r/GreatLakesPrepping • u/carefullycalibrated • Nov 16 '22
I feel like an idiot and now I'm cold.
Our furnace broke yesterday and we got our first real snow last night. More cold fronts coming. We knew it was old, but never made plans to replace it, eating into financial preps were fortunate enough to have.
If you are not fully confident in your furnace, have it inspected or tuned up by a pro before winter is in full swing, I suspect a harsh cold one.
Edit: this was a chilly wake up call to routinely ensure all your appliances are in tip-top shape. Get your things inspected and repaired before they break, will save you time qne money in the long haul. Its nice to have a couple space heaters handy too!
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u/AtentionToAtention Apr 26 '23
I have an emergency wood stove made from scrap metal. I could cook on it if I needed to
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u/carefullycalibrated Apr 26 '23
Growing up, we heated our home with wood. In fact, my folks still do. I really took that warmth for granted back then, and i am a lottle more well prepped this time in case of no heat
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u/Kelekona Nov 28 '23
This is why I'm a fan of running the furnace a little in October even though it's not technically needed. Plenty of time to get it fixed before the repairpeople get swamped.
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u/Borstor Dec 03 '24
I'm not trying to be difficult, but what specifically does it mean when you say the furnace broke?
The reason I ask is that furnaces have a lot of safety measures built into them, and if any one of those 'thinks' there's a problem, the furnace won't run. Many, many times when a furnace isn't working properly, it needs a $10 part replaced.
An HVAC expert knows how to figure out which part it is (sometimes very easy, sometimes a huge PITA requiring a multimeter and awkward disassembly and trial and error), but YouTube and free online message boards with experts on hand can allow a handy homeowner to make a lot of simple repairs. If you know the right part, you can usually get it on Amazon or similar.
If you're not comfortable fooling around with the furnace, or if you can't diagnose it, or if you don't want the house to be cold while you try, absolutely a pro is the way to go. A good relationship with an HVAC company, a plumber, etc, sometimes means you can make a phone call and ask a question and get free help, too.
As is so often the way, while we know tradespeople we like, we keep expanding our DIY experience just because everything is so expensive. We have nothing against people making money, but our income apparently hasn't kept pace. Don't cause a gas explosion in your home, right, but replacing a $10 flame rollout sensor or igniter is a 10-minute job that YouTube can guide you through.
I don't work on gas lines, myself, but a quick look online often gives me an idea what the problem probably is and whether I should attempt to fix it myself. Frankly, we couldn't afford a new furnace, so we've got to keep our current one working.
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u/daoliveman Dec 10 '22
Where does one go to buy a furnace? Seems like the industry keeps those things on lockdown.
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u/carefullycalibrated Dec 10 '22
Both times we used the same local heating and cooling company.
First time they sold us the unit and the necessary sheet metal for our ductwork. Shaped and cut the ducting ourselves. We hauled all the stuff ourselves too.
This second time I hired the companies crew to bring the furnace and install.
We also paid cash both times.
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u/protreefaller Nov 16 '22
I hope that you found a good HVAC company I remember getting quotes for 10k and ended up Replacing it myself for 4k