I don't normally write reviews, but I wanted to write one to air out my anger with Atlascare Heating company. Based on their 4.8/5 from 1025 reviews on Googles, I used them to tune up my gas boiler a few days ago. The technician came on time, but as soon as he got inside the boiler room, he started pointing out how rusty the top casing of the boiler was. I said the rust has been there since I bought the house about ten years ago, he quickly said the boiler must be 19 years old, so it should be replaced. Well, I said no technician has raised any concerns over the years when they came for annual check up. He didn't say anything, but within about 10 minutes, I saw him packing up his tools and went back to his truck. I didn't know whether he has finished servicing the boiler as he didn't say a word and left. I waited at the backyard, then I saw him coming towards me to tell me that he had to shut down the boiler. I was very shocked and asked why. He pointed out the rust outside the boiler is very unsafe; he also pointed out one/two burners inside the boiler also has a little bit of surface rust; and he said one pipe on the left hand side should be extended all the way to be a few inches from the floor and the one pipe shouldn't be going into the floor, it is not supposed to be done like that!! He told me he will send their sale representative to come in to quote me a new boiler, I said NO!! He left a ticket and shut down my boiler!!
Anyways, I called another smaller HVAC company to come in today. The technician was very knowledgeable to run a thorough diagnostic of the gas boiler. He checked the carbon dioxide level, it is fine. For the rust on the top, he said it is not a safety concern. There was a small pea sized hole on the case, he brought in a piece of metal from his truck and patched it up. He said the gas boiler is 29 years old, but it still runs well, so it doesn't deserve a death sentence yet!
*** UPDATE ***
Just to clarify: your technician was in & out of the house a few times, the amount of time he spent on tuning up the boiler & cleaning up the burners was minimal to none! He spent more time in his truck than anything else!
2ndly, your technician just doesn't have any sound reasons to prove the boiler was not safe other than the rust on the casing and on 1 burner, plus how the pipe was installed! He also based on his guess of the boiler being 19 years old! Right after your technician left, I did called the previous HVAC company, which serviced the boiler for many years and based on the reasons I gave them, they simply laughed and said your company merely tried to upsale; but that company was short on staff due to COVID, they couldn't come. So I hired another reputable HVAC company (9.9/10 reviews & a Homestars Winner on 2020), their technician honestly and ethically dispelled the truth: the rust and other minor points your technician brought up are not safety concerns and the CO2 level checks off fine. So he cleared the ticket for me!
Thank you for your technician's time on convincing me to buy a new gas boiler from your company, but I would only do so if it is due to safety or it dies. It has been confirmed a well built boiler can last 25-35 years if it is well maintained. The average lifespan of today's cars is about 8 years, my old car is 18 years old despite the rusty tail pipes, but still runs safely & perfectly. Do I need to replace it? NO.
