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[vinrum]

I was wondering if anyone had feedback on this unit. I am in the market for a boiler, and with so many of them out there.  It is quite overwhelming.  I have a Heatmor and CB dealer close by and thats all they do is bash each others products.  I am trying to get some feedback first hand

Thanks
Steve

[vinrum]

By the way, I am looking at the 400 series, the 200 isnt big enough for my heat load

[willieG]

I was wondering if anyone had feedback on this unit. I am in the market for a boiler, and with so many of them out there.  It is quite overwhelming.  I have a Heatmor and CB dealer close by and thats all they do is bash each others products.  I am trying to get some feedback first hand

Thanks
Steve

no one has yet to respond steve so i will take a stab at it..i don't like to recomend one brand over another as i have no experiance with any of them and i find most folks who have one, have only had one so they say they like them. Who wouldn't, if it keeps the house warm it is good
i am not a fan of SS as if you get a leak. your warranty will likley let you down by saying yes it is covered send the unit back to the manufacturer at your cost (that means the whole stove) and it will be fixed  (that is a typical warranty of some)  if you have to have the repairs done locally (depending on where you live) a good ,qualified welder for SS may be hard to come by and be costly

i have heard of some of the heatmore SS stoves still going after 20 years (but there are many other brands claim the same thing)
look the SS over good, most of them (or they used to) have SS fire box and mild steel water jacket. well if something is half mild steel and half SS they have to meet somewhere so tell me what good is the SS? and ask what kind of SS it is made from. i know nothing about the types and i have heard  many good things about 409  or 400. well i do a bit of trading in the junk business and when i look at scrap prices i see right now ss 300 grade is 70 cents a pound and SS 400 series is .07 cents a pound that would lead me to believe it aint much better than steel that is about 2 or 3 cents a  just my rant on them anyway
good luck on your purchase and installation

[willieG]

i guess i should have finished with, i'm not saying they are not good stoves i jsut don't see the sense in paying extra money for ss when all comercial boilers i have ever seen are made of boiler plate (and that is different then mild steel)

again...good luck with yoru purchase and install

[vinrum]

Thank you very much Willie

[willieG]

this is only my rant on SS steve, and by no means do i have any metalergy (if that is the word) background to assume my beleifs on

i just think that when they use ss they tend to go a little lighter in thickness and that leads to much more flexing in the heating and cooling of it. more movement means more stress on weld points and if the ss ever gets overheated (low water and big fire) it could even cause the chemicals in teh metal to "move" from their original state that was set when it was manufactured.

boiler plate or mild steel OWB are generally thicker so it is (again only my personal opinion) likely that the rust through that dealers tell you ss gives is off set by the extra thickness (it will take longer to ever rust through) and the extra thickness will take the stress of heat and cold better as steel moves less than ss

now if an OWB was made of say 1/4 inch ss 300 grade it may get my attention to look at. but i doubt you could ever afford to buy it.

wait for all the "beleivers" of ss to come here and give their opinions as well steve. i am sure there are many and will offer information also

as y ou can tell i am a "non beleiver" in ss for this application

[dd]

Vinrum, Were you asking about Heatmors new EPA stove which is called the SSR?  Heatmor has 3 different styles of stoves. All are stainless steel fireboxes. They have the regular series which are models 100css,200css,400css,600css,800cs. Next is the first series of EPA from them which is the 200ssr and 400ssr. The brand new series is the model 200ssr2. Go to Heatmors website and click on the EPA stove link and it shows the dimensions of the fireboxs.  

Clear as mud?

[juddspaintballs]

I know two people with 200CSS's operating without problems.  That's why I chose to buy one. 


I think if you go with Heatmor or Central Boiler, either one would be a good choice.  They both have good warranties.  Although, if you're concerned about EPA qualifications, you might look into a wood gasifier for higher efficiency and more choices for EPA qualified furnaces.  I believe EKO is one of the popular brands for them. 

[shagy1954]

Look at the EPA web site and go from there. The CB has more BTU's for ya. I really do not like the NO insulation in the front rear and in the bottom of Heatmor's stove . Remember they are located outdoors. A HUGE heat loss

[yoderheating]

 I sell Heat Master furnaces but I have heard good things about CB. I have never installed one but I have talked to people who have them and everyone seems to think they are a quality furnace. I would recommend buying a SS furnace. If you do buy a mild steel furnace make sure the firebox and water jacket are both nice and thick. There are brands out there that brag on the thickness of the firebox and don't tell you the water jacket is very thin. I also agree that a mix of SS and mild steel is trouble. If you buy a SS furnace be sure and ask what kind of weld was used. Some companies have used the wrong weld to weld SS and the welds rust out. Good luck.