DUNKIRK boiler Model# PVSB-5D

There is a story that I tell my customer with that question.

A steam ship captain was experiencing terrible vibrations with the steam engines on the ship. They had several top notch mechanics come to try to solve the problem because he was afraid that the vibration would eventually damage the engine or worse. Each mechanic was unsuccessful at resolving the problem. Each mechanic still wanted to be paid for their work. The ship captain was frustrated.

He did hear of a very good mechanic that was familiar with his particular steam engine and so he called that mechanic. The gentleman entered the boiler room and asked the captain to operate the engine at full power while the mechanic examined the problem. The captain watched while the mechanic studied the problem and listened to the terrible vibration. After 15 minutes of observation the mechanic took a hammer from his tool bag and hit the engine with it. The noise stopped instantly and the engine ran smoothly for the rest of the voyage.

The Captain got the bill for the work the mechanic did and all it said was engine repair $10,000.00 The captain was furious and called the mechanic and said "you were only here for 15 minutes and all you did was hit my engine with a hammer. That is highway robbery! I want an itemized bill.

A week later the bill arrived and it read

• Repair steam engine with a hammer $15.00
• Knowing where to hit the engine with a hammer $9,985.00
• Total $10,000.00

This is why the price of putting a $50.00 part on a heater might be $500.00.  The company has a right to mark up the wholesale cost that you can find on the internet.   You don't think that the grocery store or the hardware store or the clothing store buys the goods they sell for $50.00 and then sells them for $50.00, do you?  They can't make any prophet that way.  

And you didn’t bring your problem to his shop to get it fixed Did You?  He sent a service truck that he paid for with fuel he paid for and a mechanic that he pays for because you called an office worker who answered your call the he pays for and all the other overhead that he pays for to get the service technician to your home to figure out just where to hit your heater with the hammer in just the right spot and what part you actually needed?

We really can't tell you how much you should pay for service because it is in our rules that you can find here: https://heatinghelp.com/forum-user-manual/ I think it is the fourth one down.