I have an XE-80 (iirc), and I replaced the controller a decade ago after it was fried by a PG&E voltage spike. PG&E paid for it, I think it was about a c-note. I picked the new controller up at APED in san jose. Note that there are two controller models available; make sure you get the right model for your ignition subsystem; one uses 80VAC for the hot surface igniter, the other uses line voltage. If you get the wrong one, you'll be replacing igniters once a year.
Ironically, I have had a chimney "sweating" problem for many years in the winter but I finally got it solved this year...so I am not too concerned about running the water heater alone.
If there is a problem however, I'll just move my projected time frame for water heater replacement up a few years.
A vent-free water heater would only cost me a few dollars more than having a chimney liner put in...and my roof is too steep for me to consider doing it myself. Never went up there even when I was younger.
Moot point as the new furnace will be in on Monday... but the control unit I priced out was the exact one for my furnace.
It was not in stock locally but for somewhere around $500+ total I could have had one shipped in "next day air".
Since I was going to replace the furnace this year anyway, I did not see the point.
I will have to start it manually with a BBQ lighter for the next few days...although once or twice it has started on it's own .
Don't be surprised if this new one needs replacement in much ess than 23 years, either!!!
No way.
I got the recommendation for Goodman right on this news group... and it carries a ten year warranty.
The lesson I learned though is not to wait until it breaks down to get a new one. From now on I'm just going to get a new furnace every 20 years. I suppose after about the 6th or 7th time, it'll be getting a bit tedious though.
But on the serious side my wife is probably going to talk me into selling the house in six years and have us move to a warmer climate.
All I will say is todays furnaces will NOT run 30 years. Most likely won't run 20 without expensive repairs. Many don't make it through warranty without issues. Other than the advantage of going to 96% you would likely be farther ahead in dollar terms repairing the old one - Goodman or not.
First off, the Goodman has a ten year warranty on parts and I did not get the extended labor warranty as I can replace anything myself.
Since this furnace will easily pay for itself in energy savings in less than ten years...if it only lasts that long it will not be the end of the world. Like I said I may not even be living here then.
Also: I had to get /substandard/ home insurance because my furnace was over 20 years old...so if for that reason alone...it is not worth it to me to keep the old furnace.
Other than one company that specifically handles substandard dwellings.../no one/ would insure a house with an over 20 furnace. Even the "sub-standard" insurer only did so reluctantly.
Plus...after 23 years, who knows what's going to go next? The exhaust motor is pretty burned looking and then...who would trust a
23 year old blower motor?I am a firm believer in fixing rather than replacing but this time I am glad I'm getting a new one.
After it's in I will see if I can get a reduction in my home insurance from a normal insurance co.
BTW: My experience with the insurance companies led me to believe they are /all/ a bunch of ass-holes and part of me says to stay with the more expensive insurance so I don't have to deal with the other ones.
One of those ass-holes told me that even if I got a new furnace he would not sell me insurance because he did not like the way the roof looked. I told him that it was still guaranteed for five more years against leakage but it does not leak. They do not guarantee the way it looks! (The shingles look a little wavy but are fine)
The secret with insurance companies is to stay with the same one for years. Been 32 years with the same company and they don't question anything. Looked at changing companies and will need electrical inspection (aluminum wiring) to get coverage at all, and replace fuse panel with breaker panel to get decent price
You're making the right choice...I worked on a furnace for a friend recentl y, it's 18 yrs old and hadn't failed until then. It actually didn't totally fail either...it was short-cycling and couldn't make it passed 58 degrees. This thing is a "True Blue 90", say what? They went out of business, but t hey use standard stuff made by Honeywell. It had a clogged condensate colle ctor...you could hear it gargling from the outside exhaust! This furnace ha d no blower door access...never saw that before! I'm fairly sure a tech wou ld have told him he needed a new furnace.
I had no choice in the matter, the company I had been with for years no longer is doing any business in the entire state of Wisconsin.
As much as I hate insurance companies, if I ran one...no way in hell would I ever insure anything with aluminum wiring...do you know how dangerous that is.
By all means, no matter what the cost...get that thing rewired.
On 01/23/2015 06:27 PM, bob_villa wrote: either!!!
Here is the latest development with my old furnace. I got tired of lighting it with a BBQ lighter so I connected a 115 volt cord directly to the ignitor.
Plug it in and turn the furnace on ...then unplug it when the flame gets going... turn the furnace off after it's cycled through. Even though I have to do that about six times a day...I am reminded that when this house was built...it was coal heat
It has the "second generation" aluminum wiring and all of the devices are the upgraded co-alr devices made for use with aluminum. Properly wired, second generation aluminum is no worse than copper. The earlier stuff was BAD - it cracked if you looked at it the wrong way - it was too hard,and too brittle. The second generation aluminum behaves very much like copper - it is soft and flexible.
There have been NO electrical issues in the house in 43 years. My Dad was an electrician, and he wired most of the houses in this subdivision. Before his recent death he said there is nothing wrong with the wiring but recommended installing the co-alr devices, which I did. When the panel is replaced this spring the ESA inspection will be performed, and with the certification the new insurance company will insure the house.
And likely without the "automatic fireman" which kept the fire stoked and banked.
My third house was built during copper wire crunch. 12 gauge Al with all Cu-Al fixtures and connectors. Lived there for ~19 years. Never had a single problem. I think it is all matter of doing it right first time. But that Al wiring always bothered me.
I have no idea what the coal furnace was like here...but the basement is still all full of pulleys. There is still a coal shovel in the basement and I once found a lump of hard anthracite off in a corner somewhere.
To this day I'm still finding 'clinkers' in the yard
Hmm, Must be pretty old house, maybe older than I am. I lived in a war time built small house with gravity fed furnace once. I had supervised total renovation of my daughter's main house built in 1912. This house is rock solid with mostly all original wood work. Location is worth $$$, she insisted on buying/fixing it up to modern standard. VERY seldom a house comes on the market for sale in her neighborhood.
House was built in 1898 and through city records got a lot of info.
The good news is that it was not electrified until 1932 so it does not use knob and tube.
Only a few circuits are original though...most has been added on.
The house today is worth about six times what I paid for it...but it was completely "trashed out" when I bought it.
There was a light switch in the shower stall!!!!
Some houses wired as late as the mid-late '30s still used knob and tube. but by 1932 there was an option.
I never heard of 2nd generation aluminum wiring but if you say so , I believe you.
The insurance companies that came out here made their assessment by interviewing me and by a look at the exterior of the house.
If I had a newer furnace and the roof "looked" better I could have gotten insurance. Since they never looked inside, I could have had cans of gasoline stored next to the furnace for all they would have known.
One funny thing though:
I have a 2nd story porch with a very make-shift stairway going down to the ground. I figured they'd want me to remove it...but they did say "Oh good, a fire escape". So now I can leave it.
Some of the industrial equipment I worked on used aluminum wiring for the power transformers. In general it was OK but if there was ever so much as a slightly loose connection, it would burn.
No matter what, the burned lead could not (usually) be cleaned or cut back to the point of usability and in most instances the only safe way to repair the device would be to replace the entire transformer.
I'm totally against the stuff for wiring.
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