My Life since 9/21/2006... Why I am so cranky

[Casey H]

A looooong story... Why am I so cranky? This one doesn't top Ern's saga at all, but if you have patience it is interesting reading... I may have told some of my friends here that my family is living a small nightmare right now. A few weeks back, our oil service company performed annual routine service on our furnace and messed up big time. They created a small oil leak which got into the furnace parts and made our house smell like oil everywhere. Then a parade of incompetent techs came almost daily trying to fix our problem but screwing it up worse. We are currently living in hotels and having all sorts of cleanup remediation performed. I wrote this log in case I need it for legal reasons.Event log: OIL COMPANY OIL SERVICE 9/21/2006 to PresentRefer to OIL COMPANY InvoicesThursday 9/21/2006Routine annual service by OIL COMPANY. No major problems reported by tech. According to OIL COMPANY’s invoice ,he performed a tune up, adjusted fan, relay settings, corrected reported problem where by fan was shutting off when heat shut off. He replaced an oil filter and nozzle.Friday 9/22We noticed a very bad oil smell from using the heater during the night. A tech came Friday night. He said there had been a leak, he could not determine the cause. He disconnected the input oil line and the wire from the thermostat to make sure we didn’t use the system. He told us a supervisor would come first thing the next morning to determine the cause of the problem and do a 6-8 hour “controlled burn”. Saturday, 9/23A tech finally showed up around 11am (first thing?) with no supervisor and no knowledge of the prior events. He tried to service the system, caused smoke to permeate our entire house and set off our alarm company smoke alarm. Then he said he thought the heat exchanger was cracked and there was nothing he could do until a supervisor came on Monday. His invoice says he replaced or serviced 3 items 29074-9 (clean oil [can’t read]???), 29037-? (cracked heat exchanger), 09204-4 (nozzle). Additional comments read that oil on floor was noted.Monday 9/25Tech comes out with Jim R., a supervisor. Jim admitted that the OIL COMPANY tech who did the annual service left a loose fitting and caused the problem. The diagnostic evaluation on the invoice reads:Oil leak at compression fittingCleaned up oil with oil dry & oil powderSend out [illegible] for cleaning and [blower] motor for replacement. Wiped down fan housing.Replaced all compromised fitting.Jim said the heat exchanger was not cracked.Wed 9/27? (I lost track... too many boobus techs)Thurs 9/28 Jim and a OIL COMPANY tech returned, serviced the system for about 6 hours- replaced blower motor, installed cleaned part?, and serviced system. We ran the system in the late afternoon/early evening to test it and it tripped the 15 amp breaker for the heater. When resetting the breaker the heater would not turn on again. OIL COMPANY emergency service came out that night. That tech says that what the previous tech did was incorrect, serviced the nozzles and replaced a transformer.Friday 9/29System continues to trip the 15 amp circuit breaker. Jim comes out with a tech and performs additional service. He questions the actions of the tech that serviced the system the evening before. After servicing, he measures the system as drawing 14 to 14.5 amps during steady-state operation with both the burner and blower motors operating. Given that the system had been running for many years on a 15 amp line, this much current draw was highly suspicious. Jim implies that maybe it should have been installed on a 20 amp line to start with. (I know the original installer, he is very competent, and I was pretty certain he would never have installed a device drawing over 14 amps on a 15 amp line). We never had the heater circuit breaker trip over the 13 years the system has been in operation.As soon as he left, I ran the system and it tripped the 15 amp breaker again. I called Jim directly on his cell but he refused to come back, saying that he was now off duty and I should call OIL COMPANY emergency service. I told him I would not have another (in a parade of techs) service my system I called Barry, the OIL COMPANY General Manager. He forced Jim to return to my house.Jim said it might be a weakened or defective circuit breaker. He replaces the 15 amp circuit breaker at our circuit breaker panel and leaves. At this point, he had left us with an electrically unsafe condition, running the circuit and wires at their maximum capacity. That night during testing, the system ran but the bad oil smell coming from the system was still occurring. I noticed that when the heat was running, our bathroom GFI at the breaker panel would trip. This had never happened before with respect to heater operation.Also, that day I called Barry (Gen. Mgr) and explained that the oil fumes were becoming a health issue. My wife was not feeling well- itchy, burning eyes and her doctor told her she should not be staying in the house with the fumes. I also had itchy, burning eyes. Barry (Gen. Mgr) approves hotel and meals for my family, initially for 4 days. I had already (initiated by Barry) met one day this past week with Ken M. from the Clean-Up Company who agrees to start restoration work on Tuesday, October 3.I wanted to find the serial number of the unit to see if I could get specs from Armstrong Air as to electrical requirements and the correct size (in HP) of the blower motor. I was concerned that OIL COMPANY may have put a ¾ HP motor in, when it was originally ½ HP. That could have explained the increase in current draw. I took the cover off the unit. The oil smell was very bad. I observed extensive scorching and couldn’t find the serial number. I assumed that it had been obscured by the burn and scorch marks. In the process, I touched the burner motor and noted that it felt hot, more than slightly warm. Over that weekend, I sent the following email to Barry (Gen. Mgr):From: [My Name]Sent: Sunday, October 01, 2006 7:50 PMTo: 'Barry (Gen. Mgr)'Cc: Susan (the wife)Subject: Status, [My Address]BarryOnce again, thank you for sending Jim here Friday evening. He replaced a 15 amp circuit breaker.Here is our status with some of our questions and concerns. More may follow:(1) Jim measured our system as drawing over 14 amps on a 15 amp line. Obviously, that is not good. I don’t know how much current it drew before Jim replaced the blower motor and/or before this year’s service. He installed a ¾ HP motor. Are you absolutely sure that the one he replaced was not ½ HP? Did he check how much current was actually being drawn by the blower motor and the burner motor separately? (See below about the burner motor feeling hot).