Janitrol Furnaces

Hi Group,

Anyone have an opinion on the reliability of Janitrol furnaces? My sister-in-law has one that is only about 5 winters old and they've had to replace the ingitor 3 or 4 times. Seems excessive to me. I don't have the model number of the unit but I told her to have the service guy leave the old part so I could take a look. I see them for $33 for some models on the web, and he'll charge 10x that probably for a Sunday service call. At that rate, I'll buy her a backup and replace it for them myself!

Thanks for any advice!

Mark

Reply to
mwlogs
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First, most equipment failure is due to improper installation and set-up. (which are high on Janitrols list as they will sell to ANYONE!!)

Second, the newer G**dman branded units are of better quality. (yet they product support still leaves room for improvement)

Third, messing with a furnace (when you are not properly trained to do so) can cause property damage and/or personal injuries or death!!

The unit in question can have serious issues with the igniters as they have used the same one up till the new current models. The serviceman needs to look for WHY it is going out and figure out the solution to the REAL problem with the unit. (as there are several reasons why an igniter will fail in these furnaces)

As the what the service company charges on Sunday, well, what is your FAMILY time worth to you? Do you understand the operating costs involved in running a biz? I figure not, or you wouldn't be complaining about the cost...remember you can always wait till Monday during regular hours to save the cost of an emergency call-out to fix YOUR unit. (but I would think you would rather have heat then worry about that little extra cost)

There is more to it then just changing the igniter, you have to make sure the igniter IS the proper replacement. Just because it LOOKS the same, doesn't mean that it IS the same. There are all sorts of different spec's for different manufactures.

Just the other day, a guy lead himself to his own death by changing his filters. Yes, that is correct. There is a lawyer asking questions in another forum for why this could have happened. There exist a big percentage of having a huge problem when messing around with (gas & electric) appliances.

This is meant to teach you something about what not to do, and to educate you a little. To enlighten you to the real problems of why it costs so much and understand that we as professionals can NOT open ourselves to a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Have a good day.

~kjpro~

Reply to
~KJPRO~

'Hi Group, Anyone have an opinion on the reliability of Janitrol furnaces? My sister-in-law has one that is only about 5 winters old and they've had to replace the ingitor 3 or 4 times. Seems excessive to me. =A0 =A0 I don't have the model number of the unit but I told her to have the service guy leave the old part so I could take a look. =A0 I see them for $33 for some models on the web, and he'll charge 10x that probably for a Sunday service call. At that rate, I'll buy her a backup and replace it for them myself! Thanks for any advice! Mark'

Mark,

Up until roughly 5 years ago...Janitrol (Goodman) wasnt very good quality or reliable ; since they bought out Amana, they have come up with an entirely new line of residential heating and coooling equipment which is very nicely engineered and reliable. In fact, thier latest color brochure compares their a/c's to Lennox's , with overwhelming feature advantages . I recently installed a 90 plus Janitrol single stage , and was very impressed with the adaptability , design, and performance ; once they get over the hurdle of the garbage that they put out in the past 5 plus years ago....they are going to do very very well. Already, they are ranked number 2 for residential heating and cooling marketshare, nationwide . Carrier is number 1...and youd be shocked at some of the junk they have put out in past years .

Reply to
DN B

As for the failure on the ignitors ; more than likely the furnace is cycling way too often due to an incorrect heat anticipator/cycle rate adjustment on the thermostat. And/or...there is an excessive amount of dirt, dust, etc...in the area of the furnace which is getting on the ignitor.

Reply to
DN B

'As the what the service company charges on Sunday, well, what is your FAMILY time worth to you? Do you understand the operating costs involved in running a biz? I figure not, or you wouldn't be complaining about the cost...remember you can always wait till Monday during regular hours to save the cost of an emergency call-out to fix YOUR unit.'

This is true. However, i find many Service Companies literally gouge for a weekend service call . That is NOT right. Further, a serviceman should NOT be getting paid comission on parts he replaces....which many HVAC service companies are now offering to boost revenue / profit. A consumer should expect to pay a premium for O.T. repairs....but doesnt deserve to be cheated blind. Buyer Beware...when dealing with the Trades -- few are of the ethical persuasion.

Reply to
DN B

If the service guy is replacing them every year, and is not explaining why, you need a new serviceman.

A number of issues can cause short life, improper installation is one.

As for what brands are most reliable. It is always the one that was properly installed and maintained. I am no pro and I have no ax to grind, but the installation and maintenance is the key.

If you are determined not to all another serviceman, and frankly I would rather find out what the problem is, as it might not just be a bad serviceman, to do it yourself, then find the manual, if your sister-in-law can't find it (bet she can't) see what model she has and see if you can find one on-line or from your local parts supplier. You will also then find out if your local parts supplier will even sell you the parts.

BTW some areas have local codes prohibiting anyone other than licensed pros from doing this work unless they own the home themselves.

