Lochinvar, from Detroit to Lebanon, Tennessee
Lochinvar started in 1939 as the Walter Vallett Company, took the Lochinvar name in Detroit in 1957 and moved to Nashville in 1970. In 1986 it introduced the Power-Fin high-efficiency boiler, and since 2001 its headquarters and factory have been in Lebanon, Tennessee. A. O. Smith Corporation, the water heater maker, bought Lochinvar in 2011, according to Lochinvar's own history.
Lochinvar makes much more than home boilers: commercial boilers, water heaters, pool heaters and storage tanks. The residential boiler line is short and easy to learn. The Knight and the Noble are condensing boilers, and the Solution is the non-condensing option. We service and repair all three, and we install new Lochinvar boilers where they fit the house.
Reading a Lochinvar model number
Lochinvar's model numbers tell you more than most. The letters name the family:
- KHB is a floor-standing Knight and WHB a wall-mount Knight. Older Knights start with KH.
- NKB is a Noble wall-mount boiler, NKC a Noble combi on the wall and NCF a Noble combi on the floor.
- CBN is the Solution.
The three digits give the maximum input in thousands of Btu per hour, so a KHB110 fires up to 110,000 and an NKB080 up to 80,000. The full model and serial number are on the rating plate, and a photo of it before we come out means we arrive with the right parts. Noble boilers sold in Canada carry the Epic name, which matters if you're reading a manual from across the border.
Knight and Noble repairs we see in Minnesota
Both families are 95% AFUE condensing boilers rated for a 10:1 turndown, which lets them throttle far down and run long, quiet cycles on mild days. The Knight adds a stainless fire-tube heat exchanger, a built-in ECM variable-speed boiler pump and the SMART SYSTEM control, which gives the installer a long list of adjustable settings.
Most of our Lochinvar calls fall into a few groups:
- Winter lockouts. Sidewall vent terminals ice up or drift over, and condensate lines freeze where they run along an outside wall. Lochinvar sells a condensate neutralization kit, and a clogged neutralizer backs up the drain just like a frozen line.
- Short cycling. An outdoor reset curve set wrong, or piping that starves the boiler of flow, makes it fire and stop over and over. The turndown only helps when the settings match the house.
- Combi hot water. A Noble combi heats water on demand, and Lochinvar lists the NKC110 at up to 2.6 gallons per minute with a 77°F rise. January tap water is colder, so the flow drops, and scale on the hot water heat exchanger drops it further.
- Hydro-air homes. Some houses heat with hot water run through a coil in an air handler. The Noble combi has an interlock that keeps the air handler from blowing cool air while it makes hot water, and when that wiring is skipped, the complaint is a cold draft during showers.
Which homes suit a Lochinvar condensing boiler?
Condensing boilers like the Knight and Noble save the most on low-temperature systems: radiant slabs, in-floor heat in a garage, which we see in some Woodbury homes, newer baseboard, and well-sized radiators with outdoor reset. A big cast-iron radiator system in an older Minneapolis or Saint Paul house can take one too, but it needs the right piping and clean water, since decades of sludge will foul a new heat exchanger fast. Steam systems can't use either; they need a steam boiler.
For a straight swap on atmospheric venting, the Solution stays non-condensing, so there is no condensate drain to add. If you're deciding between a combi and a boiler with an indirect tank such as the Squire, our post on tankless vs tank water heaters covers the hot water side, and our Navien page covers another maker's wall-hung combis.
Booking Lochinvar service
Call 612-429-3465 from 7am to 9pm, seven days a week. Homes without heat get priority. A service call is a $79 trip charge, waived when you approve the repair, and the price is written and fixed before we start. Completed repairs carry our 1-year parts-and-labor warranty, and installs carry a 2-year labor warranty on top of the manufacturer's parts warranty; register a new boiler with Lochinvar and check its current warranty terms, since many makers tie coverage to registration. Our boiler and radiant heat page covers how we work on hydronic systems in general.
Lochinvar questions
Who owns Lochinvar?
A. O. Smith Corporation, the water heater maker, which acquired Lochinvar in 2011, according to Lochinvar's own history. The company began in 1939 as the Walter Vallett Company, took the Lochinvar name in Detroit in 1957, moved to Nashville in 1970, and has had its headquarters and factory in Lebanon, Tennessee, since 2001.
What's the difference between a Knight and a Noble?
Both are 95% AFUE condensing boilers with a 10:1 turndown. The Knight is Lochinvar's heat-only fire-tube boiler, in floor and wall models, with a stainless fire-tube heat exchanger, a built-in ECM boiler pump and the SMART SYSTEM control, which has a long list of adjustable settings. The Noble is a wall-mount boiler or a combi run by SMART CONTROL. On larger or heavily zoned systems we lean toward the Knight.
Why does my Noble combi run short on hot water in January?
A combi heats water as it passes through, so its flow depends on how much the water has to warm up. Lochinvar rates the NKC110 at up to 2.6 gallons per minute with a 77°F rise. Winter tap water arrives colder, the rise gets bigger and the flow drops. Scale inside the hot water heat exchanger cuts it further, and descaling usually brings it back.
Can a Lochinvar boiler run on propane?
Yes. Lochinvar offers Knight and Noble models for natural gas or propane, which suits lake homes and farmhouses past the gas lines. After any fuel change or gas valve repair we check combustion with an analyzer, because a boiler set up for the wrong fuel or pressure runs dirty and can fail to light. The propane regulator and line have to be sized for full fire too.
Is the Lochinvar Solution a condensing boiler?
No. The Solution is Lochinvar's non-condensing residential boiler, rated 84% AFUE with atmospheric venting. It comes pre-piped with a pumped performance loop, and its control handles domestic hot water priority and outdoor reset. We see it as a fit for replacements where adding a condensing boiler's new venting and condensate drain would be difficult.
Sources
- Lochinvar official site lochinvar.com