Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with furnace

Help me stay warm with a broken furnace.

Stewriffic — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 07:16:27 -0800

Yesterday I woke up to my furnace screeching like a banshee. Turned it off, and called for service, but they won't be able to get out for a while. I'm not sure when, because the service will be through my home warranty. I have a fireplace and wood, south facing windows that let in lots of sun, and a very small, not-so-awesome electric space heater. I have some questions about the combination of heating sources I should use until the furnace gets repaired. I live in North Carolina, US, so it's relatively mild, but it is getting down near freezing at night.

Today will be fine; it's getting up to 67ºF/19ºC this afternoon. However, here's a question about today specifically. Which will give the better bang for the buck: opening up the house, or using passive solar to warm it up without opening windows?

Secondly, the forecast for the rest of the week is going to alternate between sunny and rainy, with typical temperatures of about 54º-56ºF/12º-14ºC for the high and lows kind of all over the place, from 32ºF/0ºC to 47ºF/8ºC. See here for the full forecast.

I'm planning on closing off unused rooms, but I have a pretty large space consisting of the kitchen and two living spaces (one of which has the fireplace) that are all open to each other.

What combination of fire, space heater and sunlight will maximize heat gain and minimize heat loss for me until the furnace is repaired?

Also, any other suggestions about keeping the house warm will be gratefully accepted!

My desk gets really hot.

Damn That Television — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:21:57 -0800

Thermodynamics-filter. I own a large metal desk that I keep pushed up against my window. Underneath my desk top (clearance of a few inches) is my furnace. Whenever I turn the furnace on, the desk top heats up very quickly. I do not want to move my desk if at all possible. (great view). Could I make a heat shield for the underside?

Is there anything fishy here?

Taurid — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:57:53 -0800

Its that time of the year again, when I get the furnace cleaned, install a new filter, clean the humidifier ( and install a new humidifier pad), and start it all up. In the last few years, I've seen something called the "Swordfish" advertised. Its an ultraviolet light that is connected to the furnace ductwork and kill bacteria as well as mold that passes by the light. I've read some reviews about it and it sounds as though it does work. However I'm still a little skeptical. Does anybody have one or have any thoughts on it?

How to tell when a furnace is on its last leg?

Nonce — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:19:16 -0800

I have a 20-year-old furnace. The HVAC person is coming today to do a minor repair (expected cost less than $400). When s/he sees how old it is, I fully expect him/her to push me to have a new furnace installed.

Should I? I know it's lived past its planned lifespan, but there aren't any moving parts. If nothing else is wrong with the furnace, should I insist on just the minor repair? If there are a few other minor items that need adjustment, what is the cutoff at which I should say fuck it, install a new furnace? $1,000? Or more or less than that?

It's a SnyderGeneral model GUG117A016N manufactured in 1989.

Attention, scavengers of Detroit.

alexei — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:52:57 -0800

My Westinghouse gas furnace has been disconnected because it wouldn't shut off the gas when the pilot light was out. The fault apparently lies in the part pictured. Is there any hope of getting a replacement? Inquiries about town have been unsuccessful so far. This seems a long shot, as I can't even find any information. The furnace is old. I've included several pictures of the part in question. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Model FGBE137MA
Series NIBE
Serial M38778

Alternately, is it possible to put a gas shut-off valve on the intake pipe, so that it doesn't have to be furnace-specific? This is speculation on my part.

This is in San Francisco.

Can I get Fed Tax Cred for Energy Efficiency on a home purchase?

dpollitt — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:18:45 -0800

Can I get the Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency if I am buying the house right now, and the current homeowner is replacing the furnace for me? I am in the process of buying a home, and during the inspection we found that the furnace needs to be replaced. The homeowner has agreed to put in a basic one, but has given us the option to 'upgrade' to a more efficient model at our cost.

The question is, if we are paying for part of the furnace, who would qualify(if they met all other conditions) for the tax credit? The credit could be as much as $700, and the extra cost of a more efficient furnace is around $900, so I think it makes sense to try to get it if we can.

If the seller is the one who qualifies, is it a bad idea to try and convince them to pay the extra and claim the tax credit? Maybe even if we include the difference?

How can I find the best rebates for home heating/cooling?

amanda — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 08:50:06 -0800

Replacing the AC and furnace -- is now the time to buy? Tell me what you know about rebates! So, our beloved and quaint and possible original (1950s) AC unit passed away quietly in the night. We knew when we bought this place that that thing was existing on a whisper and a prayer but for the Northwest we hoped it would last another couple years. We only need AC about two weeks per year... this week would be VERY nice to have it. So, now we're thinking about replacing it -- minimum quote is $4000.

