Furnace Cleaning/Service
I need my furnace serviced for the season. It is natural gas / forced hot air.
Called Bill of Scotty and Sons and he is booked until end of November. TGM can’t do it for is a couple of weeks and don’t service anyone after after 2:30 pm. We are a working couple.
Any recommendations would be appreciated.
Thank you.
gwtwqueenie I've had TGM do it after 2:30. They just give a window that starts at 2:30 but is usually later. Don't know how far you commute but if it's not too far, you might consider an 8:00 AM start. Even though they don't guarantee it, most of the TGM guys will be quite happy to show up at 7:30 if you ask.
Otherwise if you look back at the names others mention regularly, All Temp is worth a call. Or Air Group is about the best of them all. They only do gas units, and they do charge more but they're very good. They're a bigger company and should be able to accommodate you hours.
GC Harmony Heating always did a great job and always were very accommodating.
(800) 287-0041
real1 All- Temp ...
Local ..... Great service, and Money Well Spent . "The Furnace is the Life of your Home in the cold season; is how I look at it!"
Embryodad Warren Heating and Cooling has always done an excellent job with our unit. I highly recommend them.
Katie 
Forcefed4door I had scheduled a furnace tune-up & cleaning several weeks ago with Bill from Scotty & Sons. He was scheduled for last Tuesday. I took a half day off of work, and he never showed up ..... and never called. He could have at least had the courtesy to call. I'm a reasonable person and would have understood if he was buried with work and wanted to come another time.
Rob Durana Eco-Fuel Oil, Inc.
3.7
12 Google reviews
Heating contractor in Netcong, New Jersey
Address: 145 Rt. 46 West, Netcong, NJ 07857
Hours:
Open ⋅ Closes 5PM
Phone: (862) 209-4600
I use them for 3 years now, Mark the owner is great. They do a great job cleaning my furnace, and oil deliveries too. Left Region Oil and never looked back.
BEVBIGHEAD 
iKnow 
UptoYouRob....I had the same problem with Scotty & sons. It happened on more than one occasion. Not sure why he can't at least call. That tells me he doesn't care much about his clients.
I used TGM once, but when I tried calling to get a cleaning at the end of heating season this year they never called me back. I tried to set something up with them again last week. She said she would call back in a day or two.....it has been a week now and still no call to even set the appointment. That seems a bit crazy to me. I have never had a company tell me they had to call back just to set up day/time they can come. Most will just look at the schedule and give me options of what is available. Not sure I even want to do business with a company like that.
JRT The biggest thing to remember is: Don't wait until their busy season, to call. This time of year is when plumbing/heating specialists get busy--when people turn on their heat for the first time of the season, and something isn't working right. Always try to get your furnace serviced and tested in late summer!
JerseyWolf JerseyWolf, - - I don't disagree with you, but in my situation, I met Bill at a local business, and I asked him if he had any openings in his schedule within the next couple of months! I told him I was in no hurry but he said he had the 16th available so I scheduled it there on the spot. I watched him write the appointment in his book. So, if he had to cancel, no worries, ...... but he should have called to let me know!!
Try Gallaghers in Independence, really liked them when they installed new furnace and water heater. Had issues getting quote from TGM then and they are 1 block away from me, and Scottys was bit higher in $. Good luck
wendola Sounds to me like your a candidate to get on a companies regular service plan schedule as opposed to randomly trying to chase one down. Would not only give you peace of mind but save alot of time and energy.
CraftBeerBob I have used Scotty & Son in the past, numerous times in fact. Was great, reasonably priced. I tried several times over the summer to get a hold of him and never got a returned call or anything. That being said I have moved on to Honest Heating & Cooling (973)479-4128. Michael was great, and will come after hours if you need him to. I think I scheduled him to come at 7:00 at night. It worked for him and me so that's a win. Reasonably priced as well.
englishe30 I've never had a problem with TGM. They have promptly returned either calls or emails.
They've let me know when they aren't sure of schedule - that they will be in touch shortly with appointments. I have found them very accommodating...........and always very pleasant to deal with - whether the office staff or the workers..............
4catmom We use TGM as well and always found them very accomadating. Pleasant office staff, knowledge technicians etc.
Only temporary Anybody had any experience with L & H Heating & Air-conditioning from Hackettstown?
Not much info or reviews online.
Sam I tried Scotty and Son and never received a call back. I called Gallaghers and they 1) Answered the phone 2) were very friendly and 3) actually scheduled an appointment.
