Aluminum or Stainless steel Heat exchangers

[onlyfitidealboilers]

aluminum or stainless steel heat exchangers your views on pros & cons?

let the battle commence

 

[rojaca]

Oh goody, i can find out what the pro's actually are for ally heat ex's. please post.

 

[onlyfitidealboilers]

cheaper to make heatex i think?

 

[adlplumbing]

eh no contest stainless wins everytime

 

[mysteryman]

Stainless steel. Aluminium is dissolved by the condensate.

 

[onlyfitidealboilers]

how do boiler manu get away with using a corrosive part on a boiler!!

if its not fit to do the job why use it??

 

[mehran]

I thought the same till I can across Intergas's heat exchanger.

it is poor heat exchanger design that leads failure basicly I was swayed with the fact Intergas has never had an heat exchanger failure and that viessmann original 100's were made in ALU.


it is the likes of ideal and ravenheap with poor HX design that have given ALU a bad name... mind you it is only intergas so far that I trust....

 

[mickyg]

how do boiler manu get away with using a corrosive part on a boiler!!

if its not fit to do the job why use it??

dunno, why dont you ask Ideal?

 

[libby lou lou]

I know my isar has a ally one, thanks to idealboilers. Is stainy one available? thank you.

edit ta.

 

[Corgigrouch]

I know my isar has a ally one, thanks to idealboilers. Is stainy one available? thank you.

edit ta.

Indeed a stainless HE is available for an Ideal... Just replace the HE with one from a decent boiler and then fit the rest of the decent boiler leaving the Ideal on your front doorstep for the ****** to take away... They are the only folk who want an ideal these days..

Lets not forget guys that if the flux isn't flushed out of the heating system after installation then the water could well be corrosive to Stainless

 

[libby lou lou]

Bit sarcastic but thanks.

 

[Corgigrouch]

Ha! Sorry, I didn't mean to sound sarcastic but if it helps to reinforce my dislike of these boilers. As you have no doubt read, all sane gasmen dislike this model and for good reason.... There are those who claim to like them but I feel only pitty for them..... It started off with them snorting MAPP gas for recriational purposes but they have progressed to eating Flux sandwiches and drinking inhibitor.... Sad but true.

 

[adlplumbing]

Indeed a stainless HE is available for an Ideal... Just replace the HE with one from a decent boiler and then fit the rest of the decent boiler leaving the Ideal on your front doorstep for the ****** to take away... They are the only folk who want an ideal these days..

Lets not forget guys that if the flux isn't flushed out of the heating system after installation then the water could well be corrosive to Stainless

 

[simond]

I remember our Vaillant rep proudly extolling the virtues of their stainless steel heat exchangers, saying only fools would fit aluminium. After all, condensate dissolves them!

I had to point out that most of Vaillant's commercial condensers are made of aluminium.

My personal view is that I've seen plenty of disasters in both aluminium and stainless; it is the design and execution which makes most of the difference, not the material.

 

[vulcancontinental]

I remember our Vaillant rep proudly extolling the virtues of their stainless steel heat exchangers, saying only fools would fit aluminium. After all, condensate dissolves them!

I had to point out that most of Vaillant's commercial condensers are made of aluminium.

My personal view is that I've seen plenty of disasters in both aluminium and stainless; it is the design and execution which makes most of the difference, not the material.

And by design include the number of joints between metals plastics and headers within the boiler case as well as maintaining good flow and return temperatures which can also affect the exchanger.

Also bore size of waterway.

I wasn't aware of a flux that would attack Stainless. Which one or ones are they? I use Yorkshire which isn't sold as an active flux but does the job. So and so to wipe off afterwards.