Tanknot

Sandy M.

My husband and I just moved into our first home, and lo and behold, the hydronic baseboard heating stopped working. Our home warranty initially sent a clueless technician from a local plumbing company that will remain nameless (but rated low by Yelp). The technician literally left after two minutes because he couldn't and wouldn't make heads or tails of our hydronic gas boiler. It is an albeit older system, but he never even bothered to take down info about the system to provide in his report back to the home warranty provider. I took the initiative to fill in all the details to the home warranty in the hopes that they re-bid to a vendor who knew what they were doing.

After several desperate calls to the home warranty, they finally dispatched my service request this afternoon, this time to Tanknot Tankless. I wasn't expecting them to come out until after Christmas, but we got a surprise call from David who said he could come out this evening! As soon as David arrived, it was clear he knew his stuff. When he took one look at our boiler and said ""this will be easy; I've seen and done it all,"" I immediately felt reassured. He diagnosed the issue as a faulty thermocouple, went to the nearby Home Depot to get a replacement, and expertly installed it to get the boiler back up and running, all within less than an hour and with good humor, asking us ""Do you believe in Santa Claus?"" We now have a warm house and believe Santa Claus sent David to us so that we don't freeze our asses off for the holidays!

Robert S.

BUYER BEWARE!

You might come away from the installation of a tankless water heater by Tanknot much worse for the effort. Here's why:

Tanknot did not check if our house was suitable for tankless technology. There were two problems:

1. The distance between the gas meter and the tankless water heater was longer than was suitable for the tankless water heater. The tankless water heater had to be connected to a second gas pipe to comply with code. We happened to have had a redundant gas line that was usable but if we did not, a second line would have had to be installed.

2. One of the showers has a ""mixer"" valve, which mixes cold with hot water to keep the hot water from scalding the person using the shower. As a result, the tankless water heater does not immediately heat hot water in most outlets in the house or heat it very effectively, as a result. We had to install a pump to circulate the water continuously through the house to heat the water effectively. The result is that the gas consumption is more than with an ordinary water heater and the electricity to operate the pump is an additional cost. Tanknot did not inspect for this problem, and it disclaimed responsibility for both finding and solving it. We had to hire another plumber and the additional cost was more than three times Tanknot's original price.

Tanknot left our house with two gas leaks in the pipes after it installed the tanknot heater. When it presented its estimate and contract, Tanknot offered the option of getting the required permit. We opted to have Tanknot get the permit. The inspector found the two gas leaks. Tanknot's response: he said old houses sometimes have gas leaks, they could not find ours, and Tanknot was not responsible for them in any event. We hired another plumber, who found both leaks, both caused by the installation of the tankless water heater. Tankless then admitted responsibility.

Drew W.

I used TankNot again after moving to the Santa Cruz mountains. Again Doug was my installer and did a great job. If I move again, I would call them again. I really have had a very positive experience with this team... Twice. Enough said.

Nino M.

It's one of those, if I can give negative stars, I would.

My parents' water heater was making so much noise. My mom called PG&E and they advised that they call the manufacturer. My parents' water heater was out of warranty, so Lowe's referred David Shevick to repair the water heater. My parents took a video with their phone to help describe what is going on.

My parents called Mr. Shevick and he advised that there's a $200 ""diagnostic"" cost, which can go towards a new tank cost and installation, if needed. My parents agreed to the cost. Mr. Shevick stated he couldn't light the water heater and he was showed the video. Mr. Shevick did not dig through the water heater and based the diagnosis off of the video. He said he has to buy a part, that will cost my parents $375.

The part did not come within the days Mr. Shevick stated. He installed the part, but it only worked for a day. My mom called Mr. Shevick and he advised to turn off the water heater, because there's a gas leak and can get dangerous. Why didn't he go do that himself and instruct my mom to turn it off? He also told my mom that we should go buy a new water heater instead. How did he diagnose that?

My mom said the heater made the same noise and it went out again. My dad spoke to Mr. Shevick over the phone, and my dad was reasonably upset. I know there were some words that my dad said, that shouldn't have been said. Mr. Shevick claims that my dad threatened to physically hurt him. My mom said that the only threat my dad spoke of over the phone was he was going to report him to the Business Bureau and to the licensing board. I don't know if Mr. Shevick took that as the threat to physically hurt him, but I know my dad can get pretty nasty but a physical threat is something he would never do. My mom said Mr. Shevick told him that he wasn't going to cash the $375 check, but my mom stopped the check anyway.

My mom asked I speak to Mr. Shevick to see what I can do to finally get the water heater fixed. I called Mr. Shevick and left him a message. He called back and I said, let's try to start over, because my goal is to finally get a working water heater for my parents, after a week of not having one. Mr. Shevick stated that he ate the cost for the parts and he doesn't want to work with my parents anymore, because he claims my dad threatened him. Well, I told him he's dealing with me now and start over to get this thing done, because my parents paid him the $200 diagnostic cost that's supposed to go to a new tank if he can't fix it.

