Art Kelley said:
Odin said:
Is the heat you get from a heat exchanger free?yes
No. Absolutely NOT. You simply have to pay more for a HX system with comparable heat than a fuel- fired one giving comparable heat and flow. Pick any temperature / flow rate. It's true across the board.
[quote="Art Kelley":2oe1zagj]Could propane heat actually be less expensive than a machine with a HX that will match the same performance
no
Sure. When you factor in up- front cost of a HX system and the average that it takes about 1.5 years to break even from the standpoint of propane fuel savings, THEN add the higher maintenance requirements due to the higher complexity of most HX systems, AND the higher cost of "proprietary parts" associated with most HX systems, vs. "off- the- shelf" prices from Grainger, Home Depot, hardware stores, pressure washer repair and parts stores, etc., the increased maintenance costs of a typical HX system up quickly.
Example:
Propane: replace the gas valve, gas regulator and clean the burner jets is a "complete overhaul", costing easily less than $200, including labor
HX: sensors, relays, solenoids, multiple heat exchangers (each with their own sensor and control), all added up, plus labor, easily would cost $500 or more (labor costs associated with most HX systems are higher, because the way they are arranged requires substantially more time to do repair tasks)
Art Kelley said:
Could propane be less expensive and maintain a higher temperature]
no to less expensive, possibly to maintain higher heat, unless you're running low of propane on a job and you have three hours to go and it's late and all the propane stores are closed.
[/quote:2oe1zagj]
Huh...?
The answer is, "Yes.". A good example is the Dominator 3047 that we build. It can
maintain in excess of 220 degrees at the wand,
at 600 PSI, with two wands running simultaneously, with #6 jets or equivalent, per wand. ("12 flow" total)
I challenge you to show me a new HX system that can do that the $17,500 price of a Dominator 3047..