While we're doing that, we are talking about our furnace. It is very old but works fine. However, we are on an oil tank and the cost of that is staggering and doesn't seem like it's likely to come down much. Last winter it cost us about $2500 for the season. This took us from October to March, so about $400/month for our 900 sf house. And, we kept it off most of the time.

So, we're thinking of switching to gas and replacing the furnace at the same time. Minimum cost, about $12,000.

The guy who came out and gave an estimate (we've worked with them before and like them but we'll be getting another bid) is all hopped up about their current rebates and how they will expire at the end of august and "who knows what'll be coming down the pipe" after that. So, how can I fact-check the current rebates -- is there a single source for this?

criteria to choose a heating oil supplier?

aimedwander — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:08:43 -0800

Choosing a supplier for oil heating in north-of-Boston; first time homeowner, and first acquaintance with oil furnace. Lots of companies sent us fliers when we bought the house, but what are the criteria for choosing one of them? Yes, I know it's summer, and heat is the last thing on people's minds right now. When we purchased our first house (in Beverly MA) last spring, it came with about 1/4 tank of oil but I'd like to get it refilled before fall.

If I call up a fuel oil supplier to evaluate them, are there questions I should ask? Or is this as simple as choosing which gas station in town I feel like filling up my car at (with the added commitment of using their fuel all winter)?

And then I see a report like this about disreputable scammy suppliers. I recognized the name, as they stood out from the stack of mailings we got by coming to my house about 3 times to drop off ads and letters in person, which kind of creeped me out - but with no other knowledge I might have called them anyway because their price was quite low. How do I avoid crap like that? Yelp doesn't really cover oil companies, and I'm not a member of Angie's List.

Aside from price per gallon, what should I be looking for in a service?

What does an oil supplier do, besides deliver oil? Are they the person who takes care of the furnace (checkups, repairs, maintenance) or do I get somebody else to check the machinery?

Help filter my furnace.

zempf — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:37:26 -0800

Our current central air conditioner uses 20x25x2 filters, which seem to be an odd size (after searching the aisles for a bit, I asked at the local big box hardware store and the ever-so-helpful worker there implied that I was insane & there was no such thing). Anyway, I've searched online a bit & some places do indeed sell them, but I was wondering -- would it be ridiculous to just stack two 20x25x1 filters together to save myself the trouble of special ordering the correct size?

My filter is getting crapped out

stormygrey — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 10:05:03 -0800

Is genuine best in with the Aprilaire Whole-Home Air Cleaner?I am having trouble sussing out what is best for our situation. I might just have a general air flow issue. Our little old bungalow came with an Aprilaire Whole-Home Air Cleaner. I later realized that its basically just a filter with no electronic or moving parts of its own.

The Aprilaire site says that the media (fancy word for filter?) should last about a year, two if you don't make much detritus. It also says that it gets more efficient with time and there is no benefit from changing it more often.

HOWEVER, we started changing it twice a year and now even more often. We started using the filtrete replacement filters. Of COURSE, the Aprilaire peeps say that the non-genuine have less surface area, aren't as efficiect or long last, yadda, yadda, yadda.

The thing is, we have air flow issues, we can't get the house cool. We smoke, we sand, we do a ton of woodworking stuff, we have three dogs, and two cats...so of course the filter gets congested really quickly. We asked the air guy about putting filters on the returns, cheapies that we could vacuum or change regularly, but he indicated that would be a big strain on the system.

We only had one return for the whole house, but we had three big 12 inch ducts going to that one return. We took one of those down and created a hole for a new return in the living room which seemed to help for a week, but then it stopped being very efficient, so we changed the filter, but now the ducts have lots of drippy condesation!

Oh gracious, this is much longer than I meant it to be, perhaps we just need some freon, but we don't have any money to pay to have someone out right now.

Cheap heats?

msalt — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:15:32 -0800

Are there any good low-capital alternatives to electric Cadet heaters for warming and cooling my house? My old (1900) house has only Cadet heaters (circa late 1990s) for warmth, probably because a previous owner ripped out a furnace to convert the basement into a rental unit (which it still is). 3 stories -- bsmt, main floor, attic converted into master bedroom, 2900 SF. There is no ductwork at all right now. Weatherization is weak.

Are there any practical alternatives? Even just better brands of heaters? My electric bill is quite high in winter, as you can imagine -- this is in Portland OR -- and I don't have the $14,000 I was quoted for a central heat pump, even with the $2K or so in tax rebates I could get. It's a shame though because the attic gets pretty hot and the heat pump sounded nice.

