Range Rating Vaillant Ecomax 828E

[ATG]

In our house we have a ten year old Ecomax 828E lpg fired combi which works perfectly. Looking at the installation manual left by the previous owners it states that range rating can improve efficiency even though the boiler modulates to suit the heating load.

I have done much searching on the web about range rating and think I know what is trying to be achieved, but is it really necessary if the boiler is fully modulating and in good order?

One thing which scared me was that an expert on a heating forum stated that there should be no plume of steam coming out of the flue, otherwise the exhaust is not cooling quickly enough, therefore inefficient operation. But this last few weeks it's been really steaming away like a good'un.

Is this just because its been so cold?

If it helps, the boiler is stated to put out about 22-23kW while the total heat output of all our rads is around 20kW. I am running the boiler on heat setting 8 so the temp on the boiler doesn't go above 64 degrees.

Is it worth experimenting with d.00 setting to see if the plume of steam goes away, or is all working just as it should?

Thanks in advance for any observations.

ATG

 

[petit_pablo]

If its pluming its condensing and working correctly. Thats the point of them. You can try range rating it but as its fully modulating i doubt u will notice any difference

 

[D_Hailsham]

If its pluming its condensing and working correctly.

Hang on a sec!

If the boiler is condensing properly, all the water vapour in the exhaust gases becomes water, which goes down the condensate pipe. There will be no water vapour coming out of the flue - so no plume. The only other gas coming out of the flue is carbon dioxide (and a few others) and this is invisible. A plume of water vapour means that the boiler is not condensing.