74,000 BTU Output Cast Iron Oil Boiler w/ Burner - Chimney Vent

In October 2009 I installed the Buderous G115-3 74,000 BTU boiler on top of a Buderus L160 indirect fired domestic hot water heater. I also purchased the Logamatic 2107 controller with outdoor temp sensor. This setup replaced an old 136,000 BTU Atlas boiler with internal DHW coil. So more than 2 years later all I can say is that this is a fantastic combo that is very efficient and provides lots of hot water too. The Logamatic controller took awhile to tweak (with helpful telephone instructions from Buderous customer service) and now provides perfect setback based on our lifestyle and outdoor temperature. I have averaged better than 20% fuel savings over the last 2 years and we never run out of hot water like the old system. I can clean the hemispherical combustion chamber myself (It still isn't sooty after 2 heating seasons!) and it will never need a liner or target replacement like other boilers. This thing burns CLEAN. The only down side is the chosen AFG burner is a lot noisier than the old AF burner we had before. The German Buderus products are so well made I do not understand why anyone would want a Weil McLain or similar when you can have a MUCH higher quality Buderus for virtually the same price. If you appreciate great engineering and use of latest marerials and technology, you will really like the Buderous stuff.

My Buderus g115ws3 ran problem-free for 18 months, with reduced oil consumption compared to the 22-year-old boiler it replaced. Then it stopped working. The tech from my service company found that section seal had failed and was weeping water into the combustion chamber. Buderus required the tech to come out a second time to verify what he had already found and made him wait onsite for a callback -- an unnecessary $500 expense on top of $1100 already spent to diagnose the problem. Now it has been almost three weeks and Buderus has not yet responded to the warranty paperwork. The $1600 I have already spent plus the labor I will have to spend to install a replacement plus the cost of running emergency electric heat will far exceed any fuel savings. So far my experience with Buderus has been low quality, high cost, poor/nonexistent service -- plus two months of no heat/hot water.