What does a Garden Gnome do when she is not gardening, in the kitchen or doing genealogy? Well the answer might just surprise you so read the entries to find out more. This blog focuses on everything we do to make our house a home. There will be a strong emphasis on home energy efficiency and do-it-yourself (DIY) projects. At the same time there will also be crafts, knitting and crocheting projects along with any other little tips we do to create that down to earth, I want to be here home. Please enjoy your visit :)




Sunday, December 5, 2010

Furnace Problem

When we moved here we discovered we had a Clare Megasave II furnace installed about 1983.  We were told the furnace is a good one but if a part goes, many replacement parts are no longer available.  We were advised to continue using the furnace rather than replace it as it is on the higher efficiency side and it is in very good condition.  We had a problem back in 2009 with the fan belt that ended up being a fairly easy DIY repair.  Other than that the furnace has been working quite nicely.  This past Friday morning the furnace decided not to work.

furnace pilot light
Every furnace has its own set of sounds that as a homeowner you become aware of that helps you to determine the furnace is working properly without necessarily checking it.  Our furnace has a pre-cycle with a low powered fan.  If you are close to the furnace you can hear the electronic ignition then then burner fire up.  Once the burner fires up the secondary but higher powered fan kicks on.  Well Friday morning I noticed the low powered fan was running a lot longer than it should.  Upon investigation I found the  burner was on but watching it I heard the electronic ignition followed by the burner firing up then immediately going out.

I called my husband who called a heating and cooling firm to have them come out as this did not sound like a DIY repair.  By 2 PM the firm had still not called back so he called them again only to be told it was too far to come out!  Well that was nice as finding someone else on a Friday afternoon to fix the furnace that late in the day would be a challenge.  Complicating the problem was we had dinner plans as well.  He called another local firm that really is an owner operated business.  The owner/repairman showed up about 4:30 PM.   The problem ended up being a blocked drain and gunked up contacts for the secondary fan.  He had the furnace up and running in no time!  The bill came to $75 and we were on our way out the door to get to our dinner on time.  You can bet he will be getting an excellent recommendation from us!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010


1 comments:

Shari Thomas said...

You're so right. When you find a repairman who will come when called, it becomes a "recommend to everyone in the neighborhood" thing.

We're at least 48 miles from most service repair folks, and in some cases 65 miles. To find someone who will come when called is a godsend.

We have heating/ac repair guy who has been a dream come true for us. Like you, we had a very old furnace "Singer 1970's" model. It gave up the ghost this year. He was the only one to get to replace it.