Overpaid for poor Installation (whatdo?)

[Beatin' 10+ year member]

Did you install your own furnace? How about stove?

recently my car's timing belt broke on the highway and had to get the car towed home. Me, my uncle, and dad spent a few days fixing the car while watching instruction video's online, rather than paying an estimated 500-800 dollars to have somebody else fix it. Maybe if it was still 1995 I would've brought the car in to a shop.

I don't trust so called "professionals" to do shit for me. The only time I'll ever risk paying someone to do something for me is if I already fucked it all up.

 

[Ahmed Johnson]

recently my car's timing belt broke on the highway and had to get the car towed home. Me' date=' my uncle, and dad spent a few days fixing the car while watching instruction video's online, rather than paying an estimated 500-800 dollars to have somebody else fix it. Maybe if it was still 1995 I would've brought the car in to a shop.
I don't trust so called "professionals" to do shit for me. The only time I'll ever risk paying someone to do something for me is if I already fucked it all up.

What about your furnace?

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

Did you install your own furnace? How about stove?

i recently rebuilt my furnace myself. saved me a lot of money.

and i wire houses and help people with appliances (gas piping, electrical wiring, etc.)

that said, do what you're comfortable with and pay people that are competent when needed.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

recently my car's timing belt broke on the highway and had to get the car towed home. Me' date=' my uncle, and dad spent a few days fixing the car while watching instruction video's online, rather than paying an estimated 500-800 dollars to have somebody else fix it. Maybe if it was still 1995 I would've brought the car in to a shop.
I don't trust so called "professionals" to do shit for me. The only time I'll ever risk paying someone to do something for me is if I already fucked it all up.

replacing my timing belt is something i cannot decide if I want to do myself or just pay the money and hand it to my dealership. first time around i had a an acquaintance mechanic do it for a few hundred less and it's been fine for 80k miles. i have the garage, tools, and knowledge but it's an issue of time and i can afford to pay the dealership.

 

[Ahmed Johnson]

i recently rebuilt my furnace myself. saved me a lot of money.
and i wire houses and help people with appliances (gas piping, electrical wiring, etc.)

that said, do what you're comfortable with and pay people that are competent when needed.

Rebuilt huh? Lol.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

Rebuilt huh? Lol.

technically, the blower motor bearings were going out (squeaking), so i bought a new motor, new fan, and new housing. To remove the motor I had to disconnect about 8 wires from the controller and remove some screws/parts. I also cleaned the insides. Not a big deal, but $800 bill if I paid someone. My neighbor had the same problem a few weeks ago, one tech it was a squeaky door, the other said the ~$900 bill to fix the motor was too high and she should buy a new furnace. She bought a new furnace for $4k.

 

[Ahmed Johnson]

technically, the blower motor bearings were going out (squeaking), so i bought a new motor, new fan, and new housing. To remove the motor I had to disconnect about 8 wires from the controller and remove some screws/parts. I also cleaned the insides. Not a big deal, but $800 bill if I paid someone. My neighbor had the same problem a few weeks ago, one tech it was a squeaky door, the other said the ~$900 bill to fix the motor was too high and she should buy a new furnace. She bought a new furnace for $4k.

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[Ahmed Johnson]

technically, the blower motor bearings were going out (squeaking), so i bought a new motor, new fan, and new housing. To remove the motor I had to disconnect about 8 wires from the controller and remove some screws/parts. I also cleaned the insides. Not a big deal, but $800 bill if I paid someone. My neighbor had the same problem a few weeks ago, one tech it was a squeaky door, the other said the ~$900 bill to fix the motor was too high and she should buy a new furnace. She bought a new furnace for $4k.

What about putting a new blower motor in constitutes rebuilding? A technical rebuild would have alot more parts added to it. To the point it becomes a much better and cost effective to buy a new unit. Just because you threw a blower motor in, doesn't make you a tech.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

What about putting a new blower motor in constitutes rebuilding? A technical rebuild would have alot more parts added to it. To the point it becomes a much better and cost effective to buy a new unit. Just because you threw a blower motor in, doesn't make you a tech.

i never said i was a tech (Even though as an electrical engineer i can rebuild anything with that furnace and i fully understand the control wiring).

rebuilt as in troubleshoot, disassemble, replace parts, reassemble - rebuild the system not the components. rebuilding the motor would consist of tearing it apart to replace bearings - something that isn't worth the effort when a new motor is only $130 and the motor is 30 years old.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

of note, the motor is a 4 speed but the existing controls only use one speed. i will modify that to allow for lower fan speeds in-between cycles to keep some circulation in the house to help maintain temperature and provide air filtering. i'll just draw up a ladder diagram of the existing system, add the new components, and then implement with new controls.

even redoing all of the existing controls would be a minor project given the age of the unit and simplicity of the controls. less than $100 in total control parts. Now, paying someone >$70/hr to do it would quickly be cost prohibitive.

 

[Ahmed Johnson]

i never said i was a tech (Even though as an electrical engineer i can rebuild anything with that furnace and i fully understand the control wiring).
rebuilt as in troubleshoot, disassemble, replace parts, reassemble - rebuild the system not the components. rebuilding the motor would consist of tearing it apart to replace bearings - something that isn't worth the effort when a new motor is only $130 and the motor is 30 years old.

