Need help with changing ignition transformer

Pat_32

Is this a pretty staight forward procedure? Shut off power and reconnect new one or is there much more involved? Thanks

Pat_32

It's a beckett burner

Norm Harvey

It's pretty straight forward. But bear in mind that is a completely subjective statement.

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paul_91

yep

jus switch it .....and make sure the terminals are touching the buss bars when your closing the transformer

Tony_23

How do you know ?

How do you know that's the problem ? Changing parts until you get it working is expensive.

If you've got to ask how to change it, maybe you should call a pro.

Pat_32

Actually long story short. This burner is in a investment property I own. The tenant ran the tank dry. She got the tank filled up yesterday and said the heat wasn't working. I told her to call a "pro" to prime it. The pro tells her that there is nothing wrong with the oil lines everything is fine but it needs an ignition transfomer. he wants $189 for the transformer and $110 for labor on top of $110 service call. she calls me up with the pro there. He explains to me that it is the ignition transformer no spark he showed her this. I asked him if he could do a little better on the price transformers are what $60, he says no. Basically he wanted $399 for this service call. We all need to make a living but come on give me a break here.

Leo_17

A few things

Tenants run fuel out all the time, get used to it. As a landlord you need to have your own pro on stand by, it is time for you to start a relationship with a company. If the transformer is dead and you are asking these questions who last did an annual service on this unit or how long has it been? This might be the time to get things done both service and getting a pro. I won't comment on his prices but I wouldn't call him back. Again get it serviced, often if the transformer is bad the electrodes are burnt and need replacing, the unit can be partially plugged from dirty starts, the list can go on.

Leo

targetman

That sounds resonable to me. I'll bet if he knew what you were charging for rent, he would think it was outrageous.

tommyoil

No service contract??

Thats the price you pay when you ride without a service contract. The tenant did you a favor by at least calling you first. I would have just paid and taken it off the rent if I were them. I'm sure the tenant is comfortable without heat while you shop for a transformer. Give THEM the break and just have it fixed. And try annual maintenance and a service contract next time. Its NOT a ripoff as you would (I'm sure)suggest. Just pay it and play it SAFE. 14,000 volts is nothing to learn the hard way.

tommyoil

Why????

wouldn't you call him back Leo? He seems knowledgeable enough to diagnose what was wrong (and smart enough to charge for it) He could be a stand up guy with a family to feed and cant afford to work for free.This guys shopping for transformers on the internet while his tenants are cold. Do you really think hes going to put a pro on stand by? Bwahahaha. While those suggestion are valid Leo, I dont see dime one being "wasted" on a boiler maintenance in this case. I'd rather have the tech this guy called in my house than to have a landlord who wont fix the heat in a timely manner. JMO.

MIke_Jonas

If, in your eyes, this is such an easy procedure that should be done for next to nothing, why are you here asking us how to do it?


Does your liability insurance cover you doing your own repairs?


Do your renters have insurance for you being a cheap azz?

Pat_32

I would like to thank all the guys who gave me helpful advice regarding my problem. THANK YOU! As far as the other guys Tommy oil, Todd, and Spicoli. You guys have made a lot of assumptions about me without knowing anything about me. First off no one has been left without heat. It was 65 last night and I still dropped off 5 brand new oil filled radiators in case it did got cold. Last time I checked the website is called heating help.com. Not lets bash people who are trying to learn something and expand their knowledge. I really don't need to explain myself but I will. This is my first year/ winter in the "landlord business" and my first time owning an oil burner steam boiler system. All the helpful suggestions made were useful to me and I do realize I need to establish a service contract. But Its been a warm fall and sometimes these things are left undone. That still doesn't mean that I will stop learning about my equipment and try to fix stuff on my own. Today it took me less than a half hour to hook up the transformer and that included going to the heating supply store to pick it up. Real estate is a new business venture for me and I am going to treat it like a business just like I"m sure you guys treat your heating business. I was willing to pay the pro $250 for his service which would have been less than an hour of work. I did not expect him to work for free as you guys have stated. He was not happy with $250 and walked away with $110,. Bad business decision on his part. As far as the name calling I am not going to stoop to your ignorant level. In my opinion this pro was asking too much, last I checked I am allowed to have an opinion right? If you guys are so unhappy with your careers then change them, this is the second time I posted on this board and got insulted by disgruntled pros. Obviously your mothers never taught you that if you don't have anything nice to say don't say it at all! There are a lot of great guys on this board that are really helpful thankfully they outweigh the jo.

