Ok, so something entirely un-wood related. I was going through all the FB posts from the past few days, and decided to check out marketplace.. Come across someone selling a new, unused CMF2-80-PO Conv furnace for $850. These sell at ~$2200 new in store, and we have a non-functional furnace in the trailer/woodshop. I'm gonna look at it today @ 4PM My thoughts are to replace the Miller CMF-80-PO fuel oil furnace in the house, and move it to the trailer. This would put a "new" furnace in the house as our backup heat, and a working furnace in the trailer/shop. What says the Hoard? Good plan.. Rediculous plan.. Meh, whatever.. It's not woodburning..
How old is the furnace in the house? Seems like 2x the work rather than just buying a furnace for the shop. If you just use the furnace for backup heat, I don’t imagine efficiency is too big of a concern. The ratings I can see online are 2-2.5 stars out of 5. Seem to have to do with customer support.. looks like Miller was bought out and the new furnace is pretty similar to your existing one. Can you put a wood burner in the shop?
Unsure at the moment.. Since it's a trailer, I can't "legally" by code install our old stove, as it's not certified for trailer use. I'd have to check with code enforcement to be 100% sure on stove install in trailer. I'm fairly certain it would require an OAK if I went that route. Then there's chimney expense as well as stove costs. As to house furnace age, S/N is MA0189-02941 Quick Google shows most likely Jan of '89 as manufacturing date. Haven't made a final decision yet, thx for the advice & thoughts
Chaz, entirely depends on your needs! I personally have a backup heat source, oil h20 baseboard and domestic hot h20, well it was a primary BUT now strictly 2nd string! Here a mortgage, insurance and CO require it. Are you planning on moving ever? What about vacations or multiple day travel in winter. If price is too good of a deal to pass up and you have a use for it.. What's the downside??
We also have the existing furnace as backup. It may be nearly 30 yrs old, but works fine. Unsure about requirements by others, I'm pretty sure the insurance requires a standard heat source. I'm also sure the mortgage company would be less than happy if I did not have a backup "normal" system. But, it's not like I've ever met any representative from the company that purchased our mortgage. I will always have a backup system installed, that much I know. Especially if, as you posted, we go visiting in winter, don't need a lot of busted water pipes awaiting our return. That's where my brain went when I saw the ad. But.. that is also why the majority of our money sits in Chazsbetterhalf savings/checking acct. I'm good with the numbers, terrible at saving. I do know that I want to install a heat source in the trailer so I can do woodworking in the winter as I'm generally too busy in the warm/hot months. This plan, although a lot of work, puts a new unit in our house, and a working older system in the trailer/shop. I don't plan to move from here, so the cost is easily justified in my mind. After a lengthy discussion (during the making of this post), Chazsbetterhalf agrees. Perhaps the point is moot, but input still accepted/appreciated. Thx all.
I say at that kind of price, that is a good plan. An older system will probably die at the worst time possible - so replacing it is worth it just for the peace of mind when you have to depend on it. Bonus that you can use the older system for the shop.
Chaz I typed in the model number on a word search and the first one to show up was $1450. Not quite double what your price is at. It never hurts to start low with an offer of say....$500? That would help cover the costs of venting and fuel lines/storage (tank) unless you're already set up with those. You already have a back up heat source in your house, right? Heating with wood and the furnace for back up. Well, low ball the seller and put the new furnace in your shop. If your house furnace takes a crap, you have a very slightly used exact replacement for it to swap out. But the real issue here isn't being addressed. Buying "spare" items of this nature are signs of a hoarding obsession......and.....the first step on the road to recovery is admitting there is a problem!!
Chaz with yoop on that.. Old one works, its back up.. Throw new one in shop.. Switch if needed later.. Read summer or especially not winter!!
This ----------------------------- --------------------------^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^! (from personal experience)
Yeah, a bit of bargaining never hurts. Not sure I would go that low to start, but you never know until you try. Worst they can say is that the price is firm. Ah, the Hoarding issue - believe being on this site instantly qualifies that one has admitted to it. Not that they have admitted it is a problem though
Correct. Well, I did mention that I thought it was a fair price they were asking, but that I couldn't commit to that price. Leaves a little wiggle room, but limited. Worst part of spare in the trailer is.. If the house furnace craps out, I still have to remove and replace at a bad time. If we went away and it craps out, I wouldn't know till we return. Well, this wouldn't really be a spare. Now if I refurbished the non-functional furnace and held onto it, well then..
It was always intended to be a "fair" weather project. Purchase and store over winter, install during warm weather, ensure proper operation, call it done.
Yeah, believe me if I could (had the room), I'd install a wood stove in the basement so I had 3 heat sources.
Unless there is a significant fuel use savings that makes a double install worthwhile, I would just put the new used furnace in the trailer. If nothing else, it is a backup should the one in the main house fail. Even a new unit can fail at a mis-opportune time. Here. a wood stove cannot be used as a primary heating source as far as a insurance co is concerned. You can use your back-up wood heat 99.9% of the time for heat as long as you have primary heat.
I apologise for not updating this thread yesterday, it slipped my mind. I decided against the purchase. There's some sketchy stuff going on with the sellers. I show up at the trailer, no-one answers, so I hang out for a bit, harrassing the 3 city deer behind their trailer. Lady shows up and we introduce ourselves. She says her BF should be home, I let her know that I knocked with no response. She goes in, wakes up BF, I go in, and am introduced. I ask why they're selling the furnace at the beginning of winter. I am told I've heard of plenty of FO thefts, but the tank as well??? So I look, yeah the furnace is new and clean. I really thought about it, but I'd like to get away from Fuel Oil anyway. I'm thinking they may be in "Dutch" with the park management, and I don't want to get involved if they are renters trying to sell property that they don't own. My only conundrum now is whether I should involve myself in someone else's business by contacting the park management and finding out if it's personal property, or park property they are trying to sell. It's not really any of my business, but I feel a nagging sense that I should say/do something. So, in a nutshell, I will not be pursuing the purchase, not sure if the story is over yet.
