Bob's Heating & Air Conditioning — Attraction in Woodinville

After Bob’s installed a heat pump in May 2025, a loud clanking noise began in the ceiling above our garage, directly under our bedroom. The sound occurs when the heat exhaust travels from our water heater through the B-vent (the pipe where exhaust from the furnace and water heater travels through), which Bob’s had altered. This did not exist prior to installation in the 10 years I’ve been living in my home.

They initially denied modifying the B-vent system and said they only installed the heat pump. Only after I told them I had before-and-after photo evidence (new straps, rerouted venting, drill holes) did they admit it. But they still refused to inspect the ceiling area connected to the vent they modified, where the sound is coming from. They claimed the noise was “normal thermal expansion,” their work was “up to code,” and it wasn’t covered by warranty since they “didn’t go past the ceiling.” But HVAC systems are interconnected. The furnace, water heater, and venting are all part of one connected system, so changing one part can affect the rest. This interpretation of their warranty made it impossible to get any support.

After escalating the issue via the BBB, their VP claimed it was a “nuisance noise” and “slight alteration.” But it was a complete reconfiguration, and I have pictures showing they redid the entire B-vent shared by our water heater and furnace. It was more than a nuisance noise as we had to alter our lifestyle to deal with the issue that occurred after their installation.

We hired a third-party HVAC technician to confirmed their changes, replicated the sound in front of me, and felt vibration at the vent they modified. He confirmed the vibration was localized there and said the pipe may have been pushed or shifted during installation. We hired this technician after Bob’s first technician that visited denied they altered the b-vent and claimed the sound was normal.

After weeks of escalating our complaint, Bob’s offered to replace our fully functional 15-month-old water heater with a tankless system to reroute the exhaust and bypass the section causing the clanking noise. This work was scheduled without first discussing it with us. We asked to pause while we enjoyed the holiday week and considered our options.

We learned that a direct fix would be too invasive for our current living situation, so we decided to accept the installation to bypass the B-vent. On 7/16, their senior technician visited to review the plan, and the team returned on 7/17 to complete the work and explain the changes before leaving. This issue was addressed after a total of 6 visits and nearly two months after installation.

We’re are very thankful Bob’s offered a path forward to address the noise at no cost to us and that the occurrence of the noise is now negligible. However, it took considerable effort, documentation, and external escalation to get the warranty support we should have received from the start.

Update:

After they replaced our 15month old water heater, we were told the difference in hot water delivery time with the new tankless system would be negligible. But we sometimes experience long delays that can be over a minute, before hot water reaches our shower. When I asked about installing a recirculation solution to prevent this, they refused. They first said it’s not compatible with our home but after I pushed for more answers they plainly stated they will not install it.

This is a noticeable downgrade in functionality compared to the system we had before. It is frustrating that a workaround intended to resolve one issue ended up creating another inconvenience. While the noise was eventually mitigated, the process, lack of transparency, and resulting downgrade in hot water performance reflect a...

Called Bob's and paid $400 for an emergency call out for a suspected gas leak from inside the furnace that was allowing gas to fill our home through the vents. Nice guy came out, checked it for gas leaks, and gave it a clean bill of health. This then caused our plumber the next day to have to re-plumb a gas line he just put in near the furnace even though he could not understand how the pipe he just put in could be leaking up into the house above it. He suspected it was something inside of the furnace but did the work anyways since Bob's said it was not the furnace.

After the plumber spent a lot of time redoing the gas line, our house was still filled with gas so we called Bob's back the next day. That evening before Bob's returned I purchased a $70 gas detection tool from Amazon which I used to determine that the gas valve that opens/shuts when the furnace is turned on was leaking and stuck in the partially open position. I placed the gas detection tool right at the exit point where the gas shoots into the furnace on the other side of the valve; the Bob's guy only checked the connections around that valve but didn't even have a tool with him to see what I saw which showed exactly the concentration of gas escaping and from where.

To their credit they sent a more experienced guy out 1-2 hours after I called the next day who replaced the faulty gas valve.

If the first guy would have had a $70 gas detection tool and would have aimed it into the right location, he would have solved the issue. I understand that there are not that many experienced guys around but not only was I as a novice able to figure out the issue myself with a tool from Amazon and some Googling, the mistake cost our plumber 3-4 hours of time to redo a gas line that wasn't faulty in the first place and we spent another night not using half of our house since it was filled with gas from the leak and we had to open all of the windows all night for safety.

This is actually the second time we had a call back issue with Bob's - the previous one was 3 years earlier on an on demand water heater. I had identified the issue from Googling but the tech disagreed and after a few days a more experienced tech came who agreed and swapped out the part which fixed the issue.

On a positive note when I called for this issue the woman who answered told me to call the gas company and save myself a $400 emergency fee which I declined to do.

Its inconvenient for customers to have techs sent out who are not experienced enough to...

My furnace was installed in 2008 by Bob's heating -- not old enough to replace it. In 2019, the induce motor stoped working and was replaced. In December 2020, the blowing motor was replaced. After the blowing motor replacement, we frequently heard loud noises coming from the furnace, so I called the Bob's heating. The lady who answered the phone said she could send a technician to check it for $139. I told the lady the noise was not constant so she asked me to record the noise and send to her first, so I sent the sound file through text, but they never responded. I called them again and she said the phone number was a land line, so she did not get the sound file. She said she would ask the technician to call me back to talk about it. I waited for the tech to call but never heard back. In April 2021, the the furnace stopped working and we smell something burning from the vents. I called them again and the tech came. After check he said the induce motor was broken again, and that the part warranty was only one year. When I asked about the life of the motor, he said usually 8 to 10 years, but mine only lasted one year and 8 months! When they replaced the induce motor in 2019, we paid $129 diagnose, motor $473 and plus tax, but in 2021, the diagnose fee is $139, the motor price was $559 and plus tax. Within one year and 9 months, the price increased $96, 18%!. This company provided poor quality products, service, response, and was expensive, so be wary!

After Bob’s Heating tech replaced the furnace induce motor, the technician talked to me and said that I needed to do a maintenance service, which I agreed to. After he left, I noticed that the electrical air cleaner was turned off so I called the tech. He said “Oh, I forgot to turn it on” and asked me to turn it on myself. Additionally, on the Furnace Inspection Report, it is said he had cleaned and inspected the OD intake screen, inline filter, and indoor fan assembly, which he did not do. His response was “you guys did good job cleaning the filters so I did not need to do it”, but he didn’t even check them. What is the point in paying money for a maintenance service when none of it was done?

This was such a sloppy job; it makes me wonder whether they installed the induce motor correctly the first time, and the motor suppose to last 8 -10 years, but only lasted one and 8 months! This company provided poor quality product and service, would...