ᐅ Heating system breaks down two weeks after costly maintenance – fuel tank cleaning?
Created on: 12 Feb 2018 10:46
M
Mizit
We moved into our new house just under five months ago and have unfortunately encountered quite a few problems so far. Now we’re having issues with the heating system as well. Since we are not very experienced technically or with what reasonable costs for certain services should be, I would appreciate your expertise and opinions on our heating system experience:
In mid-January, we had someone from a local heating company come to service our heating system. We contacted this company because they had apparently serviced the system several times for the previous owner and were familiar with it. The previous owner had told us he had the heating regularly maintained. However, according to the company, the last maintenance was nearly three years ago.
During the service, the following was done:
Maintenance of oil heating system: cleaning of the boiler, cleaning of the burner, replacement of nozzle and filter, burner adjustment using a special measuring device, and a CO2 measurement was performed. We were charged nearly 260 euros (about $280) for this, and several people around us said that this was quite expensive. Since this was the first time we ordered this service, we weren’t quite sure…?
Then, two weeks later, on a Saturday evening—very cold, snowing— all the circuit breakers tripped and the house lost power. We quickly found out it was the heating system’s fuse that caused it. The next morning, someone from an emergency service came out: the oil preheater was broken.
The problem on this freezing Sunday morning was that, for the first time, we learned that it was NOT a Buderus burner as we had assumed and been told, but some no-name brand. The emergency technician said that there are no authorized service companies for this burner in the city and that he would have to order the part from the wholesaler, which would arrive earliest Tuesday, with installation on Wednesday. It’s possible the situation was taken advantage of a bit, as we hardly wanted to stay for three days with two small children and a tenant during below-zero temperatures without heat or hot water. We were also told this burner was only 2–3 years old and never really a quality product. The replacement part would cost money including installation, and how long the new part would last was uncertain. So we agreed to replace the burner with a good-quality one.
The new burner was installed that Sunday but didn’t work because it was then discovered that the tanks were so full of sludge that instead of oil, only dirt was being pumped. This couldn’t be fixed on Sunday. So the burner replacement on a Sunday emergency call was basically useless.
On Monday at noon, other company employees came and installed what is called a “floating intake” – we have not yet received the full invoice, but we expect it might be very high.
We were advised not to refill the tanks for the time being but to have the tanks professionally cleaned by this company as soon as possible. The cost would be just under 500 euros (about $530), and presumably even more in the end.
This annoys us, possibly unfairly: We had the heating serviced for 250 euros (about $265) just two weeks prior. Shouldn’t the technician have noticed during the service that the oil preheater was broken or shown signs of failure? Or is this issue unrelated to the maintenance and simply bad luck?
Also: Each tank holds 1,500 liters (about 400 gallons), and currently, each still contains around 400 liters (about 105 gallons). Since the oil is now being drawn from the top, does that make the tank cleaning unnecessary for now and something we could delay, or should we have it done immediately?
In mid-January, we had someone from a local heating company come to service our heating system. We contacted this company because they had apparently serviced the system several times for the previous owner and were familiar with it. The previous owner had told us he had the heating regularly maintained. However, according to the company, the last maintenance was nearly three years ago.
During the service, the following was done:
Maintenance of oil heating system: cleaning of the boiler, cleaning of the burner, replacement of nozzle and filter, burner adjustment using a special measuring device, and a CO2 measurement was performed. We were charged nearly 260 euros (about $280) for this, and several people around us said that this was quite expensive. Since this was the first time we ordered this service, we weren’t quite sure…?
Then, two weeks later, on a Saturday evening—very cold, snowing— all the circuit breakers tripped and the house lost power. We quickly found out it was the heating system’s fuse that caused it. The next morning, someone from an emergency service came out: the oil preheater was broken.
The problem on this freezing Sunday morning was that, for the first time, we learned that it was NOT a Buderus burner as we had assumed and been told, but some no-name brand. The emergency technician said that there are no authorized service companies for this burner in the city and that he would have to order the part from the wholesaler, which would arrive earliest Tuesday, with installation on Wednesday. It’s possible the situation was taken advantage of a bit, as we hardly wanted to stay for three days with two small children and a tenant during below-zero temperatures without heat or hot water. We were also told this burner was only 2–3 years old and never really a quality product. The replacement part would cost money including installation, and how long the new part would last was uncertain. So we agreed to replace the burner with a good-quality one.
The new burner was installed that Sunday but didn’t work because it was then discovered that the tanks were so full of sludge that instead of oil, only dirt was being pumped. This couldn’t be fixed on Sunday. So the burner replacement on a Sunday emergency call was basically useless.
On Monday at noon, other company employees came and installed what is called a “floating intake” – we have not yet received the full invoice, but we expect it might be very high.
We were advised not to refill the tanks for the time being but to have the tanks professionally cleaned by this company as soon as possible. The cost would be just under 500 euros (about $530), and presumably even more in the end.
This annoys us, possibly unfairly: We had the heating serviced for 250 euros (about $265) just two weeks prior. Shouldn’t the technician have noticed during the service that the oil preheater was broken or shown signs of failure? Or is this issue unrelated to the maintenance and simply bad luck?
Also: Each tank holds 1,500 liters (about 400 gallons), and currently, each still contains around 400 liters (about 105 gallons). Since the oil is now being drawn from the top, does that make the tank cleaning unnecessary for now and something we could delay, or should we have it done immediately?
Thank you for your reply as well, but I need to ask again. The company’s staff is advising us to schedule the tank cleaning with you as soon as possible since the tank is now almost empty, so the remaining oil wouldn’t all have to be pumped out. If I understand you correctly, though, you think the best time for cleaning is when the tank is very full? But wouldn’t everything have to be emptied first? And stored somewhere? Wouldn’t that make the whole process significantly more expensive?
According to the maintenance invoice, the filter was replaced. Honestly, I have no idea exactly what kind of filter this is, but is it part of the oil preheater or something like that? If that’s the case, it’s really strange. This filter would have been only two weeks old at the time the oil preheater broke down.
A heating oil filter cartridge is similar to the diesel filter in a tractor and is a 4.40 disposable part. The most expensive aspect is the labor involved in replacing it.
On ships, tank cleaning is always done in an empty tank using quite aggressive chemicals. The tank size of a cutter and that of a house are quite comparable.
Karsten
On ships, tank cleaning is always done in an empty tank using quite aggressive chemicals. The tank size of a cutter and that of a house are quite comparable.
Karsten
K
Knallkörper13 Feb 2018 07:46You should probably ask how exactly they plan to clean the tank. The only method I was familiar with involved cleaning the nearly empty tank with chemicals and then disposing of the remaining contents along with the cleaner and dirt. Apparently, there is another way.