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You're looking at the ignitor that used to be in my combi boiler. It's just a spark plug. The green arrow points to where it developed a short circuit and burned up.
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After getting dressed, I went to the mechanical room, looked at the front panel of the boiler, and saw the code on the screen. Looking at the owner's manual I
determined one of several things caused the malfunction. The boiler was dead. Not only was there no hot water, but no heat.
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It was 7:10 AM. The few businesses in the area that might have the needed part were going to close in less than five hours and NOT REOPEN for THREE COLD DAYS.
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The boiler had to be fixed in HOURS or hundreds of plants in
the house would die from the cold. I couldn't gamble that what I thought was the problem was the problem.
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I called a service company and spoke with the operator. "We can get someone out within the hour. It's going to be a $149 non-refundable diagnostic fee PLUS a $199 emergency call since it's a weekend. You'll then have to pay for it to be repaired."
"Send
her/him out," I responded.
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It was my hope the repairman had the required common part on his truck. He didn't. Once here, he had but one supply house at his disposal that was open. We were about to roll the dice to see if they had the part in stock.
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Three hours later he was on his way to the next call and my checkbook was suffering from an $833.37
debit.
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I looked up the part after he left and it's available at SupplyHouse.com for $70.12. I could have installed this new part myself in about ten minutes if I had been
thinking ahead to BUY it myself. It's important to realize the part is NOT perishable. It can sit next to my boiler for years and not go bad.
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DON'T MAKE THE MISTAKE I DID.
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If you have a combi boiler or tankless water heater like me, GO BUY YOUR REPLACEMENT ignitor NOW. Tape it to the side of the machine. It turns out these ignitors go bad after seven, or so,
years.
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Go watch videos on YouTube showing you HOW to replace your ignitor. Do that NOW, not when you're under pressure to get the job done. Save yourself HUNDREDS of dollars.
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Clay Paving Brick
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Look at this ancient paving brick from the Old Brick Road in
Florida. It was a gift to me from John, one of my long-time subscribers.
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