Furnace tips to know

Working as an HVAC technician, I’ve come across some very unusual situations.  I’ve gotten called for a repair because a pet hamster somehow got into the ductwork.  I’ve faced bees in the ductwork, air conditioners struck by lightning, cooling coils covered in mold and furnaces submerged in flood waters.  I’ve been hired to install heating equipment that is far too large to fit into the installation space. I was recently asked to fix a furnace after a different HVAC contractor failed to do the job properly.  The homeowners had hired a competitor of mine, who overcharged them for very shoddy workmanship. After the repair, the furnace ran for less than a week before breaking down again. When the homeowners were unable to get the technician to either come back or return their money, they called me.  I spent several hours in their basement, taking the heating system apart, cleaning the various components and replacing defective parts. Unfortunately, the entire time I worked on the furnace, I could hear the man and his wife arguing upstairs. The ductwork carried their voices to the basement.  I could hear every word they said. While I was reluctant to eavesdrop on their argument, there was no way to avoid it. The couple was very upset about the amount of money they’d spent on furnace repair, and each blamed the other one for hiring the original HVAC contractor. The whole situation was extremely awkward, and I couldn’t wait to finish up and get out of there.  However, I felt so bad for them that I reduced my rate and gave them a very good deal on the furnace repair.

heating and air