I called Arnica Heating & Air Conditioning in Brooklyn today to repair my boiler which stopped working. The technician who came diagnosed the problem as a broken "spill switch". He said it would cost $295, in addition to the $99 service call charge. At the time, I thought this was an awfully high price, but I suppose I assumed I was just naive about boilers, plus I wanted my heat back ASAP, so I agreed to have the job done.
I asked for the broken switch, and after he left, I looked up the part online, and found out I could buy one for $14.49 (http://www.pexsupply.com/Weil-McLain-510-300-014-Spill-Switch-w-Manual-Reset-240-F)
This is almost a 2000% markup for the retail price I found. On a hunch that there might be more to the situation, I went down and re-attached the broken switch, and the boiler started right up. I dont know how to explain this, other than to assume I was duped.
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