BIGGU Posted January 2, 2019 Report Share Posted January 2, 2019 Looking to see what the insights are on furnace brands. Recently moved to a house a 5-6 months ago and I had the furnace inspected a few days ago and was told the heat exchanger has hair line cracks. As soon as the tech saw the Carrier unit he told me straight up that its a common problem and he will check it. Normally id get a second inspection however he had me look in to see the cracks so I know they are there. At this point I have two options, option one is that carrier increased the warranty to 20 years because this is a common problem with my unit so replace under warranty. There are two issues with this as the unit itself just turned 20 years its highly likely they will not honor the warranty, the good news is we caught it right before it was aged out and reported it however they were closed for the holiday so it wont get reported with them until after. Second issue with this option is when the basement was finished the contractor didn't leave enough room in front of the unit to pull the exchanger out. For us to replace the exhcanger we will need to disconnect the unit, move it back a few inches do the swap and then good to go. If I recall the unit also needs a new igniter as it is getting warn down. Current unit is an 80% efficient unit. Option two, Considering the unit itself is 20 years old and needs more than one part for repair, it may be more cost effective to replace the unit. Even more so considering to repair we have to basically remove the old one anyway. I havent seen any pricing figures yet however I am thinking this may be the best option as I can get a more efficient newer unit that I wont have to worry about. I do not however know anything about furnaces so the question is what do I look for? I know they have 95% and 98% efficient units now. Are these wort the upgrade? TL;DR Furnace needs new heat exchanger and the part could be under warranty but due to other constraints the labor charge may justify just getting a new unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Cranium Posted January 2, 2019 Report Share Posted January 2, 2019 Message Duff on here, I assume he can offer some insights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTQ B4U Posted January 2, 2019 Report Share Posted January 2, 2019 We had a Bryant System that lasted 28 years+ and only replaced it due to efficiency reasons and that the AC was struggling. Put in a new full HVAC Bryant and outside one simple TSB it's been awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted January 2, 2019 Report Share Posted January 2, 2019 We replaced our entire HVAC system in 2013, and the cost between an 80% efficient unit and a 95% efficient unit was almost $2500. Given the house is well-insulated and we live in Central Ohio where power (Natural Gas, Electric) is relatively cheap, I just went with the 80% unit. Get a Nest, Ecobee, or similar WiFi-enabled thermostat and you'll be efficient enough. Most home- or business-owners will agree that, unfortunately, many heat exchangers and copper piping are supplied from China, and the metal is stretched so thin that they develop pinholes and cracks within 7-10 years. Florida is horrible; with huge demands from the environment (inside the home and outside around the equipment) you'll be lucky if a modern A/C unit installed outside lasts for 7 years. I would say fight as much as you can for warranty coverage, obviously. Then, go for whatever a close-enough friend would recommend. The argument my cheap-butt went with is whatever operation savings the 95% unit would give me over the cost would take the entire life of the unit itself to recoup over the 80%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bam Posted January 3, 2019 Report Share Posted January 3, 2019 I’d definitely go for the warranty/replacement parts if possible as replacing entire systems are not cheap. I replaced my entire system this past fall and went with the 80% efficiency setup again due to the cost. The high efficiency system was a couple thousand more and the expected breakeven was nearly 10 years, and I don’t plan to live here that long so no point to pay all the money for the next owners to just enjoy. +1 for Duff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duff1647545513 Posted January 3, 2019 Report Share Posted January 3, 2019 I personally wouldn't swap a heat exchanger on a 20 year old unit if it were mine, especially with labor costs that would come in your situation and whatever else could break after. Did you get a year home warranty? A heat exchanger crack would get you a new furnace for free (80% since that's what you have). If you wanted to go high efficiency, there would have to be a way to run new pvc pipe out the side of your house for exhaust and intake air, would this be possible with it being finished? Through my company, the difference between 80% and high efficiency is around $1000, which depending on how high efficient, that price can raise. I personally wouldn't go super crazy with variable speed motors or anything like that. We are extremely competitive with pricing and can get you a hell of a deal on Lennox equipment. For us to come give a quote is free. Feel free to call me with questions. 