Could I get a relatively inexpensive ductless heat pump just for the attic, and how would that compare to a window AC unit? Is there a way to install a heat pump there without tying up the only window? I see web pages quoting around $1,000 "per ton of cooling capacity" -- what does that mean? Or would I be better off putting any available money into better windows and insulation? Thx

Oli Heater that uses Waste Engine Oil

franklen — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 11:39:38 -0800

What are the pros and cons of trying to switch heating systems from a traditional furnace to a waste oil heater that burns used gasoline engine oil, particularly for an automobile repair garage? I work with small businesses in my city, and recently, two auto shops have raised the question of trying to facilitate the use of burning waste engine oil to heat their spaces. We live in Syracuse NY where the Winters are long and cold, and paying for oil can be quite expensive).

And p.s. if anyone knows of a good manufacturer, distributor, etc of these types of units, I'd love to know.

Cheers ~Frank
www.alchemicalnursery.org

Furnace Out! What would you do?

ecorrocio — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 11:19:28 -0800

Furnace out. Part not available for 2 weeks +. Weather's chilly. What would you do? My furnace is out. The Lennox guy came out to fix it ($100 trip charge), and tells me that it's the Inducer Blower - basically the little motor that blows the gas into the furnace. Turns out these assemblies are no where to be found. The earliest I can get this little item thru them is March 3 (also necessitating a $100 FedEx cost).

We're in Denver, and having a mild, warm winter (luckily) ... but it's still below freezing at night, with highs in the 50's predicted for the next week.

I've been looking online for this part. It's a very specific part that has to match my furnace exactly. So, if I find one, and have it FedExed... there's a chance it won't even be the right one, and no furnace shop will warranty the part/installation.

Right now, I'm searching online, calling around town... trying to stay sane. Any suggestions?

Old thermostat wiring

Heatwole — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 09:37:09 -0800

Replacing the old mercury thermostat in our old house with a programmable one for an oil furnace. The old one is a two wire hook up, one red/white and the other black. What would be the correct configuration to the new thermostat? Black to R, Red/White to W? I've searched high and low for the answer.

Furnace repair in Vancouver?

Cosine — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 09:20:08 -0800

Furnace repair filter: Can any Mefites recommend someone for furnace repair in Vancouver? I hate posting local questions to Meta but I've had a nightmare of visits and revisits with one local plumbing and heating co for the past 3 weeks and the furnace still doesn't work right, can any recommend someone that they have experience with?

Is my furnace killing me?

TurkishGolds — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 19:46:01 -0800

[Asking for a friend:] What can I do about the stinky, wasteful oil furnace in my apartment? I'm worried about my health, and I'm not sure that the landlord cares. I think that it's a forced hot air heating system in an old building, built around 1920 or 1930. When the heat initially comes on, there's a very strong smell of burning oil. This happens often, a few times per hour, and the whole apartment smells like burning oil. The upstairs neighbors have lived here for a few years, and they said that they were worried about it at first, but they just got used to it. I mentioned it to the landlord, and he assured me that there was no problem and that it was just an old furnace. There's a carbon monoxide detector here, so I'm not so worried about immediate death, but it doesn't seem like this is the healthiest air in the world either. How concerned should I be? The landlord seems to have a pretty laid-back attitude about maintenance and general upkeep so I'm not sure what I can say, more than I already have, to motivate him to do anything about it. If I should be concerned about this, what actions can I take to get him to address the issue more seriously?

Furthermore, health issues aside, it's impossible to regulate the temperature in here. It's just always on full blast. So even when it's 10 degrees outside, I have windows open in order to maintain a normal temperature in here. That's working ok, but the environmentalist inside of me is cringing.

Should we get a new furnace/AC?

SallyHitMeOntheHead — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 18:43:56 -0800

Should we replace our furnace and AC and go with this company's maintenance agreement/guarantee? We live in Marietta, Georgia. We have a 20-year old Trane furnace and a
16-year old Carrier AC that heat and cool our house adequately.

The furnace inducer motor has failed. We can replace it for around $500.

We’re also being offered a full furnace, coil, and AC installation -- same
capacity -- for $5000 that includes:

1. Maintenance and 24/7 service contract: first year free, subsequent years $150 (subject to increase every 5 years)

2. Guarantee: Comprehensive, transferable lifetime guarantee if we keep up the maintenance and service contract

The company also estimates we'll achieve a 30% increase in efficiency.

It's a 50-year outfit. The deal is endorsed by two of our neighbors, an
architect and a retired home renovator.

Should we bite?

