Black Lion Heating & Air Conditioning

Purchased the $69 seasonal check-up service from Black Lion via Angie's List. On September 13, 2012, Ben stopped by and made the inspection. He removed the parts of the furnace and inspected carefully. Found a crack in the heat exchanger, showed it to me. He suggested replacing the furnace instead of repair because repair could cost significantly. His opinion was consistent with the other inspection conclusion I received from Brennan Heat & AC. Ben suggested replacing the old gas furnace, which was a Bryant single stage with loud noise, with an 80% new Coleman modulating gas furnace. He told me he just installed the same furnace in his own house and didn't push for the 98% furnace though he did give me that option which was quite expensive. I eventually opted for the 80% Coleman modulating as he proposed. He said his proposed price included AL's member discount, and he would also take the $69 inspection I purchased off the replacement cost. They offered 10-year warranty on parts and labor from Johnson Controls, and the heat exchanger has a 20-year part warranty. We had other heat & AC professionals come to estimate the cost before, but with the final total cost (including tax) of $2333, Black Lion offered the most competitive bid in terms of the price and meeting our need: affordable, quiet, and reasonably efficient. One week later, on September 20, 2012, Ben and his colleague came by as scheduled to perform the replacement work. My wife was there. According to her, it took them quite some effort to take off the old furnace, and redo the duct connection for the new one. Total time was about 2 hours or so. When I got home that evening, the new furnace was up and running. It has been much quieter than the old single-stage Bryant. Both my wife and I were satisfied with the performance of the furnace and the service from Black Lion.

Every communications with Ben was pleasant and professional. His general knowledge about heating and furnaces was reassuring helpful.

Everything was very professionally handled and it turned out that the furnace was in good working order.

In 1989 we had a Payne high efficiency gas furnace installed to replace a heat pump that crashed. The furnace had been working fine for 23 years but we had not used it all 2012 Summer. We had guests coming on Saturday Sept 15th so on Wednesday the 12th I decided it was time to get it ready for our guests and winter. When I took off the front cover I noticed some dried water and rust marks on the top of the firebox. I traced the leak to a corroded fitting for a hose that led to the condensation pump box. I am somewhat mechanically proficient and the part looked like something I could replace so I started calling around to find a new one. First place I looked was in the booklet that Angie?s list had sent in the mail and found Black Lion in the Honor Roll list. I called Black Lion and did my best to describe the broken part? To an answering machine. At the time it didn?t seem like a good start. I was wrong. I was in a bit of a hurry to get the part so I called two other heating companies out of the booklet. Neither one serviced Payne furnaces so had no access to the part I needed. I was told that I would have to replace the whole furnace and it might take a couple of weeks. I thought we were sunk. Jason at Black Lion called back an hour later and based on my answering machine description told me the part was available, cost $70, and was something I could replace. He said he could have it for me the next day ( Thursday the 13th) and his partner Ben would be in the area and would deliver the part to our house. WOW what service. To get ready for the new part I removed the damaged part and found a lot more corrosion on the heat exchanger behind it. Ben arrived Thursday mid-morning with the replacement and I asked him to look at the furnace. He shook his head and told us we had a much bigger problem than the replacement part would fix. He explained that the heat exchanger corrosion was caused because heat exchangers on a lot of the older furnaces had a coating that burned off over time. He said that the visible corrosion was probably only the tip of the problem. At best the furnace would probably only last another two months. After 23 years, the furnace would have to be replaced. I had visions of a huge replacement bill and no heat for our guests. Though Black Lion repairs most brands and types of furnaces they sell Coleman. There are a lot more types of furnaces (single cycle, dual cycle, modulating, etc) available today than when we put in the Payne. Ben sat down with my wife and I and explained how they differed. And he told us how much each would cost, which was a lot less than I thought. He didn?t try to pressure us into buying any one model but helped us decide which would be best for our house. We told him we would like to talk it over and would let him know later that day. Before he left we asked when we might have it installed and he said ?How about tomorrow?. Again? WOW what service. I went online and looked at reviews for Coleman and the models he mentioned. They all got 4 out of 5 stars across the board. We called him back and said yes. The next morning (Friday the 14th) Jason came with our new furnace and by late afternoon the old one was out and the new one in. Since the new one was shorter he had to do some sheet metal work to mate it to the old ducting. The new one looks like it has been there forever. While Jason was installing the new one I took the old one apart, out of curiosity. They were right. The inside was a mess. I showed it to Jason and he told me the heat exchanger was so close to corroding through that it was possible it might have leaked carbon monoxide in a very short time. The next morning (Saturday the 15th) the new furnace wasn?t running so I called Jason. He had me run through a couple of troubleshooting items then said he would be out. He checked out the furnace then went to the new ?smart? thermostat I had installed on Tuesday before I started working on the furnace. I had set the thermostat up wrong when I installed it. Jason drove an hour to our house on a Saturday to fix a problem that I had created and didn?t charge a penny, The new furnace is a LOT quieter and more efficient than the old one. The house hasn?t been this comfortable for a long while. Now you know why I give Jason and Ben of Black Lion such high marks. They are truly AWSOME.

