State Proline XE Combi Boiler
This is my new State Proline XE Combi boiler. It's unbelievable that it heats my entire home and provides all the needed instantaneous domestic hot water for cleaning and bathing. Copyright 2018 Tim Carter
State Proline XE Combi Boiler - Small Workhorse
The first week of December I removed a clunky cast-iron boiler at my home and replaced it with a sleek and compact State Proline XE Combi boiler. Read the cover story on this in Tim's December 7, 2018 Newsletter.
The difference is simply amazing.
My State Proline XE Combi boiler is magic in a box. CLICK HERE to discover more about it.
WATCH ME show off my new State Combi boiler in this video:
How Does the Size Compare to the Old Cast Iron Boiler?
I would say the new State Proline XE Combi Boiler is less than half the size of the old Peerless cast-iron boiler.
This is my old boiler after we took it outdoors. It was about 28 inches wide, 32 inches high and about 34 inches deep. I can't believe I didn't take a great photo of it still in place! Copyright 2018 Tim Carter
Is the New Combi a Modulating Boiler?
Yes, my new boiler only creates as much flame is as needed to heat the demand. My old boiler was either OFF or running at FULL BLAST. A modulating boiler uses much less fuel.
How Efficient is the State Proline XE Combi boiler?
It's got a 95% AFUE rating. That's about as high as you can get.
Here's the State Proline XE Combi boiler with my domestic hot water manifold to the right. Each one of those PEX lines feeds hot water to a faucet in the house. The combi boiler can make hot water as long as there's propane in the outdoor tank. Copyright 2018 Tim Carter
These are the vent and incoming air lines. The gray pipe is schedule 80 and is the outgoing vent. The white pipe is incoming fresh combustion air. Copyright 2018 Tim Carter
This is the nameplate you'll see on your new State Proline XE Combi boiler. Copyright 2018 Tim Carter
I really got exited when I saw this new product highlighted by you Tim.
My daughter has one of the large boilers like you did have. Only difference is she has the water lines in her floor! Would the Combi- Boiler work with this kind of distribution system, and would it work with natural gas?
It makes no difference if the water lines are in the floor or go to radiators. We have in-floor lines in the basement, but radiators in the two upper floors.
Had I built the home, I would have put the heating in ALL the floors.
Yes, the boilers work for propane OR natural gas. You need to order the RIGHT ONE or get the conversion kit.
Thanks Tim! We will be researching this more in the near future as a replacement for her present system!
Can one assume that this new boiler is only worthwhile if your old one is over the hill?
How much more efficient is this unit so one can do a cost benefit analysis
No, you can't assume that. It's a multi-variable problem as you need to factor in how long you intend to stay in the house.
This unit is 95% efficient.
Tim,
How much do these boilers typically cost? In the 2 or 3 years I am going to need hot water tank and a boiler replacement. I have a plummer friend who can do the install but I will need to purchase the unit so that is why I ask. I expect to need the lowest btu version.
Ray,
I just went to supplyhouse.com and looked them up. It appears the range is $2,200 to possibly $3,000. Look here:
https://www.supplyhouse.com/Boilers-449000
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I have a Navien Combi Unit and I love it. I had it installed four years ago and have never had a problem. My home was built in 1952 and this unit replaced the original boiler, which was huge and looked like the old incinerators back in the day.
I highly recommend them!
Hi Tim, I have a Peerless PF-110 95% mod-con boiler, about 3 years old, which I assume is similar. Can you explain if these are similar and what differences may be for 95% mod-con boilers? We have in-floor radiant on 3 levels and an indirect water heater so we do not use the boiler for DHW. I expect (well, hope) these last a long time!
I think all you have to do is go to each website and compare the specs. No need for me to go do that for you, right? Use the link above in my column to get to specs for my combi. Then go to the Peerless site.
I have a rinnai heater. there is a feature I like. I can run the electricity part of the unit with a computer UPS in a power outage. I see that you have many zones of pumps. If these are the newest you are all set, they have better pumping efficiency and quite possibly will run on the UPS. No need for a big gas generator, (depending on battery size). during outages
We were about to install a Rinnai heater about 5 years ago until I discovered there is constant need to flush the heating coils of scale and the propane line needed to be larger and plumbing rerouted. Added another $1500 to the project. By constant I mean annually. What are the requirements of the new heaters? Tank systems only require replacing the sacrificial rod every five years or so.
