Nick made a big mistake when installing my new hot water tank. He failed to check for a gas leak. I told him that I smelled gas. His response, "I had to bleed the gas line." So I opened the basement windows, turned on a couple fans and trusted Nick. Bad move. The next morning i checked the basement and it still smelled strange. Unfortunately, the fans were masking the gas leak.
On Friday I called Z&R and spoke with Jenifer, who set me up with an appointment for someone to look at the new tank. At 3:00 I got a call from Dale. I explained that when I put my nose near the exhaust vent at the top of the tank it smelled funny. Dale said it could quite possibly be a "burn off" smell that new tanks have. "We can send someone out or you can give it until the weekend and if the problem persists we'll come out next week." Dale told me. "A gas leak has a different smell." I trusted Dale. Again, the fans were diluting the smell of the gas.
When I got home from work I entered through the side door, which is right near the basement door. I immediately smelled gas. I went into the basement, put my nose near the gas line and easily smelled the leak. I turned the gas off, went upstairs and noticed the gas smell throughout my house. I opened all the windows in the house and turned the heat up to flush out the gas.
My wife worked from home that day and luckily, ate leftover takeout, never having to turn on the stove. I wonder what would have happened if she did. Can you imagine the lawsuit that Z & R would have faced if I lost my wife, two dogs and my home due to their installer's negligence? I find it hard to believe that a company that has been in business as long as Zenner and Ritter doesn't have a simple installation checklist for the installers to follow. Where is their quality control?
The next day, Saturday morning, I called and told them I have a leak. Dave the plumber came out and found the leak immediately. I will never be using Zenner & Ritter again.
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