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Boiler replacement suggestions

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initram
initram Member Posts: 15
in Gas Heating
I currently have a Laars EBP110 boiler that's been annoying me with random lockouts for the past 3 years now. I've had a few service guys have a look and it'll work fine for a while... but the issues always resurface. For those who may not be familiar with the EBP110, it's a combined system which heats both my radiant floors and my domestic hot water.



Can anyone recommend a reliable replacement? My home is around 2800 sq/ft (including the basement). I currently have 2 zones (1 per floor).



I was contemplating maybe replacing the boiler with 2 water heaters (1 for heat and 1 for DHW). But I've read mixed reviews on this method. The DHW would obviously be fine... but I've read that a water heater doesn't supply enough heat for radiant floor heating.



I was also thinking, I could just get a standard water heater and use the EBP110 for heat only. Then, when the EBP110 finally fails completely I can just get a single function boiler. This way I can avoid the cold shower surprises in the morning... and even if I have no heat I have electric space heaters as backup until I have the time to fix the boiler. Does anyone know if it's possible to disable the DHW functionality of the EBP110 and simply use it for my radiant floors?



Any suggestions/opinions?



Thanks.

Comments

  • Slimpickins
    Slimpickins Member Posts: 339
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    last service call?

    Your last post,  you looked on the Laars website for a qualified service company and you said you got the name of a local company. So did you call them and what did the service guy say and do?
  • lchmb
    lchmb Member Posts: 2,997
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    what

    are you getting for error codes?
  • initram
    initram Member Posts: 15
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    Laars EBP 110

    We did have a technician over from a company that Laars had listed on their website. I wish I could have been home at the time.... but I was at work. Here's what he wrote on the invoice:



    "Check Laars Boiler - found functional upon arrival. Scrolled through fault codes. All 8 indicate #2, which is overheat thermostat. Shut down unit. Removed and inspect flame rod ignition assembly. Cleaned flame rod and reinstalled. Repeatedly cycle on and off - with no ignition failures. Left unit running."



    This cost me $150.



    The thing that frustrates me the most is that I had done the same thing the day before and I still kept experiencing lockouts. My wife was home when the technician arrived and he explained to us that we were lucky that the previous owner had upgraded/fixed a few components. He mentioned that the circuit board we currently have is version 7, and the original was version 3 which had many problems. I also believe he said that the water flow switch was originally on the inside of the boiler and was now rerouted on the exterior. This would make sense since I did read up about how Laars issued this workaround after having problem with the flow switch located inside. I also replaced the ignitor 1 year ago... so it seems they have a high failure rate if they start to fail after a year.



    It seems to be running fine since the technician looked at it. But for how long? To come back to one of my original questions: Can the EBP 110 be converted to a single use boiler that would only heat my floors? I would purchase a standard water heater for my DHW.
  • Slimpickins
    Slimpickins Member Posts: 339
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    bad tech

    Just because they have Laars on their website doesn't mean they know how to work on an Endurance boiler, Laars makes all kind of stuff.



    It appears you either got a lazy tech or a bad tech. He didn't mention using a meter to check the flame rod, you can't tell anything by looking at it. You need to check microamps while it's operating. It's been awhile since I worked on an Endurance so I looked at the manual for a 2 fault code and didn't see one. If it was going off on high temp. he should have used his digital thermostat and strapped on a bead probe thermocouple to the pipe to note temps it's operating at. Do you have a installation manual for it and did he even look at it? I'm not afraid to ask a homeowner for the manual and if you don't have one I would get on the phone to Laars tech support to get info. Also doing a combustion analyzes would tell how it's running.



    I'd call back the company and ask for your money back because he really didn't do anything. Like I said previously, ask if they have a tech that is very familiar with the Endurance or one that can read a manual and follow trouble shooing procedures. 
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