Called Deans Plumbing and heating to check out my furnace. The blower would not turn on in auto mode but would turn on in manual mode. I knew it was either the thermostat or motor switch. The guy arrives and said it was more than likely the thermostat. He then proceeds to go down and look at the furnace. He removes the front cover and flashes a light inside the furnace and immediately says I have a cracked heat exchanger. I said, what does that mean? he says I need to replace the furnace (@$5,000). I said I can't afford a new furnace. He says you don't understand, you could have carbon monoxide in your house. I said look, there is a CO monitor 2 feet from the furnace and several throughout the house, we have never had a carbon monoxide alarm. He then said he was required to shut down my furnace and red tag it. I then asked to see the crack. He pointed his flashlight into the furnace and pointed at a tiny grease spot. I didn't see anything that remotely resembled a crack or even a pin hole. I then said you can't detect CO by looking. You need a CO monitor to check for a leak. He said he had one so I said he needed to use that if he was to make the claim of a CO leak. He said he would have to charge 197.00 to get his monitor. (what a scam). I paid the 59.00 travel charge and told him to leave. I went to Mendards and bought a thermostat and installed it myself. Everything now works perfect. I also did some research on the internet about heat exchanger crack claims. One HVAC authority said heat exchanger crack claims by service people are more times than not a ""license to steal"". Scamming people into buying a new furnace when they don't need one. This was obviously the tactic that was tried by Dean's. Don't believe anything they tell you, better yet, go somewhere else.
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