Solo 110 LP, 76,000 BTU Output Prestige Boiler

Comments about Solo 110 NG, 86,000 BTU Output Prestige Boiler:

Our 110 has been in use two winters now in Minnesota -- under extremely variable weather conditions over those two winters. The Solo 110 has performed exactly as advertised. Our system does not include indirect water heating. It consists of two low-mass baseboard zones, and two high-mass radiant zones, in a remodeled 1913 bungalow, approx. 2200 s.f.

The near-boiler piping is a primary/secondary setup, including zone valves controlled by a Taco zone control board, and distribution circulation modulated by a Delta-T Taco pump (to help prevent overpumping when most zones are inactive). It took a few days of trial and error to orchestrate these devices, but it paid off. One word of installation advice: whether you install the boiler or a contractor does it for you, be sure to start by installing a large piece of 3/4 plywood as a mounting panel for the boiler. The larger the panel, the more conveniently you can arrange and anchor the boiler and the system piping. You could even draw a diagram of the planned installation directly on the plywood prior to installation. If you run into a problem with the system layout, just paint over it and draw another one!

The Solo 110 is a great anchor for this system. It is engineered to:
(1) rapidly adjust to changing heat loads in my house (e.g. morning recovery from night-time setback);
(2) automatically modulate BTU output according to extremely variable outdoor conditions;
(3) allow the contractor (or an informed homeowner) to control system design variables -- most importantly the reset curve and max operating temperature;
(4) react automatically to "unplanned events" and informational triggers (I'm thinking of warm weather shut-down, low-pressure cutoff, rapid rise in return temp, erratic burner detection, etc.)
(5) provide almost silent operation (ours is installed in a utility room with 2x4 framing and drywalled both sides. Even though the TV room is directly adjacent to the boiler on the other side of the wall, we have to mute the TV in order to hear the boiler).

The boiler is well packaged for shipment. Packaged with the boiler are
* the primary circulator (already installed!)
* pressure relief valve
* condensate trap
* detailed installation/user/venting manuals
* the wall-mount bracket.
It's also a nice touch that they provide some special brass fittings to help you mount the pressure relief valve to the top port on the boiler. Initial setup, including PVC venting through the home's rim joist, initial wiring, and primary loop piping, took approximately three hours. Once the secondary system was piped into the primary, I wired all components to the Taco zone control module. I also recommend a system-wide master switch for the boiler and all powered controls. If there's a sudden plumbing or electrical problem in the system, you'll be able to instantly shut the entire system down and prevent costly damage.

I rated this boiler 5 stars, but hesitated at the fifth star, because I have one main and important complaint: for all of the adaptability, flexibility, and intelligence of this system, it amazes me that Triangle Tube offered such an *un*helpful digital front display and control panel. Contractors who install these boilers on a daily basis must hate the initial programming. The four-digit numeric display can only read one system parameter at a time, so it is wholly inadequate as a control interface. Instead, the contractor and homeowner would benefit from a larger LCD display that provides real-time display of multiple system parameters all at once. One screen could indicate all critical temperatures: outdoor temp, system supply temp, return temp, DHW temp, boiler target temp, flue temp. Another screen could indicate other main system information: e.g. current firing rate, average cycles per hour, cycle length, etc. And how about GPM flow rate through the boiler? That is an important factor, and it sure would be nice to know actual flow rate, especially if the internal pump were replaced by a different model. As it stands, the digital display and control logic make it (1) too difficult to access information, and (2) too difficult to make system changes. Trying to hit targets for comfort, efficiency and longevity with this control panel is a little like the pilot of a stealth bomber trying to hit multiple targets with nothing in the cockpit except a ten-key calculator.

Interestingly, I just went to Triangle Tube's website, where I discovered that they are releasing a new "Trimax" version of the Prestige, with what looks like a more useful control panel. Looks like Triangle Tube is aware of the problem. Whether they've fully addressed the shortcoming remains to be seen.

Bottom line: Like other reviewers, I also invested hours and hours of research before my purchase. After that research and after two heating seasons of observation, I'm increasingly convinced that this is one of those rare examples of an exceptionally engineered product at an affordable price. From the quality of the materials to the documentation to the sophisticated control logic, the system is well worth the price, and beats out the competition. As soon as Triangle Tube provides a truly user-friendly interface, they will have an unbeatable product. Time will tell whether the Trimax version is truly user-friendly. But even now, with all that Triangle Tube has already engineered into these boilers, I'm actually surprised that they haven't captured more market share.

Comments about Solo 110 NG, 86,000 BTU Output Prestige Boiler:

I bought and installed this product fall of 2010. Works great.Heats my 1800sg ft house in northeast pa no problem. My house is insullated. Last winter was cold and i up my base water temp setting and never looked back. I saved money on my gas bill last year with no loss in comfort. This years weather is so far much milder and my gas bill is lower. At this point i am now only concern with the electronics in the unit and how long they can last.