tommyoil

You've opened my eyes

I am going to call all my suppliers today and tell them what I'm "willing" to pay them for material. Then I'll call the IRS and tell them what I'm "willing" to pay in taxes. Then after that a call to my insurance company is in order. I'm sure they'll agree to whatever it is I'm "willing" to pay them. If I abide by whatever system you do, I'd be without a job, uninsured and in jail. I am neither disgruntled nor am I unhappy with my career. As a matter of fact I LOVE what I do and the people I do it with. I dont even mind do it yourself types like yourself. I help them all the time. Its the fact that you whine about pricing in a public forum and then get upset at the commentary it generates. Its ashame that when you didn't hear exactly what you wanted to hear that you resort to mentioning anyones Mom in a derogatory fashion. Thats as low rent(and cowardly) as it gets. Somehow, I'm not surprised. Your Mom must be proud of whatever it is you turned out to be. Customers are like the guys here on this board. Most of them are great customers. Annual maintenance, service contracts, automatic delivery to all of their tenants so they NEVER run out of oil or are cold. They see to it that their rental properties are all in good and liveable condition. I'm sure that your tenants wont mind the electric bill from the oil filled radiators you so generously lavished upon them. I'd LOVE to hear their side of the story. Somehow, I think I already know what it is as I've seen(and heard) it a thousand times. I know EXACTLY how you operate. Spicoli was right.

Norm Harvey

Come on Tommy,tone it down a bit and be civil.

Personally even $250 for a transformer replacement is way high where I live.

Rather than hurl insults around try and be constructive. We live in a free market society. A consumer has every right to shop around for the lowest price if that's what they want.

I DO understand that the department of public safety issues my license, and a home owner doing his own repair may be a public safety issue. But due to my own principles, I wont fault any homeowner for being self sufficient. For good or ill its his decision to make.

We may not agree with it, and we may try to show him the bennefits of having an affordable professional on staff to deal with this and future issues, but I hope we would do so in the afore mentions civil manner.

Remember, without the home owners comming here, this site would not be successfull.

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tommyoil

Point taken

Norm, and I appreciate your respected input. I'll consider modifying my approach. I'm not faulting anybody for being self sufficient. I'm in the middle of installing my own bathroom and believe me when I tell you that I'm no carpenter. But I didn't go online in a public forum and whine about the fact that some plumber, or carpenter, or electrician, or tile guy didn't accept what I was "willing" to pay. What Mr Do it Yourself fails to realize is that tradesmen spend lots of time perfecting their respected crafts and there is a value to that. To have those talents minimized by having someone tell you just what THEY are "willing" to pay instead of what YOU have valued your time and material at is what, quite frankly, I find insulting and THAT is my point. Alot of guys spend alot of time formulating a business plan. I guarantee that nobodys business plan or income is based on what customers are "willing" to pay, yours (I'm sure)included. I'm ALL FOR homeowners and do it yourselfers. A portion of my income is generated by their ill fated attempts as parts changers trying to save a buck. That said, there are MANY MANY people I support with parts/material/instruction on how to repair their own equipment so to be clear, giving free advice is not the issue. The issue is the devaluation of a service company/techs reputation based on the opinion of some "digruntled" landlord because he didn't like a price. No bone to pick with you Norm, and again I appreciate your comments, but thats my point of view. ( I tried to stay civil) Its a continuing sore subject for me on this and other related sights. Posting prices next to complaints about prices in a room of professionals is tantamount to a slap in the face. I've seen reputations tarnished here(and rightfully so) based on pictures of terrible work. Its ashame that we are now picking apart and tarnishing the reputations of guys in OUR BUSINESS based SOLELY on what they charge and who thinks its fair.It hurts all of us. The words price fixing come to mind. JMO of course.

MIke_Jonas

You da Man

TommyOil, I couldn't have said it better myself. Very well put. You may not be a carpenter, but you hit that nail square on the head.

Tony_23

You're wrong Norm

It's not the homeowners who come here that make this site successful, it's the pros who give them answers. Without the pros they'd just be a bunch of DIY'ers who've only worked on their own equipment, giving advice based on very limited experience. What a place it would be then !

Norm Harvey

And without the home owners we'd all be sitting around stroking out egos instead of being constructive.

I just hope were not all i n a circle while were stroking our,.. something.


Anyways,.. the point is,... Is acting like civil gentlemen too much to ask? Even if you feel insulted, a gentleman would not respond brashly. There are more civil ways to deal with things.



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Tony_23

Well

You say it would be stroking our egos, since when does a few pros learning from each other constitute stroking egos ?

And, how "civil" is it to imply what you have about a circle activity ?

Furthermore, who made it your position to chastise anyone for expressing their opinion here ? Some of us were insulted at the tone of the HO's post. You want to give away the trade and even provide some with supplier contacts. Excuse us for taking exception to it.....

