I met again with the contractor who is going to install my new boiler. I went over the piping suggestions I received from this forum. Surprisingly he was very receptive to the changes and was grateful for the piping diagrams you guys suggested to me. He said the advice I received from this forum was superb.

He agreed to all the changes and then offered me additional options.

He said I could either stick with the Crown CT-3, or for a slightly better price I could choose a Biasi B10. He says both are low volume, three pass, cast iron boilers ideal for cold start and cold finish and would be controlled with a Tekmar 256 or 260 (my choice, the 260 will cost about $200 more).

He's also offered me the choice of a Riello or Beckett burner.

Too many decisions but I like the fact he's offered me the options.

So I really need help from you guys.

- Should I go with the Crown or the Biasi? Which is better?

- I don't need DHW so should I choose the Tekmar 256 or will it be worth it to get the extra features on the 260? What features other than DHW does the 260 offer over the 256?

- Should I go with the Riello or Beckett?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

I have no first hand experience with Biasi. A lot with Crown.

I have a CT3 in my own home with a Beckett & have installed probably a dozen others including one for my parents (CT5).

Both burners in the Crown work well with an efficiency edge going to Riello. The reliability edge also goes to Riello. For parts availability & ease of service, that goes to Beckett. The Riello is really particular about the nozzle you use.

 

Well that's a respected, experienced opinion on the boiler and burner.

256 or 260? It depends. If this is going to be a simple, partial outdoor reset system with no boiler protection (e.g., thermic bypass, variable speed injection, etc.) to run low water temperatures, AND you are not planning on adding an indirect water heater in the future, then 256. Good basic control that will do what you need.

If you are doing a system with boiler protection to utilize lower water temperatures, OR may be adding an indirect in the future, then the 260. If going this route, then adding an indoor sensor (~$30 on feebay, and easily DIY if you have some wiring available and/or don't mind fishing some to a good spot in the house) really makes this control, as it further tunes the supply temperature to match the actual heat loss of the building. Very efficient setup.

 

I have installed several Biasi B-10/Riello with a Sure Stor Indirect and a Intellicon HW+. The total equipment and control's cost was less then $2500 which you can't beat. Additionally, even though the Biasi is a cold start boiler I have seen an avarage of 10-14% savings with the Intellicon, The tekmar is sort of a pain for many reasons, but it also requires a technician to come back to the home to re-calibrate let alone the fact the tekmar cost almost three times as much to purchase then the Intellicon HW.

 

The crown CT is a better boiler in my opinion. It has great thermal transfer and efficiency. As far as burners, both are great burners but neither is more efficient than the other. If the Beckett has a cover both burners will be quiet. As stated the Beckett is easier to get parts for, but the Riello's control circuit is DC volts, so the control life would be slightly longer in most cases depending on your electric supply. I do not get all hiped up on imported equipment when we have as good as or better equipment made here in the states.