Lochinvar WHN vs Crest vs others

NYplumber

Happy July 4th guys!



Got another natural draft to high efficency conversion to do and started pondering which boiler to use.



Have quiet a few Lochinvar WHN boilers installed. Installed and service many Triangle Tube boilers, so im on the fence as which to use. This job as well as most retrofis require only one water temp, so no fancy boiler options are necessary. Contemplating trying the new cadet. Then again, I may want to just use the tried and proven WHN. Not sure I want to start with a Viessman with a new customer being that I am unfamiliar with the 100 and 200 series. Then theres TT that is just a few hours away and offers great tech support when odd issues come up. The local supply house is trying to push an NTI boiler, saying they have most replacement parts in stock. Not so comfortable with them after repairing a few.



Regardless what boiler, I plan to use a Bumble Bee on the boiler loop set to 45f-dt and add some bells and whistles to make this boiler sing to perfection.



Please post your thoughts, suggestions and anything else on your mind related to the topic.



Thanks.



Note: in the original post I wrote crest, but meant cadet. Sorry for the mistake.

Rich_49

NY

use what you're comfortable with . Stay away from the NTI however . Bad experience with them after using 6 on same job (6 units) . Problem after problem .  Lochinvar and TT are both very good units as you are aware . Don't start to experiment now .

SWEI

What's the design load?

No experience with the Crest yet, but I have to say I like the redundancy and turndown provided by two or three of the TT units, Lochinvar WHN being very similar.  Somewhat more controls flexibility on the WHN, but a new (supposedly improved) HX on the TT now.  Both controls gang painlessly.  I'll echo the "stick with what you are familiar with" line, especially as regards spare parts.  If you think you will be installing a lot more of the Crest, I'd weight that a little higher, but I'd hate to have just one of them out there and get a challenging service call a few years down the road.

NYplumber

sq ft

Have yet to perform the load calc, but the home is estimated at 4000 sq ft. Ball park figure is a smaller boiler, some where between 60 & 90 k btu. I dont stock parts at this time being that I service a very wide spectrum of boilers, some new, some old, and of all sizes. Stocking parts would prove very difficult with the vast amount of venturis, gas valves, control boards, condensate traps, etc. I think it will boil down to the cadet or whn. Still taking opinions.

gennady

cadet

cadet has gianoni heat exchanger, i would avoid it. Also i really do not understand why Lochinvar created a brand to compete with its own line of WHN.

NYplumber

bought

From what I heard, they bought the Cadet. Its a nice simple small boiler, but isnt much of a price break from the whn.

hot_rod

both are solid choices

I recently installed a Cadet in my home. I wanted to try a boiler that had the DHW hx on-board. i don't have a lot of miles on it yet, and all are DHW generation.



The Cadet is very quiet with the EPP outer case. Connections are very user friendly and the ability to service the components is improved. Wall mounting was a snap. I like that the DHW hx has it's own circ for a good flow rate.



I have installed a number of boilers with this HX and have not had any problems. Early mod con failures from my experience were inducer fans coming apart, condensate drains, incoming voltage issues, and grounding issues.



Failed heat exchangers were caused by operator error or harsh water conditions, constant make up water, or under-sized pumps, to name a few.



The fire tube style boilers will, and are, seeing some of the same failures regarding water quality and operator error.



Install them by the book, flush and fill with good quality water, and service them as the manufacturer suggests.

SWEI

Cadet!

Last night it said Crest, now makes more sense.



The Cadet is a Lochinvar design, intended to meet a competitive price point.  They recently brought it "into the fold" under the Lochinvar name rather than trying to market it as a completely separate line.



My only real interest in them is the CDN040, which is the smallest mod/con with the lowest minimum firing rate I have been able to find in North America.  Controls are a mere shadow of the full Lochinvar package, but the price is very attractive (especially if your wholesaler buys them right.)  I'm planning to try them this fall.  In larger sizes, the budgets are a usually bit better and I'm happy with the TT or Lochinvar WH.

smklin

go with service

I own them both. I think the lochinvar is built a little better . But TT sems easier to work on.

NYplumber

WHN

Most likely getting the WHN085. Heatloss is just under 60mbtu and a large indirect will soon be added, to fill tubs and allow the showers to run simultaneously while doing laundry. Home is close to 4k sq ft. Calculating lowest water temp and drawing diagrams to make it fit in the allowed space.



If you think I should go with a WHN055, let me know why.





Thanks.