I am selling my house. The buyer's offer was subject to inspection and one of the items was to have the furnace serviced. I used the Big Deal coupon for furnace service. I called on Labor Day to schedule, there was no answer so I left a message. After a few days I left a second message and got a call back to schedule the service call. We agreed that the service person would call me when leaving their next previous appointment so we could meet at the house. Unexpectedly it took me longer than the service person to get to the house, which is in Lake City, although he was coming from Monroe and I was coming from the Seward Park area, however although he arrived first the tech waited for me. The service was performed at that time and was satisfactory. It included checking and cleaning various parts of the furnace, and replacing the filter.

Dan arrived after phoning first, timely. He discovered water leaking in furnace area & immediately fixed the problem (washer pipe was disconnected). Dan was very thorough, pleasant, hard working.

I really appreciated his professionalism and knowledge. I will definitely have his company (Black Lion Heating & Air Conditioning) do future tune-ups. I will also recommend him to family and friends.

Jason showed up promptly and got to work, finishing the job under his time estimate. And when paying for the new furnace, he gave us a credit for the amount we had prepaid for the tune-up. We're very happy with all aspects of his service and will call him again without hesitation if we need any other heating/cooling work done.

I was absolutely delighted with the service. The gentleman, who arrived punctually, was extremely courteous and polite. I accompanied him into the garage to the furnace and he proceeded to tune it up as promised, clarifying each step of the procedure and highlighting the importance of each step. He even suggested that I try some of the steps myself next time to ensure that I do not have the need for an emergency call. (I assured him that I will not be attempting any of it and that I hope to see him again the same time next year!) Besides cleaning and tuning up my furnace, he checked the pump, and my filters. As my pre-filters were worn out, he asked whether I would like him to order them for me - a great move, since I have been unable to locate them/purchase them on line. A couple of days later another member of the Black Lion staff showed up at my door with the filters, installed them for me and advised me on their maintenance. All of this was done with the most courtesy and politeness. What a fine group of folks. I recommend them highly and will certainly call them again for any heating needs I may have.

Ben was easy to work with. He returned phone calls and emails promptly and was flexible with his scheduling. He was professional and explained what he was doing. He was obviously very knowledgeable and we will without hesitation use his services again.

He was on time, did his job, gave me an explanation of what he did (verbal and written) and was gone before I knew it. Nice guy.

Overall I was very happy with the service provided. The technician arrived at the scheduled time and promptly, then explained to me the service he was going to undertake. Once finished I was informed of what was done.

Excellent. We had to have our hot water heater replaced (seperate review) and decided to have the furnace tuned up while we were at it, since they had an Angies List special going on. They were punctual, professional, clean, and definately knew what they were doing. highly recommend.

Once again, Angies List comes through. I woke up on a Tuesday morning and was welcomed into the day w/ a cold shower. Thinking the pilot light had gone out, I went to re-light it to discover our current water heater was leaking. It was about 15 years old, so I was pretty sure it was toast. I jumped on Angies List and was delighted to find out that there was a special being offered on installation of a 50 gallon gas water heater, which is exactly what we needed, by Black Lion, so called them. I initially asked about some of the newer types (tankless, hybrid/heat pump) and appreciated their honesty: they told me that, although those are much more efficient then electric water heaters, there would be very little, if any, cost savings w/ a gas water heater. They were able to come that same day, and did a beautiful job. I am very pleased and would use them again.

