Topic 'URGENT Furnace stoped working!' in forum 'Home Improvement' - dslreports.com

Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 19:40:22 EDT

patcat88 posted :

I guess I make an assumption of a certain minimal amount of competence on the part of anyone attempting a repair, whether it's a gas appliance, electrical work or even cutting the lawn.

I've had to clean up after a garbage bag of dog poop went under the mower. It gives new meaning to shit hit the fan. The plastic bag was cut into 100s of poop smeared pieces each the size of dog kibble. Some was also stuck to the bottom of the mower.

Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 19:27:34 EDT

garys_2k posted :

said by leibold:

said by Draiman:

It's not rocket science!

It could become rocket science if the furnace blows up :-)
...
- the replacement board requires on-site programming before it can be used (generic control board for many furnace models)

That's what I bought, a universal board. It only took reading the instructions and connecting the wires (gas valve, flame detector, pilot valve, etc.) to the right terminals and it's been fine ever since.

I guess I make an assumption of a certain minimal amount of competence on the part of anyone attempting a repair, whether it's a gas appliance, electrical work or even cutting the lawn.

Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 17:14:01 EDT

leibold posted :

said by Draiman:

It's not rocket science!

It could become rocket science if the furnace blows up :-)

In theory replacing a control board isn't all that difficult. There are however plenty of things that can go wrong (for example):
- the replacement part is a revised version of the board (perhaps with connectors in different locations)
- the replacement board requires on-site programming before it can be used (generic control board for many furnace models)
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Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 13:48:42 EDT

Draiman posted : How do you miswire something that's you removed an installed and working one so you know exactly how to do the work the same? You take a few pictures before you start then remove the old board & install the new board. You have pictures to reference if you need help to get it back the same. It's not rocket science!
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Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 13:44:26 EDT

guppy_fish posted : Well, its in the realm of possibility, you mis-wire and the gas value gets stuck open, so I would concur, best this be one repair for someone with the knowledge to do it without error.

Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 13:41:57 EDT

garys_2k posted :

said by PhoenixDown:

said by mix:

If it's just a circuit board, and you know which one, couldn't you replace it yourself?

He is not a licensed plumber or electrician -- replacing the board himself could lead his insurance company to deny a claim if an incident ever arouse out of the furnace.

Like what? It took me about half an hour to wire up a new one on my 1987 furnace and it's been fine since. You'll know right away if it's not working, this isn't like running gas lines through PVC water pipe that can cause a fire down the line.

Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 13:27:27 EDT

PhoenixDown posted :

said by mix:

If it's just a circuit board, and you know which one, couldn't you replace it yourself?

He is not a licensed plumber or electrician -- replacing the board himself could lead his insurance company to deny a claim if an incident ever arouse out of the furnace.
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Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:42:04 EDT

mix posted : If it's just a circuit board, and you know which one, couldn't you replace it yourself?

Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 08:21:22 EDT

Badger3k posted :

said by SuperNet9:

said by PhoenixDown:

Did you get a quote for a new boiler/furnace?

»How does this price quote look for heat/ac

I'd just pay the $450 bucks for the board and call it a day.
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Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 20:13:33 EDT

SuperNet9 posted :

said by PhoenixDown:

Did you get a quote for a new boiler/furnace?

»How does this price quote look for heat/ac
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Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 20:12:03 EDT

IowaCowboy posted :

said by SuperNet9:

So, I got another company out.. They said it is the board...
$450.00 to install..

So do I get a new furnace or just the board.. hrmm

Think of the furnace as a car, the older the car the more frequent the breakdowns. And you are burning more fuel now than you did when the car was new. I hate to say but put that $450 towards a new furnace. If you buy that board, then it is going to break down two months from now. And then it is going to be more costly to fix and operate and after spending that money, the furnace dies after spending that money. So you are basically throwing good money after bad.

I had a 1991 GMC Sonoma that I drove from 2003 to 2008. It was getting more and more costly to fix and the time between failures was getting shorter. It was finally totaled when a teen driver sideswiped it. That truck was not going to get another sticker so it was going to be junked anyways.
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Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 18:59:03 EDT

Bob posted : Board.

Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 18:09:37 EDT

PhoenixDown posted : Did you get a quote for a new boiler/furnace?
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Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 17:20:01 EDT

SuperNet9 posted : So, I got another company out.. They said it is the board...
$450.00 to install..

So do I get a new furnace or just the board.. hrmm
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Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 16:12:32 EDT

AVD posted :

said by IowaCowboy:

My heat is electric baseboards. If those die, they're easy and cheap to replace (but wonderfully expensive to run). My grandma just had to have her oil-fired boiler serviced as one of the pressure relief valves started leaking. That is something I could have fixed myself with my talent for fixing things but since a pressure relief valve is a safety device, I decided for the safety of my grandma to let a licensed HVAC contractor take care of it. If a pressure relief valve fails or is improperly installed, that boiler could explode and reduce the house to a pile of rubble and send the occupants to the cemetery.

The pressure switch would also have to fail.
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Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 15:01:21 EDT

IowaCowboy posted : You should also factor in the cost of running the unit. If you're running an older unit and your gas bills (winter) and electric bills (summer) are through the roof, then it makes economic sense to replace it. Here in New England, I'd definitely take anything to save energy as our electric and gas rates are higher than the national average.

Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 14:44:58 EDT

garys_2k posted :

said by SuperNet9:

Is it true that the gas value would work or not? Unlike the issue I am having?

I am just trying to figure out if he just wants me to buy new stuff or what.

You could put a voltmeter onto the solenoid valve's leads to see if the furnace is still supplying power to it when it FIRST stops working. If it does then the valve is closing by itself. If the power dies at the same moment the gas shuts off, then the valve is doing as it's told.

You have to catch it at the moment it just turn off, though, as it would be normal for the flame detector to note the lack of flame and then turn off the power to the valve. It's seeing what order those happen in that's the key.

Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 13:34:01 EDT

SuperNet9 posted : Is it true that the gas value would work or not? Unlike the issue I am having?

I am just trying to figure out if he just wants me to buy new stuff or what.

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Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 13:03:58 EDT

BillRoland posted :

said by Draiman:

said by Hall:

said by Draiman:

Previous owner did all the repairs. OP just bought the place.

It was more of a general statement or if he knew the service/repair history (which he does a bit from the service tag), it may be indicative that it's done well, is junk, etc, etc.

The control board shouldn't be going bad every 5 years. That's a red flag if the board needs to be replaced again now.

That's what I was thinking as well.
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Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 12:44:42 EDT

Draiman posted :

said by Hall:

said by Draiman:

Previous owner did all the repairs. OP just bought the place.

It was more of a general statement or if he knew the service/repair history (which he does a bit from the service tag), it may be indicative that it's done well, is junk, etc, etc.

The control board shouldn't be going bad every 5 years. That's a red flag if the board needs to be replaced again now.
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Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 12:24:38 EDT

Hall posted :

said by Draiman:

Previous owner did all the repairs. OP just bought the place.

It was more of a general statement or if he knew the service/repair history (which he does a bit from the service tag), it may be indicative that it's done well, is junk, etc, etc.

Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 12:17:32 EDT

Badger3k posted :

said by SuperNet9:

I was thinking that, but I was talking to my co-workers and they said a furnace from 1999 isn't that old... I should just fix it.. I don't know what to do.. grrrr

Do you have or can you afford $5-10K to replace the furnace and A/C? If so, have it it. Otherwise I'd probably wait and just repair it knowing in the next 3-5 years you are probably due to replace them and save up. Major appliances are like a car... it's worth to just fix it up to a point.
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Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 12:11:44 EDT

Draiman posted :

said by Hall:

said by SuperNet9:

I was thinking that, but I was talking to my co-workers and they said a furnace from 1999 isn't that old... I should just fix it..

It's not and unless it's a lemon and you've already dumped "a lot" of money into it for frequent repairs, fix it.

