Cleaning Oil Boilers

ScottMP

and the discussion about annual cleanings.

We recently had a customer who called for no hot water. It was a Buderus that we had installed about six years ago and I reset the burner. I called the customer the next day to tell them we needed to come back and do a Thorough Cleaning.

Now I have been lucky enough to have working with me arguably the best Oil Burner Technician on the East Coast, J.C.A. ! Chris has taught me many things and one of them is how long it takes to Properly clean and tune a boiler. Whats involved and how many Techs not only don't do it, They ar'nt given the TIME.

I called our customer and told him Chris should come over and do a complete cleaning and tuning and it would be about four hours. You should have heard him yell when I told him the price. " My Oil burner man does it every year for 75.00 ! ".

I was able to tell him why it would take this long and that he probably was'nt getting a proper job. He also told me the other man told him he should get rid of the Riello and install something "easier" to work on.

Chris spent four hours there. The bottom of the chamber had two inches of soot. The chimney had about two inches of opening, it was full of soot. We don't think his guy was even opening up the door.

It seeme to me that Oil Co.'s are thier own worse enemy as they try to be TO COMPEDITIVE with each other and do a dis-service to the customer. One Hour to Clean and tune a boiler ??? In these days ?? Can it be done in Two hours ??

Thanks to Chris I have been shown the right path to go down. We don't do alot of this but when we do it ... We do it right.

Scott

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Leo

Owning a Job

Then you have the guy who leaves the "cut throat" oil company to strike out on his own. He undercuts everyone and rather than owning a business he ends up owning a job that fails in the end. As far as removing the Riello burner I heard a similar story about a Viessman Boiler, guy was told to get a Beckett burner. Everything has it's place and you wouldn't put a Caddy engine in a dump truck but the trick is knowing what you're doing.

Leo

Cosmo_3

thats funny

I had a chuckle, what can be easier to service than a Riello?? That's too much.......

Cosmo Valavanis

Dependable P.H.C. Inc.

clammy

cleanings

Four hours would seem like a holiday to me and a luxury no offense.The oil co i worked at only gave you with travel about 1 1/2 hours for each cleaning at least 4 to 5 cleanings a day .So when you run into a bad one you gotta move or you'll be late to all your other appoinments .In most cases i could get most residental depending on the install done in about 1 1/2 hours that's really cleaning them checking the chimmey base ,cleaning smoke pipe ,boiler checking air inlet and fan blades on the burner ,tubolator or retention head ,blast tube ,chamber ,safeties and eff test and cycle all zones .But on alot of larger steammers like weil 76,78,80 it seems nobody takes the time to pull the clean out out or check the boilers chamber i've ran into these where i was there for 4 hours and got my head handed to me but the proof was always 20 to 30 pounds of soot and crap in the chamber a real joy .My hats are off to both of you for doing what most oil co don't do and that is provide the right service to your custermer and really clean the boilers.In most cases the tech are under the gun and they are just following the companies policies.I have been there but i would just do it right because i'de be the only guy to drag the beloved soot vacume in at 2;00 in the morning and do it most would get them heat and re scheledge it for another day and somebody else to do it .You have to rmenber that summer is slow in oil land and service contracts with a yearly cleaning makes the oil co money and makes the HO feel like there oil dealer is taking care of them looking out for there intrest in alot of cases it just ain't true if only most oil custemers knew what it really takes to do a proper cleaning oh well.I'm not saying that all oil companies do this but i see it a awful lot and when i tell the HO they think i'm nuts so i let them be but the few i convince end up saving on there fuel comsumtion not to mention boilers that had piping issues that i have re piped have used much less oiul may be that,s one of the reasons they let me go but i'm happier now then before and you know karma well winters on the way and i can't wait to hear what karma brings my old oil buddies i know i ain't there and no bundle of coin gonna get me to sign on and help when that call comes you know karma and as for you guys scot you are doing the right thing and don't think any different .Ps saw your other post and let me tell you you must be one hell of a nice boss to take your guys out fihing and all the training that you enable your workers to attend by the loks of install you have posted you have a top notch team and you keep the happy so hold your head high you are dioing the right things.Peace clammy

ScottMP

I don't want to paste

All Oil Companys as the Boogie man, but I think the industry has painted itself into a corner with this practice.

Clammy thanks so much for the kind words. Its greatly appreciated.

