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I don't believe they did that (Steamhead)

Steamhead
Steamhead Member Posts: 16,796
stripped out the nozzle adapter on a Carlin 99FRD, disconnected the oil and electrical connections to the burner, told the lady it was obsolete, they can't get parts for it and she needed a whole new boiler, and left her without heat or hot water!

The boiler is a Burnham V-14 with a tankless coil. When I got there I found it completely plugged with soot- that explains the smell, ma'am. I wish I had my camera with me.

I stuck a Beckett on there to get the heat back on and ordered the Carlin parts- looks like it had the wrong flame-retention ring too. What a mess.

This burns me up. Every time someone pulls a number like that it makes the whole heating industry look bad. I won't mention the name of the oil company on the Wall, but if anyone wants to know just e-mail me. Hint: a large company operating on most of the East Coast, not a local Baltimore company.

I bet if this were publicized, that company would change its ways.

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All Steamed Up, Inc.
Towson, MD, USA
Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
Oil & Gas Burner Service
Consulting

Comments

  • lchmb
    lchmb Member Posts: 2,997
    just a thought

    but maybe the company has no idea of it going on and you dropping them a note may in the future save someone's life. I don't want to sound like I am defending this company or person but maybe the tech had no clue..seen it many time's where lack of knowledge lead to a bad decision..A little knowledge goes a long way and you not telling hide's the needed information..:)
    stay warm
  • Murph'_5
    Murph'_5 Member Posts: 349
    I hope it's not....

    The same company you had servicing yours years ago, but looks like you came full circle with this oil stuff (the sincerity is the same) I gonna hit Alans class in cleveland this spring if you want to hook up!!



    Murph'



    (oh yeah you have to proof these directions to your house before they go into print, and the fireworks permit is a go !!)
  • Robert O'Connor_6
    Robert O'Connor_6 Member Posts: 299
    Good Job

    Steamhead. Way to keep the standards high in the oil game!!

    All the best

    Robert
  • Mark Hunt
    Mark Hunt Member Posts: 4,909
    You could be right


    might be a very inexperienced tech.

    I asked a fellow contractor a while back if he would allow a ten year old to play with gas and matches. He said no.

    I asked him if he would let a 15 year old do it and again he said no.

    I then asked him why he would let a "three-year old" play with gas and matches in customers basements.

    Not many young people flocking to the trades, many different reasons, and the ones that do seldom get the training that they should.

    There are some that just don't give a damn and will never learn.

    Mark H

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  • Leo
    Leo Member Posts: 770
    I'm a tech for an oil company

    I am a tech for an oil company. I have worked for one of the two large ones on the east coast and I now work for a small one owned by one man. Both companies do not tolerate what you have seen but I can say each has had bad experiences because of guys with attitude.

    Leo
  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 16,796
    Oh, I haven't finished yet

    and neither is the lady.

    This isn't the first time I've seen this oil company give lousy service. I've talked to their supervisors but they don't seem to care. So I tell my customers to hook up with a real oil company that will give them decent service.

    I think the lady wants to take that oil company to court!

    To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"
    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 16,796
    No, it's not

    that oil company- they're a local Baltimore company. I still use them for my house, and recommend them as often as I can!

    To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"
    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
  • Mad Dog
    Mad Dog Member Posts: 2,595
  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 16,796
    Epilog- Thanks to Glenn Stanton

    and the local R.E. Michel branch, this boiler is once again Burnhaming with the original Carlin.

    What would we do without the Wall?

