Stress, stress and more stress
It all started innocently enough; we called for service on our heat pump because to myself, it seemed that the outside unit was running much longer than “normal.” The term “NORMAL” is subject to my personal interpretation of the habits of our homes specific unit.
The seasonal temperatures for our area had begun to warm, so based on that fact alone, more running time for our heat pump was definitely NOT required. Maureen also hinted that our last utility bill was higher than we are accustomed to during the winter months. She’s the financial wizard for our little family group so who am I to question her conclusion?
It’s a curse I have learned to live with, but I KNOW a lot about heating and cooling because Uncle Sam provided me with considerable training in the area. He thought it might provide me with the skills needed to acquire a good job after he was through with me. I won’t stand for some service guy coming to our home and trying to razzle-dazzle me with all his knowledge, talking to me like I’m some rookie about the subject.
The service man who responded to our call for service hadn’t much more than put on his little protective foot covers when he made the mistake of asking me where the “furnace” was located.
I informed him that we didn’t have a furnace; we have a heat pump and air handler combination. That clued him in on the fact that this old man knows what he’s talking about.
I was his shadow as he went about his business on the pretense that he might have a question at any moment he might need an answer for. He removed the squirrel cage blower access cover and whistled. “Found a bad problem…did you” I asked?
“MOLD!” He responded. “See for yourself” he added, as he stepped back out of the way. I took a look and sure enough, there was several spots which looked like the fungi I’ve seen on the bark of certain dead trees out in the woods. That was followed by more information about the problems mold can cause for the dwellers of our home than anyone ever expected. He asked for a mop bucket, some bleach, rubber gloves and a scrubbing sponge. I went to get all that, returned and he set about cleaning the mess up. He talked continuously while he worked about how badly we needed our system’s ductwork cleaned. I accepted the fact that he may be correct. It hasn’t been cleaned in over twenty years.
From there he went outside to check the heat pump. I gave him some time to get set up and going through his routine. Went outside to check with his progress. Asked him if he found any problems. He indicated that he didn’t like the manifold readings he was getting, which to him indicated that the compressor was starting to fail and could go out completely just anytime. The overall charge condition was GOOD so that couldn’t be the reason it runs on for so long. When all was said and done, in his opinion, it was time to consider replacing the whole thing.
Maureen and I talked about and decided that a ten year old system just might be going bad and that we should do something about it before the summer heat begins, certainly before winter gets here.
We asked the people who sent the service guy over to send us someone to talk to about replacement. Of course, they did that gladly and quickly. He came and went, leaving us with a sour taste in our mouth and considerable pain in my hip on the side where I normally carry a wallet. The last time that same company replaced our entire unit, it cost between three and four thousand dollars and we got a new electric water heater included in that price. This time the estimate started out at more than eleven thousand dollars for the basic unit combo. ELEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS! Are they kidding? And with that, the whole stressful process of searching out the best deal available today began.
We did our due diligence, making appointments and researching possible vendors reputation and products on the Internet and BBB. Maureen was working everyday so it landed in my lap to be at home and talk to the perspective company’s sales reps. I hated every minute of it. I had folders for each one, filled with the usual info sheets. When Maureen came home each day we sat down and talked about the most recent sales visit. As fate would have it, Maureen always had a question that I hadn’t thought of when the guy was here, so I had to call them the next day and ask the question.
We got four estimates. The eleven thousand bid went in the reject pile. The cheapest brand vendor’s bid joined the pile because their reputation was so bad, we would be nuts to consider it. We narrowed down to two offers and then the real work began. We tried to convince one another that the one we each thought we should go with was the right one. Each of us had our just reasons for picking whom we picked we thought. Today, April 3rd is our wedding anniversary. We’ve been wed for 38 years. How time flies when you are having fun. We do not need any sources of friction or controversy in our married life, yet here it is.
From here on in, does it really matter who gets the job? Maureen has the financial mind set in these kind of matters. I rely on rational thinking and logic, filtering all that through my many years of experience and accumulated knowledge pertaining to the area of heating and cooling. Usually, Maureen would focus on price and go from there…BUT THIS TIME she forsook the cost and went with reputation period. How does a product vendor gain a reputation? Usually, it depends on how much advertising an individual has been exposed to over their lifetime and who hasn’t heard more than once along the way, “It’s hard to stop a trane?!”
SO, that’s where things stand right now.
I’m going with American Standard because the price in right and my Uncle Steve worked for them for most of his life and personally, I liked the way the owner sold his product and service.
She’s got Trane on the brain and I may have a hard time swaying her off the track she’s on. I would think six or seven hundred dollars would have canceled out all that advertising brain washing. I’ve been wrong before and it probably won’t be the last time.
Wish me luck!
