Furnace Confusion

[marvholly]

My furnace is >22 years old. Handyman has told me I am way beyond the expected life of the unit. I have gotten several quotes and there is <$500 difference from top to bottom including an air cleaner and new humidifier..

So, the question becomes which unit is likely to be the best quality. Quotes are on:
Carrier
Lennox
Ruud (Rehm)
Armstrong (Lennox)

All quotes are from area long time service companies suggested by people I trust.
Any experiences w/these units. All are 1 stage, 100,000-110,000 BTU units.

[emanon1501]

I just want to add my input even though I will not be able to directly answer your question.
Even though it is 22 years old, it does not need to be replace unless there is an issue with it. If it is running fine, then you can hold off until you get the best possible deal or wait until it goes down for good. This is what I did. The savings from new efficient furnaces will take too long to justify replacing it now unless it has issue.

Personally, I would pick the one that has the best warranty.

[bjl584]

At 22 years old, your furnace is extremely inefficient by today's industry standards. You will definitely see a drop in utility bills with a new unit. Is your unit a forced air natural gas unit?

I had a Coleman furnace in my old house, and didn't have problem one with it until it was 14 years old. Even then, it was only a $90 fix.

I've had no personal experience with the brands on your list however.

[Emerald]

While I wouldn't necessarily replace an old furnace just because it is old, I would have it thoroughly checked out (yearly) to ensure it is running properly.

Last winter, my old unit tried to kill me twice, first by pumping CO throughout the house, second by catching on fire. I almost lost everything, including my life.

[GREENBACK]

I don't have an opinion or preference from your list as Lennox is the only unit I have experience with. Mine is now 10 yrs old. It is a forced air oil furnace that is far more efficient than the 20 yr old furnace it replaced. They are probably even more efficient now. I have mine cleaned and inspected annually and have had zero issues (knock on wood!).

[snafu]

The furnace in our condo was 37 y/o when the annual inspection verified a crack in the heat exchanger which could have been repaired. We knew it would need to be replaced when we bought the place 4 years ago but it was the best of it's genre, no reason to hurry the process.

Checked out Consumer Report, e-pinions and a couple of web sites. We looked at comments from people who had purchased the various brands. Our question was "Would you buy that brand if you were to do it again?"

Although the new furnace is super efficient, we don't see a reduction in gigajoules and costs are up significantly this year. Our government gave us a $ 50. rebate so check to see if there are any energy star/efficient programs you can qualify. The installers thought there would be payback in 20 years.

[greenskeeper]

Originally Posted by marvholly

My furnace is >22 years old. Handyman has told me I am way beyond the expected life of the unit. I have gotten several quotes and there is <$500 difference from top to bottom including an air cleaner and new humidifier..

So, the question becomes which unit is likely to be the best quality. Quotes are on:
Carrier
Lennox
Ruud (Rehm)
Armstrong (Lennox)

All quotes are from area long time service companies suggested by people I trust.
Any experiences w/these units. All are 1 stage, 100,000-110,000 BTU units.

I would run it until it dies or needs a major repair, then upgrade. (sounds like car advice lol)

[marvholly]

So far I have 2 writen quotes. Warantees are the same on both and I suspect will be on the other 2 due to local competition.

I have not received the quote from the guy who was here Thur & supposed to email me. That is already points againstthat company if he cannot turn even paperwork around in a timely manner.
He has until mid-day today to get it to me or out of consideration.

Had another service out on Fri for an estimate. This is where I bought my last unit. Guy was WAAAAY too much of a 'salesman' for my taste But they are VERY local (1 mi from me) and an old family aquantance is an owner.

[JustBill]

Originally Posted by marvholly

So far I have 2 writen quotes. Warantees are the same on both and I suspect will be on the other 2 due to local competition.

I have not received the quote from the guy who was here Thur & supposed to email me. That is already points againstthat company if he cannot turn even paperwork around in a timely manner.
He has until mid-day today to get it to me or out of consideration.

Had another service out on Fri for an estimate. This is where I bought my last unit. Guy was WAAAAY too much of a 'salesman' for my taste But they are VERY local (1 mi from me) and an old family aquantance is an owner.

Sounds as though you've decided to replace the existing unit.

[marvholly]

QUOTE: Sounds as though you've decided to replace the existing unit.

No, I am still considering waiting BUT

I very much doubt prices will go down
I do NOT want to be in the middle of a mid-west cold spell & have NO Heat!!!

[creditcardfree]

Both homes we have purchased had Lennox units. No complaints.
The one time we did purchase a unit we bought a Ruud. It was great! But then we moved.

Good luck with your decision!

[Xtreme Thunder]

Purchased our house in 2010 and it has a ~10 year old Lennox Whiper Heat forced air natural gas unit. I can't confirm what previous owner had done any repairs on it or not. We had it serviced this year and it needed absolutely nothing. Service call was 43.xx

Also realize that it is a machine and a new furnace could have an issue leaving you a day or two without heat before warranty part comes in if a situation of such would occur.

If you are looking at a furnace with 90%+ AFUE, those are usually direct vent/ exhaust required units so maybe ask that question if they didn't already.

Good luck on your decision.