Who does your annual boiler service?

I'm looking for a plumbing and heating company to clean my Gas boiler for the season.  Any recommendations?

Thanks

We use  Gateway Plumbing. 

Fischetti Plumbing & Heating.  Had to get a new boiler this summer. $$$$$$$  Looking forward to using it soon. Only problem is the new digital thermostat (versus the 40 year old one) that I have no idea how to use.  Will probably have to read the directions.

nan said:
Fischetti Plumbing & Heating.  Had to get a new boiler this summer. $$$$$$$  Looking forward to using it soon. Only problem is the new digital thermostat (versus the 40 year old one) that I have no idea how to use.  Will probably have to read the directions.

Is your boiler steam? If so, you definitely want to make sure your thermostat is set correctly. If not, the thermostat will think you've got an electric furnace and you'll get a lot of cycling but very little actual heat. I'm not sure what the effect will be for a hot water boiler. Just passing on my personal experience with steam and a new thermostat.

kthnry said:

nan said:
Fischetti Plumbing & Heating.  Had to get a new boiler this summer. $$$$$$$  Looking forward to using it soon. Only problem is the new digital thermostat (versus the 40 year old one) that I have no idea how to use.  Will probably have to read the directions.

Is your boiler steam? If so, you definitely want to make sure your thermostat is set correctly. If not, the thermostat will think you've got an electric furnace and you'll get a lot of cycling but very little actual heat. I'm not sure what the effect will be for a hot water boiler. Just passing on my personal experience with steam and a new thermostat.

 Thanks, yes it is steam and I will check out the settings.  What does setting correctly mean? Don't you just pick a temperature and it tries to achieve that and then shuts off until it goes below? I will read the instructions and try to figure it out.  The plumbers showed me quickly, but that was in August and I don't remember.  I always wait as long as possible before turning it on.  Never could remember how to use the old one (circa 1970) which had little blue and red markers for setting the temperature.  I'm hoping to put in better control with this one.

Most of the better, digital thermostats have an actual little switch on the back or something in the programming to let the thermostat know you're heating with either forced air (with its quicker reaction time) or a water-based heating system (which releases heat in a more controlled way).

Thanks everyone.

Ryan Inc. For $12 a month you can have a service contract with them which entitles you to an annual servicing and 20% off all parts and labor if needed over the course of the contract. Helped me out big team last year when I needed a new boiler and hot water heater. Great work and very responsive.

What does Ryan Inc.  do for that service?  It is tough to figure this one out, because there are so many different ideas of what a proper boiler service should include.  Maybe the $300 service is much better that the $100 service.  It is hard to know on these threads.

If you upgrade to a Nest thermostat the set up will definitely prompt you to the type of heat that it is and it'll also test the system too see how long it takes to heat up and stuff.

We've found it worth having for two reasons 1) if it's freezing and you want to adjust the heat you can do it from bed pretty easily 2) if you're travelling in winter and want to make sure your boiler isn't dead you can essentially tell that through the app (with our set up, if you can't get to the thermostat then something's likely up). We had a problem with it on the last day of a trip after Christmas last year and we had noticed it in time to have a neighbor pop over and fix it. (The boiler was just low on water, so easy fix for a neighbor.)

We can't say if it's made any difference in either way on the bills, but it's definitely a nice thermostat otherwise. We were able to install it ourselves using the existing wiring.

Right One services our boiler every year and we have never had a problem.

Can anyone mention what a gas boiler tuneup costs them?

I just made an appointment with Gateway (they are booking appointments into the third week of Nov) and the fee is $225, which is standard.

thank you

Under $200.  Fischetti

My plumber for this and other services is Anthony Masi - Amasi Plumbing.  I've always been happy with his work and responsiveness!  973-444-2122

Does anyone happen to care what a service provider does when called to perform these seasonal maintenance services? Or is it just about choosing the lowest price?

master_plvmber said:
Does anyone happen to care what a service provider does when called to perform these seasonal maintenance services? Or is it just about choosing the lowest price?

 I Care.  Does your web site have an itemized list of what your company does?