I get it that it's the busy season but Gallaghers communicated that and told me their next availability which is exactly what a business should do. Last step is that they actually show up on the scheduled date which I believe they will.
Seems to be an ongoing issue with any contractor anymore. I cannot tell you how many I have called with no call back. Got a call back and never showed to look at the job. Or said they would send me an estimate and never did. Or lastly, sent estimate, agreed on price, and never heard from them again.
When work is slow and the economy is not so great, I don't want to hear from them then.
JB400 Exactly JB400...I have dealt with many businesses over the course of many, many years . Really, how hard is it to look at your schedule while you are on the phone with a customer and offer them whatever options you have for appointments? When I called TGM they said I will call you back in a day or 2.....The first time I never got that call back at all. Most recently it took just about 2 weeks for a return call......that is very poor business if you ask me. As stated, if you are too busy to take on anyone else just be honest and relay that to the customer.
Anyone knows who is better to get contract with for regular oul burner/ furnace cleaning maintenance? Looking for thorough work and reasonable price ( and of course reliable)? Been with dale fuel, their prices are ridiculous! Any help is appreciated. ( I’m closer to phillipsburg area)
Resident How often do you have to get a chimney flue cleaned if you do NOT have a fireplace and use oil (not gas) ???
Hackresident Just received a flyer in the mail today from O'Brien plumbing and heating in Blairstown with a pre season special price of $89.99 for boiler service special. Has anyone used them and also do they deliver fuel oil as well??
joyful I would clean a oil furnace every year because of suit build up...oil doesn't burn clean
Calico696 There's are least one previous mention of O'Brien before from dansker:
http://www.hackettstownlife.com/forum/811581
Otherwise I don't think any of these discussions of HVAC/Furnace/cleaning businesses has changed in years. They're all current.
My heat works. I am on gas. I change the filter periodically.
What is there to service?
Josh Nothing with gas. Just change the filter 3 or 4 times a year. With oil you need yearly maintenance. Change the oil filter. Replace the nosel. And vaccume our any buildup. Not a difficult job but if you fail to do it yealy the unit will likely fail on the coldest day.
I’ve always had very good service with TGM, however I do call early in the furnace cleaning year. Scheduling an appointment has never been a problem. Been using them for a number of years now.
Spring fever so you need to clean a stainless steel flue every year? I didn't clean my original flue (clay) at all in many years, w/ no problems. Comments appreciated.
the furnace gets cleaned and filter changed yearly.
In order to keep a warranty on a new stainless flue liner most chimney companies will tell you that you need to clean it yearly.
Oil furnaces/boilers should be serviced annually.
Gas furnaces/boilers should be serviced annually also.
All chimneys should be serviced at least every 2 years.
Gas equipment creates much more carbon monoxide than oil. Anything that may fall on the burners can increase the amount of CO emitted. There are a number of safety devices in gas equipment. They need to be checked. Also, most newer gas equipment t has a flame sensor that needs to be serviced.
The regulator at your gas meter could malfunction. A proper inspection would let you know that amount of gas being supplied to your equipment is the proper amount needed. Also all gas valves have a regulating spring in them that can weaken over time causing improper gas supply.
Getting your equipment serviced is no different than getting your car serviced
RoadKingRider 
Gardenfish RoadKingRider-
A gas dryer also has a flame sensor, gas valve, solenoids, regulators, as well as thermostats or thermistor, - none of which needs any service whatsoever!
Pretty much the same for a gas oven- run it until it stops working correctly.
Some shops try to tell you (sell you) a service- but the reality is run them until they stop working correctly, then swap a part and back in business.
Please- and not sarcastic from me or you-- tell me how a gas furnace is different.
RoadKingRider...... 100%.... Your explanation of maintenance is excellent.
If I may add? The newer furnaces need inspections, to assure the firing rate is set correctly. There are gaskets, hoses, and chambers, that monitor the operation, but
it is worth it to inspect their integrity.
The furnaces / burners of today, came a long way from the 60's and 70's.
As the % of efficiency goes up, there are combustion exchangers, that draw the products of burning utilizing a combustion blower to extract the products of combustion, and pass them to the venting piping / system. The vent system also, is worthwhile looking at. I had a wasps nest inside my vent system pipe, and it caused my heat to fail.
Heat exchanger should be inspected, and checked for pin holes or stress cracks.
