what d y'all think about the Weil mclain Ultra

tim smith_2

Just wondering what everybody's consensus is on this new fangled thing. Tim.

Floyd_5

Hate to be the first on this one....

but anyone who has watched "The Wall" for long knows that I adore these things!!!! Now that the reset thing is resolved and they can be setup for reset to -4, mine in my house is purring along just like I always thought that heat could be.
The best part is that now when my wife wakes up and is a bit cool.....she goes to the t-stat and bumps it to 72... the boiler just purrs along at 100* or so and won't heat the CI up so hot that I regret it in the afternoon. But hey the heats on so it must be warmer......
Actually I have had nothing but great results with these boilers so far. Pair two or more up with a Tekmar 265 for larger applications and you got a great system for the commercial side.
I have found the Ultra to work great with any type of heat emmiters, they will work with high temp. applications, but definetly shine brighter in low temp. situations.
Piping is critcal, as with any mod. cond. boiler. Water flow needs to be there or the boiler simply will not work, period.

As I said the reset situation is being addressed and the feild reps. are to have the info soon, if not already to change the units in the field, it is very simple to reprogram the control mod.
Also there are more toys coming, and an interface for hooking laptops up to them.
The only problems I ever had with these things were self inflicted, like not following the directions and hooking one up with too small of pipe.

I would love to hear if there have been any other problems also, as I have been pushing these things heavily.... I think that we are going to see some major increases in energy costs in the next few years and those that I install these boilers for are going to be very grateful for the reduced bills.

Floyd

Robert O'Connor_7

WM-Ultra??

Just don't do one for people who travel, or in areas were the power goes out alot. Had quite a serious problem with a traveling customer were it went into hard lockout after a brief power outage. Lots-O-Frozen pipes. Damage galour. As you could imagine they were not so pleased. Don't misunderstand I think it's a great little unit (a little expensive) but until they work out there lock out problems I'm very selective as to were and who i'm gonna sell one to....Robert O'Connor/NJ

Weezbo

Robert whatabout the computer back up energy deal?

is it insufficent protection on the power outage ? it sure looks like a ca diddli ack i havent installed one yet, kinda waiting for Rocky to try it out )) we gotta be really careful here in the frozen North so for now i just gonna go with the advise you have...choose the customer and location.

Cliff Brady

User error

People who leave their houses unchecked daily in freezing temps are asking for trouble. That is not to say a UPS for keeeing power going through small power interuptions are not a good idea.

Ken_8

We have installed

about five of them.

Have yet to have any problems whatsoever.

This week, we install a modular setup of three Ultra 310's in a nearby office complex.

The design water return temp is 70°F.

Think those bad boys will be near 100% AFUE (:-o)?

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

DaveC

Constantin

UPS systems are pretty mandatory

... with susceptible electronics. While a freeze-up is obviously the worst-case scenario, having a unit go into lockout mode with every brownout/blackout is a nuisance for both the customer and the installer. Hopefully, these are teething pains that can be remedied via a free board-swap at the next PM session.

I plan on having a couple of systems in the house that will draw power from a UPS. One will be the booster pump (we get a whopping 30 psi at the 8" main in the street!). While the house will likely have the thermal mass to survive as long as a power outage can be expected to last in Cambridge, a fire is a fire, and we better have the sprinkler power to fight it.

Floyd_5

The lockout thing....

is being WAY over blown....
I live in te middle of friggin nowhere, N Central, Pa.
The power here is more than erratic to say the least....
when the power goes off you start counting... when it comes back for the third time you hold your breath and hope it stays or else you know you will be in the dark for a couple of hours till they get the linemen out to reset the breakers.
In the more than a year that I have had the Ultra, and many, many power outages, the boiler has only locked out 1 time, so it is not an everytime occurance by far....
As was stated before... if your not checking your place in freezing weather, your not doing yourself any favours, no matter what boiler you got.
A Sensaphone is only 4-500 bucks and it will call you.....even wil do simple security also. Cheap insurance....

Floyd_5

265????

> about five of them.

>

> Have yet to have any

> problems whatsoever.

>

> This week, we install a

> modular setup of three Ultra 310's in a nearby

> office complex.

>

> The design water return temp

> is 70°F.

>

> Think those bad boys will be near

> 100% AFUE (:-o)?

>

> _A

> HREF="http://www.heatinghelp.com/getListed.cfm?id=

> 68&Step=30"_To Learn More About This

> Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in

> "Find A Professional"_/A_

Floyd_5

265???

Ken, How are you controlling the three boilers????
Would love to see pictures of the job...
I have a couple of 2 boiler systems on a Tekmar 265 and they are working great....it will also handle three.
@ 70 * water those puppies at 1/2 fire or less will be running exhaust temps. at or below the 70* water temps. That will be Darn near the 100%, well maybe 99.999% :-)

Can't wait to see this one!!!!

