The old one was manufactured in 1983. It was actually older than my house. Previous owner installed a used unit I guess. Anyhow, we're back up and running now. Installer said we should see an efficiency boost.
40 year old heater crapped out..nice new one in its place.
- Thread starter alpster
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Nice. Every home in my cul-de-sac went through this at about the 10-12 year mark. Piece of junk Lennox furnaces. I am sure they make good ones, these home builders just don't buy them. Yet, over at my mom's house we finally replaced her furnace at 41 years of age.
When we bought our house (built 1951) it had an oil boiler, size of a locomotive. Great boiler, but at its heyday the oil was dirt cheap...replaced it with a gas fired boiler and had the cost of the investment recouped within five years.
The one in my home is from the late 80's. I am hoping it will make it 40+ years. I almost replaced it 4-5 years ago but after learning how the modern systems are not expected to last very long before needing replacing, I had the existing system repaired. While I very much I value energy efficiency, the HVAC salesperson gave such an inflated representation of the energy savings of the new unit (inflated in that the proposed savings did not match my current energy bills for Natural Gas + Electricity) that I ended up switching HVAC service companies to get another opinion and the unit repaired.
I hope your new unit will provide many years of reliable service.
I hope your new unit will provide many years of reliable service.
My heat pump and backup oil furnace are late 80s vintage. According to the experts, my heat pump is way past its prime. Not replacing it until it needs it, though.
We are in the same position. We had our furnace cleaned and the tech said it could go out. I told them we will wait
When we bought our house in spring 2002, the previous owners had a new furnace installed the year before. Our first winter it would try to ignite and shut down. I called the company that installed it, but they had no record. Fortunately, the prior owner owned a bar nearby, and gave me a number to call. Apparently, customers of his bar worked for the heating company but installed it off the books. The guy came out, replaced a part, and lightly sanded down the igniter. I did a light sanding with steel wool for a couple of years, until I needed a new AC. I got another company to install it and had them service both furnace and AC for years. During one service I asked why the furnace kept recycling during very cold weather. He did some tests and said that the furnace was too big for the size of our house. He didn't think it was a problem except for shortening the life of the furnace. Almost 20 years later we sold the house and it was still working fine.
That’s exactly where we are. They said the furnace is too big and it’s causing wear. Also the air conditioner isn’t right , when it cycles it creates a vacuum. They said we don’t have enough return air. I am waiting for it to fail before we do anything.
As for oversized HVAC units in general, I wonder how much short cycling that some experience is in due in part to the thermostat controlling the unit? A few weeks ago, I replaced my old programmable thermostat, one without an app or wireless connection that was having trouble staying in temporary override mode. Got an old-style Honeywell round which works well, but I think it may be cycling the furnace more frequently, not letting the temperature swing as broadly as before. It could just be me paying more attention to things after installing, but it would be nice to have some control over how much temperature is overshot before turning on/off, especially for the A/C.
It’s hard to know who to trust. The furnace install was so bad I went with another company for the air conditioning. I kept asking about the back pressure noise as it didn’t happen before the new system was put in. They commented that it was a big unit and it was necessary due to our square footage. The last company sent an experienced engineer out and I felt he was knowledgeable. However, the pricing was high and they were super aggressive. I called and told them to stop communicating with me. It felt like a hard push for end of year sales.
I wonder if the noise could be controlled by some strategic insulation at some place in the system or a screw tighten down somewhere near where the noise is being generated. Also using those cheap green or white air filters, the ones with a low MERV rating should allow for more airflow. Otherwise, I would not expect that your home was designed (architected) without consideration for the proper air returns.
The noise might be a side effect of new efficiency standards, at least with some units. I was visiting a friend who lived in a new apartment and their HVAC gave a really loud thunk when shutting off. I told them that I thought their air filters need to be replaced, as I noticed my system will changes tone and becomes louder and deeper once the filters start to clog and add more resistance. They contacted the front desk of and were assured them that filters get changed regularly (I think it was once a month).
There was an addition put on the house before we purchased it. The original owners used a contractor that cut corners. I tend to think this was part of the problem. However, until we changed the furnace and air conditioning it never had that compression sound. We have an April Air system and I change the filter regularly. When the engineer was out he said we needed additional returns to help with flow. He knew the builder and said when the house was originally built they had a tendency to place returns in the wrong spot. It’s frustrating as the air conditioner isn’t that old. We had to replace the heat exchanger after 8 years and you could tell from the way the techs were acting something wasn’t right. The engineer that was out said without saying that it was a cya situation. No one wants to take responsibility.
An AC guy worth his salt ought to be able to calculate the additional necessary air flow, and to install a suitable bleed air intake near the filter to reduce the draw on the air return system to an acceptable level.
That was the proposal from the last company. He was showing me what needed to be done and mapped some changes. In addition to the extra returns and reconfiguration, he suggested we raise the furnace off the ground to give it more flow. What I didn’t like was the price, the constant phone calls and text messages. Being in sales I know that end of year push that companies shoot for. They were pushing hard to close the sale last year. It was close to 20k all said and done. I look at it this way, I am going to get more estimates and see what the other companies say. Then like most things I will go with the high middle price that in this case will be the most efficient and give the longest service. When I was a tech rep companies would buy systems for their finishing lines without doing their homework. I would go in and backwards create a way to get the coatings to work and try to get value for what they purchased. I was talking with another rep that I was good friends with, we had a similar career path. Started in the production part, then moved into tech roles and from there outside positions. We came up with the saying: Inexperienced equipment reps sell dreams to customers that turn into nightmares. I kind of feel that way now. I have seen too many sideways glances and non answers. I won’t rush into anything until I feel comfortable. If it goes out I have supplemental heat, and it’s warming up. I absolutely hate being pushed for a sale. I was a solutions rep that would go in and sell a product that had benefit for everyone. I never sold cheap material, I felt higher end with service was worth it’s weight.
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There shouldn't be any reason an air bleed should cost 20g. That's insane.
I bought 2 furnaces for the house I'm in now (separate heating zones) and it was less than that, and they were top of the line Lennox with UV bacterial filters.
I bought 2 furnaces for the house I'm in now (separate heating zones) and it was less than that, and they were top of the line Lennox with UV bacterial filters.
The price is for a new furnace and air conditioner. But, almost 5k was just for the returns.
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