Frank
Halifax,#2General Comment
Thu, December 10, 2015
Purchased two 1.7 million BTU Lochinvar boilers , installed side by side by a reputable company, boilers worked great for first couple years Except for a couple issues with the igniter . Then the issues started in the summer, boilers were going into alarm every day(high fan speed alarm) together at the same time, however it was happening when the boiler wasn't being commanded on, we brought in the tech and he couldn't explain therefore we figured that the coman denominator is the power therefore we bought 2 power conditioners and this didn't correct the issue , then we tried the gas regulator and found a pressure issue, this was corrected, made no difference. boilers still locking off on over current and high speed alarm. now it is recommended that we change the blower motors which come with a circuit board built in. Approx 12,000.00, in total for repairs ,trouble shooting and maintenance contract we are into this for thousands. my advice would be to stay far away from these boilers unless you have a huge budget, they are unreliable .
Judd
Brush,#3UPDATE Employee ..inside information
Wed, January 22, 2014
Work for a mechanical contractor and we have heat exchanger issues with lochinvar boiler heat exchangers going out within 1 1\2 years of being installed as per specs laid out in manual and they will not honor their warranty. Company has been going back and forth with lochinvar since July. All we install is Lochinvar and we have done alot of them over the years. If you want a company that stands by their warranty go with WEIL MCLAIN. We have done alot of these also and when something goes wrong with their boilers you make a phone call and the part is shipped no hassle, no charge. Think we are going to step away from Lochinvar until they make some changes in how they treat their customers and contractors who buy alot of boilers from them.
Boilerman
Alabama,#4General Comment
Tue, March 12, 2013
In reading this report and others about Lochinvar I have to say that I do not agree that the boilers and company are not good. I have been in the heating business for 31 years and have installed or started up hundreds of them. Yes I have had some issues but have gotten them fixed if it was something with the equipment and not the install.
Most of the problems with boilers Lochinvar or any other brand most of the time come from a poor installation and a lack of boiler operating knowledge on the installers part.
The factory can not pay for every mistake that all the plumbing companies make or they would go out of business. I have pointed out problems when I would go start up a boiler or water heater for plumbing companies and the installer would refuse to fix it. I have had them say as long as it last a year. The bad part is I couldn't and still can't make them and that leaves the customer hanging with problems.
I would advise anyone getting a boiler installed or changed out to make sure the company doing it have the proper meters and people who are trained in boiler operation and not just someone who can take it out of the box and pipe it up.
Boilers required special meters to set up and service them as they have come a long way from a flame setting under a tube of water. Ask the company about combustion test, gas pressure test, air pressure set up (all of which should have been done on this model) and if they don't have the meters to do them find someone else. Low price is not always the best way to go.
Had a owner that didn't like my price to replace a boiler this past Christmas when his old boiler went out so he called a plumbing friend to do it and guess what, four days later after they got it installed (I could have done it in one day) they couldn't even get it to light, guess who got the call then, which I refused to go. Proper tools, meters and factory training cost money but that is what it takes to do the job right.
Boilerman