Q: “When are we going to get a decent boiler,” Diane said to Bill …
A: “Right now, dear,” Bill said to Diane. Just like the cobbler’s kids, they run around in holed shoes. In the heating and cooling industry, it is a pretty similar situation, especially when you take pride in keeping some of this old gear running. As a service technician at heart, a broken boiler is a challenge to be bested, unless your wife says otherwise. To be perfectly honest our little Munchkin boiler has never been unsafe, which is where I draw the line, but it has never been particularly reliable. How many times I have reset that little monster it’s hard to say, and usually at the most inappropriate times. In our particular system design, it is actually supplemental heat for our waterto-water geo-thermal system. You really can’t call it supplemental heat if it doesn’t run but half the time. Most customers would not put up with this kind of tomfoolery from their boiler and Diane justifiably threatened to call another company to get it fixed and send me the bill. Now hold on dear, there’s got to be another way … Apparently, enough is enough, and the next day I picked up our brand-new Triangle Tube boiler at the local wholesaler. It’s not like I don’t want to work on my own stuff, but I have to do it for free. This line of work is way too hard to not get paid for doing it. This argument also did not hold water with the boss, however persuasive I attempted to be. OK, I’ll do this project for love but can’t make a habit out of that or I’ll go broke. I guess I already cook, wash clothes, dishes, vacuum (very occasionally) and take out the trash for free. Boiler installation is a skill though and should receive at least a stipend. I trained for years for this, although it also took me years to figure out how to fold a dress shirt (poorly). The things we do for love … Truth be told I have been waiting for this day for years. We all have a tendency to put off spending major money unless we have to, so that why most of our replacements are on an emergency basis. With our boiler, a lack of reliability was enough to push us (Diane) into making the decision. Despite the money, and however expensive, a Triangle Tube boiler is a thing of mechanical beauty. Even the box it comes in fits like a glove and I can’t remember ever seeing one damaged in shipping (unusual in our industry). Once out of the box, the powder-coated cabinet conceals simple perfection within. Pulling the cover reveals lots of shiny components, most of them stainless steel, and others chrome-plated. Without knowing it was a boiler, one might think it to be a device associated with the medical field or some NASA rocket component. What strikes me is how simple it appears considering the amazing efficiency that it is capable of. As you may have been able to tell this little article is a about love and boilers and how they go together like peas and carrots. A new boiler in your life may or may not provide the same blissful results but, guaranteed will operate at maximum efficiency, be crazy reliable, and do so for years into the future. What’s not to love about that? Our AirWorks technicians would love to work on your boiler system, old or new. Give us a call at(406) 257-1341.
