Opinion on the WM Ultra

Art

I will be having infloor heating put in my house I am building in Alaska. I will have a boiler put in as the heat source with a DHW indirect.
I have been looking at several of the new style boilers that have came out the past couple of years (munchkin, MZ, ultra, viessmann, munchkin). I am intrested in what you guys think about this new WM Ultra and how it compares to them. It seems to me to be a little ahead of the other guys but is it proven yet? It seems that the boiler plumbing package would be less complex due to the large amount of modulation and the outdoor reset compared to the standard primary/secondary with a tekmar control. Yes? No? It sounds like HTP will be having a outdoor reset on the munchkin also soon. Would the Ultra need a buffer tank as alot of you seem to be recomending for the munchkin? What about the aluminum heat exchanger. Will it last? Has anyone else used one before? I am leaning towards the ultra due to the fact that WM has a good share of the market here and any parts should be easy to come by if needed, also WM seems to have a good name here. I am very intrested in your opinions and thoughts though.
Thanks
Art

John R. Hall

More info

Ultra article in The NEWS:

http://www.achrnews.com/CDA/ArticleInformation/features/BNP__Features__Item/0,1338,88013,00.html

Steve Ebels

Aluminum

Frankly, scares the tar out of me. Maybe I'd use one after the technology has been around for 10+ years and had proven satisfactory. But not now. The Viessmann incorporates all the controls you are talking about and is the simplest boiler install I have ever done. Hang it on the wall, pipe it, plug all the electrical stuff together, vent it and fire it up. It'll take any temp, modulate down to about 25% of full, capable of DHW production, variable speed pump, balanced flue venting, yada yada yada, the list goes on. Expensive?? not when you add up all you have to add controlwise to other boilers in order to equal what the Vitodens does.

The slickest thing I have ever installed in anyone's home

JMHO

hr

They all look good

"coming out of the gate" It often takes years of in the field duty to truly answer your question Contact the beta testers for the unit.

To buffer or not depends more on YOUR distribution system, in my opinion. Some jobs would be fine without a buffer, others benifit greatly from a little extra capacity. The size (btu/ hr.) of the various zones and the number of zones may help you decide if a buffer would be a good addition.

If well insulated and properly installed, I feel a buffer adds to a system. Of course a single zone constant load system would be an exception, say a snowmelt.

Time will tell, once again, on the aluminum HX. It's the make up of the water or glycol, and the monitoring of it, that will impact the longevity of the HX, in my view.

Tough choices in the collection of equipment you are considering. In your neck of the woods contractor and dealer suport, knowledge of, and parts availabilty would really play into my decision.

They all break down at some point, it's the ability to get them back on line that counts, when the cold wind blows!

hot rod

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Paul Rohrs

Ultra

I received an information packet on them the other day and the only other thing that I can add to Hotrod's statement is to watch for the Glycol. You can only use their blend because of the heat exchanger. I do not have pricing yet but I imagine that it is going to be a little more expensive than normal Inhibited Propylene Glycol.

PR