oldodge41

I am partial to 1941 Dodge Coupes. Yours looks very nice. I hope you enjoy it, whatever direction you go. Her is a picture of mine.

Day three of the one day installation is complete. I have a functioning system. So far so good. They had to remove a door, a piece of framework and some trim on my furnace enclosure/closet to get the air handler in place, so they have a carpenter coming Friday morning to redo the trim. That should wrap up the install. I believe it was a learning experience for all involved, and I believe my technical background came in handy a few times. Made a couple new friends and spent a bunch of money, just about like with an old car. LOL

Day two of the one day installation is complete. Still no HVAC. Not much accomplished today. Installed the kit to change the air handler from a horizontal to a down flow unit. They seemed very surprised that the unit won't just bolt up to the existing ductwork, even though we saw it coming early yesterday. Actually discussed this distinct possibility with the estimator when he was here. Progress was halted until an adapter is fabricated to mount the air handler to the existing ductwork. Supposedly tomorrow is to be "the day". We will see. They are very apologetic, I keep telling them to take whatever time they need to get it done right. I am not paying by the hour. Same install tech today but a different (better) helper.

Installation started yesterday. Demo and removal of old furnace complete. Outdoor unit set in place. Power wiring run from panel to equipment location. Refrigeration line set was run from outdoor unit to a location near where indoor unit will be set. Installed new thermostat and removed the old one. Today will require converting the air handler from horizontal mount to vertical mount, setting indoor unit, connecting refrigeration line set, vacuum test, etc.. Installing breakers in electrical panel and terminating at equipment. Then initial testing and commissioning. Another full day, at least, I am sure. I think the estimator blew it on installation as he stated it would be a pretty easy one day installation. I will be surprised if it is running at days end on day two, unless they send additional manpower. So far it has been an installation tech and a helper. I asked why they didn't do the horizontal to vertical conversion at the shop, where it would be easier, and it will take some time, doesn't look hard, just lots of tedious steps, and they said because the estimator missed it and the kit won't be here till today. Fun, fun, fun for a doi-it-yourself guy who has never hired anything like this out before.

Nice response, classy for sure.

My Dad did the same, except he sprinkled sugar instead of the honey. I do like the frosted Mini-Wheats. The original is fine too, just sugar and milk. No boiling water for me.

Thanks for the reminder! I have read about this danger before and we actually had a toolbox talk about it at work some years ago.

My car is not a show car, but when Dad was alive we did car shows with it every weekend throughout the season. He loved them, the cars, most of the people, and the food (seems most had chicken bbq or something available for purchase). There was like a traveling band of cars that were always there and you got to know some of those folks pretty well. After he passed about 8 years ago, I probably attended maybe two car shows. I don't enjoy them without Dad to do the talking to the lookers. I really don't like sitting captive all day either. I try to do a couple cruise-ins each summer, mostly because they are a reason to go for a ride. I prefer to drive, rather than look at old cars. I also like to let kids touch my car, sit in my car or even play in the trunk of my car, but that teaches bad habits to them for when they are around look but don't touch cars. I will do a walk thru of local shows once in awhile, but I have little inclination to enter. I even did a few parades back in the day, but that quickly became no fun. Most , not all, of the shows charged an admission for participants, normally $5 up to about $15 or so per car, and I was ok with that as it was usually a volunteer fire company or local charity that profited from the show. We are pretty rural and each town had its own show. Admission for spectators was almost always free and I liked that too. I have never belonged to any clubs, I sometimes think I would like to, but then I talk myself out of joining for one reason or another. Usually, I just see the club politics and it turns me off. I have attended several "Cruises" and loved them. Different from a "Cruise In" in that you actually cruise around town, like we did when we were kids. Folks line the streets to watch and you get to drive for as long as you like, or until the pre-established quitting time. You can also park for a while and watch others cruise by. Old cars in motion are even more beautiful than they are sitting still. Great topic Rich!

The quotes are in: First and second guy are within a couple hundred dollars of each other, although each spec'd out different equipment. The third guy was right at double the other two prices. Looks like I will go with the second guy since he has a much more comprehensive quote, and facts / calculations to stand behind his recommendations. Looking like it will be a Mitsubishi 36000 BTU (3 ton) Hyper Heat outdoor heat pump paired with an air handler for the indoor unit. I am adding auxiliary heat strips to the air handler as a "just in case we get a rare extended sub zero stretch of weather". The plan is to heat and cool with the heat pump 12 months a year, but have the aux electric heat programmed to run only if absolutely necessary, possibly only with my intervention. Next steps is sign a contract and place a deposit on equipment, then get it scheduled and done. It is supposed to be a one day demo of the old oil fired system and installation of the new heat pump system.