Norm Harvey

Peter Griffin said it best, "We must keep this from the serfs, lest they gain literacy and threaten the landed gentry"

I'm about done with this post. Good luck guys.

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Tony_23

That's it

Take your ball and go home

Nice talking to ya, glad you could see my/our real point. Not that you were willing to or anything.

Maybe it strokes your ego to be the provider of knowledge and arbiter of discourse ? Just wondering

G'night

Jim_47

D.I.Y. ers

I can relate to some of this. Getting called on a saturday to a home of a DIY kinda guy. "Must be a problem with the new circulator as well!" I found a) circulator installed backwards. b) no pressure in the system. c) 110v electrical connections with no wire nuts or tape thruout the boiler room. d) the steel boiler was fired thru and coming out the back of the boiler. I removed the firematic handle, removed 110v feed to the boiler, red tagged the boiler and gave an estimate to replace the boiler. The guy chased me of the property (without payment) told me I was a gold digging crook. Went to the local firehouse and got a hold of the local fire chief. Handed the chief a copy of my paperwork. Never heard a thing from the customer. But I was the gold digging crook that sleeps well for my actions

burnerman_2

homeowners

What makes us professionals is the way we treat a homeowner.Some of you did a poor job. As some stated the price of service is what someone is willing to pay. So what happens to the higher priced companys? they go out of business. I gladly talk a homeowner through a "bleed a pump"instead of going out and charging a nite call for it. and if a landlord tries to save a few bucks doesn't make him a bad guy. Later there will be a project he will need a pro and I wouldn't call a few of you guys sorry reread your posts would you want to be talked to like that. royboy

[Deleted User]

I don't think you said anything wrong, Tommy. You have every right to say what you did no matter who agrees with you. Isn't that what freedom is about? This couldn't be any less threatening; typing your thoughts via a computer. In other parts of the world people are beaten, tortured, and killed for giving an opposing opinion. Pat gave his opinion of you and you gave your's of him. Fair is fair. I think that it is the different personalities and ideas that make this interesting. Take that away and I know I won't be hanging out here. I know I didn't sign up anywhere that said I have to provide homeowners free advice for them to fix their equipment. I think good advice was given. 'Have a pro fix it' was good advice when dealing with a 14k transformer.

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tommyoil

Sorry Royboy

The way I treat a homeowner is NOT what makes me a professional. Its only a piece of the pie. The years of schooling, the seminars, time in the basement and on the road and all of the experiences that result are what makes me what I am as a professional(which in the context of this conversation is subjective at best). Sure, how you carry yourself is also a piece of the picture, but its only a piece. If the higher priced companies are the ones that go out of business, I could think of a few here who should be driving taxis or flipping burgers instead of installing heating equipment, myself included. But with between 8 and 9 thousand customers, I'm not too worried about shutting down anytime soon (so much for THAT theory). You have COMPLETELY missed my point if you think that helping a homeowner is the thorn in my side. As I explained in my previous post, its not. Allow me to re-express my view...Professionals in the same trade in a public forum should be ashamed of themselves for directing any homeowner away from another tradesman based solely on price. Talk about a poor job !!! Who is anyone to determine my value except me? I'm stunned that you(as a professional yourself) dont see that point. Sadly, I know you're not alone. As for having done a poor job, or being less than a gentleman,I'm not all that worried. My approval ratings come from other sources whos opinions are FAR MORE important to me than some pissed off landlord or LEAST OF ALL any contractor sitting in judgement of other contractors or their methods or prices. Sorry I couldn't find a way to sugar coat a bitter pill. Maybe its just another character flaw of mine I'll have to live with......and I will (without losing any sleep). Its nothing personal...its strictly business.

Mark Custis

One gets what one pays for

Well I guess I'll call the guy with the radiant floor.

He was willing to pay an online store $500 more for another kit than we charged to do it right.

I would have put more pex in the pour. 18"O/C is not close enough for me.

I do not think Tommy would like this guy, he does things himself and is a former union tinner, now retired and trying to save money.

I wish I had paid more attention to Ellan Rohr.

MHO

Charlie from wmass

Price should not be commented on here as we are all over the world with many different costs. We also do not know any of the related costs involved with the case as far as overtime, special burner, poor conditions, and what ever the tech saw. I cannot say it is fair price or not but I can say at least it would have been fixed that day. This is the cost of hiring a pro instead of DIYing a job. If things go wrong with the burner and an unlicensed person works on the unit how is the insurance going to a veiw an thing related to the unit. First question is "who last worked on it?" Taking this resopnsibility is worth something.