movingviolation wrote:
can't recommend the repair guy for ya but..
just before that last cold spell that we had my heater started acting up, blowing for 30 minutes and then shutting off, after manual reset blowing for another 30 and shutting off again...
called the repair guy, he came out, tinkered with it, did some "tuning" and it started working again.
2 days later it just died.
called the repair guy again, another dude comes out - yep, you gonna need a new furnace,
they don't make these or parts for them anymore. shit!
i started calling around getting estimates and stuff... 3K for a cheap one, 5+K for a good one, 9 if i want A/C. jeezuss!!!
buddy of my buddy who works for Bob's suggested that i look at the control board...
so i go take it out, it's fairly simple. shit sure, there is a large burnt out spot on it.
started poking around on the web, and come to find out that they in fact do make replacement control boards for this furnace and that particular control board is used in over 300 different furnace models!
$92 on Amazon and 2 days later i had heat again
luckily i have a wood stove and was able to heat the house for those days that the heater was out, otherwise i'd be buying electric space heaters
HVAC repair companies are rife with scammers.
I had a leak develop on the reversing valve braise on my heat pump. I could hear the leak, see the oil, and feel it with my fingers. Shut the compressor down, marked the leak on the valve line, and scheduled to have a repair man come out while I was away on a work trip.
I detailed the problem in a note and asked that they braise the joint again, evac and recharge the system.
Got a call from wife after he left. He ignored my note, didn't even look at the heat pump, said system needed to be replaced. 10 grand.
I had another company (Gig Harbor Heating & Cooling) come out prepared to do exactly what I asked. Looked at the leak with me, the tech very quickly cleaned the failed joint, braised it with a ton of silver solder, evaced, charged and pressure tested system.
Heat and AC working great ever since, less than $400.
Control boards do die after years of service. Especially if they live outside. When we bought our house the existing heat pump control board was actually cracked on the PCB and would intermittently short out.
Worth noting that most control boards may have some adjustments that need to be set for your particular system, regardless if electric, gas, oil, etc. The defaults might work but may not be efficient.
IMO stuff like contactors should be considered wear items and replaced every couple years.