Comments about Solo 110 NG, 86,000 BTU Output Prestige Boiler:

Installed this boiler myself last fall and ran it all winter to heat my 4 zone radiant heat which includes the downstairs, garage, and master bathroom (3,200 sqft). The heater runs flawless, and I haven't done anything to keep it running. Couple of things to keep in mind 1) condensing boilers produce a lot of moisture out the vent pipe, vent high above the ground to allow room for condenced water to freeze. 2) Pay attention to the pressure of water in your system, the low pressure cut off occurs around 10psi creating an error message that is not overly obvious; solution for me was to charge up to 15 psi to allow for contraction in the summer.

Comments about Solo 110 NG, 86,000 BTU Output Prestige Boiler:

I installed this unit myself without any problems.

I have had the solo 110 boiler for about four years now and it has performed nearly flawlessly. The only flaw that I've been able to find is when we have power outages along with brown outs or surges, it occasionally has to be reset, by pressing the reset button before it will fire again. In my area of MI we have a lot of power outages at least five per year. This has happened about five times in almost four years. I suppose if I had a surge protector on this line this may not happen.

Now the good stuff. It's silent, you can't tell it's heating the house, the circulating zone pump is louder than the boiler. With the outdoor temp sensor it automatically adjust the circulating water temp so that it runs for long periods, not short cycling. The temp sensor allows it to modulate or burn at a very low btu rate on the 40-50 degree days and achieve the highest efficiency possible because the return water temp will be the coldest it can be. The only time you can even tell it's on is when it's heating domestic hot water. Even then you only hear a hum of the vent blower. If you're more than 6' away from it you can't hear it.

OK some tech stuff. I'm an engineer and I did a lot a research before buying this unit. I believe I bought the best unit regardless of price. Triangle tube is the only unit that uses a 431 stainless steel heat exchanger. 431 SS contains titanium. This ss was developed for cycling corrosive environments such as heat exchangers and exhaust systems. Other SS will crack in these environments over time. Aluminum will oxidize and also crack over time. Another nice feature I liked is how the heat exchanger pump is integrated into the boiler. This saves quite bit of plumbing and wiring time. So if you factor in an hour or two labor savings, the additional cost of the pump and plumbing materials you can take that off the total cost when comparing it to others.

This boiler also heats all our domestic hot water. I use a 36 gallon Smart 40 indirect water heater. The boiler is able to keep up with five back to back showers M-F and often a load of laundry at the beginning or any time in between. It makes enough hot water that it would supply endless hot water for a single shower or at least 30 minutes of dual showers. When I say back to back, we have three full baths, and typically there are two and sometimes three showers going at once, and we all get hot water. I did have to put the shower flow restricttor that it came with back into my daughters shower so all five of us could have hot water, she often takes 15 minute showers.

Comments about Solo 110 NG, 86,000 BTU Output Prestige Boiler:

The local utility tried to steer me away from money saving gas boiler by tripling the price, local plumbers wanted $10,000 to put in a [$] boiler. Never worked on a boiler before put it in myself. If you can sweat pipe and connect a gas line it done, Went high tech with air and elimation and zone pumps instead of zone valves my choice. did extras. could left all old zone valves and air valves and connect as it was would of taken a day or two by myself, need hand to put it on the wall rest is straight forward.

Comments about Solo 110 NG, 86,000 BTU Output Prestige Boiler:

Just got it installed and am anxious to see how it affects my utility bills.

Comments about Solo 110 LP, 76,000 BTU Output Prestige Boiler:

bought this boiler to replace my 20 yr old model. works great [...] thanks

Comments about Solo 110 NG, 86,000 BTU Output Prestige Boiler:

This boiler was installed in residential use about 5 weeks ago, following the exact instructions provided by the manufacturer and the common sense procedures. So far, the boiler is operating as intended. Installing the outdoor sensor is important to have the boiler yield optimum performance. What has been satisfying is that the boiler worked as suggested right out of the box - so to speak. However, the worst part is the code system used in the display; it's impossible to recall numerous codes each giving different information. Perhaps a slightly larger display with fewer understandable codes could have served better - e.g., in Lochinvar's Knight boiler. Not having used this boiler for long yet, it's appropriate that I've rated it as 4*.

Comments about Solo 110 LP, 76,000 BTU Output Prestige Boiler:

Seems like a nice furnace,will know more this Spring.

Comments about Solo 110 NG, 86,000 BTU Output Prestige Boiler:

This is going to be our 3rd winter with the TT Solo 110 and TT Smart 40 indirect fired water heater. We downsized from a 160,000 BTU cast iron boiler to the 110,000 BTU Solo. The boiler has performed very well and we've had no issues with it. The heat exchanger design is supposed to be self cleaning to maintain efficiency. The Smart 40 is actually a 36 gallon storage tank and we've never run out of hot water whether showering or taking a bath. The first hour recovery is about 3 times more than a standard 40 gallon storage tank. It takes up very little space with it's wall hung design. Definitely pleased with our purchase.