I was just charged $300 to have my gas hot water heater fixed (got the flame re-lit)!

[CTyankee]

I guess they can charge that much because we would have no idea how to do it, even if we could, we wouldn't want to try. It was a new one, too, just installed last spring, after the old one broke and flooded the basement.

It sounds simple but because it is potentially so precarious we are left to pay whatever is charged.

I guess we just have to grin and bear it...

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. Sounds normal, hopefully you asked WHY was it out, they shouldn't go out?

Charge is normal I guess.

[CTyankee]

7. I dunno why. I woke up this morning to no hot water.

In all my years in this house, that has not happened. The flood we had last spring was our fault because the date on the old water heater had passed its expected date to replace.

Since no one in their right mind would attempt to do something that potentially dangerous if they weren't plumbers qualified to do it, I can understand that you need a capable, well trained plumber to do the work and I never fail to willingly pay for good work. It just seems to me that re-lighting a pilot light isn't the most difficult task for a plumber to do. But I could be totally wrong about that...

[Beakybird]

2. That's not normal. I would complain and put a bad online review.

If the person just spent 15 minutes at your house, you should just be charged for a service call. This should cost no more than $100.

[jimfields33]

8. In 1995 maybe.

[bottomofthehill]

3. Pilot?

Most hot water heaters now have an electronic ignition. You should hear a tic-tic-tic and then the flames should ignite.

[CTyankee]

10. Well, I guess we had it coming to us. Neither of us would dare try such a thing.

[ProfessorGAC]

23. Our Heater Is Pilotless

It's 20 years old!
I was surprised to hear that a new one had a pilot light, too.

[Kali]

4. that is insane

it isn't that hard, but you do have to get down on the ground. ours is in a kind of drafty spot and goes out occasionally, requires getting down, holding a button down for like 20 seconds while you light it. no big deal, not worth 300 bucks unless you live a brazillion miles from town and it is a blizzard or something.

you need a handyman to help if you are not able to do this. $300 is outrageous.

[NJCher]

26. $300 is outrageous

I have had situations that ended up being something like that but the person making the call didn't have the chutzpah to charge that kind of money. In other words they could have, but they didn't.

My suggestion would be that CTYankee call the company's office and complain about it, mentioning "senior."

I was once told by a business owner of a company that does HVAC that they cut a lot of breaks for seniors. He said nobody wants to be accused of taking advantage of older people.

If that doesn't work, online comments are the way to go.

I'm sure CT has a decent office for senior affairs and maybe something can be done there. I know from my experience working with the senior office in IL (on behalf of my aunt), that overcharging is considered financial abuse.

Regarding the pilot light, it is not easy on some models. Yes, you can get the manual online and do it yourself but at least in our case, it required enormous patience. I was totally intimidated by the process, but someone else in our household who has the temperament did it.

Once we figured out how to do it, we taped a video on our cellphones and filed it on our computers. In addition, I wrote out my own instructions, based on our video and the instructions in the manual, which were OK but not great. Here, for example, are a few of the steps which I wrote:

• Turn the big red button to “pilot” and it pops out
• Depress and hold the big red button while simultaneously pushing in the small red button
• Hold the big red button down until the status light blinks. The small red button will click and release.
• At first the blinker might be slow but don’t worry about it—it takes time to build up “steam”
...

In addition, I printed out the instructions and put them in a plastic sheet protector and pinned it on the wall next to the water heater.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

5. So easy to do yourself... just get brand & model# off the plate on the tank

and google/youtube search how to relight pilot light.

[RKP5637]

16. K&R!!!!!!!!! n/t

[JohnSJ]

6. Did they replace anything like the electronic ignition? I would think your utility company would

come out for free and relight it.

[CTyankee]

9. I don't think we could wait for the utility people to come.

[Sherman A1]

11. If this is a new unit as described

I would be calling the office of whoever installed it and ask some serious questions.

[CTyankee]

12. the same plumber installed it. I'll call him back and ask him if we had some time warrenty on it.

I dunno why the light went out in the first place.

[Sherman A1]

15. I would go through your paperwork from the installation

before calling.

[bucolic_frolic]

13. Yes

I find that about $250 is becoming the standard house call, estimate, inspection fee. Then parts and labor on top of that. It's why I will spend weekends on YouTube. Almost anything from the last 20-30 years is out there.

[Goonch]

14. Pilot Light Assessment and Reignition Cost:

One of the most common problems with gas units is the pilot light going out. There may be no need for repairs, if this is the case. It could be that it was blown out or that your unit temporarily lost its gas connection. If you follow safe procedures, you can relight this component on your own. This would save you a service call fee, which could range from $45 to $150 per hour. If it doesn't light, you could have thermocouple or valve issues.

https://www.homeadvisor.com/cost/plumbing/repair-a-water-heater/#pilot

[Philosophizing Fool]

17. Sounds about right

The technician has to be paid for their expertise and time. If the problem needed the skill set provided, it was well worth the cost, indoor plumbing and heating is truly a marvel. If it was something that could have been fixed after reading an owner's manual or a quick internet search, consider the price paid a lesson and a learning opportunity, which is in itself worth the cost.

[msongs]

18. just be glad they didnt give you a rip off "truck fee", another scam.

[world wide wally]

19. If it was just the pilot light, most cities relight them free of charge.

[NBachers]

20. There should be a manufacturer's warranty of 6 years or more. Contact the manufacturer and see if

this problem is covered under warranty. If so, they often have designated plumbing companies who will come out and do the work as a warranty item.

[CTyankee]

24. I will contact the plumber who actually installed it. He had sent us one of his plumbers because he

couldn't do it. He was the one to told me about the charge, on the phone, after he talked to the guy he sent.