    To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"
    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
  • Steve Whitbeck
    Steve Whitbeck Member Posts: 669
    dishonest companies

    I recently got a call from one of my customers and was asked to go look at his parents furnace. They were told by a local repair company that they needed a new furnace. Old one was oil - they quoted a high eff. propane.
    The reason they needed a new furnace was that it might have a cracked heat exchanger(but the sooted up heat exc. was plugging the cracks)They did a smoke test and by what the customer tells me it sounds like it was done properly - IT PASSED THE TEST. I read all of this off the service invoice.
    Bottom line they replaced a weak ign. transformer, told the customer that the furnace has a cracked heat exc, the furnace was sooted up. I found the burner air shutter almost full open, the wrong oil nozzle, almost no soot in the heat exchanger and no cracks,the burner inspection door not closed properly and a few other minor problems.
    Needless to say I now have another new customer.
    And this is not the first time I have seen this company do this.
  • Mad Dog
    Mad Dog Member Posts: 2,595
    Nice! and the oil industry wonders why people convert to gas

    I see a lot of oil boilers in my travels. I'd have to say, 60% are very neglected, i.e., not cleaned on a yearly basis. These are boilers with contracts on 'em too. Saw a steamer the other day witha "WIRELESS" low water cutoff - the wires had been removed at some point! Told her to call oil co. immediately. Unbelievable. Mad Dog

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  • Mad Dog
    Mad Dog Member Posts: 2,595
    I talk people out of new boilers all the time

    after they get misinformation that "its old, inefficient , et al." Most listen and get several more years out of the unit. Some people are pig-headed and just get it changed by someone else, even after we tell them: Look, we'd love to get the boiler change out, but its not necessary." Mad Dog

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  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,513
    Pretty broad brush there, Matt.

    Don't you think? You're looking at faulty equipment because that's the nature of your business. I would imagine that few people call you to look at equipment that's clean, well maintained and running beautifully. Making a connection to the entire oilheating industry based on what you see on your service calls seems unfair to me. Decisions based on observations of the ends of the bell curve trouble me.
    Retired and loving it.
  • Dave DeFord
    Dave DeFord Member Posts: 119
    You might want to look at this an opportunity..

    Mabe the customer could call the local TV station and tell them what happened. Then she could have you explain to them why the oil company tech was wrong. This does two good things 1. It sheds the light of day on the oil company practices. 2. It shows that there are honest techs in the field. I remember the thread the other day about the TV company "stinging" the techs, maybe this could balance the scales. Remember TV stations like to bring companie's bad practices to light especially if seniors are involved. Just a thought.
  • Earthfire
    Earthfire Member Posts: 543
    why oil Co.

    If your there on a service call why have the HO call oil Co. Were they out of oil? That is a safety issue. That boiler should be shutdown until repaired.
  • Kal Row
    Kal Row Member Posts: 1,520
    NEVER EVER CALL THE TV STATION!!!

    they are not there to help you, but themselves, you never see the truth on tv - good or bad,

    TV IS DESIGNED TO A PRODUCE A PRODUCT, THIS PRODUCT IS YOU THE "VIEWERS", - THE CUSTOMERS, ARE THE ADVERTIZERS.

    - they are not there to report the facts, tell the truth, or help you in any way, shape, or fashion!!!!

    i myself have had it, there, no longer, is a TV in my house, yep, got rid of it, cold turkey!!! - you cant control it - if you could, "turn it off" so to speak, then, they wouldn't eat, and they need to eat, so they maintain full control, at all times - get over it!!!

    - and don’t talk to me about ratings, are you going to allow Hollywood to dictate what's good for yours or your child's brain or soul?

    besides there hasn’t been anything intelligent on, since the "Burns and Allen" show!!!
  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 16,796
    I think MD is operating in an area

    with some real bad oil companies. He posted in another thread about an oil tech who told a customer their boiler was OK after it had set off a CO alarm. Four hours later it got so bad they had to call the Fire Department.

    And I agree that this kind of incompetence does make people want to switch to gas. We've done conversions for people who have given this very reason.

    That said- if the oil company is that bad I'd never tell the customer to call them. I'd handle the repair, leave the customer with a safe installation and tell them they should switch oil companies. Now, if the customer replied "no, I'll call the oil company" then at least I would have done my job, and would document that the customer didn't want me to fix it.

    Those of us who operate in areas with incompetent oil companies need to find out who the good companies are, and steer our oil-fired customers to them. In the Baltimore area, I've referred many people to Carroll-Independent. This is the company I use for my own house. Anyone else have a real good oil company they'd like to mention?

