Mac at Reliable is a great guy and very knowledgeable range repairman. Our 70 year old Wedgewood has been in the family since new, and we've always managed to revive it when it gets cranky. But recently, it was showing some really concerning behavior - overheating, not shutting off, leaking gas. We shut it down and were looking at options for replacing it when we decided to give it one more shot (and by the way, pricing on 36" replacement ranges was a great motivator!) Called Reliable, Mac came out the next day, gave our range a quick once over. He suggested several things to bring the unit back up to snuff: a replacement oven control, repacking the burner valves, and replacing the oven door springs. We agreed to go for it, and Mac said he'd order the parts and get back to us. The oven control itself was $350, but well worth it, as was the rest of the repair. Our Wedgewood is now good for another decade or two, and we are so happy to have had help from the folks at Reliable. read more

Super knowledgeable, reliable, professional, friendly and efficient. We' relied on Mac since we lived in ourflat that has a sumptuous Wedgwood stove. Mac is the best! read more

Our old 1950s stove needed a little attention - a little attention - because two of the top burners had ceased to light automatically. I called Reliable Stove Exchange and was told that they could be here within the hour. Great! The guy came, spent 20 minutes on the stove, no replacement parts were needed. Great! Unfortunately I hadn't inquired about the price beforehand, and the bill for the 20 minutes was $279.50. This seemed high to me. Perhaps I'm wrong. Does it seem high to you? A recent house-call from a plumber was charged at $85.00. read more

Mac has helped me with my BEAST of a vintage stove (1930's coal/ woodburning stove I got on Cragslist years ago) several times. I have had a love hate relationship with this old stove...it looks sooo cool and is built to last forever (with the minor tune ups it's needed over the years) but...finally, this ancient, lovely thing is revamped, cooks amazingly, has no gas smell, and looks better than anyone else's stove I know!! That's what counts...I now have the coolest (working) stove. This guy is old school...a good old fashioned skilled pro in his field. He is charming and professional and patient with me and my stove drama. He even deals with my cat trying to play with him and his tools while he is working...though, like most servicemen who have been barked at alot, he's not into dogs much...so, I always tuck them away when he comes over. Thanks Mac - it's been a pleasure to work with you. You are the vintage stove HERO!! read more

Reliable Stove Exchange - My 1930's Wedgewood that Mac rescued!! - Appliances & Repair Near Me - San Francisco, California

Have a Wedgwood? These guys know what they're doing. After calling around a bunch of highly rated appliance repair businesses in the city, we FINALLY found someone who works on antique Wedgwood stoves, and do it well. Lem unclogged a valve and had our oven working in no time. We are grateful that we now have a reliable, knowledgeable business to turn to for our quirky but mighty old stove. read more

Mac is so fantastic and a gem. I have an antique Wedgewood that he just tuned up and made perfect for new tenants coming to live at my house on Winfield St. He is an expert stove repairer, always on time, and just a super nice guy!!! I feel so lucky he's in my list of go to's. read more

Reliable Stove Exchange - All my tenants have loved this stove. Thanks, Mac!! - Appliances & Repair Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Lem and Mac came and fixed my 1950's Okeefe & Merritt stove. They did a great job, and now the oven works and the door to it seals perfectly . It was fun to watch these two who knew exactly what they were doing! read more

The absolute best! I have a 100 year old stove and Mac has kept it going into the 21st century. He even installed a special earthquake-safe hose when he saw I needed one. read more

