New Knight design

SpeyFitter

A few more Q's about the Knight

Thanks for taking the time to reply to my questions Aemeeich.

I did some digging on the Lochinvar website and found their brochure.

A few more questions about the new Lochinvar Knight

1) What type of stainless steel is the heat exchanger made out of it? I presume it's 439 ? Also, I'd be interested in knowing the wall thickness of the stainless for the heat exchanger, particularly in for the tubes. I presume it would be beefier than the 0.7-0.8 mm walls of the Giannoni due to the structure of the fire tubes and mass of water but I could be wrong.

2) They have a feature on the new knight control that they revamped for 2010 that when the screen background on their digital controller went yellow and which means maintenance is required (set up by you), you could set it up to display your company name and phone number to call for maintenance for the home owner to see.  For those who don't know, when the screen has a blue backround, everything is good, when the screen goes red, that means the boiler is in lockout mode and there is a problem. Someone questioned Lochinvar why they didn't allow the controller to display your company name and phone number when the boiler goes into Lockout.  Lochinvar and the guy Kevin who gave us our Lochinvar presentation in September said "douh, great idea," so I'm curious if they changed this in the new controller for the Lochinvar WHN models.  Anyone know? (I know it's not listed on their brochure however, but I'd hope this would be an upcoming change).

SpeyFitter

I agree

There is as reason why they have sold something like 60,000+ units since the Knight came out. They listen, and they are practical too.

I wired one up, one of the first I've ever wired (instsalled a few but never wired them) for temporary heat the other day. I had to run 2 wires to the primary and secondary pumps, and jumper the thermostat connection, and voila, she was good to go. I was actually really impressed with how cleanly layed out and organized the connections for wiring were in the boiler cabinet. The controller is excellent and easy to work with. I also like a lot of the features the controller offers. I think other manufacturers should really pay attention to the detail Lochinvar puts in their boiler designs. They do a great job overall and I mean that.

Tim McElwain

Most manufacturers

are fully aware of what they can perhaps do with a product from testing done in their R& D labs.



Getting approvals and certifications is another animal and protest is not what they want to do. Remember this is about getting a product out on the market for sale. In that also being able to compete with other OEMS and what they have to offer.



Space does not permit getting into the whole thing here but it is much more complicated than just making a change to a code or standard for equipment. All of the safety and other perimeters have to be proved over and over again.



In fact recent changes are going to make certification even more complex as some products have gotten out in the market place making claims which later after testing proved to be incorrect. So they tighten up the process.



I think we all need to be patient and it will all come together. We are still really new with all of this Mod/Con business and I am sure there will be strong inroads into expanded turn down ratios in the future with new and even more creative burner design and concepts like Lambda Pro to guarantee safe firing and efficient operation at the same time.



EPA would be less likely to be concerned than DOE would with your point about cycling.



It would behove everyone to do a little research into the certification and approval process on gas and oil heating equipment. That and if you want to spend a bunch of money actually get a copy of the ANSI standards which ANSI sells for hundreds of dollars. Example Z21.8 is $460.



I think they really do not want anyone to know these things.

Mark Eatherton

We agree...

I have worked with just about every major boiler concern in my 35 years of hanging out in boiler rooms, and have had the opportunity to install most of the products that are available on the open market, and I have always found Lochinvar to be the most responsive to the contractors wishes, wants and needs.



That, backed up with the local manufacturers representative, makes them, in my professional opinion, one of the best companies to deal with IN THE WORLD.



Now, they have incorporated their new design into the grand scheme of things, it puts them into a whole new class of ultra high efficiency products. I look forward to whatever they release next.



As with any company (insert brand name here), it is not a matter of IF you are going to have "issues", it is only a matter of WHEN, and then it is the response of all parties concerned that will make or break their products on a local level. They, and their reps have always responded in a timely manner, and resolved any outstanding issues immediately.



Keep up the great work gang!





ME

Sal Santamaura

Anyone installed a Knight FT yet?

Are they "in the world" now?  Anyone completed an install?  Opinions?

3D

Yes

I have installed both a 199 and a 399 for a pool/snowmelt/solar system just recently.  I have not completed all of the piping yet so the picture is just of them hanging on the wall.  I was going to use triangle tube, but I have been experiencing some problems with their control when I use the DHW contacts for some load other than a tank with a sensor. So I switched to the FT Knight so I can use the DHW contacts for high temp heat emitters with low flow requirements in a few locations.  I also installed a 105 FT in the main house that is not in the picture that way the customer has all the same boilers on the job.

Sal Santamaura

Thanks for posting...

I'd appreciate your further impressions as you complete the job.