I don't know the make or model of my furnace because it's under the house, in the crawlspace and my husband is too lazy to go look. :mad: I deducted it's electric because we've never gotten a single gas bill, ever. It has recently started blowing cold air when the theromstat is anywhere near 70 (we don't have A/C). I researched this online, and deduced that it needed cleaning and that perhaps the flame sensor was just dirty. We called a professional (again, the husband chickened out). He said it would be $100 to clean it (which seemed to be the going rate). When he finished, it was suddenly double ($210) and he said he replaced a part although he didn't really make it clear WHICH part or show us the broken part. Less the 24 hours, it's doing the SAME THING :confused: . Now, he says the Gas Valve has goine bad, and it's $300 to replace it. Gas? I thought my furnace was electric? I swear I would take HVAC courses if I had time, but it's COLD already! I hate feeling cheated and I don't want to keep shelling out hundreds to this guy if he's not on the square. HELP ME PLEASE!

Ms, from what you are tell us so far you've been took. For starters not only do you not have a gas valve but also don't have a flame sensor. Picture your toaster. That's all there is to a electric furnace, plus relays, sequencers, and a whole lot of wire that might have been chewed by a varmit. Without knowing specifics we can be of little help. All I can say is get a reputable dealer out to look at it and ask what kind of warranty he gives. Whatever part you supposedly had put in it should have at least a 30 day warranty. I'd personally call that company back and mention small claims court .

Repairman rip off seems to be in vogue... In Miami, whenever you call an A/C repairman they immediately tell you the entire unit is kaput! They will then conveniently quote a $2,000 solution which can be completed in less than 3 hours...

They should be shot at high noon!!

It is always buyer beware. There are many good and honest repair persons out there. It is just the rotten apples that gives the HVAC trade a bad name. Kind of like plumbers.

Thanks for your help! I cancelled my appointment with that cheater! I've been fooling around with our thermostat and I think it's defective. It's the old kind with the slide thingie, and when I took off the cover it was coated with drywall dust (we sanded the walls this summer). My husband also admitted to slamming into it while he was painting and "thumping" it when it doesn't turn on as quickly as he likes. When one doohickey touches the other, the heat kicks on, but they won't stay in contact and the heat kicks off. I've got it adjusted pretty well now, but we're getting a programmable thermostat tonight. Hopefully it's easy to install.