I had my '41 out last week too. I think it was Wednesday 4/12. Weather was beautiful here then. Not so much today, 35F and rainy/windy.

We had a great day! My daughter, Son in Law and Grandson came in Saturday afternoon. My Grandson is 14 months old, the apple of my eye. We had an Easter Egg Hunt for him, we watched him with his basket from "The Bunny" and a few gifts from Gigi and Pops. Afterward we went to my sisters for a late lunch meal with about twenty family members and then home to recuperate and reminisce after our little one left for home. Also got my camper uncovered while my Son in Law was here to help me fold and roll the cover. It was as near a perfect day as I could imagine for me. I hope everyone else had a blessed and Happy Easter as well. With the camper uncovered the next step is to summer-ize and relocate my snow blower and four wheeler/plow to the storage sheds. Then the '41 can come out! Woo-hoo bring on spring!

Keep the pics coming. I've never dealt with babbit bearings, and probably never will, but I still want to learn.

I have spoken with three dealer/installers. First guy - Listened to my desires and replied: Definitely heat pump - I've installed thousands in our area. The new ones are good to -5F before efficiency drops. No backup heat necessary. Heres the price let me know when your ready. Second guy - Listened to my desires and replied: Let me come to your home, I will do a complete heat loss study, calculate heating and cooling loads and then we can discuss options that will work. We discussed several options including, stand alone heat pump, heat pump with fuel backup, heat pump with electric backup, fuel primary heat with stand alone A/C. Seems very knowledgeable and gave me a ballpark price range. He will be here Tuesday to do the heat loss study. Third guy - I can be at your house to talk to you in 4 hours. He came with a plan for ductless mini-splits, which I don't want for several reasons. We discussed other options which he admitted he wasn't too familiar with, but he took a bunch of pictures and measurements and said he would talk with their more experienced estimator about other options and get back to me middle of next week. My take: First guy, excellent local reputation, very easy to talk to, very knowledgeable, very responsive. He is the president /owner of the company. Gave me his cell said call anytime. Not too interested in discussing options was the negative for me. Overall - cautiously optimistic Second guy - Open to options, wants to get it right the first time, he is an estimator/salesman, company has an excellent local reputation, ballpark price was in line with first guy. I was impressed with his knowledge of every system I inquired about. He overwhelmed my wife and she said he is making this too complicated. I like the details, she doesn't. Overall - Looking forward to his recommendation Third guy - Not well versed in options, out of his comfort zone talking ducted systems. Easy to talk to, eager to please, but possibly lacking knowledge/experience. Overall - hoping the more experienced guy gets involved. If he is the same, they are a no-go. Thanks everyone for your experiences and opinions. I'll keep you posted as I move ahead with this.

I was thinking I want to stay away from resistive electric heat for a couple reasons. One is cost to operate and second is the ability to backup my heat source electrically with a reasonably sized portable generator in the event of an extended power outage. My oil furnace takes very little electrical power to operate. I am in the shale gas region, but unfortunately not in a NG distribution area. I am rural and if I were building new I would love to have a hydronic heat system, but my home is already ducted for forced air and I think it will be much more cost effective to stay with that. I would probably opt for a coal unit in that case. I absolutely hate cutting wood. LOL! One local contractor is touting a mini-split system with a single zone air handler that would tie right into my existing duct system. They claim it is perfect for our area and climate with no backup heat source necessary for our winters. I believe it is a Mitsubishi branded unit. Salesmen can claim anything, that's why I am asking here for your real world experiences. I will probably consider all the options until I get so confused I just do something to get it done. I appreciate the responses. Thank you very much.

I will ask here because it isn't an hvac forum but I value the honest opinions typically expressed here. I am thinking about having a heat pump installed in my home. Currently oil fired forced air heat and a couple (3) window unit A/C's. Anyone have any experiences, good or bad. with heat pumps. My current oil furnace is 30 years old and it works fine. I have considered keeping it as a backup heat source, but have received mixed opinions on the value/hassle of doing so. I live in Pennsylvania and we have a wide range of temperatures throughout the year. My other option, I guess, is to stay oil heat and add an ac unit as I am trying to get away from window units to cool the entire house.