Wall hung boilers

dconnors

We actually have studied the effects of PH and other considerations. Our heat exchanger's logevity is probably limited to 250 years. They have only been in existance for a little over 20 years with no failures so.....I will wait and report back in another 230 years.lol

Mark_7

Wall hung boilers

Looking to take on Buderus GB142 or Viessmann vitodens 200 boilers.Anybody have any pro's or con's? Booth look like a nice unit.

Nron_13

Its about the support of the product after viessmann is much faster to respond to problems or questions ,in our area , plus im not sure about aluminum heat exchangers ,compare the warrenty on each unit too

dconnors

Aluminum heat exchangers

They tend to have better thermal expansion properties as far as longevity. Of course i am referring to our flexible cast aluminum. Cant comment on anyone elses product. GB's are over 20 years old and more are sold each year in europe than any other heater. Not sure who is the fastest on responding for support, but i know i answer alot of calls during the day. Hope this helps.

Kevin__Flynn

Comparrison

By saying "flexible cast aluminum" that leads me to believe that you mean aluminum expands and contracts with greater frequency than stainless steel. Is this good?

An interesting thing about aluminum as far as longevity is concerned, is its desire to have pH levels that are above 5 but below 8.5.

The GB manual lists that the pH level of the condensate is 4.1.

Buderus also lists in their water quality manual, that they do not want to see pH levels above 8.5 with aluminum heat exchangers. I would think it is very uncommon to have pH levels in a closed loop hydronic system lower than 8.5. In fact I think most Pex & Fitting manufacturers like to see pH levels higher than 8.5.

Aluminum in general is also somewhat prone to errosion issues, I believe, when it comes to water velocities that exceed 3.2 ft/sec. This is even lower than copper tubing limits.

So, I guess flexible is nice if you want to "Dribble It".


Kevin Flynn

Plumdog_2

PH levels

What's this I hear about PVC reacting with condensate to produce an aluminum-eating compound? Anything to it or was I just recieving false info in a dream?

Mark_7

comparrison

I guess stainless is the winner. It looks pretty too.

Constantin

I think it depends...

... Aluminum certainly has more potential water quality issues than stainless steel does, in general. Having said that, any HX can be destroyed by a number of environmental factors. A small leak in the heating system, combined with high chloride water will strip stainless just as effectively of its passivation layer...

On the other hand, IIRC, the GB142 has a 5-1 turndown ratio, while the Vitodens "only" makes it to 4-1. I don't know what their respective electrical consumptions are, but I imagine they're both pretty low. It is my understanding that the control system in the Vitodens can do more out of the box, but maybe this isn't something you need.

I would base my decision primarily on who will install the unit, who will service it, and who will supply the spare parts locally. Installation and maintenance are likely to determine 90+% of equipment life, the supply house simply determines if you'll have the part in one day vs. three days.

Mark Eatherton1

A rumor proffered...

by a company that doesn't use PVC pipes, and fittings would be my humble guess... Let's see, how many companies out there don't use PVC for their venting materials... 1, maybe 2...

I'll have to run it by some of the plastic experts I work with and see what their response is.

I'm NOT going to lose any sleep until then:-)

ME

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Mark_7

Wall hung boilers

Has anybody had to do any services on either brand, and the dependability on the unit are the questions I've been ask,so could somebody fill me in.