Gas burner full of soot

Unknown

Sorry to hear that

but it is a busy time of year. I will be sure to call him and chew him out for not calling you. He still is one of the best around and is in demand this time of year.

John_104

If we dislike our customers so much

If we dislike our customers so much why do we try to help them.

Here is what you do if you want to earn the clients business and trust. From what John is stating, he is probably right on with his evaluation of the situation and you should tell him that. Right up front! “John, it sounds like you are right, you know, I will stop by and check it all out for you and perhaps give you some other good recommendation and tips to help you even further."
Not tell him he is wrong right off the bat! Or start off with "the problem with open window is...." Or spend 5 minutes telling him you can’t troubleshoot something over the phone... John knows he is not a professional and he is looking for help from someone who is on his side from the start. Why start off telling him he is wrong? If you’re a professional and an honest person he will pick up on that. If you try to close the deal with “you need help now” tactics you will loose him and probably more business in the future. Or perhaps those tactics work for you? A lot of our work is based off of emergency situations where the customer can’t ask a lot of questions. You should be able to answer questions and recommend solutions. Not run from it to the next “easy” emergency job.
From all the supporting information, and after hearing that the windows were caulked shut, it looks like John was most probaly right on. And there is nothing wrong with agreeing with him on that, getting on his side, and telling him that. I mean, look at this information, it easy to understand and there is nothing wrong with sharing it with him:

http://www.pureairplus.com/nap.htm

http://lancaster.unl.edu/home/IndoorAir/Gases.htm

http://www.contractingbusiness.com/25/GlobalSearch/Article/False/5734/combustion+analysis

John is looking for someone who can come in and make sure he is was right and if not, explain why and make sound recommendations. Maybe you can say “an open window was good before but a fan in the can is going to be much better for you now and here is why, and then back it up without saying he is wrong. You have a better chance of doing this for him if you get on his side. And you know he has to be an agreeable person if he agrees to pay you 60 dollars for you to come out just for the initial look at. I mean, he is paying you ,to give you the opportunity to earn his business! You know, a lot of us have probably learned how do to business in situations where the customer is trapped and needs work done now. And a lot of us probably are lot more comfortable in that sort of situation. The customer is trapped, and he has no choice, and he is not going to ask a lot of questions because it is obviously more important to just pay whatever and get it done. But how many of us would hire another plumber to come in and fix this or something else without evaluating the job and asking a lot of questions? How many people would you just trust to do this? When the water heater is broken, or the heat is totally not working it does not take a lot of business and personal skill to get that job and make some money. you just have to show up.

All the knowledge and skill in the world can’t help our client if we are not willing to help him and be on his side. If our real goal is to get the next job and charge as much as we can ,the easiest way, then the knowledge is not really helping anyone if we can’t share it. And to quote that last link…
“It’s our responsibility to verify that our method of providing proper combustion air works under all conditions, not just when we’re on the job. It’s up to us, as the system designer or installer, to guarantee that something actually will work, or to make the proper modifications to ensure that it does. “

John_104

Thanks so much

Thanks you so much,

Yes, it is a two-family house with two boilers and two gas hot water heaters and a gas dryer which vents outside too. All in the basement. The basement itself is about an 800 square feet with a 6 to 7 foot ceiling... I looked in the chimney by pulling off the vent -pipe from the hot water heater, it is not blocked, and the bricks on the inside are a little black but not layered with soot. The chimney is an un-lined brick chimney inside the house. I am sure the house was once a one family and was converted to a two-family. So another thing I can consider is that the boiler is oversized and perhaps I can put both units on just one boiler... Each apartment on the house is about 1000 square feet... I am not at home but I pretty sure that my tenant’s boiler is a Burnham boiler... It is a big blue box and looks less than 5 years old... Mine is a lot older... I don't know what kind it is...

Ron Root_2

Sooting

I am not at home but I pretty sure that my tenant’s boiler is a Burnham boiler... It is a big blue box and looks less than 5 years old... Mine is a lot older... I don't know what kind it is...

Is that the one sooting? Is only one of the burners sooting? How many burners are there? If more than one and only one of the burners is sooting, I would remove that burner and clean it (brush the inside/clean and inspect the ribbons or ports), check the spud on the manifold (get a drill bit the same diameter as the orifice and poke it through by hand), make sure the primary air is set the same as the other burners that are not sooting. If the problem occurs again, switch the burner with another that's not sooting. If that same burner soots again, I'd say it's the burner itself. I've heard of CI burners warping, never experienced it though!