The case of that time Ray was escorted off the job, this fridays case.

RayWohlfarth

In this weeks case, there is no mystery to solve and I will be getting back to those next week. In this video on Friday, I remember being a first year apprentice and working with the journeyman Tom. Tom was a knowledgable tech who used to act without thinking. He had no filter with customers, bosses, or apprentices. We were on a job site and he asked me to measure the single combustion air opening. After calculating the size, he announced it was too small. What Tom did next shocked me. He used his channel locks to break a pane of glass from the door. It just so happened the maintenance director walked in at that very moment. We were told to leave the job and Tom was sent back to the hall. While his methods were impulsive, Tom was right. The opening was too small. I would have handled it differently but that was Tom. Im curious what you would do if you discovered a deficiency on a job like this. Do you shut it off, write a letter, or take action like Tom did.
Thanks

WMno57

Back then, Tom didn't have this tool that we all now carry. Cell phone camera.
Shut it off. Tag it. Document the situation with cell phone pictures. Let the facility contact person know why you shut it off. Explain to them that one option for them would be to remove the pane of glass in the door. Offer to do this for them if they would like.

ethicalpaul

any answer is more correct than what Tom did

ChrisJ

Wouldn't you discuss the options with the customer?
Maybe Tom had a good idea but you can't vandalize property without permission.  And if you have permission I guess it's not vandalism.

EBEBRATT-Ed

If it's a brand-new job advise the maintenance director and tell him not to run the equipment. Shut the gas off and leave a note. If they decide to tun it on it's on them.

If it's a job that has been running a while calculate the combustion air and tell them what they need to do in writing. The fact is the boiler had combustion air in that instance and there are other areas likely leaking air into the boiler room.

On the other hand, there was a famous job in the 50s at a telephone company in NY (I think) where they had either blocked the combustion air with plywood or plowed snow up against it the burner ran and went "off ratio" When some unlucky soul opened a door to the boiler room the boiler exploded and went through the wall into the cafeteria,


For years after that the telephone co would allow no gas in their buildings. Famous case I may not remember all the facts exactly as they occurred but it was horrific.

It takes 1800 cubic feet of air to burn 1 gallon of oil.

EdTheHeaterMan

How cold was it? That would be a deciding factor. Below freezing, then shutting off the boiler is out of the question. If there were no on site personnel then I would Remove a pane of glass with a note saying "DO NOT OPERATE BOILER WITH THIS OPENING BLOCKED. It is Required for Combustion Air''. Then I would remove the glass with an appropriate tool so as to not damage the glass.

There would also be a line item on the invoice for "Provide additional combustion air" with an appropriate price for the time taken to remove the glass.

john123

Open the door and block it from being closed??

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

ethicalpaul said:

any answer is more correct than what Tom did

Wow: Does this discussion need go further?

WMno57

RayWohlfarth said:

We were told to leave the job and Tom was sent back to the hall.

Where he was bestowed the nickname Tommy the De-Glazier. This led to much confusion when the Boilermaker and Chef unions merged.

EdTheHeaterMan

But not as much confusion when the Steamfitters union merges with the bartenders union (United Food and Commercial Workers), when they wanted someone who could make the best BoilerMaker!

Some of those guys never lifted a 36" wrench in their life

RayWohlfarth

Happy Friday All. I was shocked when Tom broke the window pane to add more combustion air. As I said, I would have never handled the situation like that but Tom was Tom. I have been on similar calls since and tried to handle it diplomatically. I would use my cell and document the problem and then send an email to the maintenance director warning them not to use the boiler. We lost a school district customer once when on two sequential Fridays, we shut down the boilers. The first Friday, we tested the relief valve at one school and it wouldn't reseat. I called to let the customer know. I didnt think it was a problem as the school had a second boiler and the weathers mild. The next friday in a different school, we found a newly replaced flame safeguard was wired wrong. When I told the maintenance director about it, he yelled and said I was deliberately looking for work and cancelled the contract. In any event, here is this weeks video. Have a great weekend. https://youtube.com/watch?v=GKrN4LucNEg