tune up procedures

Biged

I just came up with a brilliant idea, because of the culture in the Boston inner city where I work about tuneups
(you know change the nozzle,filter, collect and leave)I thought of educating the homeowners with the fliers I'm about to send out.(I may accually get killed for this)I was thinking of directing them to a web sight such as this one for the proper procedure for doing a tuneup then they won't look at me like I have three heads and may accually appreciate what I'm doing. So any web sights out there I could direct them to? Then I could weed out those that just refuse to get it done properly.

Oil Tech

Explaining what you are doing may be quite helpfull in retaining a customer, however handing them a procedure might be as good as an instruction set for some sending them off on a seek and destroy mission with the possibility of injury to the customer and or property. "A Little Knowledge Is a Dangerous Thing"

ernie_3

you're kidding right?

Maybe the whole flyer is already written...."nozzle, filter
collect and leave". (Just kidding) Although 'standardizing
procedures' sounds good........I don't like it. Think of how many different pieces of equipment are out there. eg.
how many guys flush overhead lines? I think a 'skeleton
list' covering broad parameters is ok. eg. "primary control safety should be checked." How many guys test fuel unit pressure and cut-off on a standard tune-up? I'm a firm beleiver in selling a customer on my own competence and integrity rather than the other guys lack thereof.

dconnors

A long time ago....

When I taught in Plattsburgh i handed out a procedure to contractors and i emphasize contractors. It was an outline to help develop good habits during service calls. In the wrong hands it could be dangerous

Biged

I see what you're saying, I had no intention of going through the entire list of things to do just the basics. The only reason why I even thought of it was because in my neigborhood price sometimes is everything and I come in a little higher than most contractor and so they may wonder why. I just listed a few things and yes a pump pressure check was one of them. I guess that idea wasn't so brilliant after all.

Ken_8

The devil is in the details lad,

The smaller, tighter, more efficienct boilers of today cannot be "tuned up" by simply changing the nozzle, filter and electrode adjust. The critical factors of truly needing instruments to dial-in a burner are not a luxury - they are a necessity. Merely owning a test kit does not assure proper setup, but in the correct hands, can make most burners sing and dance.

A few days ago we got into it over running complete combustion setup with a simple nozzle change. The implication was that if someone emptied the UST and picked up the bottom sludge - plugging the nozzle, and the deliveryman replaced the nozzle (and likely filter) to get them back up on a cold day - that dialing in the burner was nice - but not critically essential at that "emergency" moment.

Contemplating a "tune-up" without also contemplating doing it right; is absurd.

Bottom line: Someone who would try and change their own nozzle, filter and adjust electrodes to spec. - would never have a combustion analyzing "kit" and would probably be killed with CO or soot plug within a month anyhow.

I wouldn't go "there" for all the lawyers in Beantown on a dare.

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Dale

New wheel

Before I spent too much time thinking I would get a copy of the Bacharach "Oil burner combustion testing" booklet the old one is #4011 and look at it. It seems to have just what you need.

Jeff Krawic

ideas

Ideas, be they good or bad, still constitute a thinking process and an attempt at bettering oneself. The day I stop thinking up bad ones and good ones, is the day I am staring at the grass from a lower plane. Never berate anyone for bad ideas as long as they are thinking.
I believe word of mouth is a very powerful tool. Ask some of the contractors here. When your work goes the extra mile, and the cost reflects it, therein lies the core customers who are honestly willing to get what they pay for and be happy knowing your integrity. This is such a cooooool trade!!!!
Be safe my friend and be wealthy!!! (thats MY dream........)