Black Lion Heating, Air Conditioning, & Electrical

During the hot weather this summer we found it helpful to circulate the air in our house by running the fan in our furnace. We do not have air conditioning and this helped keep the house a bit cooler. We did this for a few weeks until we noticed that there suddenly was no air flow and we heard a high pitched sound coming from the furnace. As I thought there might be something wrong with our blower I consulted with Angie's List and based on the large number of very positive reviews they received decided to call Black Lion Heating and Air Conditioning. Black Lion sent out Braxten Tacbian, who identified himself as the person who was responsible for diagnosing and making recommendations, but not the person who would actually perform any repairs. He told me that I would have to make a separate appointment with Black Lion for someone else to come out to do the repair he suggested. I was a bit surprised that Black Lion would have to send out a different person to perform the repair, but understood at the time of making the appointment that I would be charged a fee of $68 (plus tax) solely for diagnosing the problem and providing an estimate. I also understood that this fee would not go towards any further work I might have them do. Mr Tacbian arrived within the expected time period. He was pleasant and congenial and my initial impression was that he appeared to be a trustworthy person with a professional appearance. Mr. Tacbian seemed to relate well interpersonally and interacted with me in a way that I was inclined to feel that I was getting good service. I was prepared to give his company high ratings based on my initial impression which would have been consistent with the many reviews I had read about this company on Angies List. After looking at my furnace Mr. Tacbian said the Blower Motor was "frozen" and that it had to be replaced. The written proposal for the repair included a Direct Drive Blower ($554) a Single-Phase Surge Protector ($218) and a Blower Assembly Cleaning ($166) which with tax added up to about $1,000. We also discussed the option of purchasing and installing a new furnace as I was told that my furnace being 13 years old was getting close to its life expectancy. They provided me with three proposals to replace the furnace with a brand new one that varied from $3,745 to $5,978. They also included an additional recommended option of installing a dedicated surge protector for a new furnace which they offered to do at a discounted price of $110 plus tax. Had this been the middle of the winter during the cold season which is when furnaces are more likely to go out, I would have felt compelled to act quickly to get the furnace fixed and probably would have gone along with Mr. Tacbian?s proposal to replace the Blower. I think it is likely I would have thought I was treated well and of course happy to have heat again in my home and may well have reviewed this company positively as so many others have done on Angie?s List. I may have also continued to take advantage of their yearly service which from what I can tell is less expensive than what other companies charge. Fortunately with it being summer I did not feel compelled to act quickly and decided to take the time to obtain a second opinion. I also had some concern about the recommendation of installing a dedicated Surge Protector which added over $200 to the proposed repair job. Mr. Tacbian said that the additional surge protector would protect my blower from going out again, but I noted that the current Blower had lasted 13 years without this additional protection and all I was hoping for was a few more years out of this furnace. I also didn?t quite understand why a dedicated surge protector was not used at the time the furnace was initially installed. So again after consulting with Angie?s List I decided to call a smaller company which also had a number of excellent reviews. When the serviceman from the second company came out to give me an estimate, which they indicated they would do without charge, he almost immediately noticed that the capacitor was leaking and determined that it needed to be replaced when he objectively tested it. Unlike the serviceman from Black Lion who would only perform a diagnostic service and give estimates, the serviceman from the second company was able to perform the repair himself without the necessity of scheduling another appointment for a different person from the same company to come out. The second company?s serviceman was also able to simply obtain a new capacitor from his truck and readily accomplished the repair which only took a few minutes on the spot. He said there was nothing wrong with the blower and that it was not "frozen." It started up immediately without difficulty after he installed the new capacitor. He also did not recommend a dedicated surge protector. It turned out the capacitor was an inexpensive $12 part and I ended up paying a total of $117 with tax to the second company for the service which also included a complete yearly service for which they generally charge $95. Since doing the repair I have started up the furnace several times and am pleased to report that the blower now appears to be operating flawlessly. I feel fortunate that my problem occurred during the summer when I had the time to obtain a second opinion and I am glad I did not just give Black Lion the go ahead to do what would have turned out to be an unnecessary and costly repair that did not directly address the problem. Although I would rather have not paid Black Lion for what turned out to be a poor and inaccurate diagnostic service I feel fortunate that I was able to avoid their costly proposed alternatives and consider the money well spent in learning to avoid calling them in the future.