I know this was for a gas boiler, but does anyone know what I should expect to pay for annual maintenance on an oil boiler?  I already have a plumber, and he does good work, so I just booked him and didn’t even think to ask what the bill was going to be

I use Apollo Oil for oil of course and cleaning of boiler.  Approximately $150 if I recall correctly.

bub said:

master_plvmber said:
Does anyone happen to care what a service provider does when called to perform these seasonal maintenance services? Or is it just about choosing the lowest price?

 I Care.  Does your web site have an itemized list of what your company does?

Gas-fired steam boiler tune up

Check 

-Thermostat operation

-Emergency power switch 

-Boiler power switch

-Visual Water leak inspection

-Carbonized heat exchanger

-Gas leaks  

-Vent damper

-Spill switch 

-Roll out switch 

-Thermocouple amperage reading

-Clock gas meter

-CO test

-Draft test

-Gas leak test

-Carbonized heat exchanger

Service

-LWCO(s)

-Pigtail(s) -Automatic make-up water feeder

-Pressuretrol/Vaporstat

-Gas control valve / gas manifold pressure reading

-Remove and clean burners

-Chimney base, check for debris, clean out door

-Sight glass assembly, tube and seals 

-Fresh air intake calculation

-Gas piping / valve tagging 

-Combustion Analysis (optional w/ fee)

Master Plumber should have also mentioned prompt and friendly service. 

Having Right One on call as “my plumber” over the years has given me a lot of peace of mind and, in the case of one plumbing disaster, probably saved me a fair amount of money in terms of water damage. 

If you have an oil boiler consider having your oil company do the tune-up.  They have a vested interest in pleasing their regular customers and will often discount the service a few dollars in exchange for your fuel business.

max_weisenfeld said:
If you have an oil boiler consider having your oil company do the tune-up.  They have a vested interest in pleasing their regular customers and will often discount the service a few dollars in exchange for your fuel business.

I've never had our boiler decide not to work in the middle of a  snowy winter night, but I know I can call my oil company and they will have a service technician available to help because I am a regular customer.

GoSlugs said:
Master Plumber should have also mentioned prompt and friendly service. 


Having Right One on call as “my plumber” over the years has given me a lot of peace of mind and, in the case of one plumbing disaster, probably saved me a fair amount of money in terms of water damage. 

 Yup...

-s.

krnl said:

max_weisenfeld said:
If you have an oil boiler consider having your oil company do the tune-up.  They have a vested interest in pleasing their regular customers and will often discount the service a few dollars in exchange for your fuel business.

I've never had our boiler decide not to work in the middle of a  snowy winter night, but I know I can call my oil company and they will have a service technician available to help because I am a regular customer.

I have the same confidence in my plumber.  (I have gas.) 

Judging from the positive reviews I see on MOL and Facebook every time someone inquires about plumbers, I would say that we are lucky to have many excellent plumbers servicing customers well in our area, including those posted about here.  

If you're looking for somebody to service a gas fired steam system:

I use a local shop, Grieco Plumbing.

The Master Plumber's name is Michael Crieco and his booker's name is Luci. 973.379.1096.

He and his crew replaced my boiler at the turn of the century upon the recommendation of a neighbor who also worked in the building trades.

I call Michael every two years to do a tune up on the boiler and water heater. And now and again, for some few other things beyond my skill set.

Recommend Michael without hesitation.

TomR

With the season rolling around, I'm revisiting the subject of steam boiler prep.  I used Gateway last year.  The boiler  works,  no complaints.  One question I have, based on something I saw on line, is whether and when to "bleed" the radiators.  I have pretty ancient radiators.  
 

Sundays said:

Can anyone mention what a gas boiler tuneup costs them?

 Hello,

I had my gas boiler tuned by Woolley and the cost was 159.00.

The furnace is one year old and I use steam. 

bub said:

With the season rolling around, I'm revisiting the subject of steam boiler prep.  I used Gateway last year.  The boiler  works,  no complaints.  One question I have, based on something I saw on line, is whether and when to "bleed" the radiators.  I have pretty ancient radiators.  
 

 If you have steam, you do not need to bleed the radiators.  That only applies to hot water heating, not steam.