Ranshaw Plumbing & Heating

Arnold came and he was lovely. He did the work efficiently, answered all my question, gave advice and was gone. The system is working and I am warm. What more can I ask for? Yes, I paid a premium because it was the weekend but that is the norm. Arnold also spoke very highly of his company -- a pleasure after the many people who bad-mouth their employers. Thank you Ranshaw.

They were very professional. Arrived on time. Very knowledgeable about steam systems. I would recommend and also use them again.

The technician was experienced, friendly and informative. He answered all of my questions.

They were very good and reasonable. They explained everything and told me the price. They answered my questions. They came out right away.

We had a terrible experience with Ranshaw, which made the oil-to-gas conversion in our townhome in the fall of 1998. I am posting a review now because (1) Angie?s List did not exist back then, (2) we?re still paying for Ranshaw?s poor workmanship 16 years later and (3) most importantly, the lessons we learned maybe helpful to other homeowners who are encountering similar problems. We had oil heat in our townhome until September 1998 when we decided to convert to natural gas. We considered several vendors recommended by the gas company as well as Ranshaw, which was our heating oil supplier. We chose Ranshaw because we thought we knew Ranshaw and its quote for a Peerless boiler and AO Smith hotwater heater was lower than other vendors. We didn?t realize that Ranshaw?s quote did not include an automatic waterfeeder which the other vendors provided, but this turns out to be the least of our concerns. We were completely ignorant about the workings of boilers and completely relied on Ranshaw, much to our later regret. Ranshaw did the work quickly, ripping out the old oil tank and boiler and putting in a gas line, gas boiler and gas hotwater heater. They left a mess in ripping out the oil tank. When we complained, they said the contract does not cover clean up or remediation. What concerned us more, at the time, was the loud pilot flame in the gas boiler. Ranshaw insisted the loud pilot was normal. We checked our neighbors? gas boilers and none had this problem, so we withheld the final payment until Ranshaw fixed the pilot. Ranshaw refused to make any repairs and sued us. We were ordinary people and did not hire a lawyer. We explained our story to the court. The court ordered us to pay and ordered Ranshaw to fix our problem. We did and Ranshaw managed to have the pilot flame problem fixed in April 1999. Contrary to what Ranshaw kept saying before the lawsuit, the pilot flame was a problem. They could have avoided a lot of hassle by dealing with the problem rather than rushing to court. Sadly, the loud pilot was not the only problem. In the years since, we have encountered the following problems with the installation: 1. Gas leak and lack of shut-off valve. The gas line that Ranshaw installed off the mainline to feed gas into the boiler sprang a small leak. Several contractors could not detect it, but we kept smelling faint wafts of gas in the basement. A technician from National Grid with more sensitive instrument eventually located the leak. The tech also checked the other gas lines in our home (some over 50 years old) and they were all fine. What?s worse, Ranshaw did not install a shut-off valve at the diversion point from the mainline and National Grid was forced to shut the mainline and lock it until we certified that the leak is repaired. All the other diversions off the mainline have shut-off valves. Only Ranshaw?s didn?t. We were left without gas for cooking, hotwater and heat for several days until a plumber fixed the leak. 2. 10-minute timer on boiler. When Ranshaw installed the gas boiler, it also installed a small black box that contained an electronic timer, which when the boiler is firing, shuts the boiler off every 10 minutes for about 90 seconds of rest. We thought this was part of the normal boiler but several plumbers who looked at the device said they?d never seen it and couldn?t explain why a a gas boiler, which is designed to boil water into steam to heat a house, would shut itself down every 10 minutes to rest. I posted the question on HeatingHelp.com and one of the experts there said such timers are used on some old oil boilers, to prevent the boiling water from becoming too violent. Oil boiler generate much more heat. The experts said the device is completely unnecessary on gas boilers. It slows the heating process and wastes energy. 3. Failure to skim the boiler. A new boiler contains oil that needs to be removed through a process called skimming. Otherwise, the oil will float on the surface of the water inside the boiler and cause the water to boil slower and more violently. Ranshaw never skimmed our boiler. The result is that the water in our boiler was always dirty no matter how many times we drained it. The experts from HeatingHelp diagnosed this problem and taught us to skim ? that is to heat up the boiler, add water and drain the boiler slowly from the top through a skimming valve so that the surface of the water flows out. When we opened the skimming valve behind the boiler, it was clogged with oil muck that we had to scoop out with a spoon. That?s the original oil in the boiler that should have been skimmed upon installation. Instead, it made the boiler much less efficient. A competent gas boiler installer should have skimmed the boiler and taught the homeowner how to do it in the future, should there be additional work that might introduce oil to the heating system. Ranshaw didn?t. 4. Oversized boiler. Every plumber that?s come to our house says our boiler is oversized for our home. An oversized boiler means we are heating way more water than we need to produce the amount of steam necessary to heat the home. Ranshaw sized the boiler and they were just plain wrong in the boiler they selected. The oversized boiler takes up more space and costs more to operate. Along with the 10-minute timer and failure to skim, the oversized boiler forced us to spend a lot more on heating bills and slowed the heating process in our house. It?s clear from our problems that Ranshaw was not a competent gas boiler installer. We didn?t bother going back to them with these problems because of they have a bad attitude and more importantly, they don?t have the expertise! It?s important to get educated. We did not recognize Ranshaw?s shoddy workmanship until we learned about our boiler and steam heating system works. I recommend Dan Holohan?s book We Got Steam Heat! and going to the HeatingHelp.com for free expert advice and finding expert plumbers.