740-506-0994 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otis Nice Posted January 4, 2019 Report Share Posted January 4, 2019 What is your company, Duff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duff1647545513 Posted January 4, 2019 Report Share Posted January 4, 2019 What is your company, Duff? The Comfortworks. It's The Waterworks' HVAC division. I made the move over to this company about 2 years ago because they were really wanting to get the HVAC side rolling, so I'm not meaning to come off as owning any of the company when I said "my company". We recently convinced my brother to come work with us too, which I would consider him one of the best installers in the state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otis Nice Posted January 4, 2019 Report Share Posted January 4, 2019 The Comfortworks. It's The Waterworks' HVAC division. I made the move over to this company about 2 years ago because they were really wanting to get the HVAC side rolling, so I'm not meaning to come off as owning any of the company when I said "my company". We recently convinced my brother to come work with us too, which I would consider him one of the best installers in the state. Awesome. Thanks. I'm maint super over 2 buildings. We have a contract with Accurate but if I ever need someone else I may hit y'all up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGU Posted January 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2019 I personally wouldn't swap a heat exchanger on a 20 year old unit if it were mine, especially with labor costs that would come in your situation and whatever else could break after. Did you get a year home warranty? A heat exchanger crack would get you a new furnace for free (80% since that's what you have). If you wanted to go high efficiency, there would have to be a way to run new pvc pipe out the side of your house for exhaust and intake air, would this be possible with it being finished? Through my company, the difference between 80% and high efficiency is around $1000, which depending on how high efficient, that price can raise. I personally wouldn't go super crazy with variable speed motors or anything like that. We are extremely competitive with pricing and can get you a hell of a deal on Lennox equipment. For us to come give a quote is free. Feel free to call me with questions. 740-506-0994 Thanks for the info! Turns out Carrier will warranty the heat exchanger which I think I am going to have them send me the parts but I am going to still just replace the furnace anyway with a new unit just due to age and well to do the repair it needs removed anyway. My plan will be to just replace the exchanger and then sell it cheap on craigslist to some one that needs it for their garage heating. While we are on the topic of replacing stuff, what are the thoughts on replacing the AC while I am getting the furnace replaced? My AC unit looks to have been replaced in 2015 with a Goodman unit which from what I understand is the cheapest of the cheap. IIRC its even a 13 SEER rating which IIRC is the bare minimum you could put in. system works fine with no issues other than making the electric bill high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duff1647545513 Posted January 4, 2019 Report Share Posted January 4, 2019 Awesome. Thanks. I'm maint super over 2 buildings. We have a contract with Accurate but if I ever need someone else I may hit y'all up. Definitely let us know. The shop number is 614-232-2222 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duff1647545513 Posted January 4, 2019 Report Share Posted January 4, 2019 (edited) Thanks for the info! Turns out Carrier will warranty the heat exchanger which I think I am going to have them send me the parts but I am going to still just replace the furnace anyway with a new unit just due to age and well to do the repair it needs removed anyway. My plan will be to just replace the exchanger and then sell it cheap on craigslist to some one that needs it for their garage heating. While we are on the topic of replacing stuff, what are the thoughts on replacing the AC while I am getting the furnace replaced? My AC unit looks to have been replaced in 2015 with a Goodman unit which from what I understand is the cheapest of the cheap. IIRC its even a 13 SEER rating which IIRC is the bare minimum you could put in. system works fine with no issues other than making the electric bill high. How crazy are you wanting to go efficiency wise? If you do both at he same time you'll get a better deal than doing them separately. 13 SEER is the lowest efficiency, but has less things that could break or go wrong with them. I can give you a better explanation later, busy at work at the moment Edited January 4, 2019 by Duff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGU Posted January 8, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2019 (edited) How crazy are you wanting to go efficiency wise? If you do both at he same time you'll get a better deal than doing them separately. 13 SEER is the lowest efficiency, but has less things that could break or go wrong with them. I can give you a better explanation later, busy at work at the moment No worries, Im honestly not sure I know it seemed like what I had could not keep up. Its a 3 ton unit and the house is 2673 sqft. I was thinking for the furnace to honestly keep 80% efficient as my wife and I generally keep the house around 66 and our gas bill is normally 100-120 a month. Granted we haven't really had many super cold days but then again if I can get insurance to cover the furnace I may just go to the 95% depending on the cost difference. I was thinking on the AC maby a 16 or 17 SEER may be a good compromise? Ive got the HVAC company coming back out today to do measurements and give me pricing so I guess we shall see. Edited January 8, 2019 by BIGGU Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duff1647545513 Posted January 8, 2019 Report Share Posted January 8, 2019 Be sure whoever you use shows you the true SEER rating. There have been numerous times I've come after companies to give a customer a quote and that company was trying to sell them a 16 SEER, but the matchup with the furnace made it actually only 14 SEER, so the customer was paying extra for absolutely nothing. Some furnaces can also be paired with a 14 SEER and bump the a/c up to a 16 SEER and you'd still be paying the price of the 14. If you send me the sizing and equipment of what that company quotes you, I can have my boss run some numbers on it tomorrow and let you know what our price would be with Lennox brand stuff, so you can at least compare. There are just a lot of companies around Columbus that charge outrageous prices for off brand stuff and we usually beat the hell out of their price. I just don't want you to get screwed over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.