This morning we woke up to a cold house and a bad electrical smell. The blower motor was stalling and eventually shut the furnace down completely. The bad smell was the motor as it was trying to restart itself. My husband called the furnace repair company at 6 and left a message. We must've been the first to call in this morning, as just after 8 AM the repair guy knocked on our front door.
While the repair guy was working on our furnace, we did our best to stay warm, using 2 1/2 space heaters, the electric fireplace in the living room (that serves as a heat source), and the stove in the kitchen. I got the cast iron griddle going and made a batch of no-egg pancakes and a small pot of brown sugar syrup. I also kept a kettle of water heating instead of using the microwave to heat tea water. Between the griddle, the syrup heating, and the tea kettle, the kitchen wasn't too bad.
I said we have 2 1/2 space heaters. The 1/2 heater is a small desktop heater. We used that to keep a bathroom warm. The other 2 portable electric heaters kept the downstairs warm enough, while their heat rose toward the upstairs bedrooms.
This is perhaps one of the worst weeks of the year to have the furnace go out on us. The lows are in the 20s overnight and highs are in the 30s. Homes in this area are not as well insulated as homes in regions that routinely have very cold winter weather. So the house cools down very quickly.
The repair guy worked for close to two hours. He has it barely working again, with the warning that it won't last more than a couple of days. It needs a new blower motor, which is a factory-ordered part and would take 60 days to receive, not to mention its very hefty price tag. Our furnace is old and has a few other issues that will fail sooner rather than later. It sounds like the cost of all of these repairs would just about equal the cost of a new furnace.
So, the furnace sales person will be out in the morning to advise us on what would work for our house that can be installed as soon as possible.
If you're keeping track, this has been a very expensive year for my family, new roof, new car, laundry and oven repairs, my dental/medical bills, and now a new furnace. We'd been saving for a new furnace for several years. So this is something we're prepared for. We could have splurged on many luxuries along the way -- taken extravagant vacations, gone out to eat in nice restaurants, bought chic new clothing for ourselves, and/or driven the latest and greatest cars. Instead, for all of these 38 years, we've prioritized saving for rainy days. And the rainy days all came in just over a year's time. It took my husband and I all of 5 seconds to say yes to replacing the furnace.
Having the necessary funds to cover our emergencies is about the best worldly luxury we could have.
There's no escaping rainy days. They happen to all of us. Having an umbrella and boots at the ready makes the rainstorm a little less stressful.
We had to replace our furnace a couple of years ago. It wasn't cheap, but something we knew we'd have to do. When we moved into the house, it was already on its last legs. Anyway, it wasn't cheap, but it is so good to have reliable heat. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Live and Learn. I'm glad you and Ward have reliable heat now.
DeleteWe're on the schedule for a Friday installation. I'm so looking forward to the new furnace. No more going back and forth if "now" is the right time to replace ours.
We had to replace our furnace a few years ago. Our yearly furnace check-up showed that it was starting to leak carbon monoxide (which apparently happens with older furnaces) and, like you and your husband, it took us one second to say "replace it". We readers are all part of the saving-for-a-rainy-day club, and in moments like that, we are grateful for our frugal lifestyle. I'm sorry you are having such a financially challenging time, Lili. It gets discouraging after awhile.
ReplyDeleteHi Kris,
DeleteOh, that's scary. I hadn't heard about carbon monoxide leaks as furnaces age. Just another good reason for us to have a new furnace installed. We did have the option to repair the furnace, but like I said, the part we needed would take 2 months, and there were other parts that would fail soon, too.
Thank you for the kindness. I think what's hard to deal with is not so much that every time I turn around there's something else that costs a chunk of $$$, but more that I feel like I am living from one crisis to the next. That is very draining. What I tell myself about the money is that eventually we'll reach a point where everything's been replaced or repaired and there's nothing left that can break down for a while.
Yes, we had to do the same thing January 2024. Along with the furnace we elected to have the AC unit replaced since they each need each other to run. Expensive but done. But the company replaced the furnace in one day to get it working and finished up the next two days. The AC wasn't ready to go until spring because it needed warmer weather for all the components to work. They did that last spring/early summer. Glad it's done now instead of into our retirement years.
ReplyDeleteAlice
Hi Alice,
DeleteI thought of you Monday morning, as I'd recalled that you had just replaced your furnace. Funny how my repairs and replacements have been trailing yours closely.
That's a very good point -- better now than in retirement.
Well, if misery loves company, I’m chiming in. Two weeks ago, I went to visit my mother. My DH, who usually goes with me, opted to stay home this time. (We’re headed back this weekend for her 94th birthday:)
ReplyDeleteWell, one night he was headed to the garage. When he cut on the light, the others went out. Then the lights in the kitchen got blindingly bright and then blew out. Weird goings on. He said it felt like the Twilight Zone or Stranger Things!
He got an electrician friend of ours to come over. He checked some things and said to call the power company. They came and worked til 10 PM. Shortening the story, we are on temporary power for a month and have had to replace a dryer and dishwasher and other small appliances. The power company thinks a fiber optic company’s digging caused our problem. So yes, rainy day fund to the rescue here too. Since we lost our house to an electrical fire twenty years ago, I get a bit wigged out over electrical things, so was glad I wasn’t here.
Lily, our heat went out in our first house in the middle of winter too. Definitely a big expense but will be good in the long run.
Hi Lynn,
DeleteYour husband's experience would have really spooked me. So, with your temporary power, is this how long it will take the power company to redo electrical lines? I'm so sorry you're going through this. So many appliances to replace. Wishing you well as you continue through this until it's finally resolved. I can imagine with your previous house fire experience, this would be a difficult time emotionally.
I'm so sorry this happened to you!
DeleteThank you Lili and Kris. My husband has made multiple calls to the power company regarding re-establishing our full power. As a matter of fact was just on hold for 30+ minutes with a promise of a call back. (He’s been through this before). Very frustrating. They were so responsive that evening that we thought it would be resolved quickly, but that is not proving to be the case. We need them to come to help figure out who the “culprit “ was.
ReplyDeleteIn the midst of all this, my husband and I gave thanks that nothing happened to our electric heat pumps- our source of heat. That would have been REALLY bad and costly.
How frustrating, Lynn! But yes, I am thankful for you that your heat pumps weren't damaged. We looked into a heat pump as a replacement for our furnace, and they are very costly. I'm so glad you have good reliable heat as you navigate all of these other issues with the electricity. Does your homeowner's insurance cover any of this?
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