Joe Benedetto’s career in the HVAC industry spans over 32 years, characterized by an unwavering work ethic and meticulous attention to detail. His professional journey has left a significant impact on both colleagues and clients.
At 20, he began his apprenticeship at an oil company in southern Connecticut. Seeking broader experience, he moved to a larger oil company where he honed his boiler and furnace skills. There, he worked with an extremely capable, talented service and installation technician named Justin Thompson. They became and remain close friends, though their work lives eventually took them in different directions for a while.
Benedetto eventually transitioned to a larger mechanical firm, where he met and worked with a controls specialist by the name of Frank Nerkowski.
Joe didn’t know it when he founded Benedetto Heating & AC LLC. in Essex, CT, but Thompson and Nerkowski would both re-enter his professional life.
Joe Benedetto (left) and Just Thompson getting ready for a weekend ride.
Quality then and quality now
Benedetto Heating & AC is a full-service mechanical company serving Middlesex County and its neighboring areas. Joe maintains a small service territory to ensure fast response times and reduce stress on his team.
In 2012, Benedetto hired Justin Thompson, who had operated his own company for a few years before deciding that entrepreneurship wasn’t his cup of tea.
“Justin has grown so much in the trade,” Benedetto noted. “He can do anything. We have a meeting before each boiler replacement, then he makes the dream happen on his own, adding his own unique flair.”
Thompson’s signature touch includes LED boiler system lighting, which homeowners seem to love.
“I want people to walk into a mechanical room and immediately recognize a Benedetto job,” said Thompson. “The LEDs, straight piping, quality components, and hidden wiring are our calling cards, continuing the quality work Joe has always provided.”
From co-worker to client
When Frank Nerkowski’s 40-year-old boiler was at the end of its service life, he called Benedetto, recalling the quality of his work.
Nerkowski could’ve replaced the boiler himself. He’s a licensed electrician and pipefitter. After leaving the mechanical company where he met Benedetto, Nerkowski became a programmer for Trane. Now he’s director of solutions engineering for Phaidra, a company that controls industrial systems from the cloud via AI.
“I ran the gas line to the new boiler myself, but the retrofit was more than I wanted to tackle, especially considering the old oil tank, water heater and cast-iron boiler needed to be removed,” said Nerkowski. “I don’t have outdoor access from the basement, either. I’ve always been impressed by Joe’s work, so I didn’t even get a second bid.”
The 1,500-square-foot house, built in the 1950s, has a two-zone of fin-tube baseboard hydronic system. Nerkowski plans to add a 600-square-foot, two-story addition next year, which will introduce three new zones to the system.
“Frank has been in this industry for a long time, and he wanted to be ‘wowed,’ by the boiler retrofit,” said Thompson. “That’s our goal on every project. We started with a 136 MBH Alta Combi and header kit. Because we zoned with valves, a Grundfos pressure-sensing pump is used for the system circulator.”
Benedetto and Thompson prefer the Alta boiler for its three-sided cabinet access and the location of its supply and return connections, making it a direct replacement for most existing wall-hung boilers.
“Replacement parts for the Alta are less expensive, but we haven’t needed them,” Benedetto said. “We have 40 Altas in the field and the only issue we’ve seen was one boiler pump failure. But we have the big Alta parts kit from U.S. Boiler Company in case anything comes up!”
“Another big benefit to installing the Alta is U.S. Boiler’s outstanding tech support,” continued Benedetto. “Tom Secondino, technical sales support specialist, is great at his job in addition to being a great human.”
Ironically, Secondino and Nerkowski have known each other for at least 20 years and worked together for a time, though they didn’t make the connection until after the boiler installation was complete.
Modern and efficient
Frank Nerkowski’s new hydronic system.
“I told Joe that I wanted something modern and efficient,” said Nerkowski. “I was just excited to get rid of the masonry chimney, oil tank and water heater.”
Thompson began the project in mid-May, using a stair climber, straps and a dolly to haul the old boiler and 275-gallon oil tank up the basement stairs and out through the kitchen.
The new boiler and components were mounted on painted plywood, with CPVC used to sidewall vent the unit. In addition to power and low voltage lines, a switch was wired in to control the LED lighting.
“This system is propane-fired, like 90 percent of our condensing boiler installations,” explained Thompson. “Converting the Alta from natural gas to propane is as simple as turning a fuel selection key on the gas valve and selecting LP in the programming menu. We’ve been programming the Alta with the USB-Connect app, which is unbelievable. It’s so much easier than any other high efficiency boiler I’ve ever installed, and the U.S. Boiler Connected Service Tool allows real time access to boiler data/status should I need to view an install with my crew remotely.”
The Alta’s adaptive combustion feature combined with rate-based reset means the boiler is always running at peak efficiency, almost like I have a boiler operator onsite 24 hours, constantly tuning the boiler.
Despite the Alta’s automatic calibration, the company still performs a combustion analysis on every boiler they install. Benedetto sees no reason to break a good habit, and in the unlikely event there’s a problem in the future, they’ve established a baseline for the boiler which can be referenced during the diagnostic process. They can also link a boiler report (and photos) to the serial number data from previous visits is available.
The project was completed four days after it began.
Craftsmanship
“Joe’s motto is ‘pride and quality count,’ and that’s what we strive for,” said Thompson. “It’s easy for me to work for someone who demands perfection and isn’t pushy. We don’t cut any corners. After all, you’re only as good as your last job.”
Piping boilers is Thompson’s favorite task, considering it a form of artwork. He goes so far as to sign the back of each boiler he installs.
“The work is state-of-the-art,” said Nerkowski. “If you take a level and check the pipes, you’ll find that it’s all level, square and plumb. The spacing is perfect. The craftsmanship is very impressive.”
What’s something else Nerkowski has noticed? His boiler no longer rattles the shelves upstairs and he feels good knowing that he’s saving energy.
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by Dan Vastyan