This weeks case, The case of the upset custodian.

RayWohlfarth

In this case, the installer told me I should talk with the custodian about my new boilers. This was the first project of what I hoped was many with the school district. In this school, they removed an old atmospheric cast iron sectional and installed three of my modular boilers. When I spoke with the custodian, he said he didnt like the new boilers and upset when they removed the old one. He knew everything about the old one. There was another reason he didnt like them. I think you will be surprised by the real reason and my solution. Coming Friday.
What would you do?
Ray

mattmia2

He was cold/couldn't heat his lunch on them?

SlamDunk

The boiler room was too cold to hide in?

retiredguy

The real reason he did not like the new boilers was that he was afraid that he would not be able to jerry-rig them if they failed to come on, on a cold day, to get them to work and it would cast a negative light on him. Your advice was that with a modular boiler system there would never be a situation where the building was not warm since now there were multiple boilers instead of one and that maybe, if the unit was equipped with a readout screen he would always know what was keeping that the boiler off so he could relay that to the boss.

This is a true story. We had a similar situation but it was the teachers that were mad about the new installation. When a new non-smoking ban was initiated in the school, all the teachers would congregate in the boiler room under the open draft hood so no one would know that they were smoking inside the building. This kept them from having to go outside or go off school property to have a smoke.

ScottSecor

I agree with @retiredguy . Teachers and custodians could smoke in the boiler room with the old atmospheric boiler. Now they are forced to go off school property.

RayWohlfarth

@mattmia2 can't believe you got that right LOL The custodian used to heat his wife's homemade soup under the burners every winter day
@SlamDunk, @ScottSecor and @retiredguy We used to see that all the time. We had one building where the teachers covered the combustion air louvers so it would be warmer in the room

mattmia2

I would give it lol and awesome if i could select 2....

mattmia2

I remember my grandfather had a pressure sensitive mat, the kind they used for automatic doors and alarm systems, sitting on top of his furnace for a while to flatten out. I think leaving a can/pan of soup over the pilot for the surface burners on a range to heat it up by lunch time was a somewhat common thing.

RayWohlfarth

@mattmia2 That was my first and only time seeing that Thanks and have a great weekend

Mad Dog_2

Ha ha...thats funny.  I graduated HS in 1985.  Most of the kids smoked between EVERY period...with the teachers..outside the exit doors. The potheads did their best to blend in...some were the teachers. Mad Dog 🐕 🤣 

retiredguy

I was at a school in central Pa. where they banned smoking on school property. It was funny to watch a school person run to the end of the school property, light-up a cigarette, and "hot box" that cigarette, (a few quick puffs) and run back to the school between classes or on a break. That would have been me until 1983 when I quit smoking. When that person got back to the building they were so out of breath that they could hardly function.

RayWohlfarth

@Mad Dog_2 that’s funny
@retiredguy i used to smoke too The boiler room used to be the place where the smokers gathered