Can't get my furnace to run on a generator

inthe80s — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 16:52:02 -0800

I've tried two different generators, but still can't get my oil burning furnace to power up. Detail inside post I'm in day two of what promises to be a week long power outage. The first generator was several years old 2KW and had a plugged carboratuer, I fixed it and got it running. It didn't run the furnace. Now I've got a brand new 6KW generator with several 20 amp circuits on it and I'm trying to run a oil furnace, which runs on a 110 15amp circuit. I have a proper generator panel hookup that several years ago did run my previous furnace fine. Both generators produced the following symptoms.

When I turn on the furnace, there's a clicking/buzzing noise for about 20 seconds, and then I get flame. It runs for a minute and shuts down. The blower never spins up to full power, it barely spins at all. The furnace then shuts down after a couple minutes due to an overheat (since the heat never gets moved by the weak powered fan blower)

I think the blower motor could have gotten taken out by a power spike when the power went down. The motor was replaced about 3 years earlier due it burning out before, and the tech replaced it with a bigger motor. I tried wiring it to a slower speed, but it didn't appear to work.

Is there anything else it could be? It should be enough power, though it also acts like it's not.

I'm not sure I should call the oil company out to service it if I'm trying to run it on a generator (they're probably swamped with calls anyways due to the massive problems here in the Northeast). No idea where I could even get a replacement motor before Monday in Central Mass either.

What furnace to buy?

ivanka — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 09:06:54 -0800

My best friend buys her first furnace. She is in Canada. Are there any ways, beside of online consumer reviews, to find out what furnace is the best value-for-money for her house? And if you ever used Armstrong Gas Furnace (it was recommended by one of the contractors) what is your personal experience? Will Armstong really last for 10 years? Thanks! The furnace she uses now was installed when she bought her house 6 years ago, and she never wandered about brand or quality. She invited a couple of HVAC contractors to estimate price, and they gave her different value-by-price recommendations. Money factor is important for her, but she also wants a good quality appliance. One of the contractors recommended Armstrong Gas Furnace, as the best combination of quality and price. My friend reviewed consumer reviews and found them not to be very helpful, and, in fact, quite contradictory. So, she asked me to post this question. Are there any ways, beside of online consumer reviews, to find out what furnace is the best value-for-money for her house? And if you ever used Armstrong Gas Furnace what is your personal experience? Is it worth buying? Thanks!

How big a wood stove should I get?

geos — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:09:49 -0800

How big a wood stove should I get? I am thinking about using a wood stove as a secondary heater in my 750 sq. ft, two-storey house in New England. It already has a propane furnace with a single heat exchanger under a large grate in the floor (on the first floor) which I would like to use just to keep the pipes from freezing and use the wood stove for comfort. Insulation? Not totally uninsulated... Should I oversize the square foot rating given the uncertain insulation and second storey?

Wholesale Furnace Filter Help!

Hellafiles — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 06:16:09 -0800

Where can I buy wholesale furnace filters direct from China or from the manufacturers? So I'm looking to start a side business selling furnace filters, after much searching with Google I can see many other places selling these same filters, but I can't seem to find out where they are buying them to resell. I've checked Tradekey.com looking for manufacturers in China and not had much luck, and I'm starting to get frustrated.

Can anyone recommend a way or place where I can find companies who manufacturer these things (other than 3M) so I can buy the common sizes at wholesale quantities to resell?

Thanks a ton!!

