A little survey

Tim McElwain

if I might - How do you feel about boilers and furnaces purchased over the Internet?

clammy

good luck

I feel it's good for some body to get hurt cause they sell to any body plus  it is highly doubtful you will be receiving any warranty .why would you not go to the local supply house even if you where a home owner or bet yet hire some one who does this for a living .I think alot has to do with the fact that everybody thinks it is so easy until it don't work then blame the manufacture and hunt down a side jobber to cobble it together .On a bigger note the Internet for buying a boiler is no bargain it is cheaper to go to a real supply house then deal with some faceless middle man .Just my view waiting for a bashing i guess PS sorry for my terrible punctuation clammy

Steamhead

Not good

not only would the warranty be questionable but also the proper sizing. 

icesailor

Survey:

I haven't seen anytrhing I needed that was cheaper on the Internet than it was from my supplier. In other words, it's cheaper to buy from a Mechanica Wholesaler. My wholesaler selss products bought directly from the manufacturer or a Manufacturers Rep. I get a warranty. Not so from Internet suppliers. Internet suppliers find wholesalers who will sell them products on the cheap.

If Weil-McLain, HTP or Veissmann start selling on the Internet at the prices I pay, I'll stop using their products.

bob eck

internet

traditional wholesalers and professional heating contractors made the manufactures what they are today. Product sold via the Internet all warranties VOID. Home owner must prove professional Heating contractor installed the system. If these systems are not installed correctly they can kill because not vented right or safety controls not wired right or installed right you can have a run a way boiler that can explode and kill. Are the home owners running their own gas lines? I know you can buy anything over the Internet and sooner or later one of these home owners do it yourself jobs is going to be on 1000 ways to die TV show.

MIke_Jonas

My experience has been..

If you're talking about contractors buying equipment on-line, it costs me less to buy from my wholesalers. They support me, they'll open up for me at 4 am on a Sunday morning. Even if the wholesalers were more money, I would still support them, for what they give me...up to date training, no hassle warranty, open after hours, parts on hand, etc.



If you're talking about homeowners/diyers' buying equipment on-line...my price for the equipment to the homeowner as part of an installation is always lower than what they pay for it on-line. Every few months I go to various on line sites and price check. Every single time my equipment price is lower, as part of an install.



I have never seen a diy install end well. Keep in mind, most will never call me. They install a boiler, spend x amount of money, save maybe 20% on their gas bill and call it a success. That internet supplier is not going to be there when it fails at 4 am on a Sunday morning.



Those that I've seen could have been done by me for less money than they actually spent. It would have always worked right. There would have been a warranty and most of all, instead of saving 20%, they would probably save 40%, some save 50%.

Jean-David Beyer

As a homeowner, ...

I think it depends on whether there is a competent contractor available. If so, I would go with the contractor. I watched my former contractor install my boiler. I do not know how to thread 1 1/4 inch pipe. I know how to solder 1/2 inch copper tubing, but my Bernz-o-matic torch is not hot enough to a good job on 1 1/4 inch. It might work on 3/4 inch. It would have taken me several weeks to do the job he did in two days, although on the first day, they had 4 guys working. Also, I do not think I should install gas pipe. I would not have used that yellow flex tubing.



On the other hand, I would have followed the instructions in the installation manual better, and I have an issue that my new contractor will have to deal with at my expense: water at the top of the boiler, where no water should be -- where the electronics are. Boiler locked out, and on opening it, there were about two cups of water shorting everything out. The technician and I spent about 1/2 hour looking for where the water might have come from, without success. He dried everything out with paper towels and it seems to be running again. He said to keep an eye on it and try to determine where the water is coming from. I think I found the problem, and results from a couple of intake piping errors (present on exhaust also), so that may have to be redone. Grrr.



That piping I could have done better from the beginning.



I do not mind paying a fair price for good work, but I resent paying good money for bad work.

EricAune

What most do not know...

First of all I do not like the idea that just anyone can buy a boiler online but, after pointing out warranty issues and how pricing after shipping is relatively close to purchasing from me most homeowners are likely to buy from me with the assurance of service when problems arise.



That being said, what most contractors do not realize is those online suppliers may actually be a [relabeled] version of their own local supplier.  This is the reason I would not buy a boiler online.  Taking the sale out of their own customers (contractor) pocket just to increase sales and raise profit margins is of course a business decision, just not one I will support.

Tim McElwain

Some more added to this

survey. Do you think DIYers  ( or homeowners) should get government tax incentives for energy savings when the equipment was not installed correctly therefore not necessarily taking full advantage of all the efficiency the equipment would have had if installed by a pro?

CMadatMe

Eric Hits the Nail

On the head concerning that it maybe your local wholesaler that supports or is that internet company.



The issue I have is that the manufacturers of the products that are sold by these companies should like the faucet manufacturers have a MAP or minimum advertised price policy and enforce it.

Jamie Hall

What an idea

It would never occur to me to do it, nor would I recommend it to anyone (but I wouldn't suggest prohibiting it, either -- but that's a political argument).



I do buy things from the internet, of course.  Under a number of different circumstances.  With regard to heating and plumbing, though, only under two.  Keep in mind that I am not a contractor; I'm a building super trying to keep a building up and running.  That said, the two circumstances are first, my local plumbing supply house doesn't have it, and it is a specialty item.  Second, formerly the only plumbing supply house in the area wouldn't sell to anyone except contractors -- so I was obliged to use the 'net (or, yegods, the big box).  Fortunately, a somewhat more enlightened supply house has moved in (and the other one has folded).