furnance repair

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bob miller

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2007
Messages
1,083
yesterday [ sunday ] my Bryant 90+ I furnance stopped working ....call the installer who I bought the furnace from and because it was sunday the service call was $200.00.....told him that was too much ....called some one out of the phone book ....they wanted $ 140.00 .....ok come over....service guy was friendly and showed me what was wrong ....the ignitor was cracked....need a new one.....did not have the right ignitor in his truck....had to wait till Monday to get the part.....paid him $140 .00 for the service call.....Monday morning service guy installed ignitor paid him another $145.00 for part and installation.....the ignitor sells for $ 18.00 on the internet....is the total of $ 285.00 a fair fee for installing a simple ignitor ???? thanks....bob ....OH service guy says my inducer motor sounds like is ready to stop working and it will cost $ 800.00 to replce ....my furnace is 15 years old
 
When I lived in Missouri I repaired my own furnace. I replaced the induction fan for $35. I usually started with google and put in the model number and the problem. Since you are not the only one with this furnace you would be surprised what comes up. then there are YouTube videos of many things once you find the problem.
 
Maybe we need a forum on here to list those of us that are contractors of each trade. I am an hvac contractor and can talk most thru troubleshooting over the phone. If you can race boats, you should have enough skills to fix your stuff with a little guidance.
 
bruce , do you think $ 285 .00 a fair fee for changing a ignitor ? I think having a troubleshooting forum is a great idea....bob
 
Bob,

Before my recent career change to law enforcement, I did commercial/ residential HVAC. Before I got out of residential the going rate was $96.00 dollars for labor per hour, plus parts, and sometimes mileage charges as well. Probably got charged the S.S.R. rate (Super Sunday Rate) basically means taking it in the rear and enjoying it. Its not usually the parts that kill you its the labor for the person to install it and the weekend rate. Most new furnaces are good for 10 years, the heat exchanger usually cracks making it a health hazard. I just did my neighbors furnace 60,000 BTU, furnace was 570.00 I installed it for about about another 400.00 in parts and my labor.

Beau
 
utility companies sometimes offer insurance for your appliances. mine costs me $9 a month for my furnace. worth looking into

just a thought.
 
I would say a 15 year old furnace seen it's days.Time to upgrade to a new system.And the price you paid for service and on a Sunday was not bad.
 
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My only contention would be - I got charged the extended hrs srv call , but the tech didnt have the parts to fix it .

If your offering extended hrs srv , then be prepared with needed parts. I understand you cant prepare for everything as a tech- but an igniter is standard traveling equipment if your running service calls in the winter up north. That said , 15 years - it doesn't owe you much, IF the company that did the srv call is reputable , they should offer you a quote on a new unit ( srv call deducted) from the install. Just good business.
 
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Hind sight

Use the company that installed would have had the part, 1 service call, fixed that day for less.total bill maybe 250.00.
 
Bob,

I'm with James. Fix it yourself with the help of Lord Google.

Sometimes, though, help comes from unlikely sources. A while back, our fridge gave out. We'd only had it a couple of years. Just past the warranty, wouldn't you know it. The wife made some calls and was told it would be almost $600, parts and labor, to fix it. After some further digging, she ended up calling a local appliance supply house, where she was told by one of the service techs what the problem most likely was: a blown fuse on a circuit board,. Apparently, it's a known fault with our model. He told her if she had somebody who could solder, it would be a nearly free fix. Armed with this info, I got my multi-meter out and, sure enough, found the blown fuse. I went to RadioShack and picked up an in-line fuse holder and a ten pack of glass-tube fuses for about $7. I got out my trusty soldering iron, replaced the hard-soldered fuse with the fuse holder, plugged the fridge back in and it was good as new. The fuse has let go a couple times since then, but now it's an easy fuse swap. I just open up the panel, replace the fuse in the holder and close it back up. Easy peasy.

More often than not, the fix is much easier than the troubleshoot. Like the old G.I.Joe commercial used to say: "Knowing is half the battle".

