Design Temperature

I don’t know why this place has two separate listings, so I’ll post this review on both to try to warn future potential clients. These people are terrible. I had a 10 year old AO Smith water heater with a pilot light that wouldn’t stay lit. Someone else in my building had the same model and said it was probably the pilot light assembly needing to be replaced, because they had the same issue not long ago. So I called these people because they SPECIALIZE IN WATER HEATERS, so I’m thinking they’ll definitely get to the bottom of it. I tell them my suspicion but obviously I’m not the professional here. They come out, confirm that it is the pilot assembly that needs to be replaced, and replaced it. So far, so good. But then, apparently the pilot light continues to go out, and the tech comes up with a ridiculous if only remotely possible theory that the furnace, which is right next to and shares a duct with the water heater, is kicking out the pilot every time it goes on, and he continues to recommend that I have a chimney sweep out to clean the duct. This duct is only 10 years old, and it is highly unlikely that this is actually the problem. It was easy enough for the subsequent company I had out to test this silly hypothesis and prove it false within just a few minutes. Anyway, he leaves me with that, not even trying to further diagnose the problem but just making up another problem for me to deal with, a still not-​functioning water heater, not even trying to just sell me a new water heater as anyone else would have done (and rightly so with a 10 year old water heater), and a bill for $ 400. Thanks.

They were the ultimate professionals and problem solvers.
We had another company come out and look at our AO Smith water heater — in process they completely messed up the water heater, changing the wiring configuration, and shorting out the heater.
After that disaster, we were referred to Design Temperature. Design came out — addressed the issues, replaced parts (under warranty, the other plumber wanted to charge us), and fixed the water heater late on a Friday night. The plumber was the utmost professional and diligently went through fixing our heater without complaint.
Highly recommended.

Stay far away! I was referred to Design Temp from the manufacturer of my hot water heater because my water heater was leaking and under warranty. The technician was not knowledgeable at all and I had to guide him on how to find the problems. They charged me $ 100 to tell me that my water heater was leaking and that I needed a new one which I already told them on the phone.
I then got a quote from Bob Rubin for $ 1,700 just for the labor to replace the hot water tank. I asked him to break down their labor rate as this should be an hour job. He refused to give me any break down at all. I called another licensed plumber and they gave me a quote of $ 300 and aren’t charging me to just come out and tell me what I already know.
Do not do business with Design Temperature. They do not run their business honestly.

I wouldn’t hire them again. They came two years ago to clean our tankless hot water heater and they were fine. We just had them in again, and it’s a whole different story. We needed another cleaning, but instead got a very expensive visit almost $ 400. We were told we needed extra equipment installed. I don’t really believe this; in fact I don’t know what to believe, but I do believe we have been had. The unit works fine; it just needs regular maintenance.

DO NOT USE!!! Bob Rubin=dishonest thief!!! Had my 50 gallon water heater go down in my rental unit and my tenants called Bob. He quoted me $ 4100 for a replacement on 40 gallon unit (current unit is 50). When I called him and asked for details he went into «new guidelines, my unit is in a restricted space, it would take 2 of his guys all day, etc etc». He said that was the best price and I would have a hard time finding anything cheaper due to the labor. Shopped it around, got a 50 gallon same brand replacement, next day service for $ 1500. Gave the guy a tip for being honest, doing business with integrity, and taking care of the job. Can’t believe Bob blatantly lied through his teeth repeatedly thinking I was some kind of moron. Over 3k for labor he wanted to charge when the other co said its about 90 minutes of work for 2 guys. User beware!

