First my sewer, now my furnace (Anyone know a furnace guy that has reasonable rates & quality work) [Archive] - Colorado AR-15 Shooters Club Discussion Forums

USMC88-93

01-07-2017, 21:38

Looks like furnace is toast and I will be scheduling a service call in the morning with someone, anyone have recommendations for both quality of work an price?

What does a full blown furnace replacement run these days. (Ill likely have to borrow off my IRA/401k to fund replacement.

funkymonkey1111

01-07-2017, 21:43

Highclasswhitetrash

cfortune

01-07-2017, 21:49

I just had mine replaced by Brothers (forgot mr trash did that sort of work). Ran me about $4,200 for a 2 stage 80,000 BTU furnace. My friend works there so I got 10% off. It was closer to $4700 without that.

Graves

01-07-2017, 21:52

How old is the unit?

USMC88-93

01-07-2017, 21:53

Highclasswhitetrash

Is he self employed or who does he work for?

I just had mine replaced by Brothers (forgot mr trash did that sort of work). Ran me about $4,200 for a 2 stage 80,000 BTU furnace. My friend works there so I got 10% off. It was closer to $4700 without that.

Is that middle of the road, high end, or cheapest you could get? The size and BTU of my requirements is lost on me at the moment until I get someone to look at it. I will need to be scheduling a repair appointment in the morning.

How old is the unit?

20+ years

Irving

01-07-2017, 23:09

Hghclsswhitetrsh is self employed. I'd give you contact info but I'm not at home. He should be listed in the industry partner section.

cfortune

01-07-2017, 23:51

I was given two options and they were within $150 of each other. Basically single stage vs two stage. They did the sizing as well. I had no idea what I would need but my house is roughly 1700 square feet. I have no idea on the quality of the unit. It's a Gooodman branded furnace. It was 36 degrees in my house at one point during this so I didn't really care either lol. The furnace itself appears to be about $1000 online. So about 3/4ths of that is labor.

I was about to head to Vegas for Christmas when mine died. So I financed it. I won't pay interest if I pay it off in a year but that makes for a pretty hefty monthly payment. Luckily Vegas didn't steal all of my money and I have most of it taken care of already.

bryjcom

01-08-2017, 00:12

Hghclsswhitetrsh takes care of the Denver metro area. He'll be able to get you taken care of.

I take care of the people up north. I'll travel to Longmont for service work and about Thornton for install work if I'm not crazy busy.

I usually save people usually around a $1-2K on installs over the big companies. The other day I beat One Hour Heating and Air by about $10,000 on a heat pump system installed. according to the home owner. I don't know how some of these guys sleep at night.

izzy

01-08-2017, 01:03

I have a couple of friends in the HVAC business. PM me if you'd like contact information.

roberth

01-08-2017, 06:38

Highclasswhitetrash for Denver Metro.

fitterjohn

01-08-2017, 08:22

If you don't find someone let me know, I work in the commercial/industrial HVAC and I can find someone who does good prices. Glad to see some other people on here in the trade.

EvilRhino

01-08-2017, 10:20

. I don't know how some of these guys sleep at night.

Ain't that the truth

ruthabagah

01-08-2017, 10:25

USMC88-93

01-08-2017, 13:46

Get a 96 % if you can vs a 80 %. The price difference will be paid in less than a year.... did it in 2 houses and i stand by my judgement.

I used marxair, and full replacement was less than 4k for a goodman.

I have to wonder if the difference would be noticed in a Drafty poorly insulated house built in 1942 but it of course is worth checking into.

bryjcom

01-08-2017, 15:22

I have to wonder if the difference would be noticed in a Drafty poorly insulated house built in 1942 but it of course is worth checking into.

80% furnaces are going to vent 20 cents for every dollar of gas burnt. 96% furnaces are going to vent 4 cents for every dollar of gas burnt. he save money but it depends on how many dollars of gas you burn a month to keep your house warm. If your home requires $100 to heat, your going to save about $16 a month. For my company I end up charging about $1400 extra for a 96% due to the increase in equipment cost, additional material and increased labor. They are more cost effective to put in during construction of a house then during a retro fit.

fitterjohn

01-08-2017, 17:21

I would tend to agree with the 96% suggestion. At one point a fee years ago there was talk about banning the sale of 80%ers in the northern states. The only way I wouldn't do a high efficiency is it the vent was not possible to run or you get an 80% for dirt cheap. Ie: got my Trane 80,000 BTU 2 stage 4ton drive for 200$ just has a dent in the door from a hand cart.

USMC88-93

01-08-2017, 21:32

80% furnaces are going to vent 20 cents for every dollar of gas burnt. 96% furnaces are going to vent 4 cents for every dollar of gas burnt. he save money but it depends on how many dollars of gas you burn a month to keep your house warm. If your home requires $100 to heat, your going to save about $16 a month. For my company I end up charging about $1400 extra for a 96% due to the increase in equipment cost, additional material and increased labor. They are more cost effective to put in during construction of a house then during a retro fit.

