I'm glad I know a little!

Ed Nelson

Member
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1,486
Location
Charlotte, NC
The power venter has been dying for a couple weeks. We have one of those insurance programs for major appliances, so I called them to send an HVAC company take a look.

Well, first of all they said the ventilation system for the furnace was not covered. Then I was told it would cost me over $550 to have it fixed:eek: and I don't have that money available:( I decided to track down the replacement parts and fix it myself:thumb:

Now here comes the part where I don't know whether to be happy or mad as heck! The replacement motor and fan cost me $150. The replacement involved removing about 4 screws and disconnecting 3 wires. Had the new unit in in less than 30 minutes! So, in theory I did $400 worth of work in 30 minutes. I'm not factoring in the time to go get the part because it was on my way home from work. I apologize to any of you who are in the HVAC business, but WHAT A RIPOFF! Like I said, I'm glad I know a little. Most people would accept the price because they don't know any better!

Sorry for the rant:eek:
 
That's a drag but I feel your pain.

About 9 years ago my parents have friends that built a brand new house right next to them. The house was equipped with a power vented water heater. Less than two years after they moved in the blower unit went. I was able to get them a new one and install it in less than a half hour. I think the part was around $100. About a month ago I get a phone call from him and the darn blower is out again! After calling MANY supply houses and sources I located one not far away. In talking to the guy at the supply house he said that he sells a ton of these things. Turns out that you can't buy just the blower. Now you have to replace the entire assembly and it's $229 plus tax! That's a crock. The "assembly" is nothing more than the blower motor (which I paid about $100 last time) and a pressure switch (which shouldn't be more than $15-$20) and a plastic housing.

I told him the price and asked him if he really wanted to invest another $250 in a nine year old water heater but things are a bit tight for them and they didn't want to spend the almost $700 to replace the entire unit. He came down and we picked it up and he took it home and installed it. I haven't heard back so I'm assuming it went well but that's ridiculous. I understand the replacement parts are going to be more than if you just add up the individual cost of the originals but it's out of control.

Glad you got it working and saved a few bucks.

John
 
I had a similar thing happen to me. 2 days after I had broken my right arm, the fan motor dies on my furnace, in december. in the 20's so I can't wait and call around. Call my fuel oil company and they send out a tech, $100 bucks right there. He gets there trouble shoots (which I had already done) for 20 minutes and deterimins its the motor. Ok, I say, how much. $400 for the motor and another hundred for the install. :eek::eek::eek: I have replaced this motor in the past in 10 min.:dunno: All said and done he installed 2 motors because the first replacement was "bad" (although I saw him let the smoke out of it by wiring it wrong). all said and done 55 min, 600 bucks, 2 motors and he took my core. All of which if I could have would have ran about 150. I have since found a private guy that will work on call for a lot less.:thumb:
 
First off I agree that was outrageous fees!

As a self employed person there is another side that many don't see. Now, let me stress I am not trying to justify that fee. Just remember that plumber has tools, a truck, travel time and other expenses. His charges have to cover those expenses too. I never could understand this till I became self employed.

Of course I have never made $800 an hour either. I have made $100 a hour once but it was only once and I didn't make a dime the rest of the day.

Jeff
Wishing he could charge $800 and hour
 
I would bet if you reviewed your contract that the unit is in fact covered. Anything to get out of doing what they have contracted to do unfortunately is standard operating procedure.

It is sad that this type of practice seems to have become so common.
 
So what's the point in paying for the insurance program for major appliances?

Personally, I think those things are a rip off.

:dunno:

It has helped on a few occasions, but as soon as possible I am going to put away a little stash and be self insured...at least for the appliances.

They have covered a leaky condenser in the AC unit and the heating element in the dryer. Seems like there are a couple others. The condenser was almost a similar problem. First company they sent said the problem was dirty coils and cleaning the coils would cost me $300. I called BS and opened the unit to look at the coils and they were spotless! The second company that came out had a leak detector and correctly diagnosed the problem!
 
It is nice to save yourself some money, isn't it?

Back in the early part of December, on a Sunday evening, the blower motor on my furnace quit. I thought I'd end up having to pay for a service call to get it fixed. Since I couldn't do anything quickly about getting a replacement motor without a putting in for an emergency service call, I decided to take the blower out and have a look. The bearings on the motor were pretty rough sounding. I figured I didn't have anything to lose so I sprayed some WD-40 in the general direction of the bearings (bushings?) and put the blower back in the furnace. I know WD-40 isn't the best lubricant but I was just hoping to get through the night. It's been running 24x7 since then and sounds fine. I did buy a new motor just to have on hand in case this one quits but I haven't had to use it, yet. Knock on wood.
 
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