I note that they have stainless steel heat exchangers now, they used to be aluminium I believe. Am thinking to go for a combi keston with weather compensation, any advice please?
Don
- posted
15 years ago
Keston Boilers ?
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- posted
15 years ago
yes, don't do it! :P
btw, where is Dr Drivel these days?
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- posted
15 years ago
I know next to nothing about boilers - but. I work one day a week at a local university halls of residence where they have 24 Kestons supplying the student flats.
Nothing to do with me - but. The boiler fault logs read like war & peace.
Quiet! You might wake him!
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- posted
15 years ago
Always stainless steel, AFAIK. That was one of the reasons I chose them.
I have a Keston C25 (not combi). It's OK, but I'm not sure I would go as far as recommending Keston. It's had the odd problem, which if I wasn't capable of servicing and fixing it myself, would be a pain. Most particularly, it took them 3 months to manufacture some spare ignitors, and if I hadn't been able to bodge up the broken one to work, that would in effect have written off the boiler. That's completely unacceptable. It may be that the parts situation has improved since Keston were bought by someone. I am quite impressed with the way they steadily improved my model throughout its life. There are other boiler manufacturers who continue to knowingly ship boilers with unreliable components, raking it in on the spares.
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- posted
15 years ago
Doesn't sound too good then, How about Atmos InterCombi HE32 ? I've had a look at the info on the Atmos site and on that basis alone am considering them. On the negative side they have an aluminium heat exchanger but it seems to be guaranteed for 10 yrs which is as much as you get from Viessmann. Anyone had good or bad experiences of Atmos? Any info gratefully received. Regards Don
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- posted
15 years ago
One other comment. If you're having someone install a boiler for you, there's probably quite a lot to be said for having one installed that they're familiar with. Each installer seems to have about 2 or 3 different boilers they routinely install, and having the installation done by someone who's done that boiler before many times could also give you a more reliable system than if you chose a boiler they've never installed before. i.e. consider the installer, not just the boiler.
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- posted
15 years ago
Avoid Keston. They are now turning out tripe. Owned by Ideal. Look at the Remeha Broag 39C Get the outside temp senor for the weather compensator.
The Amtos Intecombi is class and ultra reliable, again get the outside temp senor for the weather compensator. The heat exchanger is alum/copper and very robust - a unique space saving design. The DHW will work id the pump fails. I would go for the Atmos if the DHW flowrate is fine.
The Broag is great value for money.
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- posted
15 years ago
Many thanks for that info, reliability is paramount as far as I am concerned, you sound as if you have experience of Atmos I would be grateful for any information / pitfalls in the installation process.
I am replacing an old system boiler which is on it's last legs and lives in the garage. The pipe runs are long approx 28 Metres in total (F&R) but the new combi boiler is to be sited in the bungalow and within 1 Metre of the airing cupboard which contains all the pipe connections to DHW and CH. I have a friend across the road who is a Gas Safe registered installer, (yes, I have checked :-) ) and although he may not have installed an Atmos before, I'm pretty confident that he and I can put our heads together and complete the installation successfully.
I have an Ion exchange water softener (Culligan) on the cold water mains, I'm concerned that the water output will have a slightly raised sodium level and it's effect on the heat exchanger in the Atmos.
Regards Don
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- posted
15 years ago
If fitting an Atmos and you are not that experienced then buy the fitting jig, it makes matters so much easier. Fit the outside temp sensor and if a controller have it the OpenTherm protocol. Broag is OpenTherm too.
Make sure the gas pipe from the meter is large enough. Have a dedicated pipe for the boiler to the meter.
The Atmos heat exchanger is heavy copper tube inside an aluminium casing - an innovative design. Check with Atmos on the softener to be sure. I do not see any problems though. In winter when CH is on, the DHW is preheated giving a faster response.
Make sure the system is "clean". Install "Fernox" cleaner and run for a while. And flush out well.