I asked him to tell me his side of the story and he said based off of the video, he thought he knew the part that needed to be replaced and he's taking the parts cost as a lost, because he doesn't want to work with my parents anymore. I asked him, why did he diagnose off of the video? He said that's the only thing he can go on. I said, you have the water heater right there for him to look through, why didn't he go through that? He's eating the cost, not because of my dad, but because he made the wrong diagnosis. I told him, he should give the $200 back as well, since that was supposed to be the diagnosis cost, which he did lazily and incorrectly. He hung up the phone on me.

I called the other parties involved, Lowe's and PG&E. PG&E came back to my parents house and stated there was no leak that the technician claimed. Also the pilot light didn't look right. There's a yellow flame, rather than blue, which is unnatural for a natural gas fire. Why didn't Mr. Shevick catch that? Lowe's stated that if there was a factory defect, the technician, Mr. Shevick should have reported that and there might have been something done, but it's too late since he doesn't want to return and he already replaced an incorrectly diagnosed part.

I called Mr. Shevick again and he said he can't return the $200, because it was a service call. I reminded him that originally stated it's a diagnosis call and it's supposed to go towards the new tank. We need that money back, because he didn't diagnose correctly, he didn't fulfill the job, and my parents now need to get a new tank. He didn't let the conversation finish. He hung up the phone on me. Very professional! I called him again and it went straight to voice mail. By the way, this guy also runs an acupuncture office??? It says so in his voice mail and if you google him, you'll see that as well (http://www.yelp.com/biz/david-shevick-l-ac-corte-madera-3). Tanknot also deals with tankless water heaters. What's he doing taking calls for a gas tank water heater?

It looks like this guy is in it for the cash, there's another review, by a Mr. Jeff H. that you can also read that shows it.

Don G.

I have had Dave install 3 units in my apartments.
first two went OK, I had to stay on the workers, to make sure it was done right.
Dave showed up initially and then turned it over to his helper.
They were not well instructed on what to do.
Then there was the third install
holy nightmare- the install should have been simple.
I went to inspect it and it was mickey mouse, unprofessional and far from meeting code
I had to have it completely reinstalled, all the piping.
It was a joke, Daves helper had no clue how to do it right.
Not the helpers fault- Daves Fault!
I do not like the way he does business.
Strongly urge you to use someone else!!

Chris V.

I found Tanknot searching online for a tankeless water heater to replace my conventional water heater which had begun leaking. I called Tanknot and spoke with David, who was very organized in asking questions regarding the job in order to provide a tankless recommendation and solid estimate.

I had checked on both installation price ranges as well as manufacturers prior to speaking with David. He suggested a Nortiz 71 and a installation price that sat almost in the middle of what I had researched. A welcome and pleasant initial encounter.

After speaking with David, he was very prompt in sending an emailed written estimate to me along with product information and description. The most important of which was the guarantee that they would meet city code (which they did). Due to the leaking water heater, David worked my replacement into the schedule for the very next day. Again, I am grateful for this type of customer service and response.

Doug performed the installation and was a pleasure to work with. Doug is very detailed in his work, writing out the instructions for the inspection, answering my questions, making sure my unit was 'dog proof' and leaving a clean work area.

Doug is very customer service oriented and this shows in his work. Doug does not cut corners. Doug makes sure that the installation is functional as well as aesthetically pleasing.

After installation, upon testing out the unit, the hot water was not only faster but hotter and QUIETER then the conventional water heater being replaced.

Thank you for the EXTREMELY prompt and detailed response to replacing my leaking water heater. I am happy to support a smaller business such as yours.

Brandon S.

No problem service and installation that went above and beyond.

Dave gave us a no pressure estimate that clearly laid out our options. We knew what we were getting and Tanknot was able to install it just a couple of days later.

Our installer was Doug who made sure that the job was done right, took the time to show us how everything worked, and even shimmied up into our crawlspace to relight our furnace.

The whole experience was one of the best ones we've had with a home improvement service and our new tankless water heater works exactly as we'd hoped.

Samira S.

They have been poor customer service. I called to inquire about a tankless water heater and the guy very rudely told after finding out that I lived in a townhouse and they don't install in townhouse. What kind of business is this?

Daniel M.

Had a great experience with David and the crew from Tanknot. He came by and checked out the existing heater and had his installer over at 6pm that evening. We had hot water by 8pm that night. Very clean installation and left no mess.

Kathy S.

I just had a tankless water heater installed by Tanknot Tankless, Inc (Tanknot.com) as a replacement for my old tank that was taking up space in the kitchen. I was worried about the installation, as I heard it can be tricky, especially in old houses. The installation price was great -- surprisingly lower than quotes I got a few years ago. I worked with David and Juno, and they were great to work with -- friendly, responsive, honest, fast. The work they did installing the system in my basement/crawlspace was excellent. Work passed the City of Oakland's inspection at the first visit. The system works beautifully, and I'm thrilled to have it. I have no hesitation recommending them.