On the market you can find both steel and cast -iron boilers. Many people ask themselves a question, is there a difference, except for the price in these boilers? Let’s figure it out.
If we take into account the purpose of the boilers, it becomes clear that cast iron boilers are more suitable for heating houses, and small buildings, while steel boilers can often be found in heating systems of industrial buildings.
The fact is that steel boilers initially weigh quite a lot, and if you add a cast -iron heat exchanger to them, this will increase their weight even more. And this, in turn, will affect the financial costs associated with the construction of the foundation.
When it comes to cast -iron boilers, they mean the presence of a cast iron heat exchanger in the boiler. This is almost the main detail of any boiler. The life of the boiler depends on it.
It is believed that the efficiency of the boiler largely depends on the area of the heat exchanger, the larger it is, the more effective the return of heat. In this regard, cast -iron heat exchangers are clearly superior to steel.
Another significant superiority of cast -iron boilers in their simple repair. Cast -iron heat exchanger, unlike steel, consists of sections. With any damage (burning, breakdown), the section can be replaced with a new. In a steel boiler, the heat exchanger is a single whole. It will have to be completely changed. Another factor significantly affecting the life of the boiler is the resistance to corrosion. Corrosion occurs inside the boiler when the temperature of the walls of the boilers decreases below the “dew point”. It is clear that the confrontation of corrosion is very affected by the thickness of the walls of the heat exchanger. Cast-iron heat exchanger is much thicker than steel, therefore, his service life is about 30-40 years.
But the cast -iron boiler and disadvantages have. For example, when using weather -dependent automation, the reaction of cast -iron boilers to temperature conditions will be delayed, it will not be able to instantly fulfill all the necessary automation requirements. As you know, cast iron heats up longer, and cools down slower. Steel boilers in this regard behave much better. Almost instantly there is an increase or lowering temperature in the room, with the specified parameters.
Having considered these criteria for two types of boilers, we can conclude that the best boiler for the house will be a boiler with a cast -iron heat exchanger.