Don’t hire these guys. Don’t! You WILL regret your decision.
You know how cold this winter (Jan, 2014) has been. On Sunday our over ten year old A.O. Smith Power Shot water heater died. The power vent was no longer working, there were leaks, and it was not heating water. It was a Sunday, so we contacted a tech who advised it most likely needed to be replaced (which we knew), but gave us Design’s number saying they might fix it. Knowing the cost of parts are usually cost-​prohibitive (especially on a ten-​plus –year-​old unit) we decided to just replace it. Given that our AO Smith had lasted so long, we went to their website… Design was listed and their closest service provider.
We contacted Tony, told him we needed a 75 gallon power vent, and gave him all the specs saying we wanted to get everything set up, so Monday we could get everything rolling and a new water heater installed. He said no problem, but he would have his guy look at it to see if it could be repaired, because we really should check. Fair enough! The initial cost would be $ 160, which is really high to begin with, but we found them from two separate sources.
Monday we were given a time window of 1−3…kind of late, but ok. Now, remember, it is about 5 degrees outside, and this is day 2 of no hot water (no showers, no hot water for dishes, washing clothing, ect.). The technicians finally show up and after about five minutes with our water heater they come upstairs to report. They tell us our water heater is not working, he can replace the power vent motor for around $ 700, but there is leaking and some rusting around the valves so he was worried if he tried to replace them they would break. Huh? We had told them all of that… all of it. We knew that, and told Tony this.
We informed him that it made no sense to spend that much to replace a motor at more than half the cost of an entire water heater… and we just wanted to replace it. So, let’s do it. He went on to tell us he would put in an order… and we would have our new unit in about seven days. WAIT, WHAT?! Seven more days without hot water. We had been very very intrinsically clear with Tony that we wanted to replace our water heater. We wanted everything set up for Monday. He knew this. So we called Tony. He said he would look into it, as his technicians hung around…*maybe* hoping they could stay long enough to charge extra on the service call… since they were already charging us $ 160 to tell us what we already told them. This is deceit and robbery. Period. We told them we were not mad at them, but they needed to leave since they could not help us. Oh, and they never provided us with any kind of receipt for their visit.
Tony told us his techs said we shewed them out… ummm…yes we did. We were being charged for their time and had been misled to believe they would install a new water heater if they looked at it and it was not cost-​effective to repair, since they could not do this, their job was finished. He also said his tech felt the Water Heater was installed prior to the furnace and it would needed to be relocated… sorry I had already measured the unit and the spaces. Tony then said he would come out and look at it himself, and we clarified we would not be charged for this. He also said he could TRY to get a water heater by Wednesday, and TRY to get it installed, implying no guarantees.
Needless to say, we started calling around… it was Monday and the entire day was nearly wasted. We got two quotes, and guess what. they could either install it that night or the next day (Tuesday) depending on if one of their techs had availability that night because they could pick up a unit from one of three distributors in the city… same day?! No way?! We went with the servicer that was most responsive and called back and schedule with us instead of emailing. WE CALLED TONY & CANCELLED. Another company (NOT Design) was friendly, provided great customer service, sent out friendly and responsive techs to our home, and could get the job promised… DONE!
Bottom line, this company should refund us the $ 160, as their dealings with us were deceptive at best. We are in process of filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and writing a letter to A.O. Smith to let them know why they lost our business. Somehow it seems doubtful they will care.
So, it is highly and most emphatically recommended you save yourself $ 160 (or more if they can squeeze the time out), and go elsewhere. Unless, of course, you have time and money to waste and enjoy bottom of the barrel customer service. But, then, who wants that?! Luckily, if you read this review and others here (wish we had) you are forewarned and therefor for-​armed!
Just stay away. Far away. You will be happy you did.

Called Design Temp because my hot water would not work (cold water was fine). Spoke with the gentleman and explained that I have a tankless water heater and the problems that I was experiencing with my hot water. First question he asked is where I live, which is only a few miles from their listed address, before stating that tankless water heaters are a big waste of money and that I should just can the one that I have and probably buy another. My water heater is only a year old!
So, I hung up and called what turned out to be a more reputable company. The guy came out and diagnosed my problem in 5 minutes! A pipe inside the tankless water heater had frozen and he used a hair dryer to thaw it out in a couple minutes… problem fixed! Upon doing so, he refused to charge me. Btw, if you’re looking for someone who’s honest and not afraid to work, call Watermax.

PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM THEM!
I moved into my condo 3 months ago and recently my water heater (AO Smith Pro Max) stopped working. Every time I would start it, it would run for 10 – 15 mins and the flame would turn off. I called Goode Plumbing (which btw provides excellent service) who came by and couldn’t identify the issue. Since they couldn’t fix the problem, they left without charging me anything and gave me Design Temperature’s reference.
I looked up Design Temperature online and since they had decent reviews and were also listed on AO Smith water heater company website, I went ahead and made an appointment for Friday morning. While making the appointment, I talked to Joe who promised me that his technician will first investigate and fix the actual root cause and will not be using a process of elimination approach where they will first fix something to see if that works and if it doesn’t they will move to replace/​fix the next part. I was also told that it will cost me $ 160 for the visit which will get my 30 minutes of labor. In addition to that I will have to pay for parts ($ 77 for pilot assembly if needed) and any additional time beyond 30 minutes the technician will have to spend. I agreed.
The technician (Ed) arrived in a timely manner within the 2 hour window they had given me. When I opened the door, it was 9:29 AM. He immediately got to work to replace the pilot lamp assembly which surprised me as he didn’t do any investigation. I assumed that he knew the issue based on my description while making the appointment. He finished his work completely and stood up to make some notes at 9:55 AM. Since it was still under 30 minutes I was relieved that I didn’t have to pay any extra labor. He spends additional 10 minutes making notes and when he finally gave me the bill, it was $ 300. Turns out I was being asking to pay $ 30 extra labor since he was counting the time he spent to making notes on his wireless device! And the cost of the pilot assembly was $ 101! I still paid and sent him his way. I then called their office and after a 10 min back and forth they finally agreed to refund the $ 30 (it has been 5 days and I haven’t seen the refund on my credit card). I didn’t even bring up the cost of the replaced part.
10 minutes after the technician left, the pilot lamp went off again. I turned it on and just as before it lasted 10 – 15 mins. I called back and spoke to Jane who said she will call me back and I don’t hear back all day. Worrying that I have to spend the weekend without hot water I called them back and I was told it was past their working hours and I will need to call back on Monday.
I then call them on Monday morning and get the same day appointment. On that call, I talked to Joe again who told me that the service will be covered under warranty and I only have to pay for the part if anything else needs to be replaced. Ed arrives as planned and gets to work. He spent around 30 minutes and was unable to find the problem. He calls AO Smith service line who tells him it could be due to dust collected at the bottom or scaling built up inside the heater. His estimate? $ 240 just to clean including $ 160 for his visit! I asked him what happened to the part he replaced saying that was issue, but I don’t get any explanation other than that part was also bad! How could he fix the «bad» part and I still continue to have the exact same issue? When I told him I will be happy to pay the cleaning fee but to be fair I shouldn’t have to pay for the visit since he had to come back anyway because his first fix didn’t work, he talks to Tony (owner) who tells him «wrap up and get out of there». Ed promptly leaves. I had spent $ 300 and no sign of hot water.
I decided to try cleaning it myself and got the cheapest toilet brush from Target ($ 1.40). 2 – 3 strokes under the water heater is all it took! I started the pilot lamp and it has been working since. The issue was the dust collected under the water heater on the inlet mesh door. These thugs replaced a working part and charged me $ 300 and refused to be accountable for what they did.
Terrible terrible company with no work ethics nor any idea of what customer service is about! Stay away!

Found these guys through Angie’s List. Very happy! They were one of the few companies who could setup an appointment on a moments notice which was great. They were thorough and honest, giving me an idea of pricing right up front. The technician was friendly and knowledgeable. My water heater was not working properly, and he was able to service it/​replace the part all in one appointment. Total, it took about 30 minutes to fix. Would certainly recommend!

These guys are top notch and a half! I used these guys in a jamb to repair our ‘power vent’ water heater and they even came out on a Saturday.
Our technician was a nice guy and he did great work getting my heater fired up!
I will defo use these guys again!
5 stars!

As a young-​ish, single female, I’m automatically leery of auto and appliance repair shops — it’s impossible not to wonder if they’re taking you for a ride, just because they can. So, when I was referred to Design Temperature, I was pleasantly surprised to find all of the staff I interacted with were friendly, detailed and very clear about what my costs were and why. From the initial call to set-​up the appointment (I can’t remember the guy’s name, but he was very awesome — got me in the very next morning, and called me back twice to ensure I understood the process), to Julie who confirmed my appointment the next morning, to the repairman who came to fix my water heater (I can’t remember his name either, but he was fast, efficient and got the work done in the first 30 minutes– which meant my bill was only $ 160)!
Most importantly, I have hot water again — Hallelujah!

We have a Rheem water heater about 6 yrs old. No hot water this morning so called Rheem’s technical support line. They checked the warranty (only parts) & gave me 3 local Rheem certified contractors. Design Temp were the only company available same day. Discussed with their dispatch guy, Rich the problem. He got hold of one of his guys in the field & turned up 15 mins later! Rick did a great job & now we have hot water :-) It wasn’t cheap but very much worth it. They were good to their word, had all the necessary parts & fixed the problem.

TIMELINE OF EVENTS:
7:45am — dog is being obnoxious and forces me to get out of bed early on my day off
8:15am — unable to go back to sleep, I go to the sink to wash out my favorite coffee cup
8:15:05am — I say @$#*%@$ because there is no hot water AGAIN!
8:30am — Whirlpool warranty rep tells me to call Design Temperature
8:40am — I call Design Temperature and their rep says someone can be here by 10am
8:45am — DT rep calls back and says his guy is in route and will be here before 10am
9:00am — Cecil arrives from DT and gets right to work
9:45am — I’m listening to the sound of my hot water heater doing it’s thing and Cecil is off to the next job