Oil-Fired Heating System Service Cost

[DRH]

I have an oil-fired hot water heating system (baseboard heat) and am curious what the average cost in the Lakes Region is for routine annual cleaning and servicing.

My boiler has been cleaned annually, and because it is now a secondary heat source I only burned about 400 gallons of oil during the last heating season. I recently had the unit cleaned and was charged $275 by one of the large area heating oil dealers. This charge included $230 for 2.5 hours of labor, $40 for parts & materials, and $5 for a "combustion test". This is the highest amount I have been charged to have the boiler cleaned, so I am curious what others are paying for the same service. Any information will be appreciated.

Thanks.

[RLW]

To me that is a bit expensive. It sounds as if you used a new company other than what you have used in the past and they charged a higher price than if you were a regular customer. My burner service runs about $185. which includes the complete burner cleaning including the stack to the chimney, oil filter, nozzle and the combustion test and a PH test as I have anti freeze installed. This is by my regular service company that I have been using now for 13 years.

[ITD]

Originally Posted by DRH

I have an oil-fired hot water heating system (baseboard heat) and am curious what the average cost in the Lakes Region is for routine annual cleaning and servicing.

My boiler has been cleaned annually, and because it is now a secondary heat source I only burned about 400 gallons of oil during the last heating season. I recently had the unit cleaned and was charged $275 by one of the large area heating oil dealers. This charge included $230 for 2.5 hours of labor, $40 for parts & materials, and $5 for a "combustion test". This is the highest amount I have been charged to have the boiler cleaned, so I am curious what others are paying for the same service. Any information will be appreciated.

Thanks.

$198 Foley oil, included filter, screen, nozzle, sealed stack pipe, cleaning and test. Burner is running great now, hopefully won't need them till next year. Ultimate boiler with baseboard.

[camp guy]

$275.00 seems a bit high, unless there was additional work to be done to tune the system following the cleaning, or parts to replace old parts.

I have used Rymes for many years and find them to be very fair, never charging more than $150.00, and the service staff have all been very pleasant and courteous.

I guess I am from the school of thought that subscribes to the philosophy of putting all your eggs in one basket when it comes to oil burner work and oil supply. Sadly, one year when I had different vendors for oil and for service I found myself in the cross-hairs of a finger pointing situation wherein each vendor blamed the other for the problems with the system. My argument concerning having one company do both ends of the stick is that it gives me one person to deal with for all facets of heating service and I can hold them accountable to get it right.

Just my $.02 worth, or in the fuel trade, 2 & 9/10 worth.

[DRH]

Thanks for the replies. The $275 "annual tune-up" fee was charged by my regular fuel oil supplier, and the parts replaced were just the usual nozzle, oil filter, and pump strainer. Also, the stack flue was replaced after the previous heating season so it did not need cleaning. The 2.5 hour labor charge is a bit hard for me to accept.

[Slickcraft]

Foley Oil:

Annual cleaning, new nozzle, new filter, shop supplies, haz waste disp and combustion test all for a total bill of $157.35.

Foley is a small, reliable family owned business.

http://www.foleyoilco.com/

[Misha888]

Originally Posted by DRH

I have an oil-fired hot water heating system (baseboard heat) and am curious what the average cost in the Lakes Region is for routine annual cleaning and servicing.

My boiler has been cleaned annually, and because it is now a secondary heat source I only burned about 400 gallons of oil during the last heating season. I recently had the unit cleaned and was charged $275 by one of the large area heating oil dealers. This charge included $230 for 2.5 hours of labor, $40 for parts & materials, and $5 for a "combustion test". This is the highest amount I have been charged to have the boiler cleaned, so I am curious what others are paying for the same service. Any information will be appreciated.

Thanks.

Maybe they sent you a Master Plumber instead of a journeyman or technician? The majority of oil companies don't hire licensed guys as the average rate in this area is $82 - $98 an hour.

Another thought. Possibly your cleaning was higher because you don't use a lot of oil. Typically, the suppliers make their money off your oil bill.

[wickedtravelah]

Originally Posted by Slickcraft

Foley Oil:

Annual cleaning, new nozzle, new filter, shop supplies, haz waste disp and combustion test all for a total bill of $157.35.

Foley is a small, reliable family owned business.

http://www.foleyoilco.com/

I had the same service & cost.... They did a fine job and had to replace part of the flu vent and damper. It took about 30 minutes to do on top of the normal service time.

The total bill was $230 including the parts and extra labor time.

I thought that was fair.

[Irish mist]

Wow.....should be around $150 or under. I've had good service from Foley like Slickcraft mentioned.

[SteveA]

Just had ours done.. $159.35, plus the guy checked an old "buried" oil tank that came with the house when we bought in 1986. He checked the tank for leaks, (none) and measured about 40 gallons still in the tank.

[DRH]

Thanks, everyone, for your comments and recommendations. I'm switching to Foley.

[mountainhouse]

Try Phil Cowels, who formerly worked for Stafford Oil, before starting his own business. He is great to work with and very knowledgeable. I had him do various heating and A/C work this summer for me. His rates a very reasonable.
520-6192

[Den65]

Originally Posted by DRH

Thanks, everyone, for your comments and recommendations. I'm switching to Foley.

Just had Fuller do mine was $132. and that's up from last year of $126, guess they are trying to put extra money away to keep the phone service working...............lol

[ITD]

Originally Posted by Den65

Just had Fuller do mine was $132. and that's up from last year of $126, guess they are trying to put extra money away to keep the phone service working...............lol

I liked Fuller, but they just would not show for an cleaning appointment, many times in a row. The excuse was always that they had an emergency. The last time it was 72 degree August day. So I stopped trying. The oil delivery was always good, until last year, I ran out while on auto delivery, then they said they would give me ten gallons to get me going again on a 15 degree day but said would be 4 or 5 days until I could get the tank filled. Ten gallons may have lasted a day with the house at 33 degrees in that weather. That was the day I switched to Foley. I ended up with one frozen pipe from that day, fortunately I turned off the water when I got the tank filled by Foley. Damage was minimal, but it could have been a disaster. Never again.