Floyd

Floyd_5

A little birdy told me today....

that with the Tekmar 265 control.....
it is possible to bank 3 Ultra boilers on each of the 3 boiler control points.... this would make it possible for the 265 control to handle 9 Ultra's!!!! WOW!!!! That would be 2.79 million BTU all staged and modulating......COOL!!!!

Floyd

Constantin

On the other hand...

... for a homeowner who is clueless or away, the lockout is no different than the blower failure on the Munchkin line. A lockout is a lot easier (and cheaper!) to fix than a blown blower, however the net outcome (i.e. no heat) is the same.

I would like to think that the lockout issue can be addressed with a simple firmware change. If that doesn't do it, then the logic board should be redesigned to avoid them in the future. Heating appliances should be tough enough for installations in areas where the power quality is not great.

Kal Row

i haves ome experiance with this issue

if it's empty all winter, then you blow the lines, antifreeze the traps, and electric heat tape the water supply

if they come and go a lot in the winter - where winterizing is not practical - then you need, not only a good UPS, but also a gas powered generator, complete with auto start, auto transfer, and auto stop

if they live in not so cold places like the ny-metro area – they can get away with exposing as much of the pipes in the house possible (all basement access panels and under-sink doors, etc) - and then setting the heat to 80 - that should give you a 12hour power fail ride-out on a 20 degree day – let convection do the walking

another option is hot to cold water re-circulation – heat the whole system (hot and cold) up to 180 – and have a UPS continue to run the circulator on power fail – till it’s battery runs out – also gives apx 12hr ride out.

with an ultra – or any boiler with electronics on it, you put a 1kva ups on it – but also – have a separate 24v transformer powered relay, which opens the thermostat circuit when the power drops out, this way you maintain the power to the electronics, so it cant lock-out, or loose it’s times and programs, without drawing the ups down, too quickly, like it would, if the unit actually product heat, (cause with the draft-fan, circulators, burner, and ignition – it only gives you about 5min on a computer ups)

the UPS setup is not a bad idea for any of the new systems with electronics in them, one good thunder storm, can fry electronics, the ups protects it, I had a larrs pool heater with a Fenwall control, get fried by a T-storm, and just turn on the gas, without the igniter and ignoring all sensors

I agree with floyd that the UTLRA is the most condensing bang for the buck

Kal Row

i haves some experiance with this issue

if it's empty all winter, then you blow the lines, antifreeze the traps, and electric heat tape the water supply

if they come and go a lot in the winter - where winterizing is not practical - then you need, not only a good UPS, but also a gas powered generator, complete with auto start, auto transfer, and auto stop

if they live in moderate places like the ny-metro area – they can get away with exposing as much of the pipes in the house possible (all basement access panels and under-sink doors, etc) - and then setting the heat to 80 - that should give you a 12hour power fail ride-out on a 20 degree day – let convection do the walking

another option is hot to cold water re-circulation – heat the whole system (hot and cold) up to 180 – and have a UPS continue to run the circulator on power fail – till it’s battery runs out – also gives apx 12hr ride out.

with an ultra – or any boiler with electronics on it, you put a 1kva ups on it – and also – have a separate 24v transformer powered relay, which opens the thermostat circuit when the power drops out, this way you maintain the power to the electronics, so it cant lock-out, or loose it’s times and programs, without drawing the ups down, too quickly, like it would, if the unit actually product heat, (cause the draft-fan, circulators, burner, and ignition – gives you about 5min on a computer ups)


the UPS setup is not a bad idea for any of the new systems with electronics in them, one good thunder storm, can fry electronics, the ups protects it, I had a larrs pool heater with a Fenwall control, get fried by a T-storm, and just turn on the gas, without the igniter and ignoring all sensors

The UTLRA has 15yrs of test experience at WM to back it up

Waylon Lowery

Nice well built boiler...

We have installed about a dozen of them and have about 5 more in the works. We had to replace two of the honeywell control modules, but other than that we haven't had any problems.

We probably would have used quite a few more, but we were a little cautious about the cast aluminum....and it has taken forever for Weil McLain to get a sidewall vent kit on the market.

Like several other wallies mentioned, it is important that they are piped in primary/secondary fashion. It is also important that the water chemistry be checked and aluminum safe glycol be used.

I have a couple of projects coming up where we plan on using the Tekmar 265 to stage a couple of Ultra's, and I can hardly wait to see how it works out.

Pat Clark

Just toured the Weil McLain Factory

on Friday. They had the new series 2 on the line, with several changes (don't remember what all they were, but the most obvious is they now have chrome nipples for the gas and water connections and different color cover. Classy look. Sitting in Rhode Island now and will be in the Taco Factory all day tomorrow. I am with a group of 18 contractors and wholesalers and reps from Alaska, we are being treated like royalty and having a ball. Gotta go tour a mansion in about a half hour then will be on a sailboat all afternoon.

Pat (Alaska Time) Clark