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The furnace in my mobile home has failed. I'm using electric space heaters to keep warm and they work well enough but they keep tripping the breakers since this is a very old mobile with only 50 amps service. Three space heaters adds up to 36-45 amps. Add computers, lights and refrigerator and I can't run the washing machine without turning something off.
I'm checking into getting the furnace repaired but my handyman is of the opinion that it may cost enough to be worth just replacing it, which would be $1000 to $2000 dollars, a pretty big hit on my budget. More word soon.
Hugs,
Erin
Comments
Ouch!
Sitting here in the middle of nowhere during a snowstorm, I can empathize with your predicament! My backup heating system is kerosene because it doesn't rely on electricity, but that might not be a good idea in a mobile home...
Anyhow, what kind of heating system do you have and why does your handyman think it's better to replace instead of repair?
Some days you're the pigeon, some days you're the statue
It's not that bad :)
I've made it through two winters here with no furnace, the coldest it gets is about 25F in the middle of the night. Two space heaters and a dog and lots of covers will get me through that. :)
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Balmy weather...
Well, that's not so bad, eh. Here where I live it was minus 29'C last night. 89% of the homes have at least one secondary heating source. Usually wood stoves, because they don't need electricity. So, when I read your furnace was kaput, I started to worry... But since you have such balmy weather I won't be as concerned. Why, 25'F is almost shirtsleeve weather!
Some days you're the pigeon, some days you're the statue
Soooo sorry
I know its often a case of eating or being warm these days... specially at my house.
I'd recomment upgrading your service too. So if your repair doesn't hold... at least you will be warm.
Nobody.
lower cost alternative
Erin,
Since I know you live in the us, then you should check with who currently provides your electricity and gas. The city where I live let us get a low interest loan to replace our heater and air then place the loan on our utility bill to spread out over the years to lower the hit of paying for it instead of all it once. Plus they gave us rebates for getting energy efficient system installed. The state also might offer tax credits for installing energy efficent systems.
Hugs,
Jenna From FL
Moderator/Editor
TopShelf BigCloset
Hugs,
Jenna From FL
Moderator/Editor
TopShelf BigCloset
It is a long road ahead but I will finally become who I should be.
Furnace
If it is a gas furnace, utility companies often give low interest loans to upgrade your furnace to a new energy efficient one. The payment is added to your gas bill, there may even be a government subsidy, contact your utility.
In the meantime, Breakers wear out and get weaker. Circuit breakers are easy to replace and cost less than ten dollars apiece.
Also, a hot water bottle in your bed is real nice in the winter.
Mr. Ram
We had a furnace,
It was three rows of gas burners that sat inside our roof-top AC unit. I moved into this house in '91 and purchased a new "gas pack" AC unit, at the time, to replace the original, which was from about '77. 3 or 4 years ago the gas furnace failed. We bought a new igniter, but that didn't help. We haven't wanted to pay for a service person to come look at it. I guess we will replace the whole thing sometime; I'm waiting for a good deal from our utility or the feds or whatever.
We sometimes get frost on roofs and car tops around here, Tempe, AZ. It used to snow about every 8 or 10 years; the ground never freezes, but citrus can be damaged. About the coldest the house gets is 56° F or so, but it will always soon warm to 63 to 65. We wear more clothes, but it's not really a problem. If we had a passive solar heated house, we'd be toasty, but our South facing wall is mostly (unused) fireplace. We'd have to change the house a lot to have passive solar. Chronic depression, especially in the winter, makes us lazy and uninspired. We're basically fine; no worries.
Hugs and Bright Blessings,
Renee
Ready for work, 1992.
Hugs and Bright Blessings,
Renee
Electrical load
You need to adopt the system Lisa Douglas used on Green Acres. All her plugs had numbers, and she couldn't plug in more than a total of ten at a time.
Know all about those electric space heaters!
Bloody things are serious power hogs!
They make kerosene heaters that are rated for indoor use, you might find them far more economical.
Sorry I have no better suggestions, but I was taught how to survive in the wilderness, not a nice comfy trailer.
Furnace Fixed
Cost: about 70 bucks. :)
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
ERIN PLEASE BE CAREFUL!!
If your mobile home is old enough to only have a 50amp service, it is also likely to have aluminum wiring. Aluminum wiring in itself was not unsafe, but it has two characteristics that make it so if you don't allow for them. First is, you CANNOT just strip the wires and push them into the backs of switches and receptacles, as is often done with copper wiring. The other is, even if you put aluminum wiring under fastening screws, it is soft and somewhat plastic, and in time will reform itself so that it becomes loose under the screw. In both cases, loose connections generate heat, heat generates oxidation in the wiring, and it gets HOT. Again the mobile home industry was never very careful to use aluminum approved switches and outlets.
It gets worse. Often when this happens, the oxidation crawls down the wire and generates a hot spot several inches away, not inside the box where the outlet is and somewhat protected, but inside the wall. Since older mobile homes often used luan mahogany paneling fastened directly to the studs for outside walls, when the wire burns in two and generates a flash, it sometimes ignites the back side of the paneling. The aluminum on the mobile home holds the heat inside the wall, and by the time you know there's a fire you only have minutes or even seconds before it erupts into a full scale blaze.
So operating the circuits at maximum load is dangerous not to mention expensive!
If I lived near you I would personally fix your furnace for you. I doubt you live in the Chicago area however, so if you have to use space heaters, just be very diligent. and hold you hand on the wall near the outlet every so often to make sure it's cool.
Hugs
Carla Ann
You posted while I was writing.
I'm very glad the furnace is fixed. What I said is still valid however. Unless you know the wiring in the house to be copper, you need to be careful about running your circuits anywhere near maximum load.
Thanks for posting the last bit, it makes me breathe easier :)
Hugs
Carla Ann