Embassy ONEX

BobAlu

I know I got all the heating pros out there and you're the guys that know your stuff! Can I get some opinions on the Embassy ONEX boiler? Anyone install one and what are your likes and dislikes about it? Is there something else you'd install instead? I'm thinking of getting the ONEX and would love to hear some real world experiences with the unit. Thanks guys!

Tim McElwain

It is from Embassy Industries

and is good for about 93% AFUE. It will handle 30,000 to 160,000 BTU. It uses a 316L  stainless steel Condensing Heat Exchanger and includes a high efficiency water coil. DHW up to 4 GPM. It uses a 3" Polypropylene flue gas pipe which gets away from PVC or CPVC directly on the unit.It also includes a self contained circulator and expansion tank.The unit gives 5 to 1 continuous modulation. So it is very comparable to many Mod/Con units today.



I have not actually seen one installed but have had good reports from one contractor who installed one recently.

kcopp

i have 6-7...

Onex boilers out there... both LP and Nat gas. had pretty good luck w/ them. If I had a quection they were right there w/ answers. I have a heat only version going in this week. Control is easy to learn, piping straight forward.

TMorg

Peerless Combi

Peerless sells one very similar called the combi. I've been on many jobs with this boiler and it works great. I Just visited a condo at a ski area that was all electric and was recently retrofitted with a Combi. It was hung over the clothes washer like a cabinet and provided gas heat and domestic hot water. It stores 2 gal. of domestic for a little buffer. 

Mike63

"Fill" problem

after several years with no problems my Embassy Onex condensing gas heater is now shutting off and showing "FI.LL" on the readout and the pressure gauge is only reading "6". My system is directly connected to the cold water supply line so it should fill automatically. I've opened and bled all the lines but it is still not operating correctly- any suggestions?

Mike63

reply to Onex ?

A friend and I installed one two years ago- was a lot of work and very complicated, but it worked perfectly (up until last night) and was very economical to run.

Tom_133

Onex

I have not installed one, only serviced them. As was said earlier it's pretty straight forward piping so follow the rules of mod/cons. Tuning it was a bit of a pain, thankfully the unit was on a big radiant system so plenty of water to heat so it stayed on high fire for a while. The first year no heat was installers fault, 2nd year shutdown was a dirty heat exchanger. The wholesaler said it was from dirty LP, when I opened it there were big chunks of debris in there. If he's right then it will require parts (gaskets and o-rings) and at least 2 hours of cleaning each year. I am aware that most mod/cons do require cleaning annually, but this was terrible. I know the combustion numbers were right because I tuned it last year and when I got it running it was still spot on to the manufacturers tuning requirements. I would say if you have a way to get parts and dont mind a little extra service yearly, pretty good unit. I give it a grade of B

kcopp

The "auto fill" feature....

does not always work. You need to add water to get it up to 15-18psi. The auto fills  typically a watts 1156f or a 911s does nothing for months on end. Sometimes they don't work so well after sitting.

 I have around 10 of these in and a couple others that I service. LP and Nat gas. It really depends of the fuel and locations. Some are better than others as far as the cleaning goes. Setting them up can be a bit of a challenge w/ LP. Natural less so.

I got some factory training and that certainly helped. I have a tech support number if you need help or I can field some questions.

Mytoy6

Onex boiler and DHW unit

. I installed my onex unit and it worked perfect until this winter (1.5 yrs). Replaced the pressure tank after it would not maintain pressure at 15psi. Found the pressure tank at 0 pumped it up to 15 and managed to get the heat on but it constantly lost pressure and would cause system to rise above 30 and the relief would open which would cause it to shut off with fill.I ended up ordering a bunch of parts after finding nothing supported locally here in Alaska and replaced the pressure tank but next time i will just install an external tank. now i fine after three days it still is erroring with fill and the only thing i can see is the safety relief is dripping about a cup every two days but i thing it would be fine with my auto fill set at 15psi. Not sure yet if it is a common relief which i can buy locally. If i had it to do again i think i would buy a unit i could get parts for locally. With the unit being compact all the internal parts are not common items which a local plumber would stock. I found the local distributer didnt even stock any parts for mine here. i ended up ordering second day air $1000.00 worth of spare parts because I found that out. i went throught the parts book and bought all the sensors and igniters, control board and a pump all of which are specialized. That was for my own piece of mind of course even though i probably wont have the next part that fails i made an attempt to save me a cold weather freeze up.

