Not sure I agree with 'both' serviceman

[MonsterBash]

Correct...she was down in the basement with them and said it never 'turned on'

I did call both places at lunch today.

The first place said they needed to talk to the tech

The second place said the quote read 'blower inop - replace' which is exactly what mine says. When I asked for more info I got 'the blower doesn't work' I then explained to them I hooked it up directly to 115AC and was running fine. They said they have to come back out and look at it again.

Guess who's not coming back out =)

On furnace service calls - you take control of the furnace at the furnace (unless you are testing the thermostat.) They would not have went to the thermostat and "turn it on"

[Southern Mech]

Correct...she was down in the basement with them and said it never 'turned on'

I did call both places at lunch today.

The first place said they needed to talk to the tech

The second place said the quote read 'blower inop - replace' which is exactly what mine says. When I asked for more info I got 'the blower doesn't work' I then explained to them I hooked it up directly to 115AC and was running fine. They said they have to come back out and look at it again.

Guess who's not coming back out =)

don't blame you at all, if I were in your shoes my next statement would have been wrong answer.

[Shophound]

Valid point but not sure I necessarily agree with it.

Kinda like bringing the car into a dealer and saying..'yeah..you computer is bad...while it's here we should probably replace the engine..and maybe the transmission'

Kind of...automatic transmissions on most modern cars are computer controlled, so it's a stretch, though not out of the question, that a computer gone haywire could trash a transmission. Not likely, but possible.

But in your case, the blower control center may have been the root cause of your immediate problem, yet the motor may be worn due to age and the tech was advising your wife of that possibility. Since you weren't there and we're hearing this info third hand, this is the best judgment call I can make.

From what the wife said (I REALLY wish I was there for this) neither guy actually 'turned the furnace on' (from her).

I'm guessing an experience touch could tell by moving the blower shaft if there was play in the bearings?

Yes, I can tell if a blower motor's bearings are going bad without actually running the motor. It was when I failed to do this that sometimes a customer would call back and say "Your tech was just here and replaced part so and so. And now my fan motor quit. Why didn't he see that would happen?"

[pstu]

On top of what is already said, people make mistakes. I would value my AC technician by how he acts to recognize and correct his mistakes, not solely by whether he made a mistake in the first place. I am a homeowner and see that finding an excellent technician is very hard indeed, so expectations need to be realistic.

Hope this helps -- Pstu

[lp1075]

Well as a service tech my self I find that home owner with the internet is the worst thing to happen in the field cuse they try to fix things them self and make a half hr job in to a 3 hr job buy jumping fans out and many other fun things like hitting reset button on oil burner 20 times you should believe what a tech says and leave him to do his job most techs and service company spend many hrs and dollars on tools and taining and they also see the same units and problems a few times a day week it month so before you hit up the net to see if there right let them do there job would you like it if the techs would tell you they know more about your job cuse they read something on line about it

[lp1075]

Sorry if I come across as a a** but I have delt with this many times and if the tech is wrong many companys will make it right for the customer and the company I work for has a call back percent that affects a techs raises and it pushes them to make sure its done right so theres no call back and the customeris happy maybe that's why both ate saying say thing

[jrpsimivalley]

as a tech there is always a repair but also a root problem, if the board was bad i would say the board is bad if motor is drawing high amps(which i don't know how thay saw if they didnt jump it on, or use a mehgometer) I would suggest replacing it as well, IN WRITTING, and let u decline it. If motor goes bad I'm covered and u buy a new motor plus a second msf fee

[motoguy128]

Form at least online prices I've seen, PSC motors are not terrible expensive. Probably 1/3 or less the cost of the control board. If you're changing the board, then you've sort of committed to hanging onto the unit for another 5-8 years. Might as well change the blower too.

You might want them to make sure the heat exchanger, inducer and igniton system are working well on the furnace. with a unit that's already 12 years old, there's no point in throwing $$$ at a circuit board and find out this winter that the heat exchanger is shot.

[pstu]

Sorry if I come across as a a** but I have delt with this many times and if the tech is wrong many companys will make it right for the customer and the company I work for has a call back percent that affects a techs raises and it pushes them to make sure its done right so theres no call back and the customeris happy maybe that's why both ate saying say thing

You're not sounding like an a**, just a regular guy who tries to do the right thing.

Best wishes -- Pstu

[simplyrollin]

That can still put a tech over a barrel. He gives the customer such an option, the customer opts for the less expensive route, and three days later the fan motor dies. While some customers will just shrug it off and say "wish I had done what he suggested", others will call the office and scream bloody murder that the tech should have pushed harder to sell the whole job. Been there, seen that.

When people are in a hot house, reason can get sidelined in some cases.

You are exactly right sir.

[simplyrollin]

Sorry if I come across as a a** but I have delt with this many times and if the tech is wrong many companys will make it right for the customer and the company I work for has a call back percent that affects a techs raises and it pushes them to make sure its done right so theres no call back and the customeris happy maybe that's why both ate saying say thing

I agree with you 100%, as a tech now for many years, the internet has a bunch of bs threads and blogs with people who dont have a clue what they are talking about. Then we get made out to be villains. Homeowner will just google part # and buy it over the internet now anyways. Oh and did I mention, we are supposed to sell it for what we bought it for!!! If my mechanic said you need rotors along with new pads, I would agree and take his advice. If my dentist told me I needed a cleaning along with a new filling, I would agree. But, we are made out to be a*******. Thats what this business is becoming.

[simplyrollin]

Form at least online prices I've seen, PSC motors are not terrible expensive. Probably 1/3 or less the cost of the control board. If you're changing the board, then you've sort of committed to hanging onto the unit for another 5-8 years. Might as well change the blower too.

You might want them to make sure the heat exchanger, inducer and igniton system are working well on the furnace. with a unit that's already 12 years old, there's no point in throwing $$$ at a circuit board and find out this winter that the heat exchanger is shot.

Dude, if you recommended to this homeowner he needed a new furnace rather than throwing $$$ into something 12 years old, he would accuse you of trying screw him over!! We in the field know when its time to quit spending money on junk, homeowners do not, they can just google something online that reassures them they can run the furnace another 75 years.

[danielworkerbee]

Let me guess the full model number 350MAV048100 with a 1/2 hp blower motor ?
I have changed more than a few circuit control boards on this furnace and have been back within a year to change the motor on 60 to 70 %.
luck dan