This is going to be a boring topic, sorry. I am looking for ways to research prices, brands, and configurations in the US for a replacement combi-boiler,
The people who service our 12-year-old combi-boiler, an Italian brand called Modulo, have started filling my head with warning signs – either this boiler is going to give out in the next 5 to 7 years, or they are exaggerating the problem because they don’t like working on this brand. The main problem with this brand is that it can take 6 weeks to get a part, and this particular technician says he refuses to deal with them when they need a part (this is not company policy, and they have another technician but I don’t know his opinion).
Naturally, this technician is recommending that when we replace it we get one of the brands they sell: two high-end lines including Lochinvar, and a middle-of-the-road brand called Navien, which he described as the Toyota of combi-boilers, it just runs and runs. He likes them partly because they will overnight parts from So. Cal. here to SF. He is also recommending having an auxiliary 13-gallon hot water tank, which will reduce the amount of on-off cycling that is happening now, and will shorten the time it takes to get hot water when it is first turned on.
He gave a ballpark quote for the replacement as $14-$18K. Since prices of the actual units seems to rest under $7K, this is a hell of a lot for labor. Finally, he said that the installation process would take 2 or 3 days. Of course, I don’t have to deal with that company. They have been pretty good to work with up to now.
When the time comes, I want to be prepared with a good base of knowledge. So I am hoping someone here can point me to one or more sources of such knowledge, since I don’t know anyone in the business except this one plumbing company.
Edited to add: I would also like to consider a heat-exchanger type of combi-boiler if such a thing exists, and if the climate here will support it (San Francisco, in my unheated garage.)