kcopp

Relief valve is...

a Standard 30# PRV.... Did you bleed out the tank w/ the air valve off the left hand side? If you bought the boiler in AK the supplier doesnt carry parts? Having a tank go in less than a year and a half is really odd. I have a dozen of these out there for going on 3 years and not one needs to be replaced. How is your water? What is it piped w/ for tubing?

Mytoy6

Reply Relief valve

Yes the vendor for the boiler up here have very little in stock replacement parts for my boiler. I ended up ordering from houseneeds.com and they even ended up drop shipping the parts from the factory. I replaced the internal pressure tank and it is stable now other then i will need to replace the PRV at some point in the summer because it has a very minor leak. I'm glad to here it is standard and can most likely get a replacement from the local plumbing and heating store. As far as my water it is good cold water source with plenty of incoming pressure. I have the boiler all piped into my home using 3/4 inch copper.

Mytoy6

Another question

At what pressure does the boiler shut off with the fill error? I have a coworker which had the same boiler installed in his home and the plumber set it up for 20 psi, is that normal? I run mine at 15 psi and it ran fine until my pressure tank went out. I had to contact a plumber to check the system out because i didnt have time to do the repair myself and he set my source reducing pressure to. 12 psi after filling it and said he would install a external pressure tank and leave the internal one installed because it was not leaking. After a estimate for $600.00 to repair I just did it myself. For just the pressure tank and 2day fedex it was only $210.00 but I purchased many more spare parts like the circulating pump and ignitors and sensors to have on hand.

kcopp

12 psi ...

is on the low side to have a boiler set at. I would tend to go w/ 18-20psi. They recc 20. I presume the FILL light goes on at around 10psi.

Mytoy6

Thanks for the help

But now i have another problem with the DHW part of the boiler. Using the closest water faucet(might be fifteen feet of copper) to the boiler I turn the hot water on and it goes cold for almost a minute before the boiler fires and begins hot water production, and sometimes longer. Any ideas or have you seen this before? I have temp sensors on my copper and can see that I have cold water running for some time before the boiler even fires when calling for hot water. It fired right away before now.

Tom_133

Flow Switch

Seems to be like a flow switch issue, it's not seeing the low flow or the flow at all for a bit of time.

kcopp

pretty sure....

that is air in the tank. Bleed out the tank on that valve , left hand side on the back. Seems to like to collect there....needs to be done a few times a year.

Mytoy6

Great it was air in the tank, thanks kcopp

It was air in the tank. I bleed the air when I replaced the pressure tank but it must have needed it again. I will keep checking it to see if is something letting air in the system.

kcopp

glad it...

worked. kcopp

hali

embassy exp tank

I too had my expansion tank go out at less than 2 years, seems they are pretty weak. I also agree to replace the tank with a readily available external tank that will last a more reasonable amount of time, 

Richie Santoro jr.

Embassy Onex 160 combi

I installed a combi unit in a house that only needed (an extensions) 2 base board loops heated. the domestic is for 2 1/2 bathrooms and I put a domestic mixing valve on waters to stretch out the gallonage. The unit comissioned perfect and made it through the wicked arctic january just past without a problem.

Today I got a call that there is no hot water and the unit is off on a L03 error code and the relief valve is discharging. I walked the customer through a purging of the zones (zone valves) and we got alot of air removed/purged. The unit comes up to temp. quite quick and then discharges from relief and goes into L03 lockout. Customer states "hears a grinding noise and like there is something loose in unit".

