Annual furnace service plan - good idea or a waste?

[hewy9]

We live in northeastern Minnesota with very cold winters. In fact, last winter we had over a month where the temperature did not get above zero degrees.  Therefore, having our furnace in good working order is essential and to help with this we recently signed up for our utility company's annual service plan ($168/year). 

For some background, we bought our ~100 year old house two years ago and the previous owners had replaced the furnace between 5-8 years before they sold the house (we have a natural gas furnace/boiler with hot water radiators).  This warranty policy includes an annual check-up as well as a variety of parts and labor (with the main exclusion being our hot water heater is not covered).  In case more details would help people understand whether this warranty has any real value, the following parts are covered: thermostat, fan control, limit control, gas valve, gas regulator, pilot burner, transformer, thermocouple, draft hood, heat motors, fan motor, pump coupler, belts and pulleys, coupler-mounted pump motor (one per policy), primary control module, blower bearings, vent connections, safety pilot, fuses, and ignitors.

My husband is a pretty handy guy, though he regularly travels out of town for work and I have minimal experience (and comfort) trouble-shooting furnace issues.  At first I was happy to sign up for this policy for peace of mind, but as I discovered this blog, I know have started seconding guessing our decision.  Therefore, I would appreciate hearing feedback from others as to whether it is worthwhile to pay this annual $168 expense or to suck it up and educate ourselves.  We don’t currently have a backup heating system, but this is something we need to figure out because power outages do happen in our area each winter.

Thanks in advance for any feedback you may have!

[Greg]

While I don't live in as cold a place as you, I have always thought of these sorts of plans as a kind of insurance.  The problem is, it seems like usually when you have a problem not everything is covered and you still end up paying a lot.

I guess I would think that if your DIY hubby can do his own check ups etc, and any needed repairs if he's there, then maybe you don't need it.  Maintenance and planned repairs are far more convenient than emergency repairs.

Re: backup heating systems.  I just finished installing a very small woodstove and it's great.  We haven't needed it yet in a power outage, but it's very nice!  The chimney pipe cost 2x the stove, but we will earn it all back in 2-3 years by using far less propane for our radiant floor heat.  The wood fuel is a natural byproduct of my design/build practice.

[RH]

Seems okay to me. Annual chckup is $100/yr, so the remaini ng $68 is peace of mind for parts and labor for an appliance that is heavily used.

[Prairie Stash]

My backup for my furnace consists of the oven with the door open and 2 space heaters worth about $50 new. On top of that I have friends I could stay at if the temp hits -40 and the backup can't keep up, I have a 2 year old. Of course the electric heat system fails in a power outage, so does your furnace though (the fan requires electricity).

I skip annual checks. Stay home and watch them next time, ask questions. My guy is mostly looking for a cracked heat exchanger, which my CO detector would inform me of anyhow. The exchanger could crack the day after the inspection, my thought is it's better to have an alarm for the other 364 days. If you don't have a detector take some of that saved money and buy one.

[DoNorth]

pretty big waste of money.  if anything, use a groupon or amazon local to get the inspection for $35-$45 .  They will do a multi-point inspection and let you know if anything is wrong.  The value here is that they check for gas leaks etc. (which you could do on your own, but you'd have to buy the equipment)

I went the groupon route  a few months ago and they offered to replace my furnace igniter for me for $225.  The part was $25 on amazon and it took me 3 minutes to swap out; he said If I had the contract, then the work would have only cost me $150, but the contract was still another $130.

Most things with a furnace can be done DIY; there are a few that are not recommended, but search family handyman and some of the other sites for a better understanding of what you should and shouldn't do.

[BlueMR2]

My furnace guy himself said to not bother with annual checks.  He said to call him out every couple years if we want, or just wait for a problem, since most common failures are not predictable (relay seizing up, etc).

[QajakBoy]

It's my experience and understanding that natural gas furnaces do not need annual work since it's a relatively clean burning fuel.  Yes, a part may go bad now and then, but on average it should be many years between now and then.  I'm not in Minnesota, I'm in Virginia, but in my 25 years with a gas furnace I cannot remember any repairs on it, only had repairs on the central air conditioning system.

[hewy9]

Thanks everyone! 

[Exflyboy]

If it uses a hot wire ignitor.. buy a spare... In fact buy 2 for like $15 each... They go out fairly regularly and are dead easy to replace.

Frank