Looking for a installer around Poughkeepsie, NY - Keystoker

Hi everyone,

I ordered a Keystoker KA6 in August and it was finally delivered on November 22. The local coal dealer who sold it to me does not do installation. He referred me to a local oil service company that had installed Keystoker boilers for them in the past. I had talked to them in August before ordering the boiler and they told me it wouldn't be a problem installing it when it came in which was scheduled for Oct 1st to the 15th.

Well, that was delayed by 5 to 7 weeks by Keystoker. The service company came out to give me an estimate on November 23rd. After hounding them the past week, they finally told me today that they are now too busy to do it until April since they estimate it will take two guys two days to do it. Does this seem like a long time for an install? We have an existing oil burner with seven zones and a zoned hot water tank. They were looking to hook the Keystoker up as an add-on boiler and have the original one only turn on if the water temperatures from the Keystoker dropped.

Anyone have any contacts of installers that may be willing to do it now that are honest and maybe have experience with these units? I am located close to Poughkeepsie, NY.

At this point, I am ready to spit nails. I have a $5000.00 doorstop that weighs almost 1200 pounds in my garage. It took these people over two weeks to even tell me they can't do it for 5 months. He said he would be happy to do it then though. I am probably going to call the company I bought it from and give them hell tomorrow and see if they have any other ideas.

Thanks in advance.

Try posting a request on http://www.heatinghelp.com. Make sure you describe it's a coal add on to an existing system. Have a telephone conversation with the installation forman before anyone makes a house call.

Yanche

I probably wasn't clear. I had spoke to the installer in August before ordering the boiler and he was happy to install it. By the time it came in on Nov 22nd, they were too busy with winter rush to do a big job until the spring. I just wish the dealer who sold it would installs since then they would be forced to install it to sell it. They kind of left me hanging on this one.

MOST BOILER CONTRACTORS CAN INSTALL A KEYSTOKER. I HAVE INSTALLED 2 . ONE OF THEM MY OWN. ALL THE CONT. HAS TO DO IS FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS. I INSTALLED MY FIRST COAL BOILER 4 YEARS AGO. THIS AFTER BEING A PLUMBING AND HEATING CONT. FOR MANY YEARS. I HAVE JUST FINISHED INSTALLING MY OWN K-6. JUST FIND A REPUTIBLE HEATING CONTRACTOR, OIL CONTRACTORS ARE PREFERED, THEY HAVE MORE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT SETTING THE PROPER DRAFT AND ADJUSTING THE BAROMETRIC DAMPER. HOPE THIS IS HELPFUL.

Well I found an installer willing to do it. He came in at $4600.00 for the installation. I felt it was rather high and at this point I will probably just chill out (literally burning oil ) and wait until spring.

At that point I will take the boiler down for a week once I no longer need it for heat and have a relative who knows how to solder work with me. By then I should have had plenty of time to figure out the proper way to hook this beast up the way I want and have figured out the proper flow valves and controls. I figure after we get it up and running, I will pay someone to come in and adjust the draft and damper since I am not foolish enough to try those on my own.

It is being installed as an add-on boiler to an exisiting oil boiler. I have a zoned hot water tank for domestic usage and there are seven zones. The layout I was looking at would require moving the hot water tank to the other side of the oil burner. The Keystoker would then fit right next to the oil burner. I want it configured so that the exisiting oil burner acts as a backup to the Keystoker. Basically I never want the oil boiler to come on unless the water temperatures drop from the Keystoker which would indicate that the Keystoker has went out. At that point the oil boiler should come on automatically.

I am guessing that it requires new controls for the zones and the boilers to to this switchover. I don;t think the actual zones valves or existing plumbing needws to be changed much though.

At a wild estimate am I crazy in thinking that $4600.00 (Labor was $3100.00 and parts was $1500.00) sounds way high for the job? The first person who is willing to do it in the spring told me labor would be $1600.00 to $2100 for the complete job. He didn't specify material costs though.

I am estimating that I will save about $1500 per season using the coal boiler using my past oil usage as a guage.

