Home furnace replacement advice

[O SO LO]

Had a repairman out for tune up last week, and found the igniter on my Lennox pulse furnace is shot.
Furnace is 22 yrs old- was told time to replace.... So, I am interested in comments about a new one...
What do you have that has little problems, last a long time and is 95-98% efficeint.

My current one replacing I'm Lennox Pulse (21, I believe) 80,000 BTU, 98% efficient, no a/c
Your thoughts... especially guys that do repairs. TIA

 

[John Larkin]

I bought a new one last year. My old one was a Lennox and it was 17 years old. Some last 10, some last 50. Why they go bad, I don't know. My was deteriorating on the heat unit and the a/c compressor finally locked up.

Pricing goes up exponentially when you get into the higher efficiencies. I think mine is 80% and it was about 1/2 the cost of a 95%. But it is alot quieter and the furnace portion is alot smaller too using a smaller motor and tonnage to push the same volume of air. The technology has made them all more efficient. I bought a Payne, an offbrand of Carrier. Expensive even at that.

 

[charlief1]

What I can suggest is to get an estimate of size first and then double it. The unit will run for less time and will cool/heat better as well as use less energy. Down here it helps alot if you get a bigger unit because of the extremes in temps you can get.

 

[faster]

I am an A/C & heat contractor.

You stated you don't have A/C. Do you want it? If not and if the unit has no rust in the plenum then no don't replace it. The only thing you have to worry about is the plenum rusting through and allowing CO to leak into the supplay air to your ducts and into you house.

That is the advantage of having a pilot light and why those systems lasted 50 years. The pilot light kept the plenum warmer than the surrounding air acting as a dehydrater so it never rusted.

Mikey

 

[BobbyBuick]

What I can suggest is to get an estimate of size first and then double it. The unit will run for less time and will cool/heat better as well as use less energy. Down here it helps alot if you get a bigger unit because of the extremes in temps you can get.

THIS IS THE WORST ADVICE I HAVE EVER HEARD!
Buy a dominator carb and a big block is case you need to floor it but dont and you will get the best gas mileage by not flooring it

 

[BobbyBuick]

I am the Genaral Manager of Airtron owned By Direct Energy.Employed for 35 years selling 2 million a year so I consider myself an expert PM me your phone number and I will call you with free advice
#1 go variable speed
#2 if you cant afford v-speed go x-motor at a minimum
#3 go 2 stage or more although 2 stage is good enough and oversize slightly
#4 consider dual fuel if you live in a climate with over 3550 degree days
#5 Carrier/Bryants -infinity/Evolutins are the best systems on the market period
although there are other good options
#6 if you have a drain go 95% or better

 

[BobbyBuick]

Also dont assume the size you have is correct ( it probably is not)have an ACCA member do the work and ask for a Manual J load calculation to be done .It is Free of Charge.I ran a load on my house and it was 68000BTUH hr and removed a 125000 put in a 2 stage 80000 .never runs on high unless it is coming off setback or front door is open

 

[charlief1]

THIS IS THE WORST ADVICE I HAVE EVER HEARD!
Buy a dominator carb and a big block is case you need to floor it but dont and you will get the best gas mileage by not flooring it

This isn't an engine Bob, it's a house. Please explain since this is the advice of most of the heating/AC suppliers in Texas. We generally use more insulation and have a different climate than OH.

 

[BobbyBuick]

This isn't an engine Bob, it's a house. Please explain since this is the advice of most of the heating/AC suppliers in Texas. We generally use more insulation and have a different climate than OH.

Well Im not a supplier Im a contractor .The only explanation I have is the supplier wants to sell you a bigger unit because it costs more.We have 5670 degree days in southern ohio .All I know is if you oversize it causes an uncomfortable enviroment because the heat anticipator causes the thermostat to run a little longer so the cycles per hour are controlled.If the unit is oversized it will cause the dead band or on /off times to be longer and cause up to a 2 degree temp swing in the house.Bigger furnaces have bigger burners and use more gas.although not cars it is the same thing kinda like jets in a carb.bottom line oversized equipment is as bad as undersized equipment size it right or go multi stage with a 10-20% pad. A 2 stage will run 60-63% of total capacity depending on brand

 

[BobbyBuick]

I am an A/C & heat contractor.

The only thing you have to worry about is the plenum rusting through and allowing CO to leak into the supplay air to your ducts and into you house.


Mikey

WTF oh is that all you have to worry about CO in your house .buy a parakeet if you find it dead open the windows!
BTW that furnace was junk 20 years ago I was selling furnaces then also remember when they came out
http://dspinspections.com/lennoxfurnaces.htm

 

[charlief1]

Well Im not a supplier Im a contractor .The only explanation I have is the supplier wants to sell you a bigger unit because it costs more.We have 5670 degree days in southern ohio .All I know is if you oversize it causes an uncomfortable enviroment because the heat anticipator causes the thermostat to run a little longer so the cycles per hour are controlled.If the unit is oversized it will cause the dead band or on /off times to be longer and cause up to a 2 degree temp swing in the house.Bigger furnaces have bigger burners and use more gas.although not cars it is the same thing kinda like jets in a carb.bottom line oversized equipment is as bad as undersized equipment size it right or go multi stage with a 10-20% pad. A 2 stage will run 60-63% of total capacity depending on brand

I should've said contractor rather than supplier Bob. What I've personally seen is a unit that's 1.5 to 2X times as large as required reduce overall power usage during the summer as well as the winter. Most of the units here are gas (politicians are full of it afterall) instead of electric.

 

[O SO LO]

Sent you my ph. # BobbyBuick, We live in Washington state, just shy of the Canadian border.... it rains up here alot, so a/c would only be used a few times a yr. (more if we had it) We don't get extreme temps very often and quite mild winters- snow may last a week at most, occasionally. Would like to chat thou...

 

[BandAid]

What I can suggest is to get an estimate of size first and then double it. The unit will run for less time and will cool/heat better as well as use less energy. Down here it helps alot if you get a bigger unit because of the extremes in temps you can get.

And then some say to go smaller to run longer to remove more humidity in summer .....hmmmmmm...largest electrical use is starting the compressor 12 per hr .or let it run longer and start 4 times an hr.. you be the judge

 

[O SO LO]

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions and phone calls!! A friend of mine is a contractor and happen to know of a house scheduled to be torn down the end of August to make room for some apt. buildings. Checked on it and it was a Lennox furnace installed in Dec. 2009- little use- they had a wood stove they used mostly... although not probably best choice it will work fine for me, for now. Hopefully in a few years I'll be better situated to purchase a new one. (happens to be the same unit my brother has in his house and he is happy with it)

And to make my week even better... my freezer (downstairs) took a crap on Thurs. as well.....