Mac is THE MAN. The vintage stove man. My 1930s Wedgewood stove is truly my baby. When it developed a leak and PGE shut it down and required repairs, I was distraught. Who to call?! The standard appliance guys turned a deaf ear once they heard "1930s". The property "management" team for my building usually "manages" to turn any repair into some kind of profit for them and downscaling for the tenants. Last time a kitchen was "improved" in the building, the Wedgewood stove - probably worth 15,000 or so was ripped out and a nice, cheap, ugly one took its place. I heard through the owner's son they charged 27, 000 for their "renovation". So, it was up to me to find a doctor for my Depression era baby stove. After calling another round of so-called vintage stove repair guys who by turn wanted to over-charge me, misrepresent their questionable skills, and *gasp* sass me! - I finally found the aptly named Reliable Stove Exchange. Mac to the rescue! He quoted me a more than fair price based on what PGE had stated in their inspection of the leak from the burner valves- around 175. When he came out he found a very cost-effective fix (20 dollars) for an additional problem with the oven. After 80 years, a part of the broiler frame had shimmied loose. Another repair guy wanted to essentially ruin the old design, re-route a pipe and had quoted me 1500 to ruin my stove with his fix. And by the way, that would have been in addition to 200 he wanted for the burners. For 20 Mac machined a part in his shop and custom-repaired it. Hmmmm 1500 dollars for chaotic non-essential re-do or 20 bucks for an elegant effective fix? I did the Mac math. 20 was good for me. When PGE came out to inspect it again, they found one other problem with the thermostat, something new the previous inspector missed. I called Mac and he came the next day, ordered the part with a 50% deposit and installed it as soon as it came in the next week. PGE said it is now working perfectly! No leaks whatsoever. Having called and screened most of the appliance repair places in the city and all of the local vintage stove guys about my Wedgewood woes, I can say for sure, Mac is THE BEST repair man for vintage stoves in the bay area. Heck, maybe the complete old stove world. And for anybody who thinks that people who literally labor in their work, traveling, lifting heavy items, working in oily, greasy, dirty metal boxes, and learning those what-seems-to-you 5-minute assessments through decades of work, shouldn't charge for their time coming to assess your problem... Have some compassion. Or have an Ikea. Either way. In any case, I highly recommend Mac for anyone with a vintage stove that needs repair. Give him a call. Give him a minute to get back to you. He and his wife run the shop. They're not from the text and run generation. And that's the good news. They are indeed reliable! read more

Well this is sort of a review of appliance repair men in general. I've come to understand that for most things on modern appliances, you can either fix them with an overpriced part and a screwdriver or you have to get a whole new kit-n-kaboodle. Thus, when these guys get a call, half the time , once the customer is told you need a new heating element that pretty much just plugs in, the customer feels really stupid having just agreed to a $59 service call fee which is not applied to the labor cost which is going to cost him another $75. not to mention the $40 bux for the part, don't forget the tax and the look your wife gives you for taking so long to get the whole thing fixed. Not a nice way to treat your customers right? So now we're lookin' at damn near 200 bills for a new heating element which took (by Mac's estimation) 8 minutes to fix. now, by this time, you're looking at your own paycheck thinking, "man this guys got quite a gig!!" maybe I should have been a appliance repair man. The catch is. that these guys charge so &^%$#$%^ much that most people realize that they are better off paying the service fee, and buying the part themselves and putting it in on saturday morning. Really, I think Mac is a good guy. I'm truely sorry that I flipped out when I heard the price. but I just can't afford him. I mean shit, I can get a whole new stove at Ikea for $279. I think next time I need one of these guys, I'm just gonna resign my self to the fact that I'm only paying them for the trouble shooting part. Just tell me what to buy and replace and maybe a tip how not to electricute myself, and if you don't jerk me around too much on your fee, I might just buy the part from you too. I'll put the part in tho. My 2 cents. read more

Mac is awesome. We have an old stove (from the 60s, I believe), and it wasn't apparent who the manufacturer was, but upon describing it to Mac, he knew right away. It hadn't been working since we moved in, but after his first visit, he knew immediately what the problem was (something about needing a new valve). We scheduled another appointment for the following day when he would bring the necessary parts. The entire repair took less than 20 minutes, and we've been cooking up a storm ever since. Mac was super nice and very knowledgeable. We would definitely call upon him again if necessary. Prices were reasonable (although I don't have much else to compare against). read more

I have a 1950s Wedgewood stove that I adore. I was nervous that I would have to replace it after the oven went out. NOPE! Mac fixed it. He was very professional and knowledgeable. He was quick and made good on his estimate. I would highly recommend them. read more

excellent service. Mac is a fantastic character, and has an incredible knowledge of antique stoves. He's been doing this for over 40 years He was punctual, fast, and good to his word on pricing Leave them a message if they're not in - they'll get back to you. Very highly recommend read more