Simple. Select the one you're interested in and go download the User's Manual.
Read for yourself what you have to do at the end of each season.
Tim, a while back you wrote an article comparing the costs of tank water heaters vs tankless heaters. It was determined the amount of gas saved was very small plus looking at the higher cost and maintenance of tankless was a losing proposition. I have a Weil Mclain boiler 85% efficiency that used the grey vent pipe which was recalled. Took 2 years to find an installer to replace with double wall stainless steel. No one wanted the liability of replacement. When the grey pipe was removed some sections disintegrated. With combination units seems like boiler firing on alot more than just a heating unit which drastically reduces longevity of unit? Comments.
Yes. Use the search engine here on my site and read ALL of my tankless heater columns.
My stance for years has been don't buy one if your motivation is to have INSTANT savings. You only SAVE money after you recapture all the extra money you spent on the device plus extra installation costs. It's all in my past columns.
In my case here, I needed a new boiler and was tired of having 200 gallons of heated water in tanks wasting energy. So since I was already installing a new boiler, I might as well get one that could act as a domestic water heater.
That's different motivation than just switching out a standard storage-tank water heater with a tankless one.
Hi Tim,
Merry Christmas! How noisy is your system? We live in a townhome. Our boiler and water heater are located on the second floor in our storage space. There is no insulation in the wall between the storage space and the living area. The current set up is very quiet. I want the new system to be just as quiet.
The machine itself is very quiet. The exhaust outdoors when the boiler is running full tilt gets your attention.
Bottom Line: I can live with any noise that creeps back indoors to save BIG MONEY on propane. I can already tell my propane bill is going to go down like the stock market did in the fall of 2018!
Supplyhouse has 36 different makes & models of high-efficiency boilers. How did you decide on the Proline?
Also, why do you run a PEX line to each hot water faucet instead of just connecting to the pipe from your old hot water heater?
Thanks!
Tim,
I think it is about time you get this comment section fixed so we can see the other comments. Many times in the past they offered a great contrast to your thoughts, not to mention great comments in general. this topic is especially interesting because in the past you had articles showing what a POOR investment this combo boiler was and how it would years for payback.
You usually do great cost analyses. Is this worth getting only when your old boiler dies?
As long as you have good, well insulated plumbing, preferably a separate line to each faucet, plus you seldom lose electrical power and then only for a short time (or you have a good standby automatic generator system) this is a great way to save energy!
You did not mention the cost of this boiler compared to installing a regular new boiler say for a two bedroom boiler. thanks Tim
Did the same 2 years ago. Amazingly efficient and uses much less natural gas than my oil boiler did. Now I smile when I see the oil truck drive by.
I have an old HS Tarm combo boiler that works great for both heat and domestic h.w. We currently are using the wood side but occasionally click on the boiler, when away for longer period. It is 140k BTU; rebuilt by me with new controls, etc. about 10 years ago. Can this Combi boiler be added as a primary and/or back up. We're both 67 years old and will not probably be burning wood...into our 80's...:) Also is the system expensive? Oh....our home is a smaller 1550 sq ft Capt-style; single zone system with old eight fully functional cast iron radiators.
Are they only fueled by gas/propane?
Hi Tim:
This looks like the modern day reincarnation of the Enertrol I installed on my FHW oil burner back in the late 80's. That system had tankless HW too. Enertrol had an outside temp sensor to modulate furnace HW temp and was programmable to amp up the water temp a couple of times a day for bathing, etc. Though I could never measure the savings, I suspect there were some just by modulating the water temp down in warmer months.
Hey Time--Great article. Curious? Are Pex lines more or less likely to burst in freezing weather, i.e. like what Texas experienced in the past weeks? And another question, what is the longevity of the PEX lines? Will they need to be replaced?
Thank you and thank you for your great newsletter
Why can't I see the 28 Responses to State Proline XE Combi Boiler?
I have a Combi unit and love it! It replaced my ancient “spider” boiler which took up way too much space.