Hing, the trouble-shooter, is superb; he figured everything out, and it was not easy -- a 100-year-old house, with washer/DW/sink water going through basement, backing up in basement sink, going outside, and leaking into garage 15 feet down the line. Hing developed the plan, arranged for the construction company to come and deig down 4-5 feet, re-did the piping inside the house and out. A superb, if incredibly expensive job.

Service gentleman arrived on time and was very polite. Went right to work and was finished in just a few minutes. Heat came on very soon after and order was restored. Spoke to the owner who is a very nice man. Ranshaw was fantastic as we have always known. We have been using Ranshaw for some years now, well before I saw that they were the top rated company in my area. Very happy with the service.

They have reliable, punctual and experienced technicians. I have no issues with them at all.

We have been Ranshaw customers for at least 15 years and have always received excellent service for oil delivery and both routine and emergency service.

They double charged me. They charged me for late fees, oil delivery fees, and technical management fees. They repaired a component in one of the apartments that I did not request and then charged me for it. They just piled up fees on top of each and after going through my bills, I seen that I was overcharged. Then when I called they told me that they mischarged me and after arguing with them they removed the fees. My father used them for a total of 13 years and just a year ago they got new management and things have changed.

During the recent cold spell the radiators in the back of our house starting to leak and there was no heat coming up on that side of the house. On the phone we discussed the details of the problem and tried to trouble shoot it that way to no avail. About a half hour later the service repairman was at my door. He temporarily capped the back radiators to stop the leaking. He believed that the pipe that runs through the basement floor was either frozen or clogged. As there was nothing more he could do that night he left. The next afternoon I received a call from Ranshaw asking if the heat had kicked in yet and I told them no. It seemed that I just hung up the phone when the main repairman was at my door. He surveyed the problem and said it was indeed a frozen pipe. He suggested we put some space heaters in the basement and to keep an eye on pipe. Within 24 hours the pipes were defrosted and all was well. He also showed me how to open up the radiators that were capped so I wouldn't have to put in another service call. Ranshaw was quick to respond and completely professional.

Never have had a problem with oil being delivered automatically,

They were efficient, punctual and got the job done. The worked w/Con Edison to get the repair approved and the house was sold with no delay. The Con Edison approval could not be done until a few days after closing and they worked w/the new owners to get the heat up & running as soon as possible. Their oil prices are high but the service is first rate.

I have a yearly contract with them, so I didn't have to pay for this. They came within a few hours of calling. Fixed the problem fast. Very reliable company.

Hooray, we have heat again just in time for the snowstorm! Allen was very professional, knowledgeable and personable. He showed me how to drain the system and the importance of doing it weekly during the heating season. Overall rating is a B because my Parts Plus Plan Gas Sevice Contract stipulates that service will be provided Monday thru Friday from 8:00AM to 4:30PM. We list heat early Sun. morning and when we placed a service call we were told that since we were asking for service on Sunday there would be a $275 charge. My service contract costs $243 per year. I've had this contract since 2003 and have rarely had to have the furnace serviced. You would think that since I've rarely required any service over 10+ yrs. that they would have looked at my record and waived the Sunday charge as a show of good will. I'm retired and on a fixed income and can't afford to shell out an additional $275! Therefore, I asked for service on Monday and went without heat for my Super Bowl party and overnight. Just glad that the temp was not in the single digit! Glad heat was restored today!

I have had a contract with Ranshaw for over a decade. I have an old heating system and whenever I have experienced a problem (which usually required the replacement of a sensor or other minor part) a repairman has come promptly and fixed it so that the temperature in my home was restored to a comfortable level. It is a pleasure dealing with both the customer service representatives and the repairmen. They are always friendly, polite and professional.

They are my current oil provider. They have kept my boiler in good shape with regular cleaning for the last ten years. Anytime I have had any issue or just wanted them to check something they have responded on a timely manner.

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The work went great. Then had to remove a pipe and replace it about 30 ft. |They were fast, clean and did little to no damage to the wall. I would definitely recommend them.

Came within one hour after call. Fixed the problem in 1/2 hr. Very professional, curious. We signed up for a service contract for the furnace. Unbelievably nice people. So glad we used their services !!

technician performed complete tune up, changed filter, changed nozzle, vacumed chimney, adjusted flame

did a very good job. cleaned up afterwards.

I always thought they were a good company, but when I converted to gas they filled my oil tank in the summer, claiming they did not get my message that I was converting. They forced me to pay close to $700.00 for oil I could not use. Prior to that the worker who came to clean my boiler showed me how a larger nozzle was intentionally installed at my last servicing. This caused my oil to be consumed at a faster rate- thus meaning more oil to be purchased. I felt very deceived by the two negative experiences...especially after being a loyal customer for 10 years. The workers are well trained and professional, but because of my last experiences I could not recommend them again, without wondering if I would be paying them more for services I did not need.

It turned out quite well. There were several steps. It was fairly costly

Exceptionally professional in inspecting the system, setting up the installation, and proceeding -- a very neat job. There were some subsequent difficulties with gas leaking from the main valve which was not their fault, but they were a little slow to supply us with information and advice. Nonetheless, I have continued to sign up with them for two years for service contracts, although I have had no reason to call on them. I have considered using them for regular plumbing tasks, but there is a little coolness about that on their end -- they seem to prefer big jobs.