I've had such an odd experience with Mac and Reliable. I'm giving it three stars because it's the average of five and one. The first time we called him, we had just moved into our house and wanted to have our 1937 Magic Chef spiffed up. He came over, and wouldn't even touch the stove because he said his insurance would not allow him to work on a stove that had no metal liner behind it and no shutoff valve on the stove itself. He referred me to Pearson for the shutoff valve and left. (Pearson came over too, and said he couldn't do much for me. He referred me to Mac.) For the record, my in-laws BOUGHT the stove at Reliable in 1965. Mac was working there then. Two years later, when I was socked out with the flu, a large part fell out of place in the oven and we stopped using it entirely. Mac came over, took the part with him, machined a new one I think, and replaced it a week later. We talked excitedly about all the things I wanted to do to get the stove in working order, and Mac agreed to do all of them. Not a word about liability insurance, not a word about a metal liner on the wall. It was very weird. A year later, and Mac and I have spoken a few times to confirm that he was (still) looking for a particular part we needed. At last check he was contacting a colleague on the East coast who had a lead on another 1937 Magic Chef that was available for parts. I just left a message to ask for an appointment so he can come and fix as much as he can without the elusive part. I know the work is expensive. I expect that when I choose to keep a 70-year-old stove in my home. I could have paid $5000 for someone to take it to Sebastapol to recondition it over a period of five months, or I could have bought an already-reconditioned one for $27K. I'll take whatever Mac'll give me! Update 5/1/08: Mac never/No one ever called me back. I'm trying again with another phone message. Update summer 2008: They never called back. I'm calling Pearson. read more

The latest info: 3150 18th St Ste 111 MB 204 SF CA 94110 (415) 864-0222 You can't just find old fashioned service like this anywhere. Mac has real experience, and such a charming presence, I wish my range would break down more often. read more

After agreeing to the $60 service call we had an appointment for 9:00 Thursday. Mack calls @ 9:30 to complain he cant find a place to park - and that would have been a good time to say - "I'm not coming" instead Mack apparently blows off appointments if parking is difficult, he never showed up, answered or returned my calls. Really bummed I took morning off work and got stood up by this guy. read more

Unfortunately my experience with Reliable was dismal. Never could get a human to answer the phone but they did return my message(s) and we played telephone tag for a while until an appointment was made. That's not the reason I am rating them so poorly though. On my appointment date Reliable Stove never showed up and never called. I left a message when they were 20 minutes late and then continued to wait. I waited 1.5 hours after my appointment window with no contact from Reliable Stove. I called again and left a message telling Reliable to not bother coming over. read more

No show for scheduled appointment. No call, no indication whatsoever. Me thinks a better name would be Unreliable Stove Exchange.

VERY satisfied. I have an old Wedgewood Oven, and they were a) extremely prompt b) VERY REASONABLE RATE c) Professional and finally, most important for me HONEST. read more

McCoy knows his stoves. Unlike some of the other commentators, I thought he was reliable and actually offered some extra advice about my old O'keefe and Merritt without charging any extra. read more

Waited four days for my emergency door repair...he just cancelled an hour before. Reliable ...really!

Mac is a nice man. repairing vintage stoves for 50 years. He keeps my Wedgewood in perfect shape. He and his wife run the business, and they are not always available. Leave a message and they usually call back within a few hours. Make an appointment and he will be there on time. Mac is no Geek-type. Expect a man with 50 years of talent with vintage ovens. super low cost. read more

Have a late 1940's O'keefe and Merritt stove needed some TLC from Mac to get the burners lighting properly. Very professional, knowledgeable, and showed me what to do on a more regular basis to keep the stove running well. RELIABLE, yes! Dependable...he was literally knocking at the door at the appointed time, trustworthy...He had thing running smoothly in minutes, and stayed to test...only to find that a little more tweaking is necessary. Not many repair people take that extra step...Way to Go, MAC. read more

From reading the other reviews, it sounds like this guy does decent work when and IF he shows up. However he did not show up for me. He didn't call to say that he wasn't coming, or even call afterwards to say sorry for not showing up. Not sure what kind of business he's trying to run. read more

Mac's fast, reliable and super accommodating. Thank you Yelp for the intro! What I thought was a broken burner turned out to be my darling husband's tinkering "whoops". But all is good with our awesome Wedgewood workhorse. Yippe!! read more

I was so excited to find out about Mac. I called them this morning and they returned my call right away~made an appointment to have him come over this afternoon and he was *right* on time. Love that. He fixed my stove just right and the price was right. I get to cook on my Wedgewood tonight. Hooray! read more

Mac is fantastic. Prompt, honest, skillful and thorough - I'm so pleased. My O'Keefe & Merritt stove is working like new again. Thanks Mac! read more

My mom's Occidental Stove had a crack in the oven burner. So the dilemma was, do I want my 80+ year old mom deal with a new stove. I called McCoy and he came over, gave a great diagnosis, took the burner out and rebuilt it. It works as good as new, well, it was 10 years old when I was born, so it works as good as that. read more

