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GUS WHITAKEROHIO · FORTY WINTERS IN ONE HOUSE
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The Complete Edition  |  Gus Whitaker

Keep your own house warm in January and cool in July.
Before you call anybody.

Everything I did myself for forty years, and the fair price of the few things I didn't.

The furnace, the ducts and the air conditioner, in one book. 201 fixes in plain English, in the order you run into them. Each one tells you what you need, what it costs you, and what they charge for the same thing. And when it is a job for somebody with a license, I say so.

See the GuideSee the Prices
Gus Whitaker in his garage in Ohio
HEATINGFURNACE & BILL
AIRDUCTS & DRAFTS
COOLINGAC & HEAT PUMP
GUS WHITAKER · OHIO · ONE HOUSE, FORTY-SOME WINTERS AND SUMMERS
The Problem

The house gets cold. Then the bill gets bigger.

If you own a house, a few of these have happened to you already.

"Your heat exchanger is cracked."

A $79 tune-up, a tag on the furnace, and a new-furnace contract on the kitchen table that same night.

The coldest morning of the year.

A furnace running flat out looks broken, and that is the day it is easiest to sell you a bigger one.

Pushed it to 80, still cold.

The thermostat is not a gas pedal. Your chair sits by cold glass and the lamp under the thermostat lies to it.

Seven vents closed to save money.

My brother-in-law tried it. His next bill went up, not down.

A $412 gas bill.

Three estimated readings, then one real one. Nobody had read the meter since fall.

"You're low on Freon again."

The same refill every summer, for a system that should never lose any.

A $15,000 standby generator.

When all you wanted was the furnace, the fridge and a few lights during an ice storm.

The $30 filter.

The expensive one on the shelf, choking an older furnace that was built for a plain $10 one.

Most of what they charge for, you can check, clean or fix yourself in an afternoon. You only need somebody to show you which part is yours.

NO. I

The Guide

One book for the whole house, winter and summer.

The Do-It-Yourself Heating & Cooling Guide
PDF EBOOK · 135 PAGES · 201 FIXES · LARGE-PRINT EDITION INCLUDED

Everything I know about the machines that keep a house comfortable.

Heating, ductwork and air conditioning, in 19 chapters. Every fix names the part, what it costs at the hardware store, and what it costs when somebody else does it. Start with the chapter for the season you are in.

The Do-It-Yourself Heating & Cooling Guide201 fixes, 19 chapters, 135 pages$59
The Large-Print Editionthe whole book, bigger type, easy on the eyes$19
The No-Heat and No-Cool Chartsstep by step, before you pick up the phone$19
What to Say in the Driveway18 lines for the moment somebody quotes you thousands$19
Cards for the Furnace Door and the Panelprint, cut, tape up$12
The Winter Ledgera page for your own meter, week by week$9
Free updatesevery new edition, no charge$21
Total value$158
$59$27launch price
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NO. II

The Prices

What it costs when they do it, and what it costs when you do.

The job A service call Doing it yourself
Cleaning a dirty flame sensor ("lights, then dies") $150 to $300 about $1
A cracked furnace igniter a few hundred $20 to $30
A weak AC capacitor (the part) $100 to $400 replaced $8 to $60
Dead thermostat batteries on a Sunday an emergency rate about $2
The furnace on a generator in an outage a $15,000 standby quote a $3 plug or a $70–110 switch
The whole house on your portable generator about $900, all hired under $500 with one hour of an electrician
"Low on Freon" every summer a refill every year one question: where is the leak?

Prices around Ohio in 2026; yours will be different. Some of these are still jobs you will hand to a pro, and the book tells you which. These are not promises about your bill. They are what the parts cost and what people I know were charged.

NO. III

What's Inside

201 fixes in four parts. Each one: what you need, what it costs, and when to call.

Part One · 62 fixes

The heating bill

Decided in your house, not at the gas company.

  • Pushing it to 80 does not heat the house faster
  • Your body feels the walls, not the air
  • Why closing vents raises the bill
  • Feel the duct joints while it runs
  • The $30 filter choking an older furnace
  • The leaks you can't see, found with a stick of incense
Part Two · 33 fixes

The furnace

Keep it running, and do not get sold.