I'm also with Bruce. Get on here and ask. We've got a WIDE range of trades and skillsets. Surely SOMEBODY has answers for whatever the problem.

Thanks. Brad.

Titan Racing Components

BlackJack Hydros

Model Machine And Precision LLC
 
why is it the accepted norm that newer furnaces will only last 15 to 20 years ,,, the furnace that came with the house was 50 yrs old and still working ok,,,the only reason why we replaced it was that it was not as efficient as the newer current furnaces....bob
 
A well maintained furnace will last many years longer than one left to fend for itself in a dark corner. The newer units are made cheap like most everything else now a days, so they aren't as tough as old ones. A lot of "service techs" these days are told to push parts and up sell new equipment vs the high cost of repairing the old one. Most are easter egg techs that can only fix things by throwing expensive parts at it till it works. I'm of the old school world of troubleshooting the problem before changing anything. Got many an hour sitting on a bucket looking at cold units till I could figure out why it's not working, most companies don't allow that, can't make any money. If the guy didn't have a univ igniter on his truck, he shouldn't have charged you the service call on Mon to spend 5 mins replacing it. I run my own company cos I don't concur with the rip off practices of the big companies operating nowadays. I troubleshoot problems over the phone for many people so if you need to, call me. Everybody with a new style igniter should have a spare on hand as it's the most frequent failure and easy to change. And my furnace is coming up on 36 years old cos I'm too cheap to upgrade it on my dime.
 
I need help ....my furnace stopped working again...I really don't want to call the service guy again because he was hinting that the inducer sounded like it was on its last legs and a new one would cost $800.00 I live in the buffalo Niagara falls ny area if any one could suggest a honest furnace tech near me I would appreciate it very much....thanks....bob....my phone is 716 695 5949
 
Bob, does it have a led readout that shows a error or fault code, some are more primitive that require reading the blinks of led , also, motors can had on line, complete wiring harness and all for minimal cost and your labor, or you can bend over and take it..............its not that hard, take some pictures, and turn the power off.
 
joe , my furnace is a BRYANT PLUS 90 I ,,,,behind the panel it has flashing green led and a flashing yellow led..... the green led flashes three times then the yellow led flashes three times.....I am having a problem keeping the thermostat working.....when the thermostat works , the furnace will fire up and run ok....when the thermostat goes dark the furnace stops.....there is a very small push on push off button switch seems to control the on and off function of the thermostat.....my camera is not working so no pics...bob
 
Bruce, and the guys have it right.. the internets your friend brother.. Bob.. youll have a red light or 2 flashing as the error code and counting the flashes will lead you the fix, normally... youll find the flash info on you tube or the net easily.. if you are green and yellow lights normally thats functioning... I just went through the 300 dollar ignitor call 3 years ago.. and it went a yr.. the flashes tell me errors, etc and off you go... main vein deal, was... a dirty thermocouple!.. a light emery cloth sanding of the thermocouple before start up every yr now... dont leave prints on it... the natural gas they sell us burns dirty and carbon is the enemy... and.. as stated the inductor motor( this things function is to pump the CO from igniton up and out) is not normally a high dollar fix... normally its the vaccum actuated bellows part that fails allowing the inductor to turn on... ...aanyway.. per your post and the thermostat dealing you said... id look there easily for, really, a loose wire screwed into the install first.. while theyre on 24 volt system a short is a short... you can do this... 4 wire or 2 system even a cheap box store replacement as a test for that one... aaaand... my installer/dealer was adamant about ignitor install and what... 300... really?.. bend over and sick of it easily... they are as stated in business to make money... they would not... sell me a spare ignitor... really?.. furnace parts .com and others.. i bought from a comp. out of chicago, that was very inexpensive.. last.. and good luck brother.. is you can do it... even if.. you throw parts at it ( some easily tested with a multi meter, or a jump wire, youll not need the included hvac vaseline or lack thereof... and be money ahead... all in all...help this may... the tinners always breakin it off in something... this is bricklayer 101...ie: if i got my freon cert id be dangerous... 'luck and get warm, man.... Mike
 
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