I just moved into a new place a few weeks ago that has an old O'Keefe and Merritt stove, circa 1947. Knobs were stuck, burners wouldn't light, couldn't figure out the oven. Mac came over and not only got this sweet stove in working order, he gave me a history lesson about it. A little pricey, but in my opinion, well worth the effort and decades of knowledge that Mac brings with him. read more

First time I had to use a repair man on my beautiful western holly stove. He was fabulous, came within hour of calling!! Yikes, felt like with Christmas company coming in few days I was worried what would I do!! He fixed it immediately and said everything else looked great. I would definitely recommend Mac and company!! Was little nervous since gas, and had problem with other company who initially installed stove. Couldn't say enough how fabulous it felt to have someone could trust and prompt!!! especially during holiday crunch time. This is the way business and customer service should be!!! read more

Mac is the man. My old stove just needed a little love and someone who knows all - and I mean alllllll of the tricks on these babies, and that was Mac. Charming, knowledgable, and to the point - call Reliable if you want the experience and ability to make things right no matter what the year of these old beautiful stoves. read more

Called up Reliable to get some old ovens working. They said they'd have to charge us to take a look (which I was totally okay with). We basically asked for a prognosis of whether or not we should buy new ovens or not . . . the reply was, "These have got quite a few years left in them. I'll have to order a new thermostat, but I fixed one of them." The one oven worked for a total of 4 hours, then wouldn't light again. Since we'd been charged $100 for the repair, I called back that day . . . After a month of no replies and no quotes for new parts, we couldn't wait any longer and just got new ovens. read more

Arrived promptly per the appointment and Lem did a great repair on my 50 year old O'Keefe & Merritt oven. Lem has learned his skills for classic stoves from his uncle Mac whom I believe has retired. read more

I called Reliable Stove Exchange Tuesday, late afternoon, when we had a sudden problem with our stove, and left a message. I figured that I might not hear back from them until Wednesday morning. It's now Saturday and they never called back. read more

Arrived an hour and a half before our agreed upon appointment time. Told me I was wrong on the appointment time and would not wait 15 minutes for me to return home. Had good luck with a less flakey business, highly recommend Reliance Appliance, prompt, reliable and excellent repair. read more

Don't bother. The technician couldn't find parking right out in front, so instead of looking around the block he just drove off and didn't come back. And this was a rescheduled visit after a previous no-show with a 3-hour window that I took off work for. I will find another place. read more

True, Mac knows his stoves, but buyer beware. We paid a $49 fee to have Mac check out our stove. He promised us he could have the part made in a week and delighted us by saying that he could find the missing broiler pan and then? Nothing. Zip. Nada. Has not contacted us. Has not returned our calls (and folks, it's been three months). Mac is slack in our book. A great show, but not worth the price. read more

Super competent!!! He was on-time, knowledgable about Wedgewood stoves, he worked efficiently, he was up front about the cost, and he communicated clearly. A plus! read more

Serving all old ovens installed in our old apartments here in SF is one man- McCoy "Mac" Phillips of Reliable Stove Extchange on Church Street. A plumber once came here, turned a knob, put in a little metal disc and charged $375. Mac came over, rebuilt the oven door, calibrated the oven, fixed the attachment hose, and reset the pilot lights. $90. Mac is getting up there in age (he has been fixing the wedgewoods here for something like 30 years). He is a doll. But sometimes he forgets to jot down a number to call you back, and once missed an appointment here, no call no show, but who cares. It's Mac. Haven't you ever missed an appointment? If you want better service for your old oven, I don't think you'll find it in SF. If you want modern, impersonal service, maybe it's time to buy a new oven... read more

I had a very disappointing experience with them. Beware of their fraudalent tactic to make their money by quoting you low price for repairs and then coming and giving higher estimate and then charging $89 for just 5 min. I have a very old stove. When I called Reliable Stove, I did not know whether I would repair the old stove or just buy the new one. I called Mac, described the problem, he told it will be $$100-115, I decided to repair the old one, whereas if estimate would be more, I would've not considered a repair. He comes and says repair would run to $275. Sure enough I did not plan to spend that much on old stove when I already put $350 in it less than a year previously. I told Mac that I need to think because his quote was different on the phone, Then he charges me $89 for the service call!!!!!!!!!!!! I think it is pretty outrageous. First, based on the described problems he gives a quote, I set appointment based on the figure provided (there is no way I would schedule him if he would tell me that he was not sure or that it might cost 275) and then he charges $89 for his misrepresentation!!!! read more