D E Duffey & Sons Inc

If you've ever replaced a boiler, you know it's messy. Moving out a 400 pound, rusted, steel boiler is no easy task. The service guys were able to get the old unit out without too much mess, and without damaging walls or doors. The new boiler is an iron one, which makes it smaller physically, but just as powerful. Due to Joe's diligence beforehand, we were able to size the boiler more appropriately for the house (smaller). Joe also talked through my options for heating domestic water, since the old boiler did that as well. We talked through my ideas for solar water expansion later, and ended up installing an indirect water heater, which I absolutely love. Seemingly endless hot water, without the boiler firing every 15 minutes through the summer. Joe was also familiar with modern boiler control packages, which allow for even greater efficiency. So the good: Service and sales have always been timely. They still fill my oil tank. Joe was very knowledgeable and willing to work with my wacky ideas, even though those ideas would cut down on their oil supply service. The not so good: It's almost unfair for me to judge these guys, because I'm used to working in beautiful pharmaceutical construction. But the fact is, some of the piping could have been done better. Sloppy solder on joints, pipes that fit, but maybe a little off angle, details that show pride in your work; that kind of stuff. The wiring worked, but again, the control wiring was sloppy. Lastly, when they drained my old system before pulling it out, they drained the old water to the front lawn, which killed a spot about three feet in diameter.

I think they are very dependable. My furnace has to be cleaned every year. If you call them they are very prompt. They come with in 24 hour.

Technician did yearly service back on the 6th of October. Went to turn heat on for first time this year this past Friday (16th) and boiler would not turn on. I went down to look at it and to try the reset button and noticed that the pressure gauge was maxed out at 60 pounds (15-18 is where it should be). I called Duffy's and got a call back from the same tech that serviced it andI told him that it would not start and that the needle was at 60. He said that he noticed that it was at 60 when he serviced it and not to worry about it since the gauge was broken and to call the next morning if the boiler still would not work. I told him the gauge was working fine for many years and we never had a problem with it. That night the boiler kicked on briefly and water started coming out of one of my radiators like a faucet. I shut the emergency switch off and called them again the next morning. A young man came out and shut off the water to the radiator (at least that is what he told me he did), bled the other raditators and supposedly got the system running. The gauge was back down to 15-20, where it is supposed to be. and he said that I would need a new radiator and that they couldnt get one like my old ones. I told him I had a smaller one that we had taken out of a downstairs bathroom and it was on our back porch. he said they could probably install that for me, but not till Monday. Five hours after he came, my wife called me and told me the house was still very cold. I had her check the inside thermomoter and it was at 59.7, which is where it was when the kid left. I called him again and he came out and found that a switch on the far side of the heater had been in the off position and he turned it back on. I came home later that evening with the heat running but the water again pouring out of the radiator. So he had not been able to shut it off after all. I called him again and he said that we should just turn the heat on and off to keep the house warm and if the water got cold it may not come out as much. After hanging up, I noticed that the knob to shut off the water was broken off of the radiator and left there perched on top of it. I called the next day and asked to speak to a manager and owner. Finally today (Tuesday) after five days without heat and water pouring into our kitchen ceiling and wall, which needs to be replaced along with the hardwood floors upstairs., the owner came out to see what was going on. After about fifteen minutes of looking at all of the damage and the boiler, he found a big valve that was shut and he said that was why my boiler wasn't working. He said that his guys never touched that (I guess he asked them before coming out). I told him I didn't either, so who could have done it? He also denied that his first technician acknowledged seeing the broken gauge and that he had been working for him a long time. I told him that he absolutely told me that he saw it and that it was broken and I asked why he didn't point it out to me and tell me it was broken or that the needle was at 60. he again insisted that his guy didn't see it and that that wasn't part of the servicing of a boiler! I could see this was going nowhere and he was accusing me of sabatoging the system myself. As I escorted him to the door, he asked who I had used to purchase oil. I told him that I had used several companies including his. He said "Loyalty!" and mentioned how I was using the cheap oil companies and then accused me of trying to scam his company into making repairs they were not responsible for. Like I sabatoged my system and purposely leaked water onto my floors and kitchen below to try and get them to put in my old radiator on my back porch and pay for repairs? I am not sure what it mattered who I bought oil from. other company's oil didn't cause a problem with my boiler. He was basically intimating that had I bought oil from them consistently over the years, he might have been willing to do something about my problems. The bottom line is that the first technician noticed something that was a serious issue and neglected to mention it until I called two weeks later. He saw the meter was reading at a dangerous level and just assumed it was broken and didn't even tell me it was broken. Had he pointed it out, maybe I would not have had the damage I have now. But then to deny it and to have the owner tell me that the guy didn't tell me what I heard him say, and call me a liar, accuse me of screwing up my own system and of trying to scam them? But maybe if I bought their overpriced oil over the years, I would be treated better. Loyalty. Yeah right. I am loyal to those that give good service and stand behind their work. This is a company I will never use again.

It took about a day and a half to do the work because of the modifications to the space necessary. The technicians worked diligently, kept me informed of the process and answered all of my questions. The were neat and took away all the debris as specified in the contract. The system was tested--even the HEAT, on one of the hottest days of the year!--and they even fixed a rattle in the vents that I couldn't reach. A couple of days later, when I found water trickling over the outside of the duct work (enough to fill a large bucket in a few hours...) where it entered the condo, I called and they came out to look on very short notice (a few hours). It turned out to be my upstairs neighbor's water heater leaking all over the place but I really appreciated the responsiveness and that they set my mind at ease that the fault was not with the brand new system. They didn't charge me for this special visit either--that was great! Really an A-1 job all around

I hired Duffy DE and Sons three years ago to install our new heater and air conditioner. I continue to use them for servicing. I have been pleased with their service.

Our air conditioner broke a week after we moved to Philadelphia from out of state, in August, which was traumatic! Duffy was extremely responsive and worked hard to help us out--several people came over a few days and spent some time trying to repair the a/c, which was over 20 years old. The system could not be fixed, and so we purchased a new unit through them and they installed it. They did not charge us for any of the repair visits because we bought the new a/c through them.

There were very professional and considerate. The job they did was excellent. They were friendly, accommodating, informative and punctual. They completed the job efficiently, cleanly and on-time. I would definitely use them again.