Oil burner service

[suchanewbie]

Question for you oil burning folks:

How do you go about finding a technician or company that takes care of annual furnace tune up and any other unexpected repair, without costing an arm and a leg.

Do you all sign up for a "service plan" offered by the oil companies.
Nice thing is these plans offer 24/7 service coverage in case of emergency and cover cost of a lot of parts (otherwise you pay out of pocket for repair).
Flip side is almost always you HAVE to buy oil from them, and the price is almost always insanely higher at these "full-service" places. I've seen anywhere from 30cents up to a dollar difference between what may be cheapest in the area.
Also the service plan is not cheap - runs about $260 ish on average which covers annual tune-up at a minimum.

I'd still do a annual tune-up anyways but the thought of furnace conking out in middle of February and if there's a repair of several hundred dollars worth, that would really suck.
My furnace (forced hot air) does act up every once in a while in the middle of winter and the tech adjusts either the nozzle, or gap in the electrodes or some minor tuning and things have been fine.

Signing up for the plan feels like a rip off when you are stuck without choice but to overpay for the oil whatever the mark up may be.

Thanks for your suggestions.

 

[heat seeker]

I have saved a small fortune by NOT buying service plans. I do, however, buy oil from a company that does my regular service, and it does cost a few cents more per gallon. However, since I am a regular customer, I get very good service. I just heard an ad for a service plan that cost $180/year. I don't know if that includes an annual cleaning. If it does, it's a bargain - if they cover anything worth while. Years ago I did have a plan, and my heat went out. Turns out the blower belt broke - and it was not covered under the plan. I replaced the belt myself, and never bought another service plan.

It's sort of a crap shoot, but remember the odds are in the dealers' favor. Consider your past history with your burner. Has is crapped out often? Were the repairs expensive? Balance that against the cost of the plan - and find out exactly what's covered. Some plans only give you a break on the labor fees, and don't cover emergency service. Read the fine print carefully.

I haven't had a service plan in probably 30 years. I get the burner serviced every 2 to 3 years. No major repairs, and most of the parts wouldn't have been covered, anyway. So, for me, I'm way ahead of the game.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

ETA: IMO, if your furnace can't make it through a season without service, it needs to be replaced, or, more likely, the tech is incompetent.

 

[mass_burner]

Until recently, I've used a local company that offers both plan/non-plan service. Last few buys were from a cut throat discount oil place that just sells oil, about a .20 difference if I remember correctly. I'll just pay out of pocket for service and buy the cheapest oil. Oh, and buy heating oil ETF on dips.

 

[firefighterjake]

I've had the oil company send a tech for the semi-annual cleaning . . . and I've hired an independent guy to do it in the past. Either way works for me.

 

[Hogwildz]

I service mine myself. If your mechanically inclined, it is fairly easy.
Clean out the chamber & tubes, change filter, clean & reset the electrodes as needed, and change the nozzle while in there.
Lat year called for replacement of the high temp sensor switch & power vent assy.
Saved some serious cash doing myself, and runs great.
There are plenty of resources online to research and refresh upon.
I once even bought a CD that has servicing info on it.
And comes in handy having the knowledge, if you have a breakdown, which is usually one of the aforementioned items.
Saves a lot on service call fees and a long wait if busy season.

Since my oil furnace is now back up to the wood burner, not much work needed but to check a few times during the heating season to make sure it is operating properly.

 

[jeffesonm]

Not long ago I knew nothing about boilers and was in the same boat as you.... service contract, locked in pricing, etc. I started to service my own and so far so good. Changing the filter is like your car and cleaning the chamber/tubes can be done with a shop vac and a good filter. I have not yet fussed with the electrodes/nozzle but will before next season... I'm sure there are a hundred YouTube videos and if not, plenty of helpful forums like this one :D

 

[Ashful]

I took advice from neighbors 17 years ago, several of whom recommended the same oil co. I checked their pricing on oil and service, neither of which were the absolute cheapest in the area, but their oil price has always been within a few pennies of the cheapest, each time I've taken time to re-evaluate. They do a full service on my boiler each year, included in the contract price, and cover any failure for the remainder of that year. I can call them 24/7, and they've bailed my ass out of no heat (prior house had no stove) situations more than once. They've also become the only people I can count on for emergency AC failures, which has happened twice in 4 years, both times on a weekend in 100F weather.

Find a good family-run business with fair pricing, and stick with them, if keeping your boiler going 24/7 is important for you. If you have other sources for heat and DHW, then I see no need to worry about contracting with anyone. The primary thing you're buying with a contract is that they'll be there Sunday morning for an emergency repair, when your boiler fails Saturday night.

 

[branchburner]

If you are still looking and happen to be in the Epping area, there is a small (two-man) company there that has served me well... seem very trustworthy and competent, but probably not the cheapest. Feel free to PM me.