Re: UPS Fraud in Furnace Parts

On Fri, 02 Dec 2005 00:53:35 -0500, Sawney Beane
<beadleXX@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>Stretch wrote:
>>
>> Don't touch the surface of the Hot Surface Ignitor with your skin. It
>> has been known for at least 20 years that will lead to premature
>> failure. If you don't know what you are doing, you would be better off
>> hiring a contractor to fix it for you. It would certainly be faster
>> and you would get a warranty as well. If you want to save LOTS of
>> money, turn the furnace off and leave it off. Then you won't need to
>> buy parts on the internet.
>>
>> Not trying to be a harda--, just surprised what some people will do to
>> save a little money.
>>
>> Stretch
>> (HVAC contractor in South Carolina)
>
>Like you, the local HVAC people seemed to think I should leave my
>furnace off indefinitely. I turned to the internet to keep from
>catching cold. I would have been glad to pay more locally.
>
>Last summer lightning hit my chimney and killed my AC. The 24V 3A
>fuse was blown on the computer board in the furnace. To isolate
>the problem, I disconnected the 24V leads going to the thermostat
>and put in a 5A fuse. I would be standing by the power switch and
>the bigger fuse would be less likely to blow instantly.
>
>I found there was a short on the board and called the HVAC company.
> I had a stool ready so the repairman wouldn't get his *** cold
>and dirty.
>
>He expressed gratitude for the stool. Then he saw the disconnected
>wires and chewed me out. It seemed to go on for ever. With my
>lifetime of experience getting into trouble, I didn't argue because
>that would not have assured him at all.
>
>He said the trouble was that HVAC men don't neccessarily adhere to
>color codes, so he had no idea which wire went where. I said I
>could tell him. He asked how. I said I'd made notes and diagrams
>of the wires I'd removed, but it probably wouldn't be necessary to
>get my notes because I'd used masking tape to fasten the thermostat
>wires in the proper order. He said he would have done the same.
>
>I said I thought lightning had shorted something on the board. He
>asked how I knew. I said the transformer had hummed. He asked how
>I'd known it was the transformer. I said I'd put my finger on it.
>He tried it and agreed. He said he needed to hook things up
>anyway. I told him the order of the blower leads and checked my
>notes to be sure. This time the humming stopped. I said the short
>had probably burned open. He agreed.
>
>I told him I'd rebuilt the computer board after a flood seven years
>ago. I said finding sources for the components had been a hassle.
>He said that he simply replaced boards because a factory instructor
>had told him a DMM would zap the semiconductors. I said I thought
>that information was obsolete. I said it was true when I had
>started, in the days of VOMs and germanium, but nowadays it seemed
>all a tech had to watch out for was static.
>
>He shook my hand and apologized for getting mad. I would have been
>mad, too. I'd left the wires undone because I hadn't realized
>wiring could confuse a pro. I was glad I'd met him because I found
>him honest, competent, and reliable.
>
>I could have gotten a new board through the internet for $150. He
>quoted $400 and a wait of just as many days. I bought from him
>because I trusted him. I said I'd like one of those diagnosing
>boards because it would be good to be able to phone and tell him
>what was wrong if I ever had trouble. He agreed that it would be a
>good choice for me.
>
>Two weeks ago the board said it was an ignition failure. One
>component on the burner had one thin wire. The other had two fat
>wires. A sensor wouldn't need two fat wires, so that was the
>ignitor. It read open on a DMM.
>
>I called the HVAC company. Their machine gave me a cellphone number
>in case of emergency. I was pretty cold, so I dialed it. That
>machine said they'd get back to me. After sitting by the phone two
>hours in a cold house, it was hard to unbend my legs to stand up.
>Apparently they were unwilling to speak to a hypothermic man on a
>Saturday. I wouldn't be able to check until Monday, and I was
>afraid the ignitor would have to be ordered, like my computer
>board. I wanted to be sure I could get the part Monday, but nobody
>I knew could think of a place that sold furnace parts. The
>uncertainty that I could get it locally drove me to the internet.

So many lines of uttter bull***. You are a tight ass and got exactly
what you paid for. A good HVAC company will have almost every igniter
on their truck (or at least one that will work over the weekend). I
can get any parts house to open up at night or on a weekend for a fee
of $0 to $100 depending on the store. You are cheap and didnt want to
do it and didnt want to pay a guy overtime. Spend the money or go play
on the internet. Its you choice. Just stop whinnin and bitchin like
its someone else's fault.
ITS YOURS.
Bubba
.

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