Navien Tankless 240 A Making Pop sound from exhaust

[whatchawant17]

Any....and I say any serviceman for a tankless unit should not get a penny if they don’t have the tools required to service your unit. PERIOD. A manometer is a required tool. Most companies (tankless suppliers)will not start a service session without the plumber having the required tools.

I figured as much, thank you.

 

[whatchawant17]

When installing my Navien, a nanometer was a required tool to confirm you had the proper natural gas pressure.

I figured as much, thank you.

 

[breplum]

RenewDave is absolutely right. Any company listed on Navien's website with a trained tech staff must know that a manometer is a required tool. No iffs, ands or buts !!!!!!!
It is patently fraudulent to attempt a service without a manometer.
I say this as a level 3 trained Navien technician.
You have absolute grounds for not paying them, though, in fairness, they did come out and it was an "installation" issue but it certainly was not a Navien product defect so no matter what, Navien would not reimburse for that labor.

 

[whatchawant17]

RenewDave is absolutely right. Any company listed on Navien's website with a trained tech staff must know that a manometer is a required tool. No iffs, ands or buts !!!!!!!
It is patently fraudulent to attempt a service without a manometer.
I say this as a level 3 trained Navien technician.
You have absolute grounds for not paying them, though, in fairness, they did come out and it was an "installation" issue but it certainly was not a Navien product defect so no matter what, Navien would not reimburse for that labor.

I totally agree, it didn't sit right with me at all. Especially when I talked to Navien today and they also explained that the gas pressure is not regulated by the unit, which is what the company directly contradicted by telling me my house gas pressure would not matter.
The company agreed to send someone out today to complete the service call and are sending someone with a manometer later this afternoon. I think it's important that they finish the call, although it's puzzling why they didn't think that was a necessary task when Navien explained to me it was literally the most important thing to check for the symptoms I was having. It really is hard to find someone who does things right. I tried the small guy/company, now I tried the big company, I guess I need to try someone in between next time.
Thanks for all the feedback, it really helped me sort this out. Hopefully my water heater will no longer have small explosions going forward.

 

[whatchawant17]

So I'm hoping to put a nail in this coffin with this last update. I had the new plumber come back. They installed a concentric vent so now my intake is coming from outside. Gas pressure is good, but I put in a request to the Gas company to upgrade my meter from a 250 to a 300 to account for the increased BTUs the tankless uses. Just in time for winter so as not starve my water heater or furnace for gas while the both run.
I think that checks off everything that was recommended here.
Thanks again for all the advice. It really helped me get this done right.