Previous owner did all the repairs. OP just bought the place.
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Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 12:00:53 EDT

Hall posted :

said by SuperNet9:

I was thinking that, but I was talking to my co-workers and they said a furnace from 1999 isn't that old... I should just fix it..

It's not and unless it's a lemon and you've already dumped "a lot" of money into it for frequent repairs, fix it.

Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 11:57:06 EDT

SuperNet9 posted :

said by Draiman:

Did you check into federal, state, or utility rebates? You might only have to pay for 50-60% of the cost making it worth replacing now.

Yea I believe i can get upto $2,600.00 back if I replace the AV,Furnace
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Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 11:41:52 EDT

Bob posted : Just fix it.

Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 11:41:14 EDT

IowaCowboy posted :

said by guppy_fish:

^^^ In that case, limp till the summer when no one is buying furnaces and have it replaced then, not in the dead of winter

Then those same technicians are booked solid fixing Air Conditioning systems in 100 degree heat. :)

Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 11:37:19 EDT

Draiman posted : Did you check into federal, state, or utility rebates? You might only have to pay for 50-60% of the cost making it worth replacing now.
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Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 11:35:58 EDT

SuperNet9 posted :

said by guppy_fish:

^^^ In that case, limp till the summer when no one is buying furnaces and have it replaced then, not in the dead of winter

I was thinking that, but I was talking to my co-workers and they said a furnace from 1999 isn't that old... I should just fix it.. I don't know what to do.. grrrr
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Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 11:11:40 EDT

guppy_fish posted : ^^^ In that case, limp till the summer when no one is buying furnaces and have it replaced then, not in the dead of winter

Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 09:56:41 EDT

SuperNet9 posted :

said by BillRoland:

said by SuperNet9:

Update:

Furnace guy came out, he said he really does not think it is the gas valve.. He said there is a generic circuit board that he thinks is going bad but he can't say for sure..

So now what?

Is it the same one they replaced on 1/29/08?

Yes, why?

He said he can't say for sure and does not want to replace anything and he be wrong.
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Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 09:56:30 EDT

IowaCowboy posted : You are better off replacing the furnace now as opposed to later. I know someone whose furnace died two days before Christmas and I'm sure she paid holiday rates to get it replaced. Better off replacing it now as opposed to on a holiday/night/weekend because HVAC contractors charge double to triple the hourly rate outside of normal business hours.

Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 23:24:16 EDT

BillRoland posted :

said by SuperNet9:

Update:

Furnace guy came out, he said he really does not think it is the gas valve.. He said there is a generic circuit board that he thinks is going bad but he can't say for sure..

So now what?

Is it the same one they replaced on 1/29/08?
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Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 21:44:22 EDT

IowaCowboy posted : My heat is electric baseboards. If those die, they're easy and cheap to replace (but wonderfully expensive to run). My grandma just had to have her oil-fired boiler serviced as one of the pressure relief valves started leaking. That is something I could have fixed myself with my talent for fixing things but since a pressure relief valve is a safety device, I decided for the safety of my grandma to let a licensed HVAC contractor take care of it. If a pressure relief valve fails or is improperly installed, that boiler could explode and reduce the house to a pile of rubble and send the occupants to the cemetery.

Just watch that episode of Mythbusters where they blow up a water heater. They built a makeshift house to California building code, disabled the safety features on a water heater and that house was leveled.
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Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 20:08:06 EDT

SuperNet9 posted :

said by Hall:

said by SuperNet9:

...circuit board that he thinks is going bad but he can't say for sure..

Did he charge you for this service call ?

No... Luckily
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Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 19:49:28 EDT

Hall posted :

said by SuperNet9:

...circuit board that he thinks is going bad but he can't say for sure..

Did he charge you for this service call ?

Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 18:48:56 EDT

Jtmo posted : Start replacing parts or be done with it and get a new furnace (look up what rebates are available from your state and utility).

Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 18:40:22 EDT

SuperNet9 posted : Update:

Furnace guy came out, he said he really does not think it is the gas valve.. He said there is a generic circuit board that he thinks is going bad but he can't say for sure..

So now what?
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Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 15:43:51 EDT

garys_2k posted : My furnace is from 1987 and it's still going. I do lube the blower motor (despite stickers that say it's "Permanently Lubricated," it does have lube ports so I oil 'em), I did have to replace the flame proving board once. No plans on replacing it.

Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 13:45:10 EDT

PhoenixDown posted : Ask the plumber for a quote and lead times on a new unit when they come out to check the current issue?
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Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 13:36:29 EDT

djrobx posted : n/m

Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 13:18:21 EDT

Boricua65 posted :

said by SuperNet9:

Thanks everyone for your input...

I have a guy coming out to take a look at it...

My furnace is from 1999, do you think I should keep putting $ into it or replace the gas value only that will cost $400.00

My AC is also about 19 years old, so i think i should maybe replace that too?

My house was built in 1991. The furnace works (only had one part replaced which cost very little) and an A/C unit that quit functioning properly about 5 years ago. There are rebates for replacing the A/C and furnace, which I am going to do (both), but I wanted to be able to reduce my (CC) debt before on replacing both units. I am hoping to do so (God willing) next year. Also, keep in mind when replacing these units they are tax deductible. One other thing, as of 2006 A/C units have switched over to a newer type of freon. So the old supplies will soon be running low and the cost to recharge would be prohibitive.
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Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 13:12:57 EDT

Boricua65 posted :

said by Lurch77:

But I wouldn't trade it for renting again.

+1
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Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 11:31:22 EDT

Bob posted :

said by SuperNet9:

gas value only that will cost $400.00

Sounds overpriced. I had my gas valve replaced last year by the gas utility. I think it cost $245.

Furnace and A/C are from 1984, so they're now 28 years old.

Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 10:43:43 EDT

Dennis posted : My house was built in 1989 and since we've bought it I've had the gas valve replaced and the blower motor. I of course have a different model. I plan on replacing it eventually but not for a while. I clean the AC coils usually in the spring and cover it for winter.
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Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 10:18:58 EDT

guppy_fish posted : gateway timeout caused duplicate post

Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 10:17:22 EDT

guppy_fish posted :

said by SuperNet9:

I just HATE putting $ into things that are old and will need to keep investing $.

And you bought a house? ;)

Houses will always need maintenance, upkeep and repair, buying the house is the cheapest part of the deal

Your furnace just need a very minor repair, probably get another few years and the another part for 400 bucks .. all to be expected.

The difference in gas costs would take a decade to recover just based on efficiency alone.

Take your house value, take 3% of that and that's what you should expect for annual average cost for maintenance. Some years small, the years you replace, roof, windows, mechanicals allot more

Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 10:14:47 EDT

Draiman posted : It depends on a lot of things. Are there state/utility/federal rebates to reduce the cost? How efficient is your furnace now and how much would a new furnace save? Normally a new furnace is better but it might also take 6-8 years before it starts saving you money. Most have a life of around 15-20 years.

Personally with it being 19 years old I might repair it now but start saving for a new one. Next time it breaks down get a new one.

I'm going to replace our furnace this year I think. They finally installed gas so we can hook up this Summer. Our furnace is only 9 years old but gas will save us around $2,000 a year. We'll turn a profit after 4-5 years. With the average life of 15-20 that means we'll be saving $20,000-30,000 over its' life.
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Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 10:11:07 EDT

SuperNet9 posted :

said by guppy_fish:

Always cheaper to repair, your looking at 20X the cost to replace, you do the math

I agree, but if I upgrade the furnace to 95% and a new AC unit, it could save me $ in the long run?

I just HATE putting $ into things that are old and will need to keep investing $.

I know nothing about heating or air, so that is why I would like some input on to fix or replace.
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Re: URGENT Furnace stoped working!

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 10:08:47 EDT

guppy_fish posted : Always cheaper to repair, your looking at 20X the cost to replace, you do the math