The serviceman serviced the air conditioner and furnace. He then pointed out rust inside the air conditioner unit, indicating that the air conditioner should either be repaired, which would cost much of what it would cost to simply replace the air conditioning unit. He said because of the rust, he would put in some new refrigerant, but did not want to fully pressurize the system because he wasn't sure that it could handle it because of the corrosion. We discussed alternatives, and I decided that I would have them replace the unit. I moved into this house last November, and when I purchased the house, I also purchased a home warranty. Since this would cover problems with the heating or air conditioning, I contacted them, and they sent out a heating / air conditioning contractor to inspect the system. This contractor went through the entire system. He said the corrosion that was pointed out to me would be similar to what you would find in a system that was one year old not just an older system like this house has. He did a pressure test of the refrigerant, and said it was fine and there was no problem with it holding the pressure. He also said the cooling lines are all copper, so are not subject to rust anyway. His comment was, "There is nothing wrong with your air conditioner. I think someone just wanted to see you a new system." He walked me through everything as he did his inspection and I have confidence in his assessment. I was very disappointed in Black Lion and have canceled the new system they were set to install. I do not trust them, and would not use them again.

Nick with Black Lion came out to do an inspection, cleaning and tune up of our furnace. We just bought this house and didn't really know how this furnace worked or how to maintain it. Nick was great. Very educational! He showed us how everything worked and how to clean everything and what to be careful of. He showed us how to program our thermostat and did it with us. He was friendly , efficient and we will definitely call Black Lion if we have any issues in the future.

great experience start to finish. communication was seamless, appointment set & service provider was punctual, thorough, professional. proactive too, not only did the filter get replaced but suggestions were made on safety equipment I was lacking at our rental home. I appreciated the extra time to ensure my people would be safe, secure, & active participants in their own home safety education!

This was a yearly check up to make sure the furnace had no problems that might cause it to break down during the winter. The provider came on time, checked the furnace, found no major problems. Would hire again.

He arrived on time, tuned up the furnace, put in a new filter and things ran smoothly !

The technician, Braxten, called to let me know he would be arriving in about 30 minutes. He started at the furnace by examining the A-frame and replacing the filter. I didn't know the filter had been moved when the A/C unit was added to the furnace (by another company) so I was happy to find the new filter location. He then went outside and cleaned the condenser coils, checked the Freon levels, and added a small amount to restore the unit to peak performance. During all this he was courteous, pleasant, and extremely happy to answer all my questions. He explained how to clean the condenser unit between service calls and suggested a cover during the winter months to keep debris out of the unit. I will be calling Black Lion again when I need service for my HVAC system.

The guys that came in (Braxten, and Nick) were very professional and courteous. They proceeded to inspect and service the furnace and were done in a timely manner. I had them replace the furnace flue since it was showing signs of rust. They quickly gave me a price for the service and went to get the parts needed. The job was done well and timely. I will be using them in the future. Thank you Black Lion

It went well and the technician showed up of n time and was very pro and friendly.

In checking for local vendors we found Black Lion HVAC had received good reviews and was local so got our first quote from them. Proceeded to get quotes from several other local as well as two highly advertised vendors. Black Lion's quote came in way below the competition, even for similar and yes, identical products. The system we chose was the Evolution Furnace which might give us a slight decrease in our heating bill and added the premium AC unit in the event we continued to have warmer than usual summers. From the start, Black Lion was a step above the competition. Brian, who quoted the job was absolutely on-time and gave a thorough quote for the system. Brian checked back with one follow-up call and once he understood we were getting additional quotes patiently waited for us to decide. When the quotes were all in hand we chose Black Lion and scheduled the install. The install team arrived on-time and with all needed tools and equipment in hand. The installation went flawlessly with the Furnace unit installed on Day one, the Electrical work was professionally done and ready for the final hook-up on day two for the outside AC unit. The unit was charged, furnace tested and all has performed flawlessly, now going into year three. We've kept the thermostat at 70 in the winter and 73/74 in the summer and the system maintains the inside climate to exactly what we choose. The unit is surprisingly efficient and we have seen a decrease in the winter heating costs and a surprisingly increase in the summer power bills even with the AC. Black Lion did indeed help us select and then install a good system for our home. Black Lion handled the mfr's and PSE rebates and gave us everything we needed for the federal tax credit. All good. I've recommended Black Lion to co-workers and at least one has used them with a positive experience for them as well. Only tiny glitch (and I do mean tiny) was a picky inspector who felt the AC unit pad should be staked in place... Technician arrived next morning and attended to it. Black Lion is our choice for annual maintenance/performance checks as well. Highly recommended

They were professional and courteous. They answered all my questions and provided additional information that I requested. They did a great job. As a female, they treated me well. Sometimes men treat women differently, but I was impressed with their professionalism.

