Hello,

I am trying to figure out the "real deal" on how often I should be having my gas furnace maintained (as well as rooftop AC unit). I had a new gas furnace and rooftop AC installed a couple of years ago. Works great. I had a "maintenance agreement" with the company who installed it. They came once in the Spring and once in the Fall.

Here is where I get confused. They supposedly have a long list of things that they check and maintain each time -- which they had told me would take an hour approximately. However, when the technician did visit, he really only spent 15-20 minutes, not an hour. :confused:

Now of course, they want me to renew my yearly maintenance agreement. I am concerned, however, that they are not doing a thorough job. Does it sound like they are spending enough time to do a proper job? Should I renew my agreement, essentially paying for an hour of labor, but getting only 15 minutes? How long is it supposed to take a technician to tune up a furnace? And how often does it need to be done?

Thank you!

Fall and Spring service is standard for preseason heating and cooling checkups. Even though their time estimate doesn't seem to match what they appear to spending to do the job, what really matters is what others are charging for the same service. Ultimately, you either do it yourself or pay hopefully a competitive rate what you aren't doing yourself.

Since every thing is new it does not take but a few minutes to realize that everything is in good shape, as the unit gets older it takes longer to look everything over and do all of the things that may not be a problem but are part of the servicing of a furnace. Even little things like a corner of duct tape coming loose might take 15 to 20 minutes to retape as the unit ages, something that it does not need now.

Divide the price this company is charging you by two, then call some other companies and ask what they check for servicing a one year old system. That will give you a basis to see if your company is treating you right, if they are not call one of the other companies.