Re: A/C & Heater Replacement??

I would to thank everyone for the responses.  This was a good exercise
for me since I learned quite a bit.

First, I asked a number of my co-workers if they knew anyone they
could trust.  One person came up more than once so I called and asked
to see if he could come take a look.  He was a little booked up but
got there as soon as he could.  He was extremely polite and I
described to him the issues that the other person had.  He agreed with
some it but not all of it.  He took the furnace apart and cleaned it
and checked for leaks.  There were none.  He said the issue with the
flame was probably due to some slight rust build up and this was what
was burning, not the actual gas.  He said once he cleaned and brushed
some of it away the flames should be more blue.  He spent a little
over an hour taking everything apart to make sure it was as it should
be.  When he fired it back up I was shocked to see the flames again. 
They were almost completely blue.  He said my wife and I had nothing
to worry about as far as a health threat was concerned.  He went on to
say the installation was not very professional and it could be
replaced if I wanted to go down that road.  He showed me where we were
really losing efficieny due to the poor duct work too.  I will
probably wait a few months and then change everything out to get ready
for summer.

Anyway, he did all this and gave me all this great information for
$92.  I gave him a $30 tip and told him how much I appreciated
everything.  The beauty of working with him was that I didn't have to
trust his word on everything.  He took the time to show me where there
were issues and were there clearly were not.

Again, thanks to all the help here.  If there is one important lesson
I have taken away from this experience it is that the biggest ad in
the yellow pages tells you nothing.  The previous company that looked
at our furnace had an exceptional ad in the yellow pages.  Then this
guy shows up in a white van with nothing in it (hardly any tools) and
without taking anything apart tells me that my wife and I (and unborn
child) are in real jeopardy.  Then of course the salesman shows up in
a matter of an hour after this asking for big money.  Then he shows up
the next day with a neatly outlined itemized list of what needs to be
done.  Comparatively, the next individual shows up completely prepared
for anything and is able to deduce and desribe the issues and
non-issues.  Needless to say I was impressed and this guy doesn't even
advertise in the yellow pages.

Thanks again for all the help I received here.  It is appreciated.  I
am hoping this spring to go with an American Standard or
Trane...should be interesting :)