DeLand company launches dinosaur hunt

Jacob's wants to find oldest heating system

By Barb Shepherd
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Jan 10, 2009 - 10:30:36pm

Employees of Jacob Heating and Air Conditioning are going dinosaur-hunting.

Company owner Robert Jacob announced this week the DeLand-based firm is staging a contest to find the oldest still-operating home-heating system in West Volusia.

The owner of that system will win $3,000 toward the purchase of a modern, safe, energy-efficient replacement.

Jacob Heating and Air Conditioning, founded in 1921 by Robert Jacob's grandfather, is one of West Volusia's oldest still-operating companies, so the dinosaur contest was a good fit.

"I thought it would be a good thing to do," said Jacob, who identified himself as the "head dinosaur hunter."

The Jacob's crew has seen some pretty old home heaters.

"We found one over on Plymouth Avenue where my grandfather actually had his name stenciled on the inside from when it was built," Jacob said.

That system, which was still operational, had been installed in the 1930s. Jacob suspects the dinosaur-contest winner will be of similar vintage, or perhaps from the 1940s.

The oldest-heating-system contest isn't original with Jacob Heating and Air Conditioning. It's an idea Robert Jacob has seen before at industry conventions. He added the dinosaur theme.

Entrants in the contest must be homeowners 18 years old or older, and must live in West Volusia. Entries will be accepted 8 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 15, through 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 15.

Anyone wanting to enter may choose between documenting details of their heating system themselves, or calling for a Jacob Heating and Air Conditioning representative to come out at no charge to record the required information.

Entry forms and information are available on the company's Web site, at www.jacobhac.com, or at the company's shop, 611 E. International Speedway Blvd., on DeLand's north side. Call (386) 734-0901 to have an entry form mailed.

Model and serial numbers, as well as an appraisal by the Jacob's staff, will be used to determine the age of heating systems entered. Gas, oil, electric or heat-pump systems are eligible.

Not only does the winner stand to gain a number of modern safety features in addition to the $3,000 prize, but he or she will probably save on heating costs, too, with a new system, Robert Jacob said.

"If you've got one from the '30s or the '40s, it's really going to be eating you up in energy costs," he said.

— info@beacononlinenews.com

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