My current furnace vents up a pipe within the original chimney to the roof. can you vent the high efficiency furnaces in such a manner or do they need vented horizontally out out of the basement to an exterior wall?

bryjcom

01-08-2017, 23:09

My current furnace vents up a pipe within the original chimney to the roof. can you vent the high efficiency furnaces in such a manner or do they need vented horizontally out out of the basement to an exterior wall?

The 90% furnace needs to be vented with PVC out the side of the house.

The 80% can be vented into the "chimney" as long as it has a flue liner in there. Does your current furnace have a standing pilot? If so its probably vented into a masonry chimney with no flue liner. The chimney will need to have a flue liner ran down to be compliant. Sometimes the chimney is already lined and you don't need to do it. Sometimes the "chimney" is nothing more that a double wall flue pipe going up to the roof.

If its a masonry chimney, go outside and look to see if you have a metal pipe coming out the top of the masonry. If it does its already "lined" and you can vent a 80% furnace in it.

Irving

01-08-2017, 23:43

I don't want to high jack this thread, but what happens if your furnace is not in an area that allows venting out the side of the house and you want to upgrade to a 96%?

USMC88-93

01-08-2017, 23:48

If it does its already "lined" and you can vent a 80% furnace in it.

I had a pipe shoved down it when I had the water heater replaced.

I don't want to high jack this thread,
Hijack away our friendly I need it on top so our resident HVAC guy sees it.

bryjcom

01-09-2017, 00:33

I don't w
ant to high jack this thread, but what happens if your furnace is not in an area that allows venting out the side of the house and you want to upgrade to a 96%?

We can run it between the floor joists to the outside. If your basement is finished then you're screwed and have to either remove drywall or we run it and you box it in and then drywall.

I can run about 200ft of equivalent pipe for the "good" 90%'ers.

Any thing can be done... Its just how much $$$ you want to spend.

bryjcom

01-09-2017, 00:35

I had a pipe shoved down it when I had the water heater replaced.

.

Then I'd hope that the guys who did the water heater had the common sense to run a big enough one for the furnace and water heater combined. I'd have to imagine that they were smart enough to do that.... Unless you had some ho-hum goat herder do it, then you might be screwed.

Irving

01-09-2017, 00:47

We can run it between the floor joists to the outside. If your basement is finished then you're screwed and have to either remove drywall or we run it and you box it in and then drywall.

I can run about 200ft of equivalent pipe for the "good" 90%'ers.

Any thing can be done... Its just how much $$$ you want to spend.

Well in my case, my house is a ranch on a slab with no crawl space. The furnace is in an area that used to be a linen closet, so it is in the middle of the house and the only option is up into the attic. Same for water heater. Don't worry about trouble shooting for me though, I'm just curious at this point. USMC is the one we need to help. :)

zulu01

01-09-2017, 09:44

I recently had Hghclsswhitetrsh install a Bryant 96% efficient furnace. I'm happy with the work Scott did. Install looks pretty good to my untrained eye. He took extra care to protect the floors during the install and cleaned up when he was done.

Only been in the house a few weeks so I can't comment on the energy savings but I'm happy with the performance so far.

http://premiercomfortheatingandair.com/

USMC88-93

01-09-2017, 12:32

So it would appear that I have correct input voltage into the (120 to 24 volt transformer) and no output are these things a dime a dozen found anywhere or do I need to chase one down at grainger or some other supply warehouse.

Is there a polarity necessary with the yellow leads off the transformer or does it not matter which yellow lead goes to the two locations on the board. On the input side is appears to be obvious black to black and white to white. There are no fuses on the circuit board.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v651/PhotoTWB/House/Schematic_zpsaercslne.jpg
(http://smg.photobucket.com/user/PhotoTWB/media/House/Schematic_zpsaercslne.jpg.html)http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v651/PhotoTWB/House/Furnace%20board_zpsmx5pp9m6.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/PhotoTWB/media/House/Furnace%20board_zpsmx5pp9m6.jpg.html)

cfortune

01-09-2017, 12:44

I have one of these lying around if you can use it (new in an opened box):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0081AIAQ2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I had the same black/white yellow/yellow one on there and this one has black/black yellow/yellow. I got a circuit board a while back with it and the circuit board ended up being the culprit so I never installed it.

USMC88-93

01-09-2017, 12:54

I have one of these lying around if you can use it (new in an opened box):
.

Ill let you know via post here this evening, as I already have someone scrounging for one and can not get get them on the phone. Is the yellow (secondary side) polarity specific or does it not matter which lead to which port.

cfortune

01-09-2017, 12:58

Ill let you know via post here this evening, as I already have someone scrounging for one and can not get get them on the phone. Is the yellow (secondary side polarity specific or does it not matter which lead to which port.