(2) There is significant scorching/burn marks on the face of the unit. This did not exist prior to this year’s annual service and follow-up. I was trying to find the S/N of the unit to contract Armstrong about the size of the blower motor originally shipped and electrical specs. However due to the scorching, I cannot find the S/N.(3) Due to the obvious burning, the electrical insulation on wires inside the unit is compromised. This must be addressed as a safety issue.(4) While looking for the serial number, I noticed that the burner motor felt pretty hot (more than slightly warm). This needs to be investigated. (5) Oil residue inside the burner motor may be contributing to the continued odor. Given what we have observed, the burner motor should be replaced.(6) One of your techs thought that our heat exchanger might be cracked. Jim and other techs said it was not. What testing was done to determine whether or not the heat exchanger is cracked? Visual inspection is not sufficient. Were other tests performed such as measuring CO2 levels before and after the blower comes on? If so, what were the readings and please provide documentation.(7) Due to the oil odors and the considerable smoke created by your technician (he smoked our entire house and set our fire alarm off), we request that remediation include having our ducts professionally cleaned and addressing smoke as well as oil. This smoke occurred during the 9/23 service call. What was the cause of the smoke? What tests were performed after the smoke and what documentation do you have?(8) There are some service calls by techs and by your supervisor, Jim, for which I have no “yellow” sheet invoice (e.g. documentation). Jim is aware of this and I asked him to fax me those to: Attn: [My Name], 610 xxx-xxxx. Just to make sure I have them all, please fax all of them.(9) When running the heater, the oil smell persists. I have been running the heater a lot to see if it goes away and it does not appear to be lessening.(10) We have incurred extra energy expenses running the ionizers around the clock and many hours running the heater for testing. What compensation will be offered for oil and electricity usage? (11) We are scheduled for remediation on Tuesday, Oct. 3rd. We cannot have remediation until every issue with this oil furnace is properly addressed. This will require extending our allowance for hotel and meals until all items are resolved and remediation is satisfactorily completed. At this point, given that so many OIL COMPANY technicians have given us so many contradictory statements about the health of our system, and that problems remain, we will require an independent inspection and approval from a qualified, licensed contractor of our choosing before moving forward with remediation.(12) We have no point of contact with your insurance company to discuss what is approved and not approved to settle this claim. Please advise.Please get in touch with me as soon as possible on Monday morning at 215 xxx xxxx. These items require immediate attention. Thank You.Sincerely,[My Name]Monday 10/2 I spoke with Barry (Gen. Mgr). He agreed to replace my entire furnace. I postponed the restoration until the new system was installed and I agreed it was it proper working order.Barry sent Jim to take some measurements to determine the correct replacement unit for ours. Jim dropped off a brochure about the new system OIL COMPANY will install. Just to be safe, I did a little research on the unit. It is very close match to the original unit and designed to operate on a 15 amp line and even does that WITH a ¾ HP blower motor. I mentioned that to Jim who acknowledged that the original unit should also have properly operated on a 15 amp line.I took the day off from work without pay. Too much of my time was needed dealing with OIL COMPANY, insurance, documentation, hotels, etc. I already had missed a fair amount of time up until this point and had to make up time evenings and weekends.Wednesday 10/4Jim comes out, removes the old unit and drops off the new one.Thursday 10/5OIL COMPANY installation team installed the new furnace. It appears to be operating properly (pending inspection by my independent inspector). I think I noticed that the bathroom GFI tripped again but I will see if that continues to happen. OtherThere were some visits by OIL COMPANY for which I was not given a “yellow” invoice. Mainly these were visits by Jim himself, although there may be 1-2 others whereby a tech did not leave one. I have made repeated requests to Jim and now Barry to fax me copies of all invoices from 9/21 on, just to be sure I have them all. This still has not been done.Restoration is currently scheduled for Monday, 10/9. I will take off another day as unpaid leave. I will not use my personal vacation time to deal with any issues related to recent events with OIL COMPANY Oil, our furnace, or the restoration.And now on 10/10/06...The oil company says their insurance is covering everthing. We have had (they sent) wall cleaners, upholstry cleaners, duct cleaners, laundry and curtain cleaners out so far. Every single item of clothing, shoes, towels, etc. in our home, except about 1 week's worth is out for special cleaning. The carpet cleaner is coming tommorow. Monday, my house looked like a scene from "The Money Pit" with so many contractors parked in my driveway. They agreed to allow is to by all new mattresses and boxsprings. We are getting ready to order those.Although the company and the insurance adjustor they sent out have been very cooperative, we still really don't have something in writing as to what they will cover. We have charged thousands on our credit card. I will get this fixed tomorrow.I am writing this from a Marriott Residence Inn. At least the hotel is nice and they have high speed internet.So, now you know why I am so cranky!!! Casey

