I am thinking about having my old, inefficient but reliable gas boiler replaced next summer. I have been reading manuals and other web resources, mainly looking at German and Dutch manufacturers.
The review of the Giannoni stainless steel heat exchanger at
does not fill me with confidence -- too much plastic, and no way to strip it down to clean it.
On the other hand, cleaning the Worcester WB3 aluminium heat exchanger at seems labour intensive, particularly if it is needed every year.
I have been looking at the Dutch company Remeha (Broag, their UK importers, are just down the road). I believe the Avanta has a Giannoni heat exchanger, while the Quinta has a cast aluminium heat exchanger.
I prefer the look of the Quinta -- it seems more solidly built and accepts an external 0-10v modulating input if I wanted to update the system controls later. However, I am wary of the aluminium heat exchanger.
Now that condensing boilers have been around for a few years, what are people's experience with the relative life and cost of maintenance of aluminium vs. stainless steel?
Regards,
MJA