Watts Boiler Energy Saver

Steve Rockwell

Anyone have experience with these? My plumber's distributor is recommending them as an alternate to an outdoor reset control.

The concept is it detects the amount of boiler cycles, and adjusts water temperature accordingly to optimize temperature.

Any thoughts good or bad?

c-rex

Watts bes

this might work......

Steve Ebels

Haven't

Run across one of those yet so I really can't comment on it. Are you still in the throes of getting a new boiler put in?? What did you decide on??

Steve Rockwell

Neverending saga

Unlike replacing a car because of too frequent repair bills, or deciding to retrofit our old house with A/C before our baby's first summer, which are both no-brainers, this one isn't so easy.

First, no compelling reason. I had the house weatherized last winter, and the gas bills dropped from $500 per month down to $225. How much more can I really save with a new boiler?

Second, "it ain't broken." Other than a bad B&G pump coupling, which my plumber fixed for $50, it's run like a champ. Yes, it could go any day, but it passes the necessary safety tests, and looks fine per my plumber.

Third, competing projects. We have put a ton of money into the house in the last 18 months, and the return on my $5000+ boiler investment does not appear to be great. Much of the funds have gone into infrastructure (plumbing, electircal service, A/C) so it's not as if we're doing only the cosmetics in this place.

Finally, equipment vs. trust. I love my plumber, and trust him completely. He has done the small jobs quickly and very well, and I would love to give him this business. But he strictly carries equipment his favored distributor carries, which means Dunkirk, Utica, Watts vs. brands I like such as Buderus, Viessman, WM and Tekmar. The guys to do carry those brands are not interested in heat loss studies, oversizing, or anything else that would lead me to trust them. I am probably being too mucn of an equipment snob, but I plan to be here awhile and want to get something I'm really happy with. This final issue is the biggest reason I have not pulled the trigger on anything.

Frankly I would probably have had you install one of the above, but between my travel (often), your workload (substantial) and the distance between you and me, I am not sure it would be feasible.

Let me know what you think.

As always, I appreciate your input.

Steve Ebels

Maybe

We could get together in early spring when the service calls slow down and the summer construction hasn't begun up here yet. I'd really like to see you get what you want. You've put a lot of thought into this decision and are obviously patient enough to wait to make the right move. Sounds like you're putting your dollars in the right places so far.

I'm currently madly in love with the Vitodens from Viessmann but it's not the most inexpensive piece on the market. (My champagne taste and beer budget habit coming to the fore again.) We just finished a radiant job in Boyne City using that boiler. (What a gorgeous place that is) That's about as far North of me as you are South. Miles don't seem to mean much anymore. My wife just hired a painter from Walker to come and do about 2/3rds of our house the end of this month. (Her brother)

Good luck Steve, I'm sure you'll make it through the winter with the old boiler.

Mark J Strawcutter

The only advantage

I can see after looking over the literature is not needing to run an outdoor temp sensor. Which of course they make out as a big deal :-) but I can't see that as enough of a benefit to make up for not having a "true" outdoor reset.

I suppose if it's priced _really_ low that could be another deciding factor.

Mark