Evan Conklin Plumbing & Heating Inc.

Complaint: ***I am rejecting this response because:
I am quoting the following:
"We do guarantee the quality of our work and the materials we use but we cannot guarantee that his radiant system won't get air-locked two days after we tested and confirmed that it was working when the pump was replaced."
The previous is not true since the serviceman left without checking his workI turned on the heating system not long after his departure and was not able to get hot airI had my system serviced on a Friday and thus couldn't immediately reach out the following day.
Sincerely,*** ***

Work was performed to diagnose and replace the customer's circulation pump. He called a few days later stating that the hot water radiant system wasn't putting out any heat upstairs. I explained to him that when the system is opened that fresh water has to be added to make up any water lost while...

the pipes were open. The pump was changed, the system re-filled and tested. We left the system in a running, hot condition with warm water returning from above.
Many homes have been piped in such a way that air that may precipitate out from the added water will travel upward and collect in radiators or to the highest point where a vent would be located. I explained to the customer that if the system pump was running but no heat then he needed to bleed the air from the system. Apparently it had become airlocked sometime after the pump was changed. It happens but it was not caused by us. Some of these systems do not have effective designs that allow air to vent automatically or manually without a lot of trouble. I offered to send out our plumber to bleed or flush his upper floor piping if he wished but he insisted that we come and work on the air problem at no charge. We charge our services on a time basis. If his system developed an air-lock after the pump was changed it simply required that more time be spent to deal with the secondary issue.
We do guarantee the quality of our work and the materials we use but we cannot guarantee that his radiant system won't get air-locked two days after we tested and confirmed that it was working when the pump was replaced.

Response from Evan C[redacted]
 
I understand being upset about spending over a thousand dollars and still not having any hot water after waiting for over a week.
 
The diagnostics on this unit was troublesome. There is a series of tests that must be performed in order to diagnose the...

problem when they do not function. The diagnostics of the electronics must be done first. If the electronics check out then mechanical parts must be examined and that requires disassembly.
 
On July 5 (2 hours) Norm tested the electronic controls. That testing confirmed that the issue was a mechanical one. He contacted Boshe tech support and the two of them determined that there was an issue with gas getting through the gas valve. A new gas valve was ordered from the factory.
Time charged: 2 hours
 
 
On July 8 (1 hour) the part arrived from the factory. We scheduled to install it the same day. The gas valve was installed and the water heater fired normally. It was run through 3 ignition cycles and was producing hot water at correct temperature.
 
On July 9th (Saturday) I received a phone call at home from Mrs. [redacted] stating that the water heater had failed again and that she wanted somebody to come out ASAP to repair it as it should not fail after spending so much. I tried to explain to her that I would get a tech out to her house early Monday morning as there are no techs working on weekends or after hours. (Our hours are posted on our website). She was upset, and I don't blame her but it was not due to our doing anything wrongly. I did attempt to explain that we are not the manufacturer, or the cause of part failures - we are skilled technicians that are willing to do whatever needs to be done to get the appliance to work properly. We charge by the hour. We are willing to spend as much time as needed to get through the diagnostics and repair sequences but we cannot warrant how the parts on a ten+ year water heater will perform after we leave.
 
On July 11th (1.5 hours) NOT CHARGED I dispatched Norm to the job early in the morning where he discovered that the gas valve had failed again. At that point he contacted the factory. Boshe technical support had him do a diagnostic on the heat exchanger to determine if there were any small combustion leaks that could be the cause of the gas valve failure (water can slowly condense over time from flue gasses and enter the gas valve). After a partial disassembly it was confirmed that the heat exchanger was responsible for the gas valve failures.
 
The recommendation at this point was to replace the unit as it was not under factory warranty.
 
To my knowledge, there was no alternative but to spend the time to figure this out. The heat exchanger problem was hidden, and could only be diagnosed if the unit had run long enough to create the condensate as a symptom. We had to order the part; i.e. replace the gas valve, have the unit in running condition for hours, before the primary issue affecting the gas valve could be discovered.
 
If anybody can show me how we have failed to do our part, I will gladly refund any monies. Any skilled HVAC technician would have had to go through the same time-consuming process as we did.
Unfortunately, this 10 year old German tankless water heater had multiple issues that required parts to be ordered and time spent to arrive at the final solution. We spent 4.5 hours, charged for 3.0, charged 1 travel on 3 trips. I don't know what more we could have done.
 
Parts: $483  Labor: $564.45   Tax: $100.55

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:
Our complaint is based on the lack of communication about the possibility that $1147 in parts and labor would be for nothing.   There was no discussion about the possibility that there may be more wrong with the machine that would require an entirely new system replacement.   In the company's response to the Revdex.com they say, “To my knowledge, there was no alternative but to spend the time to figure this out. The heat exchanger problem was hidden, and could only be diagnosed if the unit had run long enough to create the condensate as a symptom. We had to order the part; i.e. replace the gas valve, have the unit in running condition for hours, before the primary issue affecting the gas valve could be discovered.”  The information that the repairs attempted on Friday were only exploratory was not communicated to us at any time.  In fact, the technician assured us that the machine was fixed.   However, on Saturday, after being informed that the machine was not working, the company owner told me the machine was "fixed" and that there was "no way to predict how long any particular machine would last."   But by Monday, and in their response to the Revdex.com, they indicate that the heat exchanger had been broken all along and that an entirely new tankless system would be needed.  
With the knowledge, both through phone calls from us and from their own technician, that the machine wasn’t repaired, they proceeded to charge us for the repair, and made it clear that the $1147 already spent would not be applied to any further work or replacement.  
In the end, the company failed to do its part to accurately address the problems with the machine, showed a lack of accountability and failed to act with transparency in dealing with us.   $1147 was spent on a failed repair with no attempt made to act in good faith as a service provider.  By contacting a certified Bosch repair service, we were relying on a basic level of expertise or knowledge about Bosch Tankless machines, and a level of professionalism.  
Sincerely,[redacted]

Unfortunately the design of your tankless machine necessitated getting it running to discover a secondary issue. We are not the manufacturer but a local service company that charges by the hour to work on these machines. We spent the time necessary to diagnose the reason it did not fire. Half the cost was the fail gas valve. The heat exchanger could not be diagnosed until the gas valve was installed and showed symptoms of leakage after hours of operation.
We are not at fault here. It was unfortunate it failed in such a manner that was so expensive to repair but there was no other option.
I am sorry it worked out that way but it was through no fault of ours.