You claimed to rebuild your furnace.

 

[Ahmed Johnson]

of note, the motor is a 4 speed but the existing controls only use one speed. i will modify that to allow for lower fan speeds in-between cycles to keep some circulation in the house to help maintain temperature and provide air filtering. i'll just draw up a ladder diagram of the existing system, add the new components, and then implement with new controls.
even redoing all of the existing controls would be a minor project given the age of the unit and simplicity of the controls. less than $100 in total control parts. Now, paying someone >$70/hr to do it would quickly be cost prohibitive.

Not everybody has the know how to do anything technical and paying someone who does will save money and headaches down the line. So, what exactly did you fix? Did you buy the motor or fix it? If a new motor is 130 then why spend 100 to fix an old motor? Depending on how old your heating and air unit is, that motor could be way less efficient as the newer ones, even if you add alot more parts to it.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

You claimed to rebuild your furnace.

a furnace only has two parts - the blower system and the heating system. i was referring to the blower system as a whole - everything gone though (including controls) and aged parts were upgraded. the previous year I cleaned the burners and inspected them for cracks - all was well.

Not everybody has the know how to do anything technical and paying someone who does will save money and headaches down the line. So, what exactly did you fix? Did you buy the motor or fix it? If a new motor is 130 then why spend 100 to fix an old motor? Depending on how old your heating and air unit is, that motor could be way less efficient as the newer ones, even if you add alot more parts to it.

i bought a new motor because it wasn't worth replacing bearings in an old motor and yes, the newer motor is more efficient. a local motor rebuild shop quoted me $250 to rebuild the old motor and it would take a week. a week without heat in 20 deg temps wasn't acceptable. a new motor was available from the local Grangier the next morning. it was an easy decision. Since I was ordering the motor, a new fan also made sense. I cleaned the housing the motor and fan sit in and replaced the rubber grommets that improve vibration isolation. I also added damping to the housing to cut down on reverberation and went through most of the fasteners to ensure quiet operation. The blower is noticeably quieter now as well.

Reassembly still required careful attention to motor balance as you reassemble the fan on the shaft. Connections were not labeled on the control board as you would expect, so I had to understand what each wire was doing and where it needed to land based on the schematic for the control system.

if you "rebuild" an engine (something i've also done), that can still include new parts to replace old parts. it's the process of disassembly, diagnostics, and reassembly that defines it as a "rebuild". when i rebuilt a 4-bolt main 350 cu. in. engine, i only reused the block, heads, cam, and 4 of the pistons. two pistons, all of the valves, valve springs, intake, seals, carb, headers, etc. were new.

 

[Ahmed Johnson]

a furnace only has two parts - the blower system and the heating system. i was referring to the blower system as a whole - everything gone though (including controls) and aged parts were upgraded. the previous year I cleaned the burners and inspected them for cracks - all was well.


i bought a new motor because it wasn't worth replacing bearings in an old motor and yes, the newer motor is more efficient. a local motor rebuild shop quoted me $250 to rebuild the old motor and it would take a week. a week without heat in 20 deg temps wasn't acceptable. a new motor was available from the local Grangier the next morning. it was an easy decision. Since I was ordering the motor, a new fan also made sense. I cleaned the housing the motor and fan sit in and replaced the rubber grommets that improve vibration isolation. I also added damping to the housing to cut down on reverberation and went through most of the fasteners to ensure quiet operation. The blower is noticeably quieter now as well.

Reassembly still required careful attention to motor balance as you reassemble the fan on the shaft. Connections were not labeled on the control board as you would expect, so I had to understand what each wire was doing and where it needed to land based on the schematic for the control system.

if you "rebuild" an engine (something i've also done), that can still include new parts to replace old parts. it's the process of disassembly, diagnostics, and reassembly that defines it as a "rebuild". when i rebuilt a 4-bolt main 350 cu. in. engine, i only reused the block, heads, cam, and 4 of the pistons. two pistons, all of the valves, valve springs, intake, seals, carb, headers, etc. were new.

Alright man, did you rebuild the motor or buy a new one? You have went in a few different directions, with these long drawn out explanations in hopes of confusing me and you never gave a definitive answer. Once again, did you rebuild the motor or did you buy one? Even still, you are an engineer with the know how so your skill isn't an issue. Do you think someone needs to know how to repair a furnace to enjoy heat? Do you think someone should know how to rebuild an engine? If the answer is no, then why do they have to know how to install car audio to enjoy subwoofers? If your answer is yes, then you are just an *******.

 

[tryan77 10+ year member]

Quit fighting over washing machines and furnaces - I'm getting rammed up the *** and I need your help. Here is what the owner of the company said when i asked for a full refund...

I just finished talking with our general manager, REDACTED, after his phone conversation with you. Unfortunately, we do not issue refunds, but instead work to resolve any issue to a customer's satisfaction. REDACTED and I agreed that we will do what is necessary, within reason, of course, to meet your expectations with the performance of this audio system, at no additional cost to you. That will likely mean upgrading some equipment and ensuring proper installation. If for some reason that does not achieve the desired result we will work out a different arrangement, such as an in-store credit. REDACTED will be in touch with you to get the matter resolved. Thank you.