Why does this furnace keep going out on the weekends? I woke up early on Sunday morning to a house that was 10 degrees colder than my thermostat setting. I was not happy.
Yes, the furnace went out again. This time, it was not the circuit board, the water pump being plugged into the wrong outlet or the flame sensor being cracked. This time, it was the fuel jets being plugged up with corrosion. The furnace is two years old. The warranty ran out after 1 year and the problems began at a year and a month. Go figure.
No, I did not use one of the DIY space heater methods I have been experimenting with to keep a room warm over the weekend. They do not work well enough. What I used was a highly temporary method. I turned on my oven to a LOW temperature (250 degrees F) and just barely cracked open the door. (Note: NEVER leave an oven on and unattended. I ONLY left the oven on this way while I was both awake and in the house.)
The living area of my house is 1600 square feet. The house is insulated and has been "wrapped" to keep out drafts. But the windows are a huge source of lost heat and I did not put plastic over them this year like I should have. At this time of year, this house will lose about 5 degrees overnight if there is no central heating in the house. (This means that my heat likely went out on Saturday morning and I did not realize it.) By the end of Sunday, using the oven method, the temperature in my house had RAISED 5 degrees. It is noteworthy.
My furnace guy came out again on Monday morning. I was first in his que. But after I called him to let him know to come and SAVE ME, I called the people who gave me this crappy furnace. They installed it as part of the area's energy assistance program for low income families. It was supposed to help increase efficiency and reduce costs for heating homes over the winter. But it has wound up costing me about $500 of repair bills over the past year. Some "assistance" program!
Northern Wisconsin winters are brutal. I know people who would prefer wintering in certain parts of Alaska over wintering in Wisconsin. I am not one of those people, but the point is that SOME parts of Alaska do not get as cold during the winter as Wisconsin does. So having a furnace that goes out every other weekend is NOT safe.
The furnace program lady looked up my name and saw that my furnace is now two years old. She said there is nothing she can do to help me replace the piece of garbage they installed, but that I should call my city to get it repaired for FREE when it goes out. She gave me the number to call.
When I called and pressed the appropriate number to reach Energy Assistance, I got voicemail. So I called back and pressed a different number to speak with someone. The lady I talked to wanted to put me through to the voicemail, but I had her take my message because I was going to be out of the house between certain hours.
While I was still on the phone, my furnace repair guy knocked on the door. He has now been here often enough that he knows the drill with getting past my dog, and he knows where my basement is located. I did not even have to put down the phone to let him in. I just kept talking as I popped open the front door and handed the furnace guy a dog treat. That's how many times he has been here this Fall. (Perhaps I should start keeping snacks on hand for the guy and make it a social event. Geesh!)
By the time I was off the phone from leaving a message for Energy Assistance to call me back about their free furnace repair program, my HVAC guy had already diagnosed the problem and was almost finished with the repair. (Yay!) Unfortunately, I have to pay him out of pocket and I cannot get reimbursed for my expense. But the good news is that I can get help to repair my furnace the next time it goes out. It will just take longer to get the help and it will be a different company who repairs it.
I can work with that. When I get back from visiting my son in warm TEXAS for the holidays, I will get back to work on my DIY space heater. With a working space heater, I will comfortably be able to take advantage of having my city foot the bill to repair this junky furnace they gave me to SAVE money. Maybe they will break down and replace it with something that works without breaking every 5 minutes.
Yes, the furnace went out again. This time, it was not the circuit board, the water pump being plugged into the wrong outlet or the flame sensor being cracked. This time, it was the fuel jets being plugged up with corrosion. The furnace is two years old. The warranty ran out after 1 year and the problems began at a year and a month. Go figure.
No, I did not use one of the DIY space heater methods I have been experimenting with to keep a room warm over the weekend. They do not work well enough. What I used was a highly temporary method. I turned on my oven to a LOW temperature (250 degrees F) and just barely cracked open the door. (Note: NEVER leave an oven on and unattended. I ONLY left the oven on this way while I was both awake and in the house.)
The living area of my house is 1600 square feet. The house is insulated and has been "wrapped" to keep out drafts. But the windows are a huge source of lost heat and I did not put plastic over them this year like I should have. At this time of year, this house will lose about 5 degrees overnight if there is no central heating in the house. (This means that my heat likely went out on Saturday morning and I did not realize it.) By the end of Sunday, using the oven method, the temperature in my house had RAISED 5 degrees. It is noteworthy.
My furnace guy came out again on Monday morning. I was first in his que. But after I called him to let him know to come and SAVE ME, I called the people who gave me this crappy furnace. They installed it as part of the area's energy assistance program for low income families. It was supposed to help increase efficiency and reduce costs for heating homes over the winter. But it has wound up costing me about $500 of repair bills over the past year. Some "assistance" program!Northern Wisconsin winters are brutal. I know people who would prefer wintering in certain parts of Alaska over wintering in Wisconsin. I am not one of those people, but the point is that SOME parts of Alaska do not get as cold during the winter as Wisconsin does. So having a furnace that goes out every other weekend is NOT safe.
The furnace program lady looked up my name and saw that my furnace is now two years old. She said there is nothing she can do to help me replace the piece of garbage they installed, but that I should call my city to get it repaired for FREE when it goes out. She gave me the number to call.
When I called and pressed the appropriate number to reach Energy Assistance, I got voicemail. So I called back and pressed a different number to speak with someone. The lady I talked to wanted to put me through to the voicemail, but I had her take my message because I was going to be out of the house between certain hours.
While I was still on the phone, my furnace repair guy knocked on the door. He has now been here often enough that he knows the drill with getting past my dog, and he knows where my basement is located. I did not even have to put down the phone to let him in. I just kept talking as I popped open the front door and handed the furnace guy a dog treat. That's how many times he has been here this Fall. (Perhaps I should start keeping snacks on hand for the guy and make it a social event. Geesh!)
By the time I was off the phone from leaving a message for Energy Assistance to call me back about their free furnace repair program, my HVAC guy had already diagnosed the problem and was almost finished with the repair. (Yay!) Unfortunately, I have to pay him out of pocket and I cannot get reimbursed for my expense. But the good news is that I can get help to repair my furnace the next time it goes out. It will just take longer to get the help and it will be a different company who repairs it.
I can work with that. When I get back from visiting my son in warm TEXAS for the holidays, I will get back to work on my DIY space heater. With a working space heater, I will comfortably be able to take advantage of having my city foot the bill to repair this junky furnace they gave me to SAVE money. Maybe they will break down and replace it with something that works without breaking every 5 minutes.
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