Keeping my hot side hot and my cool side crisp

Shepherd — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 06:19:17 -0800

When is a heat pump worth it? [warning: a bit long] Due to circumstances that are really too long to explain, I need to totally remove my oil heating system and replace it with an electric system. Quotes to tear out the old furnace, upgrade my ductwork and put in an electric furnace come in at about $4K. That's pretty much a given. Adding a heat pump, however, would cost about $5K to $6K. I currently have no air conditioning in my very old house with very old windows, and while I don't mind suffering a bit to save a few bucks, my fiancée is very much of the opposite opinion... but she currently lives in the southern States, and isn't really familiar with Canadian summers (it only gets stinkin' hot from about mid-July to mid-August where I live).
The pluses of getting the heat pump are essentially that I'm getting everything torn up to put the new furnace in and wired up right now, and installing something like a heat pump later would be much less convenient than getting it done now. It's also a "fire and forget" kind of solution for the next era of home ownership: get it done and it'll never have to be done again.
It's a two-story house built into a hill, so the upper floor is at street level and is entirely aboveground; the lower floor is below street level but is 90% aboveground thanks to the slope of the hill. About 80% of my time is spent on the upper floor -- the lower floor is my workshop, workout room, guest room, furnace room, storage space and a second bathroom. Total square footage is about 1800 sq.ft. divided evenly between the floors.
Since I've never had electric heat OR air conditioning, I'm in no position to compare expenditures vs. projected savings to cost out whether it's worthwhile. I'm tempted to put the $6K towards new windows, but that'd just be a drop in the bucket as far as window-replacement costs. The windows I have now are entirely unsuitable for window-mount air conditioners, and I'm not convinced those are a good idea at the best of times.
Most of the resources I've found re. heat pumps need you to figure out what you've been spending on heating/cooling for the past X years, but I don't have any such data. Previous threads like the one for Atlanta thread is interesting but not especially relevant for my situation. The Arkansas AskMe was a bit more helpful, but I'm more interested in its cooling properties than the heating ones.
I can't think of any other relevant information, but feel free to post more questions if that'll help me puzzle out whether or not this is a good move.
The environment is also a concern: while I know a standard air conditioner would be cheaper, is there one option that is much more green than the other? I'm already happy to be switching from oil to electric, as Quebec power is relatively green (mostly hydroelectric from northern dams).

Furnace vents net to sandbox. Is this bad?

winston — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 09:50:23 -0800

High-efficiency gas furnace installed where previously there was mid-efficiency. So it vents straight out the wall while the old furnace used the chimney. The vent is right next to the sandbox. How bad is this? Tiny yard -- not much other space for the sandbox. It's either keep it or get rid of it.

Of course, during the peak months for sandbox usage, the furnace is rarely used.

It's in a corner (between the house and the wooden fence) so a little more enclosed than if it were in the middle of the wall.

The kids are 4 and almost 2.

A sandbox is one of their favourite things in the world and they can use it for hours at a stretch.

I'm tired of coming home to a cold house!

anastasiav — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:01:09 -0800

Which approach really burns more heating oil - keeping the house at a constant medium temperature (say, 64 degrees) or keeping it very low most of the time (58-60) but bringing it up to a higher temperature (say, 66 degrees) once or twice a day? We have a single thermostat (in the dining room, which is between the kitchen and the living room) which is computer controlled. Our home is a 1913 Queen Anne style house with an open floorplan (arches, not doors, between the four rooms on the first floor). In accordance with conventional wisdom, we let the house cool down to about 59 - 60 degrees when we're sleeping or at work, then heat it to 64-66 when we get up in the morning (about two hours) and in the evening when we're home (about four hours). (We have a 21-month old baby, so I don't like the house to be too cold when he's awake and home.) On weekend days when we're all home for the entire day, I will keep the house at about 64-66 degrees for the entire day.

What I've noticed over the course of the winter is this: it feels as though the furnace works longer and harder getting the house warmed up (from 60 - 64, say) than it does keeping the house at a constant 66. I haven't timed it with a stopwatch, but if I'm up early in the mornings with the baby I'll notice that the furnace kicks on more than an hour before the target time for the computer-set temperature, and this happens again in the afternoon before we get home from work (although the house cools more overnight than it does during the day). Then the furnace continues to work for 10-15 minutes every hour keeping the house warm for the 4-5 hours we want it warm in the evening, since the warm air is working its way up to the bedrooms and other rooms on the second floor that are in use.

By contrast, when we're home all weekend and are keeping the house at a constant 64-66, by Sunday morning the furnace is only kicking on about once an hour for perhaps five minutes or so. Also, the upstairs bedrooms and bathroom have a chance to get fully warm as the air circulates around the house. (They're always chilly during the week, since the single thermostat is downstairs.)

In short, from simple observation I'm always left with the impression that the furnace is working much less hard to keep the temperature constant than it is to warm the house twice per day.

I know what "conventional wisdom" says - it says let the house sit cold most of the day. But is this really true for all homes? Since I can't be home all week to run a stopwatch to see how long the furnace is running for, and I don't have any way to tell exactly how many gallons of oil we're burning per furnace run, is there any other way to check to see which approach is actually burning less oil?

Cost for a new hot water oil burner/furnace

coffeefilter — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 23:53:50 -0800

(Oil Heat) - Getting a new oil burner / furnace. (1) How much should it cost, including installation, for a new oil furnace that's at least pretty good/efficient? (We've gotten one estimate, so far, for $10,000 (!) $11,000 for antifreeze pipe system.) What's the cost for the equipment vs cost of labor? (2) The $10K was for a System 2000. Is the System 2000 really that good? Anyone have one? How much did it cost? How much did it reduce your heating bills? 1700 square feet, hot water base board.