Going to check it out sunday morning, They are the best customers and this is the first Embassy Ihad to troubleshoot in 7 years with a brand new install 2 months old. Manual reads that its either over heating, pump, or mother board. Any tips from my fellow master plumbers or  fellow 2-3-4th generation boiler men?

kcopp

sounds like.....

the 15-58 circulator is toast. Maybe something got stuck in or the circ just plain broke. With such a low mas boiler flow is everything...as you well know. It should be an easy fix.

kcopp

How did....

it go? All set?

Richie Santoro jr.

Embassy ONEX

Genetlemen, and if there are any lady boiler installers,



     Went to the new install sunday, after second call for no hot water/no heat. Upon arrival found the customer kept just the heating side of the wall hung combi ON for the night before arrival and when they turn up the domestic dial the unit goes into L03 error code. then relieves out of the heating 30 lb saftey valve.

Checked the condensate drain , all okay there. Then the threeway valve was my next step, and LO and BEHOLD would you know as soon as I changed the motor the water flowed through the secondary heat exchanger and re-established the DHW!!! I then turned my attention to the domestic mixing valve and found the check valves gummed up with dope and tape, I removed the restrictive checks and the hot water was perfectly adjustable to thier needs.

     Txt'd customer this morning and so far so good, the job is on the north shore of Long Island and we are on the south Shore. The weather today is heavy snow and cold temps so the last thing we need is a callback 1hour away on a good day and 4hour back and forth trip today. Thanks for letting me cry on everyone. Stay warm and "keep that water running"!

Alkota

Embassy onex

Known issues with the embassy onex: ...every 2-3 years the expansion tanks fail. Like clock work .Avoid your self the hassle of getting the ome expansion tank and have an off shelf one installed. Leave bad expansion tank in place or cap off with an an 1/8 auto air vent. There is a handy conversion bushing that comes with the unit zip tied to the air vent on top of the unit. # 2 ... If you have condensate neutralizer on the first generation units the secondary loop on the condensate drain will need to be removed to get unit two drain correctly, with secondary loop the boiler ,.condensate line has 2 p traps ,with condensate neutralizer this is a problem situation,.the condensate has a tendency to burn off in burner chamber rather than drain, unusually dirty bunker chamber suggest this is occurring . You will notice on version. 2 there is no extra loop in the condensate line. # 3 on the domestic side there is a buffer tank covered in insulation , the sensor the controls the temp is located on the top of the tank,.this tank is preheated to send you hot domestic water while the unit fires,.. The problem with its design is that ... Over time micro air bubbles collect in the top of that tank,. With the aqustat sensor located at the top of the tank will give the customer an inconsistent water temperature problem,. The only way to solve this is to manually open the bleeder vent on the bottom left hand side of tank ,, if a lot of air comes out you can bet that that was the cause to the inconsistent water temp problem,.every time I service one I let the collected air in that tank out,.. It's seems it takes a year or so to build up. They later corrected that problem with an auto air vent on the top of the tank....also I've been running into some failures of the servo motors heads that switch between heating and domestic ... Usually L03 error code,.. If you mess with the molex plug on the servo head u will see its because a flawed design with molex plug and servo head,.. You can make work with the help of zip ties but replacing the servo head also works the new servo heads fit make a more reliable connection with the moles plug in the unit. Also contractors tend to install these with out setting the p values in the control,. This propery sizes the max btus you need at design conditions ,.. The boiler is over sized to heat the domestic water ,.you have to set the max btus to heating system in control,. Heating system rapid short cycling usually indicates this has not been done. The last and final thing I find with these units is,.... The white cylindrical trap has some tabs on the top that need to be trimmed a hair ,..they hit the bottom of the heat exchanger and prevent a good seal between the ptrap, and p trap o-ring. Hopes this helps some of you