When we decided to take the plunge and add A/C to our home we got three bids. One from Costco (super $$$), one from a large and local business with tons of positive reviews, as well as Black Lion, who also has a lot of positive reviews and who we have had service our furnace in the past. Hands down, Black Lion's quote was far and away the best...by a lot!! Seriously. On the day of installation the crew descended upon our home on time and quickly got to work. They were extremely friendly and asked questions about my preferences on where to run electrical and other associated pipes etc. In five hours they were completely done. The install is beautiful and the system works perfectly. I have signed up to have them come out twice a year to service the furnace and A/C unit. I'm picky...and I love this company. They believe in providing a quality product at a good price...and they deliver.

It was terrific! Very kind a respectful young man. When he came into the house, he took of his shoes like we requested with no questions asked. He cleaned up after himself very well. Pleasant, trustworthy and had no issues with him in or around our property. We will continue to use Black Lion! This is the second time that we've used them through an Angie's List Big Deal and have been very pleased.

Arrived promptly, did the job and were pleasant enough young technicians. I'd asked them to make sure the gates were closed and unfortunately one gate was left open and my foster dog went walkabout. I got him back quickly, but sure had some anxious moments.

They were on time, and they did a very professional job. I liked their service and pricing so much that I am going to hire them to do my annual servicing for the gas furnace and heat pump.

I did spend more money on my A/C unit, since it had not been serviced since it was installed, 14 years ago. I had the technician replace 2 components of the system as they were both worn out. All the work took about 1 hour, even including the repairs. Braxten, the technician, was friendly, professional in answering all my questions, and I felt that since he was an employee representing the company he works for, then I should give that company my future business.

work performed as expected. The technician was on time and patient when asking questions and explaining.

Excellent service. Have had this company come out to my house for several years now.

The service technician, Braxten was top notch and very professional. He explained all his checkpoints that he performed on the furnace and also future maintenance tips. Pretty easy process. Zero effort involved accept for purchasing the Big Deal on Angie's list. I would definitely use Black Lion Heating and Air for my future a/c and furnace needs.

Braxton did a fine job. He explained what he was doing while he was doing it and answered all our questions. We will definitely use Black Lion again.

They were allegedly knowledgeable but they recommended a whole bunch of work, like $2600 worth of work and I wanted a second opinion and the second opinion actually contradicted everything that Black Lion said needed to be done. Now I don't know what to do.

Braxton Tacbian, the Black Lion Service Technician called ahead and arrived when he said he would. He met me at the cooling unit and explained its workings and how they functioned and what the requirements were for each and proceeded to explain if they failed, what would be the cause. I appreciated that he took the extra time. We found that my fan motor needs replacing. The cost is not cheap and it was going to be more money out my pocket because Washington Energy failed to register the unit with Bryant when they installed it so the fan motor (or any other part) was not coverage by warranty. Not exactly great customer service by Washington Energy. While not obligated to, Black Lion has volunteered to defray some of the cost. As a senior citizen I appreciate that.. The replacement motor will not be available until Friday and while Braxton is booked up that day, he has volunteered to install it after working hours, if need be, so that I can have some cooling. Now that is outstanding customer service! It's the kind of service and company I can appreciate. I decided that I want Black Lion looking after my heating and cooling needs so that end, I signed up their annual service plan. I believe hotter summers are the new normal, so I also elected t have Black Lion install a surge protector to protect that new motor. It's a lot cheaper than having to replace it.. Black Lion has a great ambassador in Braxten Tacbian..

I had an awesome Anglies List deal so decided to try this highly rated company for a regular furnace cleaning. The tech was on time, professional, and answered all my questions -- of which I had many. He found something broken with our 19yo furnace, but he never pushed for us to replace it or use them to fix it. I would use them again.

Showed up on time and was professional. Took his time to show and explain to me what his findings were with the furnace. Would use again.

Workman arrived promptly at time arranged, went through the garage to boiler site & proceeded to do his job which was to do the annual tune up & I assume clean out the filter although on his invoice it says he "checked" it . I did not stay to watch since he knew more about it than I did. He noted the oil pump was leaking & with losing oil, it would lower the pressure for the circulating pump eventually. The pump has had a slow drip for some years & may be getting worse. He offered a price for labor --which I forget -- plus the cost of a new oil seal & said I could call them to get an accurate estimate. He left the furnace in spanking clean condition. PS The price on Angie's List was for $59.00 but when I called Black Lion, they said that was for a gas boiler & it was $75.00 extra for the oil fired furnace. I checked around & the price seemed in line w/other servicers. PPS One thing that made me a bit on edge is that the serviceman kept coming upstairs through the kitchen where I was working, to turn the thermostat on & off. It was in the dining area just around the doorway from me & certainly more convenient for both of us for me to turn it on & off. Even after I told him to just call up the stairs, he said he didn't like to yell & kept coming up each time, once even going around me to get to it. I don't mind workmen in the house if that is where they are working but if they have no need to be there, I get paranoid-- especially since he was so persistent each time.- even though he was very "low-key".