The burners also, should be cleaned. Pressure switch hose and controls, should be inspected and cleaned out if necessary. There are little tiny spiders, that just love the smell of the added odorants that are added to the gas supply. They can enter the tiny passages, and build their nests in the hoses, or control switches.
This can cause a no heat, or an intermittent problem. Something no one wants in the dead of winter.
I would NEVER not do maintenance on a gas furnace......dead is dead from the fumes .
Pay a few hundred for the peace of mind for if not you, your families safety please.
steven Cleaning a gas furnace is more like just doing an inspection. Checking various sensors and hoses while performing an actual efficiency test on the gas gun style burners which can fall out of adjustment just like an oil burner. If you have it (cleaned) every year don't expect it to take more than 20 minutes unless the tech falls asleep at the unit.
Josh-
Those other appliances that you are speaking of DO require maintenance.
Dryers need to be cleaned to make sure they are free of long and the dryer vent (same as exhaust on a furnace) can become clogged. If your vent is clogged the clothes do not dry properly and you waste energy. Gas valves can go out of adjustment on ANY equipment.
The gas company regulator outside can go out of adjustment without you knowing causing an unsafe environment.
Ovens require maintenance also. If you don’t clean your oven, that is just gross!
Cleaning your oven is a maintenance item that you can do on your own. Older ovens and stoves have pilot assemblies that need to be cleaned. Thermocouples fail, in an oven it’s an inconvenience, in a furnace it can be a big problem if it’s in the middle of the night during a storm or on a weekend. Most companies replace the thermocouples on equipment when servicing. Grease buildup on a stoves components is a REAL problem.
Just like any mechanical item, they all require regular maintenance.
Just stating facts, no malice or sarcasm, except for the stove part! Not cleaning your oven or stove is kinda gross though
Also,
Stoves are a vent free appliance. This means that their exhaust stays in your house. All fossil fuel burning appliances emit CO. Some more so than others based on the BTU usage. That is one of the reasons most CO detectors are built to go off after CO levels have reached 35ppm. OSHA guidelines say that people shouldn’t be exposed to more than 8ppm of CO IN A 12 hour period.
In short, I like my gas appliances serviced to make sure they are burning/operating properly.
I’m with Josh on this. No reason to pay for maintenance on a gas furnace. Turn it on, look it over. If it’s working it good to go.
O'Brien cleaned our boiler last week using the coupon special. They called back immediately and did a very thorough job. Will call then again next year.
hktownie Gallagher's Plumbing & Heating came to clean my last year and identified a major issue with my furnace which could have potentially saved our lives. A cleaning should be more than a cleaning. A qualified company to do an inspection is a must. I was happy with them
Gallagher's services our heat and AC every year. They identified a part that needed to be replaced, under warranty. Glad we had it serviced before the cold hit. Highly recommend Gallagher's.
Mr. Resident Hey roadking, all that stuff you listed is excessive. If the average homeowner paid for all that stuff to be serviced anually they'd be broke.
justintime We also took advantage of the coupon sent in the mail and set up a time for O'Brien Plumbing and Heating out of Blairstown, NJ.to come to our home this morning to clean and service our furnace. A very friendly man named Mike appeared at our door at the specified time to expect him and proceeded to do his thing in a neat,efficient, and very thorough manner. Needless to say we are very pleased with O'Brien Plumbing and Heating and will not hesitate to use them in the future...
Towards the end of last heating season we developed a noise in our gas furnace, like a motor going bad. Had our furnace serviced a couple of months ago and was told that it was the draft inducer. A check showed that it wasn’t drawing any more amps so it should continue to last for a while, also the tech researched the motor and said it would be about $600 to replace. Motor is starting to get louder, so I looked up replacement costs. I can get an original replacement for less than $200 and it seems as though it’s a straightforward replacement (not much more than 4 screws and 2 wires. Has anyone replaced this on their own?
DanS Simple job. As long as it comes as an assembly, ( fan, motor, and housing together ),it should be no problem.
@DanS. Mine is almost bad. Its been noisy for years, but hasn't failed yet. I did research the job so I'm prepared for the future event. If you get the part number off the old you can likely buy it from Amazon and get a direct replacement. For me its just a few screws and a plug. In my case, the gasket is separate or you can use high temp silicone.
Thanks everyone. Ordered it from Amazon last night, and based on the reviews it seems pretty straightforward.
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