sculptor666

our embassy onex boiler has never been easy to live with. upon delivery, the servo motor was broken, so it only worked intermittently. calling the company did zero to solve the problem... just got yelled for installing it the wrong way, which WAS NOT THE PROBLEM. i had to figure it out on my own. just what you want after spending $4000! after a few months the servo failed completely. then dhw output sensor failed. then the soldering on the domestic tank ruptured, so it sprayed water all over the place, somehow not ruining the display/ecu. luckily, i can solder better than the guys at the factory, so i fixed it... i'm not going to wait a week without taking a shower in the middle of winter.... because you can only order parts from one place in the country unless you have time to make 500 phone calls. then the same sensor failed again. i can't wait until it breaks for good so i can drag it into the driveway and beat it with a ball pein hammer. today's problem... same sensor. when the sensor fails, you can add a jumper (10k ohm i had lying around) so it will heat water enough to take a shower/bath... just don't leave it like when the shower is done! yes i bleed the air out. ugh.

kcopp

Did you install this or was there a contractor? What has he done to repair these problems? I have never had problems w/ parts...not that I have had to get many. Where did you get the unit from? I have about a dozen in use. (mostly the combi versions but 3 of the heat only versions. Plus another dozen combi's I service. They are not perfect but they are pretty decent. Happy to work through a problem if you want.

ElizabethC

Woke up to cold house and cold water this am. What does FILL message mean? Was working fine when we went to bed. Any idea--did water run out, do I need to fill tank?

kcopp

That is a low water pressure reading. 1 of two things is going on. Either there is truly not enough pressure in the boiler, 12 psi or the pressure sensor is plugged and you are not getting the proper reading. What does the gauge say?

cpro

Here's another Onex issue- a unit I installed 5 years ago won't fire up. The flame comes on, runs for a few seconds, and snuffs out. I've replaced the ignition electrodes and the flame sensor, and even took the whole burner assembly out and tried it in another unit, where it worked fine. I also replaced the power control board- same problem. It won't stay lit even when I force it with the + - buttons, so I can't check the combustion settings. Any thoughts?

jackstraw172

We have a model 160, lately there has been a vibrating sound coming from the unit, just when the unit goes from idle to d 130, It vibrates for 5-10 seconds, goes away and everything works fine after that.. hot water and heating goes on no problem
The unit will be idle for hours and all you can hear is a big RUBBING or Vibrating sound i go to the unit and the display is between d 130-136 and then the heating unit fires up.

any clues?
thanks

kcopp

Sounds like it is in post purge from heating up for domestic?

jackstraw172

thank you for your reply.

What is a POST PURGE?
how would you eliminate this problem?

Tom_133

I would start with a good cleaning, including the heat exchanger and burner then make sure it's set up combustion wise properly. I don't install these units but I do work on a few and they are not bad boilers they like many others need to be cleaned and tuned properly.

kcopp

Post purge is the time after a call for hot water where the boiler slows down the HW heating then will wait before going back to space heating. typically it's 2 min.... The rubbing may be the 3 way diverter valve going from hot water to space heating.
Just to clairify. the "d" is when the boiler is in hot water mode. the "c" is when it is in space heating mode.

jackstraw172

Embassy recommended a Local Plumber that services this Unit.
Today they came and adjusted the combustion ratio and re ran thru all the cycles HOT WATER and the heating of the house, everything seems to be fine now.

They knew exactly what the problem was and did a great job re-adjusting all the setting.

He recommends that the whole unit be taken apart and cleaned every 3-4 years. Parts are available but expensive to replace, so maintain your unit.

renntalman

I have a Embassy Onex 45-WN. The heat exchanger is leaking and I not been able to fine parts for this unit anywhere. Any of you have a place to fine parts for a Embassy Oxen?

SWEI

Where are you located?

renntalman

If you are asking me Elizabeth City NC

SWEI

HX replacement is rarely cost effective.

You might try calling Embassy (631-694-1800) and ask who the rep is for NC. Our rep (in Denver) would happily sell you parts -- PM me if you need that info.

renntalman

thanks SWEI I give them a call

MichaelD

my embassy onex combi boiler is making a gurgling sound. Any ideas on what this might be.
Thanks