Viessmann vs Energy Kinetics

curiousman

I'm considering going with the Vitocrossal 300 and I was wondering if the EK Accel CS is also a good consideration? I'm a little hesitant to go with a condensing boiler but I'm not very impressed with many of the conventional gas boilers.

curiousman

I just spoke to a local guy who installs EK boilers and he told me they are great with oil but suggested another brand for gas. One of the best things I've learned from this forum is the installer is more important than the brand. I must admit, I'm very impressed with the Vitocrossal 300.

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

What kind of a heating system do you have? Radiators, radiant, baseboard.............?

tgallagher

Honestly, I haven't installed many Viessmann, but I install Ek as my primary boiler, and being from NJ and the head quarters is only 20 min away from my shop, I stand behind their boilers I haven't had any significant issues of than people having hard water in their homes and causing problems with the domestic heat plates but 100% on the earlier comment it is all about the guy installing the boiler 

Steamhead

To add to @tgallagher 's posting, EK is an American company. Vie$$mann is not. Some customers don't care about that but I thought it worth mentioning.

Robert O'Brien

The two best mod/cons

GW

That Viessmann 300 is considered the top, global distribution 

curiousman

Hi Alan, I currently have a 1954 American Standard oil boiler with baseboard.

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

I have never installed an Energy Kinetics boiler. As a matter of fact, I've never seen one as I don't think they're well represented out West. But I sure hear a lot of good things about them on this website.

As far as the Viessmann CU3A Vitocrossal, I like them because contrary to what's been trending for the last 20-30 years, they are a high volume boiler and don't have as many problems with short-cycling when there are small zones calling for heat.

I don't think you could go wrong with either one.

SuperTech

I like Energy Kinetics the best.  I don't think you can go wrong with them. I really like the non condensing EK-1 Frontier with the Carlin burner. Its bulletproof as far as reliability. Its almost as efficient as a mod con but requires less maintenance and lasts much longer. 

EzzyT

I’d go with Energy Kinetics before the Viessmann. EK has the best customer service and tech support by far from any other boiler manufacturer. Plus every boiler is super simplistic and 99% of replacement parts can be picked up and available at most wholesalers at least the ones I deal with. American made and family owned which is a huge plus in my eyes.

Roger

Thank you all for you kind words about Energy Kinetics products, and for your question, @curiousman , and for your other discussion thread describing your heating system as a combination of radiators and baseboard.
The first point I'll reiterate is that our non-condensing heat and hot boilers with thermal purge perform with efficiency very close to our condensing boilers, and in this Department of Energy Lab study, they outperformed 95 AFUE modcons. I'm sure you'll be very pleased with any model with quietness, savings, near endless hot water, and long term serviceability.
I realize you have some concerns about condensing boilers delivering long term proper and reliable operation. We share those concerns and that's why we designed our fire tube Accel CS boiler with wide open water passes, industry standard parts where available, and Smart Boost among other features. Smart Boost allows your heating professional to set a very aggressive reset curve; if any specific zone is not coming up to temperature fast enough, it boosts the temperature to increase the output of your baseboard or radiation. This is the same thing your heating pro would do if you called and said the system was not heating adequately (and it's a reason why reset curves are often set higher than needed), but it does it based on the individual needs of each zone and it will only do it after checking during each and every thermostat call. We also have an oversized plate heat exchanger and the way we heat the storage tank from top to bottom means that it rains out condensate for nearly the entire hot water cycle; this condensate flushes and keeps the fire tubes clean on the burner side of the boiler. There are many more features, but these are a few of the important and distinguishing highlights.
As an additional note, your1954 American Standard could act like a radiator and heat the boiler room and the room above it. You won't have that waste heat with Energy Kinetics boilers or modcons.
Best,
Roger