The old boiler was installed when the house was built, about 1950. It still was heating water very well, but over the last few winters, it wasn't maintaining pressure. And a few weeks ago, it started to leak intermittently from the circulating pump.
Here's how both the Luddite and the Geek in me responded to the new boiler.
Luddite:
So the guys took out the 60-year-old furnace yesterday. It was still delivering steaming hot water, as it had always done faithfully (except for the times that the igniter and transformer had to be replaced).
They put this new, computer-controlled thing in its place. After it's all connected, filled with water and pressurized, they flip the switch, and guess what. Nothing. The burner doesn't fire up. Nada. Zilch.
The guy tinkered with it for three hours, until 7:30pm actually, and then said the piece of crap module was bad.
My wife was especially upset. Not only did she not have hot water last night and this morning, her formerly-white kitchen floor is filthy, the light beige carpet on the stairs and landing is smudged with greasy, sooty footprints, and our daughter has a cold and needs a nice, steaming bath.
What on Earth compelled me to buy a boiler with a computer in it? All it has to do is switch two relays on and off -- one for the burner and one for the circulating pump. How hard can it be? I can't believe I spent more on this than my car.
If you ever want to ruin a good, reliable piece of equipment, add a computer to it.
Geek:
Things didn't go too well yesterday, that's for sure. Well, the owner came today. He couldn't believe there was anything wrong with the computer. So he tinkered with it for a while. When he realized he wasn't getting anywhere, he tried to jury-rig it to bypass the computer controller. Fortunately his helper noticed something peculiar about one of the jumpers on the controller. It was not connected! Bingo. Connect it up, it fires right up, and we have burning hot water.
[days go by...]
Over the past few days, I got to go through the manuals that came with this feat of engineering. I navigated the menus and chose one of the week-long day / night programs and altered it to our family's schedule. This will ensure that our boiler won't turn on at night during "summer mode" when it's not needed. And in "winter mode," it will govern at what times the temperature setback should kick in / out.
With its temperature sensors for outdoor and indoor air, plus knowing what the room setpoint temperature is, it's able to taper the boiler temperature as the room temperature reaches the setpoint. It follows one of a few pre-programmed heating curves that adjust based on the outside temperature. And the outdoor temperature sensor can be used to switch the unit between its summer and winter modes. The temperature at which it makes the switch also is programmable.
It delivers hot tap water the same way it heats the house. As the water in the tank reaches the setpoint (which, of course is user-adjustable) the boiler can shut down since it has enough remaining heat to finish heating the water.
I tried lowering the hot water setting to 125F, but I noticed that the dishwasher's heating element was coming on. So I set it back up to 130F (where the installer had left it) to keep the dishwasher's electricity use down.
The first time I took a shower, I was really impressed. It's just like at the health club. No more turning the faucet toward the hot position as the shower progresses. I set it, and it stays. Wow. And forget about turning off the heat ten minutes before taking a shower. The computer will give priority to heating tap water over heating the radiators.
You want to know a secret? I paid more for this boiler than my car. But it's worth it. I'm not queer or anything, but I really want to invite my buddies over for a shower.
3 comments:
The worst part is, you replaced a leaking fifty-year-old appliance simple enough that repairs are still feasable, if expensive, with a computer-controlled one that costs more than a car, and probably won't last as long. Repair? Right, start stocking up on spare computer modules now, before they're discontinued and unavailable. And, in nine or ten years, if you're lucky, you'll get to do it again.
They just don't make 'em like they used to. :)
Yes, you have perceived the real concern I felt (or the Luddite part of me felt). What will I do when the controller really does go bad?
What I failed to mention is that the boiler and its controller was designed and manufactured in Germany. It's not that I don't have faith in the global economy. But if I do need to speak directly with someone who helped design it, it would be nice if I could do so using American English.
I also should explain that the boiler costs more than the particular used car that I bought a few years ago.
"I'm not queer or anything, but I really want to invite my buddies over for a shower."
Priceless. And uh, can I come over? lol... XD
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