So I turned on the a/c this afternoon for the first time in weeks. The outside unit seems to be running like normal, but the fan/blower inside is not running. I'll have to get it fixed, possibly replaced as it is as old as the hills.

Any rec's as to who to call? Looking for reliable service and fair pricing.

J R Plumbing Heating Air Conditioning

804 Highview Ave
Glen Ellyn, IL 60137-5532
(630) 545-2619‎

Nice job, Clam, steal my rec and pass it off as your own?

Anyway, Mama, I had a similar problem a few years ago (yes, my HVAC is old) with the blower. In my case the blower shaft had busted (or something like that, I can't really remember). Anyway, I was able to repair it myself with parts from Grainger (www.grainger.com). It's not all that difficult.

But if electricity frightens you, I can give the contractor Clam mentioned a thumbs up for the A/C unit they just put in.

Here's a search for furnace blowers at Grainger.

Link

I guess I should add that of course, I don't know that your blower is shot, it could be a relay or a number of other things. So ignore my comment about doing it yourself. Get a tech out to diagnose the problem first. Then, even if you're not doing the work yourself, you can find out what the parts would cost you.

Everyone loves Frank. His brother? Not so much.

Thanks everyone. Looks like it is the blower motor. $600 to fix or $2500/$4,150 for a new furnace. Since the furnace is original to the house (1956), I think we'll soon be the proud owners of a new furnace.

Now I'm weighing a regular furnace with the high efficiency (and eligible for tax credit) version. Decisions, Decisions . . .

Just look at the payback on the higher efficiency versions (95%+)...they typically take 15+ years to payback your energy savings....that is why I went for a 80% efficiency model...only takes a couple years to start paying back....

15 years? I had no idea. I was thinking I would recoup the net difference somewhere around year three or four.

I was looking at it like this - $2,500 for the 80% efficiency. $4,150 for the 95%+ efficiency.

The tax credit is 30% of the cost, which is $1,245. That means the net difference between the two furnaces is really $405 - as long as I write a check for the furnace and don't finance it, of course.

I figured at .15 per dollar of heat, the break even point would be right around $2,700 in heating costs. So my guess was that I would make up the $405 in around 3-4 years.

Hmmm. . . I need to do more thinking. Maybe there's a calculator online somewhere that will help me, after all I'm a lawyer, not a mathematician.