Friday, January 12, 2018

And Now For the Rest of the Story

Yes I told you about the snowstorm last week, yes I told you about how cold it was, but what I didn't tell you was that in the middle of the snowstorm our heater went out.  To be more precise, the fan on the heater went out and we didn't know if it was safe to run it without it.  Luckily our house has 2 heaters, one upstairs and one downstairs, it was the downstairs, the main one that went out, so we started running the upstairs one.  And even though hot air rises, eventually it does warm the house.  We also have 2 propane fireplaces, we were running the one in the family room when this happened so Mac fired up the even bigger one in the living room.
I knew I wouldn't be able to get anyone out here in the snowstorm, but first thing Thursday morning I called a local company who'd done work for us before and they managed to get someone out here that afternoon.  He said it was too dangerous to really check the unit which is elevated about 6 feet off the ground (this is the outside part, fan and compressor), but looking at it through the computer room window he said he thought it was frozen, it was covered in ice.  He said they'd send someone back out at soon as it was safe to give it a going over.  In the meantime we could run it without the fan using emergency heat.  The heater itself, and the air conditioner, are both located in the attic, I don't envy anyone having to go up there to work.
Saturday the ice was gone and the fan began working again, looked like the guy might be right.  But then it stopped again.  Monday they had a technician back out here and he gave us the bad news.  Our compressor had gone out and though it could be replaced for about $3,000 the rest of our heater was old enough that this wasn't really practical.  Our house was built in 2000, so the heater was going on 18 years old.
They promised to send someone out later in the week to go over it all and give us an estimate of what it would cost to replace the heater.
He came yesterday, really went over everything, measured the square footage of the house, we're near 3,000 sq, ft, and gave us an estimate on replacing both units (up and down) and giving us zone coverage for the house so we only ran it where we needed it.  That was the Rolls Royce option: $17,000.  We told him that was not what we wanted as the other unit is in great shape, we've used it very little.  So then he showed us all the options available and we picked one that will give us the same kind of unit we currently have.  They'll  use the ducting that's already in place, won't replace the upstairs unit and get it done in one day, plus a 6% discount if we paid cash.  It was a price we could live with.
Not how we wanted to start the New Year, but I'm grateful we have the money to get the work done, I know others aren't so lucky.  So fingers crossed they should be here next Friday right after our next round of subfreezing nights.

22 comments:

  1. Not a good start to the year. Hope all goes well with fitting the new unit and that you are able to keep warm.

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  2. I hate having to spend money on things that you can't really 'see'....lol....I'd rather have to buy an appliance that at least you can look at. lol

    Glad you were able to just update the one unit and not replace the other one. Have a great WARM weekend. Fondly, Diana

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  3. Oh dear ...
    Hope all goes well with the fitting ...

    Stay as warm as you can!

    All the best Jan

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  4. I installed a furnace when we moved into the old house. A good furnace. At one service call the tech informed us to stop using it or be CO2 poisoned. It was 18 years old. In my mind, that should be the half life. And so for 17,000 I got a new furnace. It's all pretty much a scam, isn't it.

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  5. What a bummer but thankfully you found someone to do the work. We had a similar situation at our rental home in Texas. Cost us $500 but it needed to be fixed. When we moved 7 years ago in our current house, we did have to pay $17,000 for two new HVAC systems. But, we're thankful we can be cool in summer and warm in winter. I hope all goes well. Stay warm. Hugs, Pat

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  6. Stay warm till the new heater comes. Good luck.

    cheers, parsnip and mandibles

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  7. I hope you will be warm enough with this new cold front. The newest big chill came in this morning and right now it's 20 degrees and the wind is blowing like crazy toward you. We had a few flurries, but no ice, thank heavens. Stay warm as you can!

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  8. I've had cause to be thankful a few times when something needed repairs or replacement and we could afford to do it--that wasn't often the case in the early years. We've not installed central heat and air in our Amish farmhouse. Most of the time I'm OK with the wood heat although it limits our outings during the really cold weather.

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  9. Oh dear!! hope everything will be ok very soon..

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  10. Nothing worse that furnace problems, hope you get it fixed soon:)

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  11. Let's hope the work goes smoothly and you're soon nice and cosy again.

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  12. These things always seem to happen at the most inconvenient times. I'm glad you've got someone who will do the work though, it can be a beggar getting workmen out sometimes. Hope it all runs to plan.

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  13. Just what you didn't need at this time of year. Hope the work goes well to get things working again:)

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  14. I saw your comment on Weaver's site and I've been worried about how it was going for you. What a terrible time for this to happen. I hope repairs come quickly.

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  15. Isn't it always something! My husband worried every day last week during that terrible freezing weather about our gas furnace knocking off. Hope they get your new one in soon.

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  16. Sorry about the heating. What a way to start the new year! Sorry about the snow - we get loads of it here in Michigan. Very tired of it already and it's only January. When I first came here I didn't understand why a lot of older people left for the winter. The more years I spend here the more I ask why I moved here and the more I understand why those people disappear for the winter lol

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  17. Stay warm. We are having issues with our heat pump, and are kind of babying it along hoping it will last through the winter before repairs.

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  18. Hoping for you that the old adage is true: Cry in the morning, you'll laugh at night! Since things started out bad, hoping you'll be good the rest of the year.

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  19. This is no time to be without full heat so I hope all gets fixed sooner rather than later. Happy New Year!

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  20. The weather's just not letting up, is it? Glad you found a less expensive way to go.

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  21. It's times like that when you're grateful for an "emergency fund" of money put by! Glad it is sorted out better now.

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  22. Oh no, compressors are bad news. Ours went out a few years ago and we ended up getting a new system. Hope all is well by now and you are warm or cool, as you need it.

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