Just had my new boiler and smart 40 installed in December. I liked my installer and would like to rely on him should anything come up. However, i personally witnessed that when he was installing my boiler, he would get calls for no heat and he even told me those people have to wait until he's done with me until he gets there.

So i put myself in the other people's shoes and just figured while i'm happy with his install and continuing to work out a nozzle issue, that he's probably not the best person to rely on with no heat calls. He does have a 'few guys' he brings to help him on installs but he doesnt have 'full time' guys working with him to go on calls etc.

So my bill came for a the annual contract from my current oil company (includes annual cleaning and cant be segregated) yesterday for 175 and i was thinking, do i really even need a service contract on a brand new unit and does it need to be cleaned the first year even? I just worry on the off chance a new unit does have issues that in the middle of winter my guy wouldnt be available and if i'm not a 'customer' of the oil company i have now, they of course take care of their own first then the 'outsiders' would get waited on (plus of course id probably have a bigger bill than 175 for just one call depending on the parts.

so i'm thinking about playing it safe and keeping the contract at 175 but wanted to hear what you think about the pros and cons of it and if maybe i'm being too cautious. I could almost do without heat for 'a bit' but no way could i do without hot water.

 

I find that customers that have no contracts get higher priority than contract people because the cash customers is new cash for the contractors pocket. I once had a contract with PSEG (NJ) and they told me it would be two days until they could come to my house. I called again and they asked me if I had a contract and I said no. Than they said, they could be their within 2 hours.

 

well my 'big oil' company has at least 10 guys in service ( probably more) and they offer 20 bucks if they arent there in 3 hours..so they are definitely the opposite of PSEG

If the guy that installed my boiler had that plan, he'd be out tons of money lol. Not his fault, he's only one guy, but i just cant see relying on him an a winter emergency as much as id love to

my fear also is the annual cleaning guy from the big company will come in and mess things up somehow but i dont know how likely that is....i'm still in the midst of having nozzle issues and hopefully once i know exactly what the problem is, he marks down the exact nozzle on the side of the boiler and that's what they put on

 

I don't care for an oil boiler service contracts with an oil supply company. There are several reasons. First, it usually includes an automatic delivery of oil from them. I've found that the price of oil is always higher this way. And, although it just may be me , they have a knack for delivering oil at price peaks.

There is also a conflict of interest when the same delivery firm is also setting up the boiler. The money is made on selling oil, not the annual cleaning/service contracts. So a sooted up boiler is better for them.

As for annual maintenance, the boiler should be looked at on a yearly basis. Change the filter(s), check for soot, adjust as required. If it is burning clean, that reduces the need for a tear down and soot removal.

Best bet is to find an independent that does burner/boiler maintenance and set up. Then as long as their work is OK stick with them.

For a no-heat condition, my worry is when it is 10 degrees out and a blizzard. Most of the time a no-heat isn't critical.

Al.

 

Our local oil delivery/service company charges almost 50 cents more a gallon than the independent buckaroos. You don't HAVE to take the service contract with them, but they will hard sell to try and get you to take it. If you take a delivery contract from them, and you buy oil from a maverick, and they discover you did, they'll drop your contract. It's in the fine print.

at 3 AM, Christmas Eve, on a Sunday.

 

well i do like my installer but my fear is if he's installing a new unit at someone elses house he may not get here for 2 days. I've personally seen that with his install of my unit. And i really feel stupid paying 175 for contract/cleaning and ALSO paying my independent for the cleaning. that makes no sense to me at all.

and that no heat condition you mention is what i fear most. If i didnt have that on my head, i wouldnt even have a contract.

and you and trooper are VERY correct about the high oil price. they are definitely much higher than the 'side of the road' prices you see. Then there's also the monitoring of the oil level, something i never had to worry about. I know i can set up a system at home to remind me but still...

the other thing in all this is the ceiling price with my contract. I neglected to mention it before. Years ago when oil was 1.29 on my contract it shot up to 1.99 and i saved a ton of money. this year it was ceiling of 4.69 and of course never saw that thankfully..but point is i do believe oil will continue to go up every year and this company is one of the few that do budget ceiling prices. But yes, meanwhile while oil is cheap i'm overpaying and realize it. See my frustration?

plus is all oil the same? or is something different about the oil my expensive company has vs the cheapo company