Tired of Quietside break down.

Richard_102012

Hi,



My plumber installed a Quietside DPW-120 for the heating of the radiant floor and the domestic hot water of my bachelor( surface 1200 sq. feet) in 2009. What a nightmare. The boiler broke down at least 50 times...( Code A3 and A6). I want this scrap thrown away and he suggest me to install an electric boiler Thermolec 10 KW  and a Thermo 2000 TurboMax as water heater. Is this a performing proposition ?



What is the best electric boiler (life lasting and easy maintenance) between Thermo 2000 BTH Ultra, Slant-Fin Monitron, Hydra and Thermolec. I am a novice and i need advice to make a good choice.



Thank you guys.



Richard

kcopp

seems odd....

to ditch the gas. I would look into a good combi gas unit w/ a proved track record. Triangle tube prestige Excellence, Smith GC160/ Embassy Onex, Bosch Greenstar combi100... make sure whoever installs it has training on that unit.

Gordy

Why going to electric?

Just wondering if you have thought about how much an electric boiler would cost to operate verses the old gas one.



120000btu sounds big for 1200 sf even with DHW.

Gordan

That may not be a match made in heaven

I don't think that I'd want to run a reverse indirect off of a boiler with such low input. I have a Turbomax 23 (26 gallon) and it works well with the Prestige Solo 60 boiler, providing adequate hot water for a family of two adults and two toddlers. We'll see when they get into their teens. I'm quite sure I wouldn't want a boiler with much smaller output; 10kW is a bit more than one half of what I have, and a bit more than one quarter of what your Quietside puts out (when it works, that is.)



60kBTU/hr seems like a reasonably sweet spot as it can provide for one 2.5 gpm shower continuously at a reasonable rise. On the other hand, the boiler is oversized for my 1900 sqft single-family home with spotty insulation and drafty door... my design day heat loss is barely over one half of the capacity.



Everything is a compromise. Anything that relies on combustion will require some maintenance (though fire-tube boilers such as the Prestige are somewhat more robust under real world conditions) and venting will be critical. Anything that relies on electric will be more expensive to operate - but perhaps cheaper to install. Anything that heats potable water directly with a high temperature difference will be vulnerable to scale deposits. Anything that heats your radiant directly (as opposed to having some sort of a buffer that you're drawing from through a thermostatic mixing valve) will be vulnerable to cycling, which can affect longevity and cause temperature swings in the supply water which can in turn cause expansion and contraction noises in your radiant (unless it's embedded in concrete or something else fairly solid.)



Come to think of it, what your plumber is proposing might well be the best compromise for your situation, with some caveats:



1) You'll want to keep the Turbomax at a high temperature, at least 140-160 F. This increases its effective thermal storage capacity. With an electric resistance boiler, maintaining a higher water temperature will not affect its efficiency.



2) You'll want to install a thermostatic temper valve at the DHW outlet to temper DHW to a safe temperature.



3) You'll want to use the Turbomax as your buffer for space heating. This, along with a reasonable differential on the Turbomax, will reduce boiler cycling.



4) You'll want to mix down the supply to your radiant using either a thermostatic mixing valve, or, better yet, an outdoor reset mixing control (Taco iValve is a well-regarded choice here.)

orvisguy

Quietside issue's

Hey guy's, isn't there an on going type of recall on some Quietside boilers. i have friend, contractor,  in Galena Illinois that has had issue's and had replaces some with newer unit's. Will call monday and find out the situation.  

orvisguy

Quietside issue's

Hey guy's, isn't there an on going type of recall on some Quietside boilers. i have friend, contractor,  in Galena Illinois that has had issue's and had replaces some with newer unit's. Will call monday and find out the situation.