Scott

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clammy

thank you scot

I haven't had the honor to meet you but from all your posts your a stand up guy doing the right thing by your custermers and employees and in these days theat's a honorable thing .My hats tipped to you sir and so are the thousands of dead guys who's tradition you carry so honorable keep up the standard of excellence that your accustom to .Peace and only the best for you Clammy

Firedragon_4

I'll keep this

simple and direct.

As long as ANYBODY places more value on quantity than quality they will continue to lose customers and in the meantime have insurance claims filed against them for shoddy work.

It's not just oil, it's gas, plumbing, electrical, auto repairs, you name it.

The job you just described Scott were in fact the causes listed for the largest smoke and soot claim that I know of and were directly contributable to a delayed-ignition.

Try 1.2 million dollars.

Time to slow down, do it right year-to-year and you don't need four hours.

BTW, why are some of these managers out there surprised that by also rushing installers through jobs that there is so much (unpaid) repeat work afterwards?

Good job Chris, well done!

Mike G_2

What should we expect for service?

A great lead-in to a timely discussion for this time of year. What should we, as homeowners, expect from an annual servicing? In my case, a 1-year old Columbia boiler with a Beckett burner servicing a 75-year old, one pipe residential steam system, no DHW attached. This new boiler replaced the original ARCO snowman. What 'chores' should the technician be doing? What should I look for from him/her beyond a new nozzle on the burner and a filter on the tank? Not only is fuel efficiency a top concern, but I want my investment in the new boiler to last for a long time.

Thanks all for your year-round education!

Steamhead

Clammy nailed it

which I'll edit for clarity:

"Really cleaning them, checking the chimmey base, cleaning smoke pipe, boiler, checking air inlet and fan blades on the burner, turbulator or retention head, blast tube, chamber, safeties and efficiency test and cycle all zones." To which I'll add, fixing any problems found.

I just did one today that I had done last fall (see the Steam Upgrade thread for details) and I had it squeaky-clean and running nicely in about an hour and a half. But there wasn't that much to do this year since the burner was set up properly last year. Very little soot to brush out this time- unlike last year when it took several hours.

J.C.A._3

Thanks Clammy.

You're right, 4 hours IS a luxury but, if I'm being sent in to service a boiler I'm gonna do it right the first time.(hopefully!).

George made the proper statement, "Time to slow down, do it right YEAR TO YEAR and you don't need four hours." If the guy doing the annual for the last 5 years had done it right, it wouldn't have taken 4 hours. I filled my vacuum 4 times before I was finished with the chimney base. There was literally an inch of open space to the vertical flue. It was 5 feet in and not the easiest place to work with. The vacuum had to be placed on top of the boiler for me to reach all the way in.

The 75.00 guy did just what I would expect for that amount...I'm sure he can do 6 or 7 a day, but at what cost.Sleepless nights suck, been there, done that. When properly and fully serviced, 2 hours is just about right. One stick in the spokes can cost a bundle, but I'm playing with FIRE man. I ain't leaving till it's SAFE and right.Thanks to having a great boss, I'm given the time to do just that, and he isn't affraid to charge a fair and proper price for it.

Thanks George! Hope all is well. Chris

Ragu

Some Thoughts...

I'd say 2- 2 1/2 hours in the cellar would be my average; I did, however have an 8 hour cleaning one time. The sad part was that the oil company had been there every year forever, and the efficiency test results were posted above the furnace. TEXTBOOK READINGS, year after year! The cleanout plates had never even been opened.

In my experience, oil companies tend to have 1 guy who is good, and the rest are so so. Independent heating contractors seem to have higher skill and motivation levels. Whenever I go to a training, I always notice that the independents pay more attention and ask the good questions; the others seem to be there for the free lunch.

Oil company service departments have historically never been able to pay for themselves; the sale of oil has subsidized the service department. Hopefully, this is changing. In my experience, the oil company guys are very good at getting you up and running in the middle of the night, mostly due to the sheer volume of service calls they perform. The last time I checked, the average was 800 customers per technician; that's a LOT of troubleshooting to have under one's belt.

When I do a new installtion, I still recommend that the customer set up an account with the full-service oil company. If they ever have a no-heat call, and I am not available, then someone from the oil company will come to their aid. For ongoing cleanings of my installations, I either keep them or refer them to an independent who I trust.