I have a good friend who is a retired plumber. I'll call him for some comment or two.

[CentralMass]

21. This could be a scam of sorts. Although it is not hard to light a pilot light I think that

In most northeastern states it must be done by a certified technician
We were scammed a couple of times by a disreputable propane delivery company that bought our old delivery company. Thet let us run out. They chargef $110 to relight the pilot although I told them I could do it. They kep claiming we were not on automatic delivery although we had been gor 20 years. When it happenrd the second time I went to Home Depot and bought their best 40 gallon electric hit water heater and installed it my self that weekend and we had an electric range delivered

If the gas running out was not your fault and or this happens again I would consider filing a complaint.

[NJCher]

27. those propane people are something else

I had to deal with them when I handled my brother's properties for a short time while he was away. I learned that propane does have certain laws restricting who can do what and even whether a refill can be delivered if they think someone has tampered with the tank.

Sounds like you were very capable of taking care of the problem.

[NQAS]

22. About 20 years ago

The basement flooded in my new house. I called the plumber. He came, flipped on the switch on the furnace, which I accidentally turned off. He was there for 5 minutes and charged me 95. I commented on that, saying I could have done thst. And he said sure, but he knew what switch to turn on. I didn’t.

That’s what you pay for from pros. Not their time but their knowledge

[quickesst]

25. I agree with Angi ( formerly Angie's List"

. Most service providers will charge a standard fee per visit that typically covers the cost to relight a gas water heater. This service call price can range from $80 to $100.

https://www.angi.com/articles/how-relight-gas-water-heaters-pilot-light.htm

If I were you I would go to YouTube and search for how to relight a hot water heater. Then bookmark or save video for future reference. I am not saying this to be mean, but in my opinion you paid at least three times what you should have. Any more projects come up, just remember, YouTube, and all those people who post tutorials may be your best friends.

[CTyankee]

29. I can understand the $80-100 fee for the visit. That's what I expected.

But because it was new from just last spring I thought it was just a minor adjustment. Silly me. I'm calling the plumber tomorrow to check on whether there was warranty for a certain amount of time. Seems to me it should function pretty well for at least a year! And he picked out the best one for us since neither one of us knows anything about plumbing.

[quickesst]

31. Your actions were quite understandable

I know a little about cars, but when it comes to the more complicated tasks, I go to a mechanic that knows what they are doing. It's been awhile, but I imagine I've been raked over the coals with auto repair no telling how many times over the years. As a matter of fact, I am expecting a plumber myself in the morning. I think there are roots growing in the lines. Glad everything is back to normal for you.

[NJCher]

30. I get so much from those youtube tutorials

I am on there all the time learning how to do things like change drill bits, figure out why a toilet is running (flapper), how to put a new spool on my weedwacker, etc. I have my favorite how-to people, and they are always where the person gets right to the point.

A good example is Roger Wakefield, a plumber. Not only is he clear in his directions, he has a sense of humor. He puts time into his props to show exactly what you need to do. He is a bit flamboyant, but I like that. Roger is not dull!

There are a lot of how-to video people who don't bother as much to do a good job. I find the ones who want to go on about irrelevant material to be the most annoying.

I also turn to youtube frequently to do TV and computer troubleshooting. Recently my new Firestick kept losing the volume and mute buttons. I called Amazon for help and while they tried, they didn't tell me how to fix it right. It was not working again the next day.

So the first youtube video I checked helped me solve the problem. Yeah, you might have to work through some foreign accents, but it's a small price to pay for not calling a Comcast or Verizon service person, who would takes days or even a week to get to you.

IMO, youtube has caused a revolution in the DIY field. Now we can get manuals for all of our home appliances in just minutes. No more pawing through five-inch thick files of manuals, warranties, etc.

Not only do we save money this way, we avoid possibly introducing Covid into our homes, save time, we can get immediate results in many cases, and we have the pride and feeling of accomplishment that comes with tackling a problem and solving it. In my area, service people have attitudes, meaning they are know-it-alls, think they should be paid $150 an hour, and are unreliable, meaning they don't show up or call when they say they are going to. I would rather avoid them altogether and tackle the problem myself.

[quickesst]

32. Good post

I agree with everything you said. believe me, I know how valuable they are to people like you and me who like to do things for themselves if possible. I am genuinely grateful to the people who take their time to help others. The only thing I would do a little differently is when I need help on something I just type in what I am looking for, and the search will bring up multitudes of videos. I just watch the first 5 or so and get a consensus on the proper procedure, and go from there. Anyway, great post.

[NJCher]

35. thank you, quickesst

that is a good point about watching numerous videos before embarking on a project. Here is a good example for why:

I was watching videos about how to drain my water heater and clean it out at the bottom. I might not necessarily have done this myself, but I wanted to know how it was done before I asked anyone to do it.

In the process of watching, I found one from a guy that seemed pretty credible. He said that if the water heater has never been drained and cleaned and it's 4-5 years old, you might not want to do it. That's because a water heater that's not been cleaned out yearly can get hairline cracks. These hairline cracks can apparently get bigger by draining it, I think he said.

Now, I don't know if this is the case or not, but I couldn't find anything on it from Roger Wakefield. I'm going to check with my own plumber, so for now I'm holding off on draining the water tank.

Thus the wisdom of checking numerous sources.

[quickesst]

36. Absolutely

I never take on a job unless I am confident I can complete it satisfactorily. It may take a little longer to get all the information I need, but it's always worth it.

[Mr.Bill]

28. In California, any company that sells natural gas

or propane has to provide that service for free.

Damn liberal nanny states.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

33. That sucks.

I don’t care what anyone on this thread says, that’s at least double what it should have been for a simple fast house call.

[CentralMass]

34. Definitely..