I bought an early bird furnace tune-up discount service,[from an Angie's list email] they called an made an appointment for 9-4-2012. This is my first house ,about 10 months now, and it has central heating and my brother, who has had central heating for years, said to get the turn-up every year. They showed up on time but during the tune-up they showed me that the water heater was old and could fail at anytime. we were going to replace the furnace flame nozzles [rusted] and the blower [dirty] and water heater for $1674.26. BUT I then got the dreaded call that the flame nozzles were no longer available,as the furnace was so old , so we needed to replace the furnace too at a cost of APR. $750 more or a total of $2425 plus change. Will it needed to be done so I said go for it. We said Friday 9-7-2012 and they showed up with new parts about 8am and they did not leave until the parts were installed at about 3pm. So for about $2500 [discount service and new parts] which I believe is a good price, it is done. The new furnace and water heater look great and they left the install area cleaner then when they arrived I have already scheduled and paid for the next year fall turn-up, on my older brother advice, so I should only have to worry about the furnace filters for the next 20 or so years.

They were very knowledgeable, friendly, and efficient. Based on our conversation about multiple other gas appliances in our house, their experience was obvious and they had very good advice, we would definitely hire them again for our upcoming water heater replacement and future maintenance on our furnace. Overall very satisfied and impressed with our service, and would freely recommend them to anyone.

Great experience! I highly recommend using them for all your HVAC needs.

Ben from Black Lion Heating came over and inspected our heater. He was very professional and a very nice gentleman. He noticed a couple of things that could be done, and he also discovered that my igniter needed replaced, so I agreed and he replaced it. I was under the house with him for most of his time here and he was very willing to answer all my questions about what he was doing in addition to helping me understand it as well. This experience is the reason why I am booking him to seal all my ducts! Well done.

Bought two coupons through Angie's List to service both furnace and AC. Made an appointment for the following week via email. Jason was professional, thourough, friendly and courteous. Took him about an hour to service both units. He even spared a few extra minutes to look at my gas fireplace insert that wasn't functioning, determined it was just a short, and fixed it without extra charge. I will not hesitate to contact Black Lion for all my HVAC services in the future. I would absolutely recommend these guys!! One of the best service experiences I've ever had. Thank you, Black Lion!!

Ben was the one providing the service. He responded to message I left on phone to schedule service within short time. Today he arrived on time, after introductions did the service, when finished told us condition of furnace, and options for future of the unit which is about 17 years old but still working fine. Didn't try to sell anything just provided information. Ben is very personable and knowledgeable. I highly recommend him. He and a partner own the company. and they have been in business for couple of years.

Ben Ward is a professional--he was on time, explained what he was doing, and helped me plan for the future as my furnace and water heater end their useful lives. His concern for life-cycle costs (how much to invest in the existing furnace and the best return on investment for a future unit) was extremely helpful. Also, he helped me understand my options for replacing my water heater with a traditional tank versus a tankless unit.

They called me the night before they were to come to give me an update as to what time to expext them. They came at the time they said they would. Did the inspection/cleaning and answered any questions I had, they were very professional. I would gladly recommend they.

Ben and Jason could not have been any better. They know what they're doing, got the job done PROPERLYand even cleaned up after themselves. You can't go wrong with Black Lion.

Jason responded to my call, saying he had an opening the same morning. He arrived ahead of schedule and performed the service in a timely fashion. He was friendly and professional.

Ben was spectacular! Very personable, professional, and thorough. He took apart the various components, cleaned them, and vacuumed them out as well as the surrounding area. He pointed out an oil leak that indicated a likelihood of the motor's bearings imminent failing. BUT, he didn't pressure me at all to take action now to replace the motor. Be assured that if and when the motor seizes, Ben and Black Lion will be the ones I call!