Replace Heat Exchanger or Furnace

hvaclover · 11-21-2010, 03:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Home Air Direct

I
As far as which furnace to choose? There is really no bad product on the market today. The reality is that a bad install will kill a great furnace.

You got that right...no truer words spoken. But furnaces are like any machine some are better made than others.

hvac292 · 12-01-2010, 12:00 AM

the tires on my car are bald and the steel is showing but they still have air in them. I guess its still safe to drive. seriously.. no matter how big or how small a crack in a heat exchanger is its going to end up doing the same thing... leaking. The prices you stated are average. Stop playing around and be responsible. Replace the furnace.

HVAC/R Instr. · 02-22-2012, 10:34 AM

Visibly cracked heat exchanger, but no measurable CO levels. Here is a possible explanation.

This furnace appears to have an inducer fan, which draws combustion gases through the exchanger and puts the inside of the exchanger under a negative pressure. Typically these furnaces have the indoor blower upstream of the exchanger, which means the indoor air & heat exchanger exterior are under positive pressure. Both of these factors contribute to safety and a positive pressure differential between indoor air and combustion gases. In theory, any cracks or leaks will cause indoor air to leak into the heat exchanger rather than combustion products to leak to the indoor air stream. However, it may be possible these cracks can leak the wrong way, perhaps at startup when the burner can be on for a short time, but the indoor blower has not come on yet.

If cracked, I feel the exchanger or furnace should be replaced regardless of inherent safety. If it is 15-20 years old, I would recommend new. Other components will begin to fail and be costly. Glad to see you recognize there may be a long payback for higher efficiency models.

Technow · 02-22-2012, 11:10 AM

Two year old post......the OP is either dead or took the advice.......

REP · 02-22-2012, 02:14 PM

A couple of things hat I wonder about.
The first is this heat excghanger has not failed by poping the rings as many do,so I wonder why this exchanger failed.Could there be design problems with the duct??Could the gas pressure be too high coming from the gas valve??So what caused the cracks??
Now little cracks always turn into big cracks and they do this over time and they do this at night a lot because it gets colder at night and the furnace gets hotter the longer its on.If it has small cracks you should just be greatfull you knowe about it and can do something now before you or anybody in the house gets sick.
I noticed that there was a range of furnace sizes in your post.Each house has a size needed.What size does your house need??Now is the time to find out.
Any competant contractor can do a manual "J" AND a Manual "D" to zero in on the size and design of the ductwork needed for your house.
Figure it this way ; your money is valueable to the contractor.He needs your work to feed his family.Now if he is too lazy to do the manual "J" and the manual"D" and he is using short cuts to quote you,then what makes you think he won't take short cuts in installing your job??
Any mistakes made now will only cost you later on.Instead of just getting something done,Get it done right.

Docrings · 01-22-2013, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beenthere

As contractors. We charge what we need to stay in business, and to of course pay employees.

So, many of us are well over 85 bucks an hour.

Get some other estimates.
A one time price offer, is a good sign to call some one else.

Since your GMP seems to be over 20 years old.
Get quotes on other brands also.

A 95% may only work out as a 15% savings on paper.
But, most come out saving more then that(and yes, some less).

A new unit will come with at leat a 20 year HX warranty, and a 5 years parts warranty on the other furnace parts.

10 years from now, is your gas going to cost the same as it does today?

YES... as the price of gas will actually be less than when this post was written. The supplies of NG are enormous, and will be a much better deal per BTU than electricity.

Mr.HVAC · 01-22-2013, 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Technow

Two year old post......the OP is either dead or took the advice.......

LOL, I was going to reply but then noticed the date. I guest you are right, the OP is either dead or took the advice. Let see if someone else reply

ROFL