Very honest and professional. I called King out on the coldest night of year when my boiler would not ignite. I was desperate and they knew it. An inexperienced service man came out, did no real troubleshooting, just took some pictures, called into the office, and said my boiler was old and had a cracked heat exchanger (not true).
His invoice noted: Found relief valve not working clogged up fuel tank is full, reducing valve is clogged up with the water, central part have water damage, psi no, bake heat exchanger has slite crack, recommended to speak with advisor before doing repair.
He left with a final "good luck", without getting the boiler working, and charged $125 for the service call, without providing any service. He sent the pictures to someone else for guidance. Then, referred me to a salesman, for a new boiler quote.
Brandon quickly called me and said he reviewed the pictures and confirmed I had a cracked heat exchanger, the main block of the boiler. A 140K BTU Burnham boiler would cost $7687, or $6500 if I pay cash, but had to make the decision that night. Before spending that kind of money, I wanted a second opinion.
I called JSR. Joe came out and troubleshooted the problem using a meter, explained and followed the entire systems' operations, and got the boiler working within an hour. He charged me just $155, told me which part I needed to order to fix the immediate issue, and walked me through how to install it. I needed a new aquastat relay, since ours was not getting low voltage. The part was $200 vs $500 if he ordered and installed it. He agreed our 18 year old boiler was in rough shape, but with some maintenance, it could last us many more years.
I installed the new part but could not get the boiler to run again. JSR was not able to come by, but referred us to Van Drunen. The serviceman also reviewed the entire system. They determined that during the install, I may have accidentally tripped the rollout switch near the flue or it may have tripped due to the closed damper. He reset the switch and confirmed the damper is wide open and holds position.
He explained our DUNKIRK boiler could last up to 30 years if well maintained. While mine had not been, he still agreed it could last for years if I just serviced it and change out a few parts (reducing valve keeps filling and the pipe before is very corroded). He also agreed the heat exchanger is NOT cracked. He charged us just $145 ($78 for call and $70 for labor). Save yourself time, aggravation, & money and call Van Dryden or JSR. read more
