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In your opinion- best boiler on the market?

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juggleact
juggleact Member Posts: 2
in THE MAIN WALL
Hi Folks:

Our 25+ year old boiler for our house needs to be replaced. Our local plumber suggested a LAARS brand, but from many of the reviews online they seem to be unreliable. What brands or models do you suggest- basically, which ones are the best value for a moderate amount of money?

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  • Canucker
    Canucker Member Posts: 722
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    The best

    boiler is the one your contractor picked using the heat loss calculation for your home, followed by actually reading the installation manual, right before they grab their combustion analyzer to commision your new boiler. There are few bad boilers but many bad installs.
    You can have it good, fast or cheap. Pick two
  • heatpro02920
    heatpro02920 Member Posts: 991
    edited February 2013
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    More info...

    What size is your current boiler {btu rating output}?

    whats your budget low, med, just want the best?

    Fuel {if they are recommending laars Im guessing gas} natural or propane.

    Did anyone do a heat loss calculation?

    What do you have for radiation {baseboard, hydroair, radiant, radiators, ect}?

    How many zones{ how many thermostats}?



    As far as Laars is concerned I have worked on Mascots and worked on as well as installed Neotherms.... The Mascot doesn't have many sizes and the Neotherm isnt particularly impressive to me for its price and features..... Both do the job, I normally install Buderus GB series boilers but I am in the process of switching to Triangle Tube Prestige boilers {only installed 3 so far but they seem to be a very nice unit, very serviceable and look to be very well made, simple design}...



    As far as Mod cons go, finding one to match your heatloss is more important than brand, IMO, and finding an installer that specializes in that brand... Obviously go with a brand that has a good reputation and service history, but if you need 75K Btu and the laars only makes a 50K and a 130K unit, then go with a company that has something closer by a different company....
  • pipeking
    pipeking Member Posts: 252
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    WHATS YOUR

    fuel type?heat emitter? everyone has there own opinion, because it ussually depends on what is readily available from your local suppliers. you want to get somthing that parts r easily accessable in your area and a product that your installer is familiar with. most good installers get attached to certain brands(ussually from good product and customer relationship) and then go to seminars on their product, classes on propper installation of their product, diagnostics, and get certified by the company as a "certified installer". look for that; if you find an installer that meets these criterias, then a good heating system will follow.
  • juggleact
    juggleact Member Posts: 2
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    more info on the boiler in question

    Hello again and thank you for your quick responses! I am trying to learn as much as I can to become a better homeowner and I appreciate your help.

    The boiler is a Vaillant GA192-080, and I have lived in the house for 13 years and have not replaced it. A local plumber suggested that even with bleeding the air out of the pipes which we have done periodically it would be better to replace the boiler and controls because it is so old. Does that all seem like good advice so far?

    The specs on the current boiler as I can tell:

    80,000 BTU input and 59,100 BTU net rating

    water PSI 150

    Natural gas fuel with baseboard heat and two thermostats

    Boiler is in an unfinished basement, with plenty of room around it. Located in MA.

    Thank you
  • Gordan
    Gordan Member Posts: 891
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    In this case...

    A heat loss will be more of a test to help you determine whether you're dealing with a competent contractor, than it would influence your boiler purchase decision... they don't come much smaller than 50-60000 BTU/hr. Odds are good that whatever you get will be oversized. Among that crowd, boilers with fire tube heat exchangers have a good rap. Multiple manufacturers offer them now... HTP, Lochinvar, Triangle Tube, Weil McLain to name a few. You may want to look into getting an indirect water heater to go with your boiler.
  • Gordan
    Gordan Member Posts: 891
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    Lest I forget...

    Viessmann makes a 67000 BTU/hr boiler - WB2B-19. It's also a highly regarded manufacturer and they offer what they call "Lambda pro" - it automatically adjusts gas valve trim for optimal combustion. So far, they're the only ones in the US residential market to do so. On the flip side, their turn-down ratio (how low they can fire, which is important for avoiding boiler cycling) is not as good as the competition and their heat exchanger design has a greater pressure drop which requires a separate boiler circulator in more circumstances than is the case with the fire tube designs.
  • heatpro02920
    heatpro02920 Member Posts: 991
    edited February 2013
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    Decisions, decisions...

    If I were pricing the job I would recommend a

    Buderus series 2 G124x-{depends on heat loss to which one most likely 18 or 25} with a triangle tube smart 40 indirect water heater and a taco priority DHW 3 zone control...

    On the Terrible, Bad, OK, Good, Great, Super scale it will give you...

    Good efficiency, Great comfort, Super reliability, and Great affordability...



    On the other hand you can go with a mod con, which then the sky is the limit, although with smaller loads I prefer conventional...



    What part of massachusetts are you in
  • Robert O'Brien
    Robert O'Brien Member Posts: 3,541
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    Heatpro

    G124X has been discontinued,GA124 is still available
    To learn more about this professional, click here to visit their ad in Find A Contractor.
  • Terry O
    Terry O Member Posts: 67
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    Robert.... I think Heatpro

    meant the X to be a "variable" in model number to indicate required size... 
    Terry O
  • Robert O'Brien
    Robert O'Brien Member Posts: 3,541
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    Terry O

    Nope,18 and 25 are (were) sizes of G124X in Kwh
    To learn more about this professional, click here to visit their ad in Find A Contractor.
  • pipeking
    pipeking Member Posts: 252
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    THE X IS FOR

    X-TREMLY GOOD CONVENTIONAL BOILER!!
  • heatpro02920
    heatpro02920 Member Posts: 991
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    Yes I meant X its a great boiler

    ON sale rite now at almost every supply house I frequent, I bought 2 last week.... Also if anyone is in the market for the sealed cumbustion ga224 {big brother to the ga124} they are also on sale most places.. Not half price or anything but I got some good deals, and these are GREAT boilers...

    They changed a few things and they are remapping their lines should be out soon... I remember when they did this with the g115 and g115ws, basically a new jacket....
  • GordoG
    GordoG Member Posts: 15
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    I have the same boiler and would not replace mine

    just because someone says it is old. I have had two different service technicians from the same heating company tell me when they service my boiler that it is working fine. It is about 26 years old. At some point in time I will replace this boiler, but it has to be economically feasible. The payback on a high efficiency boiler right now would be 10 - 15 years for my situation. This is just my opinion as a homeowner and consumer.
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