FAQs

I see most of the Triad boilers are round, what are they made of?
What sizes do you make?
What can your boilers be used for?
Why is steel a superior material to copper?
Why is steel a superior material to cast iron?
How does a Triad firetube boiler compare to a watertube boiler?
Why is a steel Triad more ecologically friendly than a copper boiler?
Are Triad Boilers a good value?
How efficient is a Triad boiler?
Why are modular Triad’s a better choice than a single large boiler?
Are maintenance costs for Triad’s low versus other boilers?

I see most of the Triad boilers are round, what are they made of?
The Triad boiler is made entirely of steel. Nobody in the industry is putting
such extreme steel thickness in such a small vessel, which is why we call it
the “Big Boiler with a Small Footprint”. The square units are our “Triumph”
high-efficiency condensing boilers, which consist of a solid block, cast
aluminum heat exchanger.

What sizes do you make?
Our boilers range in size from 300,000 btu’s to 1,700,000 btu’s, and are designed
to be modular, which means that many can be linked together to create a system
with millions of btu’s. The footprint of these vessels are all quite small, so
they will fit virtually anywhere.

What can your boilers be used for?
Triad has two main categories of boilers; hot water and steam. The hot water boilers
can be used for (i) comfort heating,(ii) domestic hot water (showers, kitchens) or
(iii) in a combination boiler that will do both things from one vessel. Triad
steam boilers are “low pressure”, used primarily for comfort heating, but also
for occasional industrial applications.

Why is steel a superior material to copper?
Steel is much more rugged than copper. The copper used in boilers is much thinner
than steel, and less able to withstand extreme temperature fluctuations. It is
also more sensitive to poor quality water, which can result in leaks. And finally,
because of the way copper boilers are made, they are very sensitive to interruptions
in water flow. Thus if a pump fails, there is a good chance the entire heat exchanger
has failed.

Why is steel a superior material to cast iron?
Cast iron is a material that can gradually wear away over the years, resulting in
thinner walls, and ultimately leaks. Cast iron boilers are made in sections,
with gaskets between each section. These gaskets can fail, resulting in the
entire section being replaced, When that occurs, the entire boiler has to be
filled with water and tested under high pressure, at the jobsite, which is very
labor intensive. A leak in a steel boiler can simply be welded.

How does a Triad firetube boiler compare to a watertube boiler? Firetube boilers tend to have better heat transfer and less exposure to corrosion
and scale. In a firetube boiler, the outer tube surface is in contact with the
water. Since the outer surface of the tube is greater than the inner surface,
heat is more efficiently transferred to the water. The occurrence of corrosion
and scale increases with temperature. Because the tubes in a watertube boiler
have a higher relative temperature there is a greater chance of increased scale
and corrosion.

Why is a steel Triad more ecologically friendly than a copper boiler?
The rugged Triad can easily last more 30 years, while many copper boilers last
only 7 to 10 years (and often shorter). With the short-lived copper boilers
ending up in a landfill – which one do you think is a better choice for the
environment?

Are Triad Boilers a good value?
Yes. The upfront cost of a Triad can be more than a copper boiler, but because of
its extremely rugged design, it can last up to five times longer. Triads are
similar in cost to cast iron boilers, but will still have a life expectancy of 5
to 10 years longer. So, the life-cycle cost is less.

How efficient is a Triad boiler?
Triad has two types of boilers, steel firetube boilers which are 83% to 84% efficient
(with an optional economizer can reach 87%), and Triumph condensing boilers which
are certified at 95%, and can reach efficiencies of up to 99%.

Why are modular Triad’s a better choice than a single large boiler?
Several factors make modular boilers a better choice. 1) Redundancy – which means
if one boiler goes down, there are others to back it up. With only one boiler,
you will be out of heat. 2) Seasonal Efficiency – which means that during a less
cold spring day, just one small modular boiler could handle the load, which is
much less costly than heating up a big oversized boiler that was originally chosen
so it could handle the coldest day of the year. 3) Hybrid System – this means you
have a mix of Triumph condensing boilers with Triad traditional efficiency boilers.
On a less cold day, the higher efficiency condensing boiler will handle the load,
yet on a colder day the Triad steel boilers will be more efficient at handling
the load. On cold starts, when the system wants to condense, the Triumph high
efficiency will be used to bring the system up to the comfort level, and will
then drop off, and let the Triad steel boilers take over to maintain heat for
rest of the day.

Are maintenance costs for Triad’s low versus other boilers?
The dirty little secret of many types of boilers is the unusually high maintenance
costs, especially when all the parts are proprietary to the manufacturer. All of
Triad’s controls and parts are “off the shelf” items, commonly used in the industry,
from companies like Honeywell and ITT. This dramatically reduces, and simplifies,
the ongoing maintenance costs, because you can buy parts from us, or from your
local supply house.