How would you handle this situation?

Ken C.

... who called to have the pilot re-lit on his steam boiler. Before going downstairs, I asked to use the bathroom, where I noticed a pan underneath the radiator air vent, which was placed there to catch water. The homeowner admitted he overfilled the system, and said he drained five or six bucketfuls of water before I arrived. I told him my first priority, before the pilot, was making sure the boiler had the proper water level. The gage glass appeared completely full, so I drained some more water. The sight glass water level didn't drop, but I did hear a click from the low water cutoff, which I assumed was the sound of the contacts within that control breaking the circuit. I closed the drain valve and added water, and heard another click from LWCO as the electrical contacts closed, but still no change in the sight glass. I removed the sight glass and opened the upper valve, and water came out. I told the homeowner that the lower valve was plugged with sediment, which was why he wasn't getting an accurate reading from the sight glass. I gave him a price of $150 to flush out the valve (I work for a flat rate company), but he said he couldn't afford that due to the holidays. (I wanted to say, "What's more important, Christmas presents or having heat?", but bit my tongue, since I really don't know his financial situation.) He then said he would see if he could get someone to do it for free, and in the meantime, he would "be really careful" adding water. I told him that he has no way of knowing how much water was in the system, but hey, he declined the work. This person seemed reasonably intelligent, so I'm curious how other pros would have handled this situation. Also, I re-lit the pilot and fired the boiler only because I verified that there was water in the boiler when it came out the upper try cock, and the LWCO appeared to be operating (this was a newer boiler with a probe type LWCO), but I'm wondering if I should have refused to fire the boiler because of the inaccurate sight glass. (I don't have a lot of heating experience, mainly a plumber, so I appreciate having this site to gain feedback from those more knowledgable).
Thanks,
K.C.

paul lessard_2

Not another \"how would you handle\"post!!!!

I myself would have cleared it, then found out why his pilot went out, then would urge cleaning.
As far as money goes It sounds like he was quoted for a re-light and wanted to spend nothing more.
If we start a flat rate/TM discussion regarding a neighbor(see chucks post) we could go past 1000 posts!
happy holidays to all