven for longevity. Do you have any ideal how long have been producing them or are they "Brand New" ??

Chap

memory like an elephant!

You have an excellent memory! The largest issue I had was the lack of warranty service - as in non-existant. My local supplier made a bad situation much worse than it could have been too. GlowCore Canada stepped up and provided excellent service, but they were far too late to salvage any chance of my ever using the product again. As you noted, my experiences were shared by far too many others.

I too had concerns regarding cast iron and condensing/modulating. However, after sitting through a long session with the folks at RAY, who answered every question asked, I'd be comfortable using their boiler. Part of the day included checking in with RAY's big brothers that heat the building. They've been in use for many years and have not exhibited any issues with the down-fired condensing/modulating operation.

If you're concerned about trying new or emerging products, then why not stick with one of the many that have a proven track record or go with the Viessmann product that's got a top-notch reputation.

Boilergeek

I have been running one since November in my house.
Zero issues It Has far exceeded my expextations. I have an MZ boiler on the wall that feels neglected.
After dealing with the larger KN boilers for a few years with great success, I am a believer.

Timco

You mean this guy? Love it.

Tim

Jim_162

Tim, nice looking

install. How long has the unit been in operation. Any problems with it ?

Timco

Been in since early Feb and since the control module was replaced with a newer version of firmware, it has been remarkably quite and efficient. It took a team of workers to get the 650# beast down stairs but it is really a sweet boiler. Be ready to pay for it, though...pretty $$$$ but time will tell if the cost balances out with no service calls and longer life than typical and good efficientcy.

Tim

Tom Hopkins

The Ray is new, but the casting is not. It is two end sections of a KN series. These have been in the field for a number of years now and I only know of one issue with over-stress. This was related to the water quality and buildup on the water side due to a high heat transfer rate.

So you could say that this is the baby of the family with all (fingers crossed) bugs worked out.

kevin_65

You should take a look at the Camus Dynamax- 80MBH to 500MBH- Fully condensing- vents with CPVC- similar to Knight

Timco

That is what I was told it weighs from my rep. (might have been from mestek directly) The hispanic gentlemen that helped me would know best. From the sounds they were making, it was not fun.

Tim

Kal Row

the knight is hard to beat...

from the English language display to the ease of install to the efficiency – and I prefer to hold heat in my radiators rather than my boiler so I don’t see the novelty in a cast iron condensing boiler, more mass = more weight, longer heat up time

but the best thing the knight gives you, is an external system sensor allowing the boiler to know and target the secondary loop temperature directly

Timco

Ray has a supply sensor factory installed, but has terminals for header and return sensors, and has a full readout of the system that you can scroll through.

Tim