November 2024
Planning Ahead (That Didn’t Matter)
Our Triangle Tube Prestige Solo 110 boiler had been breaking down occasionally, and each service call was costing a minimum of $1,200. I got so frustrated with service companies that I learned to fix minor issues myself. But every technician told me the same thing: boilers have a lifespan of about 15 years, and ours was getting up there.
So I did what any reasonable homeowner would do—I planned ahead. In May 2024, I started calling HVAC companies for estimates so we’d be ready when the inevitable happened. I was very clear with every company: I wanted an estimate now so that when the boiler died, I could just call them up, they’d order the equipment, and we’d be ready to go. No delays, no emergency scrambling.
The estimate process went about as well as you’d expect. Most companies either didn’t show up or came but never sent a quote. I did get a solid estimate from Company PPH, my AC service company who was also listed as a utility company partner. They seemed reliable, I had a service contract with them, and I thought we were all set.
I also got a quote from Company NCS, more of an AC/HVAC guy, who gave me an estimate for a heat pump replacement I was also planning. He seemed capable but wasn’t set up for all the rebate programs like PPH was.
After weighing all the options—combo boiler, indirect tank, heat pump water heater—I settled on a Navien NCB-240/110 combi boiler. Less pieces, easier to maintain, no anode rod to worry about. PPH had my quote. I thought I was prepared.
The Sunday Before Thanksgiving
Fast forward to the Sunday before Thanksgiving 2024. The Triangle Tube boiler died. I thought it was the motherboard, but after checking the replacement cost, I convinced my wife it made more sense to just replace the whole system now.
Perfect! This is exactly what I’d planned for. I called PPH, the company I had the service contract with, the one I’d specifically gotten an estimate from for exactly this scenario. I left a message on their emergency line Sunday. No response. I called again Monday morning.
The person who answered said she’d check with the owner/estimator. A few hours later, she called back: he’d need to come over and take a look.
Wait, what?
I explained that he’d already been there, he’d already given me an estimate for this exact situation, and I could send pictures to refresh his memory. We were having an early cold snap. My in-laws were coming for Thanksgiving in a few days. This was kind of an emergency.
This response—after I had specifically planned for this moment—left me perturbed. My confidence in PPH abruptly dropped.
Scrambling for Options
I started calling around. I tried some of the companies I’d contacted before—they couldn’t help. I called NCS, the AC guy who’d given me the heat pump estimate. He said he’d try to move something around and let me know. I found another plumber who could maybe come Wednesday (the day my in-laws were arriving) at a really good price.
NCS got back to me and said he could probably come Tuesday, but needed to confirm the Navien unit was in stock. I offered to call his suppliers myself. I found the unit, confirmed availability, and waited for his call.
Meanwhile, the PPH owner finally made it over to look at the system he’d already quoted. He said maybe he could do it Wednesday, but might only get to it after Thanksgiving.
WTF? This didn’t feel like he was treating my emergency as an emergency. It felt like he was fitting me into his schedule when convenient. And yes, the price had gone up about $1,000 since the estimate—which, fine, costs go up—but the whole thing felt off.
He finally agreed to Wednesday, but said he needed Tuesday to get the equipment. It was only 2 or 3 PM at that point. I offered to pick up the equipment myself if it meant he could come Tuesday. He said he needed the prep day.
The Miscommunication
This next part is where things got foggy, and it’s what made me feel guilty afterward.
NCS confirmed he could come Tuesday. Thinking he was my only option for Tuesday, I said great, see you in the morning. I called the plumber to thank him but told him I’d found someone for Tuesday. I called PPH to tell them I’d found someone else.
The PPH owner got really angry and said he’d told me he could come Tuesday. I apologized and said I had in my mind that he needed a prep day and could only come Wednesday. I vaguely remember a conversation as he was leaving where he may have mentioned Tuesday, but I’d already moved on mentally and was thinking about my next options.
I felt bad about the miscommunication. But you know what? That’s kind of on him for not treating my emergency like an emergency from the start. When someone has no heat or hot water before a holiday, you don’t say “maybe Wednesday, maybe after Thanksgiving.” You move mountains. You show empathy. You make it work.
NCS Steps Up
NCS showed up Tuesday morning and put in a really long day. He had the system working when he left at 8 PM. He had a little finishing work the next day, and when I went to give him a check, he said, “No, no, just pay me when I finish the job.”
How refreshing is that? PPH wanted a deposit before they’d even commit to the job, plus 50% up front. NCS just did the work and trusted I’d pay when it was done.
It took him a little longer than expected, and he spent some time on the phone with tech support getting everything dialed in, but he figured it out. The only things I wish he’d done better: the cement seal around the vents (which I fixed myself when the weather warmed up) and the exhaust screen wasn’t quite right-sized so birds and rodents got in. After enough trial and error with Amazon orders, I found something that worked.
But you know what? He showed up when I needed him. He worked a 12-hour day to get my heat back before Thanksgiving. He understood what an emergency feels like to the homeowner.
The Aftermath
I still felt guilty about the miscommunication with PPH. We were planning to replace our AC with a heat pump in the spring, and since NCS had done the boiler, it seemed fair to give PPH the heat pump job.
In March 2025, I called PPH and told them I was ready to move forward with the heat pump. I asked if the owner wanted to come back out and look at the job again before starting.
She called back: the owner didn’t need to come out. The estimate was fine. Except the heat pump had gone up $1,000.
Wait. So when it’s an emergency boiler replacement, he needs to come look at it again even though he’d already done an estimate. But when it’s a heat pump installation months later, the old estimate is suddenly fine as-is? Interesting.
I should have bailed right there. But I didn’t. They offered the tax credit paperwork and 18-month interest-free financing, which helped spread out the pain. So I went with them.
That decision, as you’ll read in the next post about the heat pump installation, may have been a mistake.
Equipment Details
Old boiler: Triangle Tube Prestige Solo 110
New boiler: Navien NCB-240/110 combination boiler
Lessons Learned
Planning ahead is great. Having estimates ready is smart. But when you’re in an actual crisis, what matters most is finding someone who treats your emergency like an emergency. Someone who understands that “no heat before Thanksgiving” isn’t a scheduling inconvenience—it’s a genuine problem that needs immediate attention.
NCS got that. PPH didn’t.
And if I’d listened to my gut instead of my guilt, I would have given NCS the heat pump job too.
Next up: The heat pump installation, or “Why I Should Have Listened to My Gut.”
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