I just got a letter from the intstaller of our gas furnace and central a/c to see if we want to sign up for a service contract for $299 +tx per year. The contract includes:
1 anual tuneup - both systems
2 24 hr energency service durign winter months (and priority service - over non-contract people)
3 10% discount on parts.
The price looks very high for this but I’m not all that interested anyway because the system is new and I have a backup method of heating the house. But I want to know what they do for the annual tune-up. Is this something I can do? What’s involved?
This site says your gas furnace should get a tune-up every other year. So does this site.
Maybe you should call the company’s competitor and ask how much it is to have your furnace tuned up. Then you can decide how much money (if any) you’ll save.
Here’s a [site](http://www.cwgoodguys.com/services1.htm#Furnace & A/C Tune Up) that charges $75 for gas furnace tune-ups and $65 for A/C. I’m sure they’re not in your state (unless you live in WI), but the info may serve as ball-park figures.
As someone who has gone through a carbon monoxide scare due to a cracked heat exchange (glad I had a CO detector) I strongly suggest you at least get it inspected and cleaned. Mine runs about $90 per year with all the benefits in the OP (discount and “preferred” service). This could vary by geographic region and furnace type but as JuanitaTech get a few other estimates.
With modern gas furnaces the tuneup typically entails cleaning dust from the inside.
Really, that’s about all. They check the pilot function and flame (if you don’t have a piezo pilot), test the main fan and the exhaust fan, they may do a CO test, but otherwise…yeesh. Most of these things are either 100% working/100% dead, so there’s little point.
Save your money. Put it into a couple of good CO detectors, and the rest into the bank for buying a new furnace/self-insurance for an outage.
Does this advice also apply to gas furnaces in non-forced air systems? (I have hot water/radiator heat.) Also, please define “modern”. If my furnace is about 10-15 years old, is that modern? Thanks.
No, you have several more things that need checking with your water system. In that case, tuneups are much more comprehensive typically.
Also, I had typed some info about the A/C portion of the tuneup, but the Board ate my posts twice, and thus only a brief summary of what I intended to post got posted.
Anthracite, got questions for you if you dont mind, (or for anyone else who would know the answer):
I had my gas furnace inspected last weekend and they say it is rusted inside and should be replaced. The unit is 16 years old, and is “original equipment” with the house. (We just bought the house a few years ago)
So my question(s) are, is it generally better to find a big company to do the installation, or do “mom&pop” a\c companies work fine too assuming the BBB gives them a clean record? Is there a quality differentiation between the different manufacturers or does it even matter?
$342.42 sounds way out of line. Remember, you should have at least a five year warranty that covers the major components, and many brands are offering up to 10 years. If the furnace and the AC coils are in the same air handler, you should be OK if you keep up on changing the air filter as recommended. A “tune up” is nothing more than an inspection and maybe some refridgerant. 10% off parts that your installer buys at a third of the cost he’s going to charge you is no bargain. If your unit is over 7-10 yrs old, save your money for a new, more efficient unit in the next year or two. There is no money in service calls, unless you con someone into buying “protection”, or your service call results in scamming you into buying very expensive equipment.
I agree E72521 that $324.42 seems very high for what they are offering. I think the gas co offers a service contract for an extra $10/month or so (which my parents have and will usually replace parts for free) - but then again no a/c is included. As for gettign a more efficinet unit - this one is only 2 yrs old and was the most efficinet I could get w/o replacing the chimney. Also I was told that higher efficency units are harder to repair.
Like I said I am well perpared for a prolonged period with a broken furnace in the middle of winter (better then an a/c failure in the summer). The thing that got me was the annual service call - I wanted to know what’s involved and what it’s worth.
I agree E72521 that $324.42 seems very high for what they are offering. I think the gas co offers a service contract for an extra $10/month or so (which my parents have and will usually replace parts for free) - but then again no a/c is included. As for gettign a more efficinet unit - this one is only 2 yrs old and was the most efficinet I could get w/o replacing the chimney. Also I was told that higher efficency units are harder to repair.
Like I said I am well perpared for a prolonged period with a broken furnace in the middle of winter (better then an a/c failure in the summer). The thing that got me was the annual service call - I wanted to know what’s involved and what it’s worth.
Mars Horizon, the big companies will try sell you a big name furnace like Carrier or Bryant or Lennox. You will be paying much more than is necessary just for the name. You would be better off going with a mom & pop. Look inside the furnace by the burners. There should be a plate with the model & serial numbers & the BTU output on it. If you are in central Florida you are not worried so much about the heating as you are air flow for A/C. Don’t let whatever company you choose talk you into a furnace with a smaller BTU output than the one you have. Most furnaces are made by the same small number of manufacturers. Some “offbrands” that are very good are Ducane (Lennox), Fraser-Johnston (York), Tempstar (Heil). I am assuming your furnace is electric–does the furnace blower handle the A/C or do you have a separate air handler? If you do have a separate air handler, it does not matter what brand that is because all it is is a blower & relays.
k2dave, either way, you’re taking a gamble. If you decide to pay for the yearly contract & have a no heat call in the dead of winter, & a no cool call in the dog days of August, you come out ahead. On the other hand, if all you do is have the tune-ups, & your furnace & A/C run fine all year, that money went for nothing. Toss a coin or consult your favorite psychic.
My husband has worked in the furnace business since boilers were still coal-fired, & he has seen more people that have been ripped off by big-name furnace/A/C/plumbing companies than he can remember.
I don’t think this is an area where I could supply any special expertise. This is going to vary tremendously with the region and the quality of the service providers. I mean…I don’t know if there is a good general answer to this.
Mars Horizon - Something to watch out for in a new furnace is the efficiency. The colder or longer your heating season the higher the efficiency you should consider. The extra cost in higher efficiency furnaces is offset by monthly savings in energy costs. The same applies to A/C’s: The warmer / longer the cooling season the faster a higher-efficency unit will pay for itself in monthly savings. Florida is not exactly the “snow belt” so you’ll have a large choice for furnaces, just ignore the lowest and highest efficiency units and look at the middle-ground units.
When we got the furnace (gas btw) we got 2 estimates, one came recomended by a neighbor but was a bigger establishment and the other was a local mom and pop. Since we only had recomendations for the bigger one we were only using the m&p one for an estimate to see if the bigger one was in line.
in short the m&p recommended Ruud, 20,000 less btu’s then the bigger one’s recomendation and current (due to higher efficency they say) and 1/2 ton less a/c then the bigger one (didn’t have central a/c to start).
The bigger one installed lennox
If it is fuel fired (not electric) then once you exceed a certain efficency the exhaust gas will be too cool and condense on the chimney causing it to rust out unless it’s new enough to be built to high eff. standards.
