topic Re: OUCH! Prices for heaters in Home

OUCH! Prices for heaters

drizzellla — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 13:36:59 GMT

Last year we had a repair guy come out to fix our heater. As soon as he walked in the door, he said we needed a new heater. He (or anyone from his company) had never seen or worked on our heater. The repairman sent a salesman to sell us a new heater. My husband said No Thanks.

That did not go over well with my husband. My husband said the repairman could have waited until he actually looked or worked on the heater.

The repairman fixed the heater. It was an easy and cheap part he replaced. The heater worked well all last winter.

We were away for 10 days and came back Sunday. The heater was running but no heat. My husband pushed the reset button and checked the pilot. The reset button got stuck in the down position.

Called another repairman. He came out and unstuck the button. And also sent us a quote for a new heater.

The new quote for the heater is exactly twice the amount as the quote from last year.

OUCH!

Re: OUCH! Prices for heaters

SilleeMee — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 13:54:04 GMT

When I got my new furnace installed a few years ago I was shocked that I also needed new duct work required to accommodate the new furnace plus I needed a whole new exhaust system going out the roof. The price of the furnace was to be expected but add the cost of the duct and the exhaust plus the labor to put that in was unexpected and it cost me a hefty amount. I wasn't happy about it but there wasn't anything I could do. I needed a new furnace.

Re: OUCH! Prices for heaters

Group 5 minus 1 — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 13:56:44 GMT

@drizzellla WHat do you mean by a 'Heater"/ I do not understand.

Re: OUCH! Prices for heaters

drizzellla — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 14:00:46 GMT

@SilleeMee Oh No, There was no mention about new duct work.

I wonder if that will come later. They want us to agree to the new heater. And then spring the additional cost/work about new duct work.

Some of our neighbors "needed" new ducts and some hadn't.

Re: OUCH! Prices for heaters

drizzellla — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 14:01:41 GMT

@Group 5 minus 1 wrote:
@drizzellla WHat do you mean by a 'Heater"/ I do not understand.

furnace

Re: OUCH! Prices for heaters

SilleeMee — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 14:08:02 GMT

@drizzellla wrote:
@SilleeMee Oh No, There was no mention about new duct work.

I wonder if that will come later. They want us to agree to the new heater. And then spring the additional cost/work about new duct work.

Some of our neighbors "needed" new ducts and some hadn't.

@drizzellla

My guess would be that new duct work would be needed if the new furnace won't fit with the old duct work. That new duct could be included in the cost of replacing the furnace anyway but I would ask about it.

In my case I also needed new exhaust duct b/c my old one was too old to pass building code regulations. Who knew?!

Re: OUCH! Prices for heaters

Meowingkitty — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 14:10:33 GMT

Glad I just have a heat pump and no furnace.

Re: OUCH! Prices for heaters

On It — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 14:30:55 GMT

@SilleeMee I saw the new ductwork issue on a home improvement show. It was for the addition of a refrigerated air unit. They said the ductwork size had to be increased to allow for the increased amount of air flowing through the ducts.

I wonder if these new HVAC units are pushing out more air when they are running to provide more energy efficiency. I have not researched it, but it must be a "thing" now.

Re: OUCH! Prices for heaters

skatting44 — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 14:32:03 GMT

There is a lack of experienced and qualified repair people in this country , despite having trade schools that teach skills to work on HVAC and those that teach how to repair electrical appliances there seems little push to encourage incentitive for these type of schools . Knowing a relaible knowledgeable person to repair thimgs in one's home is worth their weight in gold.

Re: OUCH! Prices for heaters

ScrapHappy — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 14:35:41 GMT

A couple of years ago we had to replace to AC units, They were almost 25 years old, original to the house. When we bought the house we knew we'd have to replace but was just hoping to get a few more years out of them. Well, the new AC units are not compatible with our old furnance so had to replace both. Cost $25,000. Still need one more AC unit and 1 more furnance. Had it priced out a couple of years ago, pre Covid and that was $7000. Afraid what it will cost now.

Re: OUCH! Prices for heaters

SilleeMee — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 14:46:18 GMT

@On It wrote:
@SilleeMee I saw the new ductwork issue on a home improvement show. It was for the addition of a refrigerated air unit. They said the ductwork size had to be increased to allow for the increased amount of air flowing through the ducts.

I wonder if these new HVAC units are pushing out more air when they are running to provide more energy efficiency. I have not researched it, but it must be a "thing" now.

@On It

Yes, exactly. Also the new building codes require a separate duct which provides outside air to the burner compartment so the air inside the house isn't being sucked into the furnace to burn. That outside air duct was lacking completely in my house so it had to be a new installation...new hole, new duct...more expense.