[edteja]

I am glad you evacuated when you did... that is nasty stuff. Best of luck in reclaiming your house.

[Casey H]

There may be light at the end of the tunnel... We are moving back into our house tomorrow... If it still smells like fuel oil well....SEND LAWYERS, GUNS & MONEY !! Casey

[ernstinen]

Quote:SEND LAWYERS, GUNS & MONEY !! CaseyI love that song! I'll be there for ya Casey ---Ern

[andreh]

Great news, Casey! Hope all goes welll...keep us posted.Andre

[Casey H]

Update...We are back in our house... There is still a residual odor of fuel oil... It's much better but still there.... We are not happy campers... They have cleaned every floor, wall, ceiling, carpet, curtain, furniture, clothing, linens, towels... you name it. Also, the ducts have bee professionally cleaned... Maybe we need a new house...SEND LAWYERS, GUNS AND MONEYTHE SHIT HAS HIT THE FANErn: Can I send your neighbor over to visit the oil company folks? Casey

[davewalton]

I finally took the time to read your post. Unbelievable. Keep at it. Obviously there is a huge liability on their part. I also commend you on your firm, but tactful approach.

[matto]

Unbelievable! All things considered I don't think you're *that* cranky...

[Casey H]

Quote:Unbelievable! All things considered I don't think you're *that* cranky...Yeah???? YOU WANNA MAKE SOMETHING OF IT?? cAsEy

[booker]

Casey, I sent you my pit bull ... "Booger" in the mail. Hope it helps.