    To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"
    All Steamed Up, Inc.
    Towson, MD, USA
    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,513
    Yep.

    We use OSI. Some of the finest, and certainly most professional, people I've ever met:

    OSI

    Which is why I don't care for the broad brush.
    Retired and loving it.
  • Retired my

    brush & tar bucket years ago. Right after one of my guys had the same bad day I had criticized others about. Not quite the same scenario as Steamhead described, but the consequences could have been as bad, or worse.

    The customer didn't call. One of our competitors did. He didn't tell me about the problem either. Not then. He asked if I was free for lunch. Yep. 2 Bulldogs & a Reuben later, I knew I had a problem. Short version. Some groveling, several mea culpas, a new circulator, & some very deft footwork by our Dean of Techs, saved a customer.

    The Tech. I took him out to lunch. Then, he found out he had a problem. That worked out too.

    Now I try to follow the example set by my friendly competitor years ago. Only, I normally show up in person. If I arrive empty handed & bum a cup, it's a howyadoin visit. If I walk through the door w/ a cup in each hand, I know something you should. Never been thrown out. Oh yeah. So far, it's worked w/ the big boys too. I'm on a first name basis w/ one of their receptionists.




  • Anthony_4
    Anthony_4 Member Posts: 2
    I have seen disasters with gas and oil

    Doing general heating service I have seen bad installs and units that are serviced badly by large gas service companies and home heating oil companies that should be brought to court over.On the oil side I call Dorchester Fuel In Westchester County NY that does a great job on service and I take care of the gas units.There are hacks everywhere today it is sad.Just my two cents
  • DanHolohan
    DanHolohan Member, Moderator, Administrator Posts: 16,513
    Nice perspective, Ron.

    I'd call that wisdom. Thanks for saying it so well.

    Here's what I learned along the way:

    Dopey Kid
    Retired and loving it.
  • steve_29
    steve_29 Member Posts: 185


    It appears to me the technician was the problem... not the company, or are you suggesting that the company was involved in the misdiagnosis and/or coverup?

    Why not contact the company and advise them of what YOU found, I'd bet they appreciate that more than playing this kind of game on a bulletin board.
  • Mad Dog
    Mad Dog Member Posts: 2,595
    Sorry to use the big paint roller, but this is what I see

    I'm not one of these plumbers that knock oil or the equip. In fact, I talk people in to staying with oil BUT GETTING THE RIGHT COMPANY!! Even though we won't get the conversion. I won't name names of the bad ones, but, indeed! OSI, Meenan (Ron Jr's Company), Petro, Slomins, and a good deal of smaller outfits do an exellent job of maintaining their equipment. BTW,we don't do a ton of oil installations, but we see an awful lot of them on plumbing calls where we get a chance to check out the boiler rooms. Don't get me wrong, I really "dig" oil and have the greatest respect for the companies that do it right. Last, it is not just my observation, but homeowners and business owners who come to us, frustrated with the bad service of of these negligent companies. We always try to direct them to a solid company first before they convert, but some have just had it and its too late. I'm sentimental about tradition and hate to see the oil industry lose out. Mad Dog

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  • Steamhead
    Steamhead Member Posts: 16,796
    I've tried that, Steve

    unfortunately they don't seem to care.

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    Steam, Vapor & Hot-Water Heating Specialists
    Oil & Gas Burner Service
    Consulting
  • Mad Dog
    Mad Dog Member Posts: 2,595
    To add..........................................................

    I would have to say, I find the same percenatges across the board on gas installations and plumbers in general. I feel the "good" companies I mentioned - as well as the contractors here are NOT the norm out there, but the exception. hopefully, the others will learn the right way , but some don't care to. Mad Dog

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  • Mad Dog
    Mad Dog Member Posts: 2,595
    They are my first choice

    when recommending oil companies, and I even sent a good buddy over there for a job last week. He's tired of working for the herky-jerky shops.. Mad Dog

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This discussion has been closed.