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Honeywell furnace flame detector

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floobydust:

--- Quote from: jmelson on December 09, 2021, 04:57:01 pm ---[...] I immediately recognized what was the sensor rod, cleaned it and it started working properly.
--- End quote ---

A home's furnace is mission critical up north. Within hours people and pets get really cold.

I've had a few friends phone me when it's -30°C outside and their furnace has conked out.
Most of the time it's a dirty flame rod. Furnace repair guys charge out $135/hr and will dink around to try stretch it to a 2 hour callout, for something that takes a few minutes.
I've also replaced hot-wire igniters, a $20 part that they markup to $125 and install in a few minutes. Worth keeping a spare around actually.

james_s:
I think if I lived somewhere that cold I'd install dual redundant furnaces, you could even go with smaller units and run one of them most of the time and both when it gets really cold out, a distributed 2-stage furnace effectively, and if one failed you'd still have a backup. Electric baseboard heaters or wood or gas fireplace inserts would be another viable option.

I hate the HVAC industry, there is a great deal of protectionism and from what I've seen it's very common for those guys to milk people and take advantage of emergencies. I know several people who have called a tech out only to have them pushing hard to replace the entire system and then they end up fixing it themselves and realizing it was a trivial repair.

bdunham7:

--- Quote from: james_s on December 09, 2021, 11:15:02 pm ---I think if I lived somewhere that cold I'd install dual redundant furnaces,

--- End quote ---

Not a bad plan.  It's common to have electric or gas backup for heat pump systems, but a dual small furnace rather than a two stage would be good.  Unfortunately I don't know of any very small furnaces and I don't think code would allow you to have them both feeding the same ductwork.


--- Quote ---I hate the HVAC industry, there is a great deal of protectionism and from what I've seen it's very common for those guys to milk people and take advantage of emergencies. I know several people who have called a tech out only to have them pushing hard to replace the entire system and then they end up fixing it themselves and realizing it was a trivial repair.

--- End quote ---

Where I used to live in the Midwest I had a business neighbor in the HVAC business and I fixed his vehicles, he did my HVAC stuff.  I never realized how well he treated me until I moved and tried to deal with HVAC contractors as a retail customer.  They seem to think that they are entitled to your money on a regular basis.  I'm crawling around in my attic for the next month or so replacing and resealing all my ductwork because the first thing the contractors do when they see my perfectly good 20 year old furnace is quote me a whole new system including slapping in new flex-ducts (I have rigid and I want to keep them) for $20K.  The other option is unlicensed hacks that will do terrible work.  Fortunately where I live it doesn't freeze and a few space heaters and a gas fireplace will keep us warm enough.

james_s:

--- Quote from: bdunham7 on December 09, 2021, 11:34:57 pm ---Where I used to live in the Midwest I had a business neighbor in the HVAC business and I fixed his vehicles, he did my HVAC stuff.  I never realized how well he treated me until I moved and tried to deal with HVAC contractors as a retail customer.  They seem to think that they are entitled to your money on a regular basis.  I'm crawling around in my attic for the next month or so replacing and resealing all my ductwork because the first thing the contractors do when they see my perfectly good 20 year old furnace is quote me a whole new system including slapping in new flex-ducts (I have rigid and I want to keep them) for $20K.  The other option is unlicensed hacks that will do terrible work.  Fortunately where I live it doesn't freeze and a few space heaters and a gas fireplace will keep us warm enough.

--- End quote ---

I can fix vehicles and I can do HVAC. I have noticed that entitlement attitude, and I think that's why they are so hostile toward any kind of DIY, they're afraid people who are handy will figure out that it isn't nearly as hard as they pretend it is and not out of reach of a competent and experienced DIYer. It's just a mix of plumbing, electrical, fabrication, physics and a little engineering, it's not rocket science. The hardest part is finding good information, the HVAC forums I'm familiar with strictly forbid giving DIY advice and will immediately lock any thread where it comes up. That attitude ensures that come hell or high water I will do it myself and never pay them a dime even though I could afford to.

tom66:

--- Quote from: james_s on December 10, 2021, 08:54:32 am ---I can fix vehicles and I can do HVAC. I have noticed that entitlement attitude, and I think that's why they are so hostile toward any kind of DIY, they're afraid people who are handy will figure out that it isn't nearly as hard as they pretend it is and not out of reach of a competent and experienced DIYer. It's just a mix of plumbing, electrical, fabrication, physics and a little engineering, it's not rocket science. The hardest part is finding good information, the HVAC forums I'm familiar with strictly forbid giving DIY advice and will immediately lock any thread where it comes up. That attitude ensures that come hell or high water I will do it myself and never pay them a dime even though I could afford to.

--- End quote ---

Similar story with AC units in the UK.  You can now legally buy mini-split units that contain propane as a refrigerant.  It's not a gas that has a high GWP (global warming potential) or ODP (ozone depletion potential), so it's considered safe for consumers to handle with effectively zero training.  Yes, it is flammable, but that is no different from a consumer setting up a gas barbeque/grill.  Yet, reading on the AC repair/installers forums, they're completely up in arms over this clearly unsafe technology being accessible to every Joe with a hammer and drill.  I will certainly be installing my own HVAC in my new home.

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