Heating Problem - High Quote from Repairman

[basingley]

Hi,

My heat stopped working yesterday, I've got a 5 year old lennox G40 furnace. He tells me the problem is the draft induction blower motor, and that it's fried and needs to be replaced. I believe that b/c it jsut hums when the heat is turned on, and thats as far as the cycle goes. I'm already paying him $160 for coming out on the weekend and he quotes me $1330.00 to fix it. After prodding a bit I found out that the price for the work is "inflated a little" b/c it's a weekend call (Saturday night). I pay him the $160 charge for coming out and say "no thanks" to the rest of the work quoted. After some research on the web, I noticed that draft induction assemblies for this system average around $125. Unreal! I'm furious.

My questions are:

1) Do all Heating and Air companies overcharge this much on the weekends? Is this normal? It does not seem right. (The company is Hibner Heating and Air)

2) What is the average price to fix this, on a weekday...under normal circumstances?

Thanks for any help.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

No, they are screwing you.

My service company charges $60 an hour plus parts and travel.

[basingley]

Thanks Edwin! Appreciate the help. If you are within 500 miles I could pay YOU to come and it would still be less than $1300!! ha

[dreamchaser]

That's ridiculous. I'd turn them into the Better Business Bureau. The BBB does work too. I've called them to inquire about companies in the past and get good information. I even turned in the guy that was picking up my trash in Texas because he quit picking it up even after we paid him. We pay him quarterly, he's been picking up our trash for ten years. We forgot to pay the beginning of one quarter and notice the trash isn't getting picked up, then send a check and he still doesn't pick it up. The guy was a jerk anyways. So I turned him in.

This guy calls me one morning at 7am and proceeds to tell me I'm a liar, yatta yatta, I had no reason to turn him into the BBB and on and on. I had just woken up and it didn't sit right with me so I asked the guy, "Are you lecturing me, because if you are, get a life" He went on so I told him to go &*^( himself. Guess what, I got my refund back. So the BBB does work. Turn those robbers in.

The air induction motors in some furnaces are just crap. My mother-in- laws furnace had one that would hang up and not run. The bearings just don't last. That part is really simple to replace, you should do it yourself if you have some tools.

[CharliesIkandy]

charles smith [e-mail]

1) yes it is an avg price because its a weekend, its considered emergency troubleshoting call on a week day it would be $75 plus $10.00 travel fee for a troubleshoting call a service call is about $65.00 total to clean a filter and make sure the unit is working properly. an inducer motor could range from $75-$150 now think about how much mark up the comany or technician will add tothe purchase cost I work in the industry in san diego CA if your fau/ furnace isonly 4 yrs old then the parts should still be under waranty if you have any more questions call me 619-571-8838 c. smith

[basingley]

Yeah the $169 service charge I'm not upset about, it's the inflated cost of fixing the motor that really bites me. What bothers me more are the people that do not know any better (such as my grandmother, single parents who are busy with kids and short on cash, etc.) that may call them on a really cold weekend and are desperate for heat...and they get screwed. When I get a decent company to isntall it this week, I'm gonna run it by them and see what they think about all of this.

I think I'm gonna use the serial number off of the furnace and order the part online. If I cant get it on myself then I'll call another repairman. From what I've read and researched it's just a couple of wires to connect, no big deal.

Has anyone replace one before? Anything I need to know?

Thanks for reminding me about the warranty, but it's jsut over 5 years old so it's not eligible.

Thanks again.

[basingley]

You as well Charles, I'm sure you have some thoughts on if I can replace this myself? Since you are in the business...

[Joe]

Ty arnoldservice.com for advice and repair parts. Should be a half hour job. HTH

Joe

[Art Todesco]

When I 1st got this Amana 90+% furnace, there was alway problems with condensate water leaking from the combustion blower. After about a year, I got Amana to replace the blower BUT, they would not "let" me do the work. So, I had to pay a company $65 to walk in, take out a few screws and connect the new blower. I think he was out in about

35 minutes. AND, it still leaked. Years later, the bearings went bad, so I went to a DIY friendly HVAC place and got a new fan/motor. I installed it in about an hour .... no leaks. Thank you very much Amana and your "authorized" service guy. I don't know about your unit, but on mine, the important thing is the black gasket material between the fan and the secondary heat exchanger. If you don't have a 90+% unit, this should even be easier. But, from the sound of the OP, it must not be too cold where he/she is located. In the Chicago area (and others) these things need to be fixed immediately. As far as being able to do the work yourself, I did it, but I consider myself to be fairly handy at these things. But, it was not that difficult.

[chevrolet's moma]

The price of a whole new furnace is less than what you got quoted...in the land of the brave and home of the free (canada) we do have a chain of supply stores that will sell to the 'average' handyperson. Its Wollesly Supply. Fair prices, will sell a complete air conditioner or furnace or parts for the above.

[Stormin Mormon]

Some brands of parts are hard to find online. They are only sold through the dealers. Lennox and Trane come to mind.

I've not done much Lennox service, so I'm not sure what the prices are like. But that does sound high. Did you get it fixed? Or find another company?

[basingley]

It's an 80% unit by the way. And yes, I'm in Memphis so it's a good thing the lowest this week will be 39 at night. A ceramic portable heater can handle the 1500 sq foot house just fine for now...especially in the master bedroom.

This happened yesterday...tomorrow is Monday so I'll start making some phone calls in the morning. I've found it on several websites anywhere between $80 and 4150. I just need to check the serial numbers and exact model of the furnace (Lennox G40..

then I'll see how long it will take to get the part.

To be honest, I'll probably call a couple of local Lennox dealers in the area and tell them that I'm 90% sure it's the draft induction blower/motor and see what it's gonna take for them to come out, bring the part... and get it fixed.

[basingley]

and yes, arnoldservice.com is by far the best place I can find on the internet that explains how the entire system works. His advice helped me fix my own issue about a month ago...the site could use a little work to make it easier to read, but I am grateful for his information. I could not find any details/tips on his site about replacing this particular part though.