I may need a new furnace, what brand / model do you recommend

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02-21-2010, 10:05
jim02

I may need a new furnace, what brand / model do you recommend

I may need a new furnace, mine is 19 years old and stoped putting out heat. I will see what the repair man says.
If I need a new one what brand / model do you recommend?
02-21-2010, 10:07
hip55

Hard to go wrong with a Lennox -
02-21-2010, 10:30
earplug

If your new furnace is going to use a new side vent, and you old furnace used a roof top vent. Consider having a tank less water heater installed at the same time. It can be vented out the roof vent.
We put in a Tempstar furnace, no issue with it.
02-21-2010, 10:36
StagLefty

If you need a new one see what the repair company recommends for efficiency. There are some that will get you a rebate from the state.
02-21-2010, 10:46
GreenScoutII

Quote:

Originally Posted by hip55

Hard to go wrong with a Lennox -

I would guess your experience with Lennox products has been different than mine. My beef with Lennox is primarily their control boards. Parts in general for this brand are proprietary and unique, as such, there is very little a guy can buy off the shelf without going through a Lennox dealer.

I recomend Carrier furnaces because, in my experience, they function well with no issues for a long time. When repair does become necessary parts are inexpensive and easy to obtain.

I'm a plumber by trade and HVAC is a closely related field. So much so that frequently the same company will handle both plumbing and HVAC installation/repair. Typically, a plumber will install the gas lines and the HVAC guys will run the flue. Working side by side with a lot of these guys and my own experience repairing furnaces has led me to believe Carrier is a good way to go.
02-21-2010, 10:53
gnihcraes

Amana Goodman seems to work well, I have a fairly new one and several friends do too. High Effeciency.

but they are "new" style which will require some minor plumbing changes if you don't have fresh air intake... closed combustion...
02-21-2010, 11:09
ryanek9freak

Hard to stop a Trane.....
02-21-2010, 13:30
MarkCO

Carrier/Bryant and Amana/Goodman are pretty decent. Some of it depends on what AC coil you have (or will get). I assume the Trane comment is a joke, but they are good as well, but not their AC compressors. Most contractors will utilize one brand only. Bryant is the "economy" brand of Carrier as is Goodman for Amana. Same product in most cases, less warranty.

I have two Trane furnances w/ Amana AC units, givng the best of both worlds. High efficiency is all you can really put in by Code, and you really should get a permit, especially if you ever plan on selling the house.

As for the tankless water heaters, strongly recomend you pass. They are good for some applications, but their safeties in general are not enough yet and the cost will NEVER be returned even with a rebate. A high efficieny water heater (with a commercial tank) is a much better option financially and from an efficiency standpoint.
02-21-2010, 13:51
jerrymrc

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkCO

Carrier/Bryant and Amana/Goodman are pretty decent. Some of it depends on what AC coil you have (or will get). I assume the Trane comment is a joke, but they are good as well, but not their AC compressors. Most contractors will utilize one brand only. Bryant is the "economy" brand of Carrier as is Goodman for Amana. Same product in most cases, less warranty.

I have two Trane furnances w/ Amana AC units, givng the best of both worlds. High efficiency is all you can really put in by Code, and you really should get a permit, especially if you ever plan on selling the house.

As for the tankless water heaters, strongly recomend you pass. They are good for some applications, but their safeties in general are not enough yet and the cost will NEVER be returned even with a rebate. A high efficieny water heater (with a commercial tank) is a much better option financially and from an efficiency standpoint.

What is this thing "AC" you speak of? ;)
02-21-2010, 13:58
MrPrena

I agree. I had to replace a control board on a 4 year old Lennox (500series) system. Even with warranty, it costed me $300ish. :(

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreenScoutII

I would guess your experience with Lennox products has been different than mine. My beef with Lennox is primarily their control boards. Parts in general for this brand are proprietary and unique, as such, there is very little a guy can buy off the shelf without going through a Lennox dealer.

I recomend Carrier furnaces because, in my experience, they function well with no issues for a long time. When repair does become necessary parts are inexpensive and easy to obtain.

I'm a plumber by trade and HVAC is a closely related field. So much so that frequently the same company will handle both plumbing and HVAC installation/repair. Typically, a plumber will install the gas lines and the HVAC guys will run the flue. Working side by side with a lot of these guys and my own experience repairing furnaces has led me to believe Carrier is a good way to go.
02-21-2010, 15:34
funkfool

I had a Goodman furnace installed last summer w/ air conditioning and install with parts - was less than $2000.00. That is before the tax credit...
Whatever you get - make sure it is an energy efficient one so you can get the tax credit:
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?...edits.tx_index
02-21-2010, 20:50
MattR

Tempstar is made at the same factory as carrier, kenmore, and a couple others but without the brand name prices. Parts are common if needed, but they are some of the most reliable units out there.
02-21-2010, 23:33
GreenScoutII

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkCO

you really should get a permit, especially if you ever plan on selling the house.

Yep. Pull a permit. It will end up biting you in the ass if you don't.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkCo

As for the tankless water heaters, strongly recomend you pass. They are good for some applications, but their safeties in general are not enough yet and the cost will NEVER be returned even with a rebate. A high efficieny water heater (with a commercial tank) is a much better option financially and from an efficiency standpoint.

Tankless water heaters are not all they are cracked up to be. Typically they run twice to three times the price of a conventional water heater AND frequently the house, or at least a portion of it, will have to have larger gas pipe installed to handle the larger input BTU requirement of a tankless. This will add considerable expense to a retrofit installation.

Yes, I am a certified installer for both Rinnai and Takagi tankless heaters, but I think for most applications a homeowner is better off with a conventional tank style water heater.