Durability of Boilers

[SolarAndWood]

For obvious cost reasons, the Atmos has caught my eye. I read on their website (broken link removed) the following:


DURABILITY OF ATMOS STEEL BOILERS VS. CAST-IRON BOILERS

- The mean durability of ATMOS steel ecological gasifying boilers, under the recommended connection with a thermoregulation valve and a Laddomat 21, is 10 years. Therefore, the combustion and adjacent chambers of ATMOS boilers are made of high-grade, 6-mm-thick steel sheets. In practice, boiler durability can be higher or lower, depending on various factors, which we want to emphasise.



Is 10 years all one should expect from this class of boiler in general or is this specific to Atmos for some reason?

 

[webbie]

OK, here is a hard truth........one which I discussed MANY times with my Danish hosts when I visited Denmark and the Tarm plant......

Americans are a bit nutty when it comes to expectations and warranties. The same TARM that was warranted for 20 years here, was warranted for 3 years in Denmark. Why? Because Americans would rather think they have a warranty (which covers nothing) than face the reality of "it depends".

More specifically, here is how the Danes explained it to me:
"Craig, a Danish person buys something with the expectation that they will have to invest money in it over the years".....


OK, so there is one part of the answer. Realistic expectations. Here is another part.

gasifying boilers can create lots of chemicals and condensation which attack steel in worse ways than oil, gas or even convention wood (which sends a lot of these compounds out the chimney unburned). Also, any boiler with lower temp flue gases will usually condense more inside itself.

As to the exact life, it varies. We started selling Tarm gasifiers in 1987 or so and some of those are still around. Some did develop premature leaks, but that was mostly due to lack of storage and folks who used the boiler without proper control (mix valves, turned down too often, in shoulder seasons, etc.).

In summary, they are giving you an accurate and honest description whereas many other companies may not do this. Just as with most mechanical devices, proper care and feeding will allow for a longer life, and lack of such will result in a shorter one.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Thanks Craig, I appreciate the hard truth and realistic expectations when making capital investment decisions. My installation will have:

1. a proper chimney
2. only dry wood
3. only run wide open with large storage
4. deployed in a properly plumbed system

Other than the Ford/Chevy type arguments, is there any reason that I should not consider all of the units in this class functionally equivalent and that they will have a similar life all other things held constant? Quality of construction, efficiency and annualized cost are my primary focus. When I look at Atmos, Eko, Tarm, Econoburn, Greenwood, Garn, Attack, Frohling, (forgive me if I missed your favorite in this list), etc, I see a great pool of products to choose from that do an exceptional job turning wood into heat in a form that can be evenly and efficiently distributed through the house. Other than idiosynracies that many here focus on but really aren't that important to me, I see them as functionally equivalent black boxes. Do you consider this a reasonable assessment?

 

[webbie]

Well, I think you are doing your homework.
If you are going to use storage, you are probably better with a boiler designed for storage - I don't think that includes the Seton type but I may be wrong. Sure, any can be used with storage, but I remember Greenwood claiming otherwise (storage not needed or suggested)....

Also, check carefully in the companies and importers. How long have they been in business? How many of these boilers have they sold?

I'm not sure they are all equivalent. We can break them into various "types", probably:
Seton type :Greenwood
Basic Gasification: Scantec (tarm), Eko, Econoburn, Wood Gun, etc.
Latest and Greatest with computer control: Frohling, Atmos (Lamda model?)
Garn is a bit of an unknown with me, but I think it is the built in storage which makes it different than the basic gasifiers....

then you add the price factors, value (any dealer support, etc. needed?), what you like, etc. etc.......

 

[Como]

Garn make a big play that their original boilers are still operational.

I must admit thinking that US Waranties were worse than most, electrical eqipment seems to come with 90 days versus a norm of at least a year. But then most other first world countires have much longer stautory obligations.

I have not seen a Frohling, I did see a Tarn, now I was told owned by Baxi, and the one that really impressed, a Windhager.