Need Furnace Advice

I just had my furnace checked for the winter season. The guy said my secondary heat exchanger is bad. The furnace is 16 years old so I am thinking it would be best to replace the whole furnace. Am I right?

Any thoughts on what are the better brands or are they all about the same? The air conditioning unit is the same age. Should I replace both at the same time?

What else do I need to be considering, besides the reputation of the installers?

Thanks!

I now realize this should have gone to the "off topic" section but I don't know how to move it.

At that age I would change it all.

I agree with Bama. Where you live it just gets too cold to risk pipes and everything broken pipes could damage. Seems smart to stay in front of this.

They say an average furnace lasts 15 years before needing replaced due to crack in heat exhanger. No need to replace your condensor unit. Buying a high efficiency furnace should not be as costly as you would think. You can pick one up for around 1400 give or take. To replace whole system would be around 4000 and that's just equipment. Just put a new furnace in. I like Bryant products myself. Stay away from Lennox there junk. .im a journeymen sheetmetal worker hvac tech for the last 8 years now.

Buy it from a company that is service oriented.People who know their business,will fix anything that needs fixing,answer your call 24/7 and have people who will respond.Dealers who stand behind the product,know you by name and treat you like a long term customer.Keep up with service bulletins,install stuff right.Their are a few in every market ask around and find them. If you have the means change it all at the same time. The industry has driven everything in the same direction,its all pretty much the same technology now just arranged differently. You don't need a snake oil salesmen or fast talking slick salesmen....you need a problem solver with a work ethic and common sense and a set of morals.

And that applies to your doctor,lawyer,plumber,carpenter,preacher.....

Trane I've had one for 22 years and just replaced it even tho it was still going strong. A bad heat exchanger can let CO into the air it blows into your house and we all know what too much CO can do to you.

Get a second opinion first. I was told the same thing once by a very reputable company that advertised a lot on TV. My wife even handled their Ins for the company. Had them come out and do a winter service call and was told that the heat exchanger had a crack and to not start the furnace or it would kill us in our sleep. A neighbor was a hvac man and he said that didn't sound right to him and to call the gas company and tell them we think we smell gas. They came out and went clear through the furnace and said there wasn't anything wrong with it. We told them that the service guy said the heat exchange was cracked and they just laughed and said they hear that allot. If you are going to exchange one go ahead and exchange both. We just changed both last fall and our bills are really cheaper since changing them. You might have your duct work cleaned or replaced also. I was amazed at how much dust and things they took out of the ducts when they cleaned ours. Good luck which ever way you decide to go. EB

If the heat exchanger is truly cracked I would replace the furnace without question. As one poster said CO emissions is never a good thing in a home. One thing to keep in mind is the country has gone to new freon (r- 410 a) your system is 16 years old so I'm assuming it's r-22. Which is being out sourced by r-410a and with that higher costs of the freon and people in the Hvac industry are told it won't be available for purchase much longer. That being said ask the company for a price on a coil with furnace install. This way when you replace the cond unit your ready for the new freon and the furnace doesn't have to be messed with. If feasible though replace the entire system.
I've been installing and maintaining lennox for 10 years and I can tell you it's not junk, anything but. Lennox and it's dealers have some of the strongest customer service and warranties in the business and they make sound and quiet machines.
Any questions feel free to shoot me a pm.

Thanks for all of the words of wisdom. Had another guy come out today and he confirmed that the heat exchanger was cracked. I'm going to have both the furnace and AC replaced. Guys from 2 reputable companies in my area are coming out tomorrow to look the house, ductwork, etc. They both indicated over the phone the whole thing, including labor, would be between 4 and 5, grand depending on what I need. But they wanted to see the house first.

Just what I wanted for Christmas!!!!

Thanks again for the input!

I've had several replaced over the years. Never regretted either. Current house had the original furnace when we bought it in 2001. House was built in 1963. We finally replaced it in 2009. We saved about $100 bucks a month in energy costs. Went from a 50% efficient to 94% or so. Cost a couple hundred, but we had them clean the duct work while they where here. I removed the old system and hauled it off to the recycler for some decent coin. Not much value in the general metal, or the cast, however that copper and aluminum can be worth some coin. Make sure you separate the metals to get the premium scrap price.

I gather you don't have a CO2 detector, I highly recommend it. Who knows how long your family has been breathing poisonous gas. Get a new detector, the life you save may be your families. :cheers2

Agreed Hanr3 ! DEFINATELY insist that they install a HARDWIRED smoke AND CO2 detector; many states and municipalities REQUIRE them now in all new construction. For the cost ($300.00 tops) it`s CHEAP `life insurance`, same as wearing a seat belt or life preserver...chances are when you tell your Insurance provider that you`re upgrading your HVAC and installing the hard wired smoke and CO2 detectors you should qualify for a rate reduction! It may not be huge, but your savings on your heating and cooling WILL be !

Just had the new furnace and AC installed today, along with a whole house humidifier, and even though it's not really that cold here yet, I can tell it's working a lot better than the old system. 2 stage furnace with variable fan. I already had hard wired smoke detectors in the house. I will get a buddy of mine who is an electrician to install hard wired CO2 detectors. Thanks for the advice.

Hanr3 said "I gather you don't have a CO2 detector, I highly recommend it. Who knows how long your family has been breathing poisonous gas."

That would explain a lot of things around here...!

LOL

This is crazy, just had the same thing told to me today about a 15 year old heatpack oil furnace. We actually smelled oil exhaust blowing through the house. Thankfully we have a wood stove and heat 90% by wood. Now need to decide on a new system. Anyone have a mini split ductless?

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Originally Posted by Zippy

This is crazy, just had the same thing told to me today about a 15 year old heatpack oil furnace. We actually smelled oil exhaust blowing through the house. Thankfully we have a wood stove and heat 90% by wood. Now need to decide on a new system. Anyone have a mini split ductless?

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Yes, I have installed plenty. They work well and very energy efficient. Very high seer ratings. ( seer stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating) Personally I only recommend the ductless units if duct work is absent or very hard to install. If you have central heat/AC stick with it. The biggest exception is if it's a add on room. Then they really pay.