Homestead Fuel, Inc.

Homestead has delivered oil and has maintained our boiler for the past 9 years. We have a yearly maintenance contract. In spite of this contract repair charges are very high and they charge also for labor. Homestead failed to check regularly the antifreeze strength as part of their yearly maintenance visits. This is gross negligence. As a result our pipes froze up in the attic on January 16, 2018. When we leave the house for a few days or longer, we keep the house and the garage always at 55F or higher, but the temperature in the attic where pipes run can be much lower. That's why you need antifreeze! Homestead determined that our antifreeze was only good for 10F which is completely inadequate. This shows gross negligence on their part to let this happen. At first they charged us $450 to undo the ice formed into our pipes in the attic but after I pointed out that antifreeze is an essential part of their maintenance responsibility they waived the $450, but they charged $973 to replace 14 gallons of anti freeze in the boiler. The day after, there was an unrelated problem with air flow. Homestead solved that in less than 30 min for which they did not charge us. Homestead's work is sound, all people that have worked on our boiler were very competent (also very nice) but Homestead's prices are so very high that I do not recommend Homestead. Shop around and for sure you will be able to do much better (better service and 10% cheaper oil). I have been in contact with 2 other companies both would have charged less than $600 for the replacement of 14 gallons of antifreeze, compare that with the $973 charge by Homestead.
7 years ago (01-02-2018)

Around 1AM on New Years Eve day our dog alerted us to a smell of hot electric motor coming through the heater vents. While my husband tried to isolate the problem (a failing furnace blower motor) I frantically called almost every HVAC company in the area. The temperature outside was -2 with the wind chill and our 150 year old home had already dropped to 56 degrees. Despite speaking to 7 different answering services, Homestead’s on-call technician not only returned our call within minutes, but was the only company to call us back. In addition, Homestead’s technician, Matt Minor, agreed to come and assess the problem immediately, even though it was 3:30AM and no one was sure it could ultimately be repaired the same day. Matt replaced the capacitor and magically heat returned. However, as he was walking out the door, the motor seized. Rather than tell us, “See you in a few days...I tried…”, he not only attempted to use the “rescue” motor he had in the truck, but he drove all the way back to the shop to get a brand-new one of the correct voltage. Matt was even willing to bring back heaters if he couldn’t repair the motor immediately. Despite almost 4 hours of work in the middle of the night, Matt persisted and by 8AM the furnace was working and heat had returned! My husband and I were TREMENDOUSLY impressed with Matt! To think we received this service and weren’t previously Homestead customers. It is safe to say we will be Homestead customers for life! Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Matt and Homestead went above and beyond!
7 years ago (31-12-2017)

I met the folks at Homestead about three years ago at the annual home show in Hartford and I have used them on three major projects since then. First they installed a Mitsubishi ductless split system (heating and cooling) so we enjoy quiet comfort in our most highly used living space. Then they installed a indirect water heater so now we are able to take hot showers at will. Last and most recently they installed central air for our upstairs. All of the projects featured energy efficiency, quality and comfort. We could not be happier with the service that they provided or the products they recommended. Excellent company top to bottom.
8 years ago (24-07-2017)

I needed to replace my central air conditioning in my house. I called Andrew at Homestead for a proposal. Andrew inspected the existing system and wrote up a proposal. I compared it to other proposals I had gotten. The Homestead proposal was more through and answered all of my questions. It was also priced higher than the other proposals. But when you looked at everything they included in the proposal it was a much better system and well worth the price. I chose Homestead and I am really glad I did. Chris, Kevin and the entire crew did an excellent job with the installation. When I saw the quality of the system and their work I couldn't have been more pleased. The value I received for my money was exceptional. I highly recommend Homestead for plumbing, heating and cooling. You will not be disappointed. Alan Luoma Ellington, CT
8 years ago (01-08-2017)

Very reliable when there is an emergency plumping problem. Truly thankful for the workers who came in and helped us on such short notice!
7 years ago (09-01-2018)