That is probably the best way to set it up. It actually is pretty easy, if you have someone that can sweat copper. Depending on your existing boiler and how you want to set yours up, you may not even need the flow control valves. You absolutley need no zones or other controls, just some copper tub, fittings and valves. A little electric (easy) and some stove pipe and you be destroying fossils like the rest of us.
The $1600-2100 sounds a little more realistic (moving it into the basement included), the other guy sounds like he is either trying to take advantage of you or just being polite and didn't want the job.
I don't understand the cost of material, I'd be stunned if it was more than $500. Unless you boiler is in the cellar and you put the Keystoker in the attic.
I would find a buddy that can sweat copper and one that can wire and you need one that can carry the monster down into the cellar and you done for $3-400. It just isn't that hard to do. Think about it, ask questions, and do it, it will give you a bigger grin when you say you did it yourself.

Our boiler room is 25FT from the garage door, there are no steps or bumps along the way. We wanted it out of the garage, so we rolled it into the area it is going to be installed in on Sunday. Took us 5 minutes and a couple pieces of PVC pipe as rollers.

That guy told me that the $1500 was because he "only uses top quality parts and no cheap stuff". He wants to do the job next week.
I was guessing materials would be about $500.00 also. My initial conversation with the first installer in August put the figures at about $1800.00 labor plus about $500.00 materials.

My gut feeling at this point is anyone I find willing to do it will either be:

1, Grossly over priced due to season
2, Too busy to do it due to season if at fair price
3, Have plenty of time and cheap price and not have a clue how to do it (fubared heat in December is not high on my list of things I want)

CasualObserver wrote:That guy told me that the $1500 was because he "only uses top quality parts and no cheap stuff". He wants to do the job next week.
I was guessing materials would be about $500.00 also. My initial conversation with the first installer in August put the figures at about $1800.00 labor plus about $500.00 materials.

Let him do it, he says he uses the best stuff, he must be suppling the parts and he'll do it next week. Done, you'll save $1500 in heat this year.

If you wait and do the job yourself perhaps with some soldering help you can take the time to understand primary secondary piping systems. Check out the online store link of http://www.heatinghelp.com. Look for two books authored by Dan Holohan.

1. Pumping Away and other really cool piping options for hydronic systems.
2. Primary-Secondary Pumping Made Easy

Dan's writing style is easy for a homeowner to understand. You will learn how to design hydronic heating systems that are easy to remove trapped air and how to use small circulator pumps as if they were valves to control water flow. It's easy to have automatic summer winter switch over and automatic backup if the coal boiler goes out. Perhaps you will even find some mistakes in your current zone plumbing! Highly recommended. I have all the books authored by Dan and have solved many hydronic heating system problem for friends. His steam heat book diagnosed a banging pipe problem in a friends house that even the so called experts couldn't solve.

Yanche

I will look into that Yanche. Sounds like some good reading and I am actually leaning towards doing it myself and not worrying about this year. I will look into those books, I really expect it won;t be rocket science for the most part and I am comfortable doing most things if I have time to make sure they work right. December is not that time of year for this for me though.

Thanks again for the suggestions!

coaledsweat wrote:

CasualObserver wrote:That guy told me that the $1500 was because he "only uses top quality parts and no cheap stuff". He wants to do the job next week.
I was guessing materials would be about $500.00 also. My initial conversation with the first installer in August put the figures at about $1800.00 labor plus about $500.00 materials.

Let him do it, he says he uses the best stuff, he must be suppling the parts and he'll do it next week. Done, you'll save $1500 in heat this year.

I didn't make that clear,. That was the guy quoting $4600 for the job. His justifcation for $1500 in parts was that he only uses top quality stuff.

At this point I think I am going to wait until spring and be asking questions here if I have them. A family member can do the piping as long as I provide him direction on how to put everything together. I figuring spending around $500 in parts and saving the labor is about the same as spending about $2000.00 to have it done now since I would save this years heating bill. Since I doubt I will find anyone good for close to that amount now, I am going to wait and do it myself.