A retired HVAC tech's owner's manual for your furnace, AC and heat pump. The 12-month calendar, the no-heat night flowchart, the blinking light decoder, and the Fair Price Sheet, built from 40 years of Minnesota service calls.
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Rough everyday US prices. Your numbers will differ. The point is how fast the book pays for itself.
| Item | Usual Way | Hal Way |
|---|---|---|
| Clogged filter, no heat at 11 p.m. | After-hours call, $200 to $350 | $6 spare filter from your kit |
| Snow over the white furnace pipes | Emergency call, $150 to $300 | Snow brush, 3 minutes |
| Dirty flame sensor | Service call plus part, $100 to $250 | Cleaned yourself for free |
| Heat pump left on emergency heat | $100 to $250 extra a month | One button |
| AC wrapped in a tarp, mice chew wiring | $200 to $500 spring repair | Plywood on top, $15 |
| "It's 20 years old, time for a new one" | $5,000+ replacement | Read the serial, ask the right questions, get a second opinion |
What is yours to fix, what you leave to a pro, and what the repair company hopes you never question
My name is Hal Petrosky. For forty years I drove a service van around the Twin Cities and the small towns north of them, and I spent most of those years on my knees in front of somebody's furnace. Gas furnaces, oil burners, old cast iron boilers that weighed more than my van, heat pumps, window units, central air. If it blew hot or cold air in a Minnesota house, I probably had my hands in one like it.
I want to tell you about the call that made me write this book.
It was a January night, about eleven below, and a widow named Dorothy called our after-hours line because her house was down to fifty-four degrees. I got there a little after ten. The furnace was fine. Her filter was so packed with dust that the furnace kept overheating, shutting itself off to protect itself, cooling down, and trying again. A six dollar filter. I swapped it, the furnace ran smooth, and the house was warm by midnight.
Printable, big-print, and made to be used. They come with your order at no extra cost.
Word-for-word what to say when you book a call, when they say "you need a new furnace", when they claim a cracked heat exchanger, and when they push a "today only" price. Ten scripts that keep a $5,000 sales pitch from turning into a $5,000 mistake.
Hal's cheapest checklist of draft fixes and habits, from the door sweep to the attic hatch. Most take under an hour and need no contractor.
Gas smell, CO alarm, the 5 no-heat checks and the warm room plan in large print. Tape it by the furnace so anyone in the house knows what to do at 2 a.m.
Track every filter, code, bill and service call in one place. The homeowner with a logbook gets the faster, cheaper visit.
A designed PDF of about 70 pages with photos, checklists and price tables, plus four printable bonus PDFs. You download everything instantly on the thank-you page, and a copy of the download links is emailed to you.
No. Most of the book needs a flashlight, a filter and a screwdriver. Every job is marked YOURS, CAREFUL or PRO ONLY, so you always know what to leave to a licensed technician.
It covers gas furnaces (standard and high efficiency), central air, heat pumps, and basics for boilers and electric heat in a normal American home.
No, on purpose. Gas piping, gas valves, refrigerant and electrical panel work are always PRO ONLY. The manual helps you check the safe things first and talk to a pro with confidence.
They are rough everyday ranges to use as a gut check. Prices vary by region, season and company, so always get a written quote.
Yes, and Hal asks you to. Print it, put it in a binder, and keep it on a shelf by the furnace for your own household use.
Read it for 30 days. If you do not think it was worth it, email us and we will refund you in full.
What is yours to fix, what you leave to a pro, and what the repair company hopes you never question
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