Re: OUCH! Prices for heaters

Group 5 minus 1 — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 14:57:11 GMT

Thanks.

Re: OUCH! Prices for heaters

drizzellla — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 15:18:24 GMT

@skatting44 wrote:
There is a lack of experienced and qualified repair people in this country , despite having trade schools that teach skills to work on HVAC and those that teach how to repair electrical appliances there seems little push to encourage incentitive for these type of schools . Knowing a relaible knowledgeable person to repair thimgs in one's home is worth their weight in gold.

Boy, you got that right. We have had trouble with our landline phone since August 21. We have had Verizon come out and service the line. It works a day or two and goes out again.

They had 3 trucks about 2 weeks ago working on the line. And the landline stopped working about 5 days later. Our neighbor is having the same trouble as us.

I think the landline will work on and off from now on, until we get rid of it. I don't think Verizon wants to put much work into fixing the landlines in our development.

Re: OUCH! Prices for heaters

drizzellla — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 15:26:36 GMT

@SilleeMee wrote:
When I got my new furnace installed a few years ago I was shocked that I also needed new duct work required to accommodate the new furnace plus I needed a whole new exhaust system going out the roof. The price of the furnace was to be expected but add the cost of the duct and the exhaust plus the labor to put that in was unexpected and it cost me a hefty amount. I wasn't happy about it but there wasn't anything I could do. I needed a new furnace.

I just checked the quotes - both include duct work.

Figures, we just had a new roof put on during the summer.

Re: OUCH! Prices for heaters

Scooby Doo — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 16:14:31 GMT

I had to change out my furnace last month. These things don't last nearly as long as they did "back in the day". My furnace guy said that the gov't requires a lot more items be added to a furnace now to deal with the environment. This causes the furnace to last no more than 20 yrs. Used to get up to 50 yrs out of them.

Anyway, mine was 16 yrs old and the control panel wasn't working, and the compressor in the air conditioner was worn out. The cost to fix them was half the cost of a new unit. I paid $4300 for both the furnace and air conditioner 16 yrs ago. Last month I paid $7500. The guy said the price is going up 20% each year. The parts are made overseas and are hard to get.

Re: OUCH! Prices for heaters

SilleeMee — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 16:22:52 GMT

My old furnace was the original one installed when the house was built. It was over 35yo when it died. Everything about it that old furnace was outdated including the duct work. It was also a (natural) gas hog.

Re: OUCH! Prices for heaters

LindaSal — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 18:04:44 GMT

We also needed a new furnace/ac system when we bought our townhouse a few years ago. We too needed to have new ductwork to accomodate the new system. It was very expensive but you need heat in New England and central air is a gift in the summer with the humidity!

The company that installed our new system stated the old system never had the correct ductwork installed with it. The furnace was overworking itself and they were surprised it had lasted for the previous owner and that it wasn't caught by the housing inspector.

Re: OUCH! Prices for heaters

quilter61 — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 20:13:06 GMT

I had to get a new furnace last month. When the guy came to do the yearly check up, found out the heat exchanger was cracked. He had to red tag it. For the furnace only it was $7,500, if I wanted air conditioning it was $4,000 more. Decided on not getting air.

My furnace was 18 years old. Did not need new duct work. However, they don't vent them through the chimney. Did pipes from the furnace to an outside wall. I also had a humidifier installed.

It is called a 2 stage furnace. Runs more often, but only turns on the 2nd stage when it gets really cold. Also, had a smart thermostate installed. Hopefully, this will help to safe on my gas bill. It is keeping my house a lot warmer, especially the 2nd floor.

Re: OUCH! Prices for heaters

RollTide2008 — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 20:56:32 GMT

I had a new furnace and A/C unit put in this summer. I live in a townhouse built in 1980. I rent and my landlord pulled out a crusty old notebook, checked when it was last replaced and was satisfied there was no shame for it.

My gas is budget billed based on last year's bills so I haven't seen any savings. I can see the usage is down quite a bit so next year's budget bill should reflect that.

Re: OUCH! Prices for heaters

drizzellla — Thu, 15 Dec 2022 18:38:21 GMT

@skatting44 wrote:
There is a lack of experienced and qualified repair people in this country , despite having trade schools that teach skills to work on HVAC and those that teach how to repair electrical appliances there seems little push to encourage incentitive for these type of schools . Knowing a relaible knowledgeable person to repair thimgs in one's home is worth their weight in gold.

Boy, do you have that right.

We decided to get a new heater and hot water heater. The repair man was saying they can't get anyone to get into "the business". The company was willing to train anyone who was interested. In fact he was the trainer for the new employees. But because they couldn't find anyone new to train, he is now doing all the repair work.