I have no idea... The reason I went with doing the circuit board first was because I couldn't get an answer to that question. Also, since this one has no white wire either, I didn't want to mess with it. Hopefully one of the more knowledgeable folks in this thread can answer that.

fitterjohn

01-09-2017, 13:18

Yes the secondary side is polarity is specific.

fitterjohn

01-09-2017, 13:20

Put an inline fuse in also if you mess it up you'll save the transformer

Wulf202

01-09-2017, 13:39

Be sure to check it over. About half the time the transformer got taken out because of something else it was feeding shorted to ground

fitterjohn

01-09-2017, 16:16

Just don't buy a transformer from home depot they won't have enough VA

fitterjohn

01-09-2017, 16:18

He's right about that. I find a lot of bad transformes due to shorted contactors

bryjcom

01-09-2017, 16:33

40VA transformer with 3 amp ATC fuse with spades connectors. Fuses are cheaper than a transformer.

When I first put the new transformer in I always have my amp probe on the secondary wire and hit the door switch to watch the amps.

Shouldn't be more than .75 amps or so. Anything over 1.0 is suspect and anything over 1.6 blows the transformer, not the fuse.

USMC88-93

01-09-2017, 18:20

New transformer has me running, thanks for those that responded with info, I will still need to be researching replacing the furnace as it will become necessary sooner than later.

Once again Furnace is functional transformer was bad.

Great-Kazoo

01-09-2017, 19:03

USMC88-93

01-09-2017, 20:49

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v651/PhotoTWB/House/Transformer_zps1vntlcfv.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/PhotoTWB/media/House/Transformer_zps1vntlcfv.jpg.html)

fitterjohn

01-10-2017, 07:49

I would agree with starting to budget for a new unit. I always tell people life span is 15-20 years on equipment.

fitterjohn

01-10-2017, 07:50

But good job on getting it fixed

USMC88-93

01-10-2017, 10:13

I know that "Ballpark estimates" are difficult without actually inspecting the installation site but is there a formula for determining the size of furnace required for square footage of home?

My home was built in 1942 (basement + 1st floor) each level is at most 750 square feet. so a total of 1500 square footage to heat. House was originally a coal fired gravity hot air octopus type set up which was then retrofitted with gas.

The "octupus" could be reworked to make the setup more compact and some of the cold air ducting could use a clean up.

I of course do not have a clue as to what the appropriate size of new "standard" furnace will be, what is the price range of the actual furnace for such square footage. (just the physical equipment not the installation). I realize there are all sorts of factors involved in that, efficiency rating, square footage rating, air conditioning and humidifier add on's etc..... But for the basic furnace component is it usually just a couple of grand?

gnihcraes

01-10-2017, 21:52

Complete remove/replace the exact type of system you're mentioning. 1922 coal fired system, octopus pipes to new goodman furnace with all new mains/trunks. $5000 (10 years ago)

just to give you an idea. Hopefully the basement is unfinished, makes it much easier.

kawiracer14

01-11-2017, 10:58

About to move into a house with a super old furnace and no central AC. Can't wait to make this thread all over again in May!

68Charger

01-11-2017, 12:12

about 15 years ago had an igniter failure on a propane boiler... turned out to just be low grade stuff- didn't have central AC, either.

So I bit the bullet and put in HVAC ducting, and a Geothermal heat pump (Three 200' wells with coolant loops in them) and dropped the Propane completely (I thought getting over $1/gal was getting nuts...

had a lightning strike blow the compressor just before 10year extended warranty expired- got a new compressor for $0
But this system has been great overall... about 400% efficient- because it moves heat instead of creating it, and uses ground heat which is approx 55 degrees all year round. Great efficiency for cooling in the summer, and better than any air source for efficiency in the winter...

Considering a retrofit for the air source heat pump on my house in TX now (once the house sells in CO)... doesn't work very well when it's down in the teens (at least that doesn't happen often), and it will be more efficient in the summer when temps are close to 100.

The cost was pretty high ($16k), but much of that cost was duct work being retrofitted (house was baseboard heat before, which can't be used for cooling)... and some for the wells to be drilled (with permits, but as non-drawing wells- no water comes in or out of them, since they just have coolant loops in them.)

kawiracer14

01-15-2017, 19:34

Can someone PM me HGHCLSSWHITETRSH contact info?? Have a fairly urgent furnace issue.

I saw a link to this site http://premiercomfortheatingandair.com/ but not sure if that's his direct contact?

USMC88-93

01-15-2017, 20:38

Can someone PM me HGHCLSSWHITETRSH contact info?? Have a fairly urgent furnace issue.

I saw a link to this site http://premiercomfortheatingandair.com/ but not sure if that's his direct contact?

He never responded to my PM's via the site so I do not know if he is on vacation or just taking a brake from this website.... Thankfully I was able to get mine running.