  • One fall afternoon with a flashlight and a shop vac
  • Clean the flame sensor yourself
  • Count the blinks: read the light before you call
  • Hum but no glow: the igniter
  • "Your heat exchanger is cracked": the match test
  • Find your warranty before anyone else does
Part Three · 52 fixes

When the power goes out

Heat, water and light until the trucks come.

  • The $3 plug and the furnace transfer switch
  • Your truck is a generator
  • The whole house for under $500
  • The plate that keeps a lineman alive
  • One warm room, and when to leave
  • Before the pipes freeze
Part Four · 54 fixes

When it's hot

The air conditioner, the heat pump and the summer bill.

  • Before the first hot day: the outside unit
  • The AC quit: drain pan, capacitor, frozen coil
  • Pushing it to 65 does not cool faster
  • The crushed duct behind the hot room upstairs
  • "R-22 is banned" and other July sales lines
  • Bigger is not better: ask for a Manual J
NO. IV

From the Channel

This book is the channel, written down and put in order.

260,000+ views  ·  1,000+ subscribers  ·  22 videos, every one of them in this book
138,000 VIEWS

"Turning Your Heat Up Past 70 Is NOT Warming Your House. Do This Instead"

In the book: Chapter II, Cold at 70
85,000 VIEWS

"Turning Your Heat Down Is NOT Saving You Money. Do This Instead And Your Bill Drops"

In the book: Chapters I and VI
6,900 VIEWS

"Turning Off The Vents In Empty Rooms Is NOT Saving You Money. Do This Instead"

In the book: Chapter III, The Vents You Closed
NO. V

About Gus

Gus Whitaker

I have kept the same Ohio house warm for forty-some winters, and the same furnace running since 1997. My neighbor bought the same model the same week. His was gone at fourteen. Mine is going into its thirtieth winter, and the difference was an afternoon every fall.

After I lost my wife, I paid for a few service calls I should not have. I watched what the young men did, and most of it was ten minutes and a part that cost less than lunch. So I started writing it down, then making the videos.

This is all of it in one place: the winter side, the summer side, and the air in between. What you can do yourself, what to leave to somebody with a license, and what to say when the quote does not add up.

Keep the house comfortable, and keep your own money.

Watch the channel
NO. VI

Order the Guide

$27 once. No subscription. Yours to keep.

A flame-sensor cleaning call$150 to $300
A new-furnace pitch on a heat exchanger that was fine$4,000 and up
A standby generator for one furnaceabout $15,000
The Do-It-Yourself Heating & Cooling Guide$27, one time
$59$27launch price
  • The whole guide, 201 fixes, instant PDF
  • The Large-Print Edition of the whole book
  • Heating, ductwork and air conditioning in one book
  • The No-Heat and No-Cool Charts and the Driveway lines
  • The furnace-door and panel cards, and the Winter Ledger
  • Free updates, every new edition
Get Instant Access · $27
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NO. VII

Questions People Ask

I'm not handy. Is this over my head?

No. Most of the book is checking, cleaning and changing a habit. Where a job needs a tool, I name it. Where it needs a license, I tell you to call.

Does it cover my system?

Gas furnaces, heat pumps and central air, with notes for window units. If you heat with a boiler and radiators, the furnace chapters are not for you, but the thermostat, the drafts, the power-outage and the frozen-pipe chapters still are.

Will it have me working on gas lines or panels?

No. Anything inside a gas line, a gas valve, a refrigerant line or an electrical panel is licensed work, and the book says so every time it comes up.

The print is small on my screen.

The Large-Print Edition is included. Same book, bigger type, made for reading on a tablet or printing.

How do I get it?

Right after checkout you get a download link by email. The files are PDFs; they open on a phone, a tablet or a computer, and you can print them.

What if it's not for me?

Write within 7 days and you get your money back. No questions.

Stop paying for what you can do yourself in an afternoon.

$27 once. Instant download. 7-day refund. The whole house, winter and summer, in one book.

Get the Guide · $27
INSTANT PDF DOWNLOAD · PAY ONCE · YOURS TO KEEP