Navien Combi Boiler Installation in La Honda, CA | Radiant Heating & Propane System
We got a call from a homeowner in La Honda, deep in the mountains of San Mateo County. About 10–15 years ago, a radiant heating system with a floor-standing Munchkin condensing boiler had been installed. Over time the system began failing repeatedly. The original contractor is also based in San Mateo County, making every service visit long, expensive, and frustrating. After years of temporary fixes, the homeowner called us in.
La Honda, San Mateo County — Navien Combi Boiler Installation | Heating Rescue
We got a call from a homeowner in La Honda, deep in the mountains of San Mateo County. About 10–15 years ago, a radiant heating system with a floor-standing Munchkin condensing boiler had been installed. Over time the system began failing repeatedly. The original contractor is also based in San Mateo County, making every service visit long, expensive, and frustrating. After years of temporary fixes, the homeowner called us in.
When we inspected the mechanical room, we found two separate systems:
- Radiant heating
- Domestic hot water
The homeowner also reported hot water problems. The cause was immediately clear — the storage tank was actively leaking, and water had run directly onto a circulation pump, burning it out completely. Luckily, no fire started despite stored items around the equipment. Because this is a mountain home where temperatures drop fast, restoring heat became priority #1.
Stage 1 — Emergency Heat Restoration
We installed a Navien Combi Boiler, tied it directly into the existing radiant zones, and restored heat within a couple of days. Due to the home’s high-elevation location, we used a combustion analyzer to dial in the correct air-to-fuel ratio, adjusted all five combustion parameters, and verified clean, efficient operation under load in cold ambient conditions.
This property runs on propane, not natural gas, so we installed the proper Navien LP conversion kit, tuned combustion to propane specifications, and confirmed safe and efficient operation post-conversion.
Stage 2 — Full System Consolidation
Because the storage tank is leaking, the circulation pump has failed, mountain water quality is extremely poor, hot water performance continues to drop, and maintaining two separate systems is inefficient and costly, we proposed consolidating everything into one unified system.
The plan includes removing the leaking tank, removing separate DHW equipment, installing a buffer tank, and using one Navien combi boiler to provide both radiant heating and domestic hot water. Due to highly mineralized water in the area, a Navien PeakFlow A descaling system will also be installed to protect the equipment long term.
Summary
- Mountain home
- Heat restored immediately
- Domestic hot water upgrade coming next
- Water treatment included
- Propane conversion with full combustion tuning
- No more expensive long-distance service calls
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