Good Luck

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

Mark,

Up until roughly 5 years ago...Janitrol (Goodman) wasnt very good quality or reliable ; since they bought out Amana, they have come up with an entirely new line of residential heating and coooling equipment which is very nicely engineered and reliable. In fact, thier latest color brochure compares their a/c's to Lennox's , with overwhelming feature advantages . I recently installed a 90 plus Janitrol single stage , and was very impressed with the adaptability , design, and performance ; once they get over the hurdle of the garbage that they put out in the past 5 plus years ago....they are going to do very very well. Already, they are ranked number 2 for residential heating and cooling marketshare, nationwide . Carrier is number 1...and youd be shocked at some of the junk they have put out in past years .

------------------------------------- Above this line is shit spewed from Clueless Davey!

You clueless twit, they have been rated number 2 for some time now.

Ranked number 2, has nothing to due with quality, rather it applies to the number of units sold! And them being one of the biggest pieces of junk on the market, price has EVERYTHING do due with why they are number 2.

Get a clue.

, here it is, print it out so you'll have one.

~kjpro~

Reply to
~KJPRO~

You clueless twit! How much do you want to bet that your sister in laws furnace is too big? Remember how cheap that install price was? Thats because she picked the cheapest illiterate hack in town to do it. No load calculation was done and she got EXACTLY what she wanted and EXACTLY what she paid for. A shit furnace by a shit hack for a shit price. Igniters dont just break for no reason. You'll replace them for her and they will continue to break. Oh, and about that Sunday service call Id charge you 100 times that because you sound like a big dick head. . Here, let me clue you in on a little story that happened tonight. Calls are forwarded to my cell phone this Sun evening. Im at my parents house with all my family for a get together and dinner. About

7pm my cell goes off. Guy in my home town 15 mins away wants to know if I have an igniter for a Janitrol furnace that is one year old. Sure I do. Who doesnt? Janitrol parts are a gold mine. Its in my truck and my truck is with me. He wants to put it in himself. You know what I told him? "Nope. I dont carry Janitrol igniters". I didnt put the furnace in, He's never called me before and now he cant find the hack that put his furnace in. Im not about to stock parts for his furnace so he can run out on Sun and pick one up from me. Then he can run to the local Johnstone tomorrow and whine how I charged him too high of a price. He can pay my "open up" fee just like the parts houses do and then he can pay my "overtime part" fee. Then I'll supply all the parts he wants on Sunday evening. Janitrol........I hope they make number 1 in sales. I'll need a bigger truck to hold all those parts. Bubba
Reply to
Bubba

This is Turtle.

First off what are you buying ignitor for because Goodman furnishes free ignitor for 5 years free under the 5 year warranty of parts.

Second having to change the ignitor out every year , well someone is installing them wrong or there is something bad wrong with it. You need to get a real hvac service company to tell you what is wrong with it. Also if you touch the ignitor element with your fingers while installing it. It will burn out in about 6 to 12 months like clock work. If a service man wants to come back and change the ignitor with in a year or less. All he has to do is touch the ignitor element with his fingers and it will burn less than a year later.

Thirdly. If the service guy is the one that installed it and he is charging for new ignitors when he replaces them. Fire him and get a respectiable service company to do your work for he gets a new one for free if he bring the old one back to the warehouse. He is charging you for the parts and then getting a new one at the warehouse to replace it also.

Forthly When you have a Goodman Gas furnace GMP , GMT, GMNT, GMTH, GMTD , or any inshot type burnt gas furnaces by Goodman. If you do not ground the furnace properly. it will have false lock out 1 or 2 times a year and will show up as maybe a ignitor failure signal or other reason given by the whinkey light of the IFC relay board.

Now your asking questions here and expecting to get a answer to your questions here and do not give the model number of the furnace your wanting a ignitor for or even to answer some question as why your changing ignitor every year or so and the ignitor should go atleast 5 years in most cases. You have a problem with it and throwing ignitors at it is not the answer. There is atleast 30 things that i can think of that will get it to eating ignitor like you have. If you think throwing ignitors at it is the answer. I will sell you a Gross of them at Wholesale price and you can throw them at it till the cows come home. I'll sell you a gross of them for $2,600.00 and the instruction to install it is in the box. OH, I don't sell less than a Gross over the internet if you was thinking just one or 2.

Get some service company to fix it and not play with it.

TURTLE

Reply to
TURTLE

You are a thief, If you had to actually work for a living like many of your victims (customers) you may understand what's involved in making an honest dollar.

Reply to
Dymer

Yeah, Im a thief because I wont sell a part to some tightwad Ive never seen, havent done work for and am supposed to "jump" for on a Sunday evening while inconveniencing one of my regular customers that may need it. Sorry. Im not biting. Cry a little louder for me you hump. Now go piss up a rope and suck on the bitter end you dick. Bubba

Reply to
Bubba

You are something else. Did you think that maybe if you 'jumped' for someone, he might one day become a regular customer. We can all read through the lines what kind of person and mechanic you are. If you ever need a job in the contruction business, call me please. I'd be happy to hire you then fire your ass.

Reply to
JerryL

If the igniter isn't working on a weekend is it possible to manually light it, like you could with a stove with an electronic ignition that's bad? I mean itsn't it really the same thing? Just curious (and I don't have electronic ignition on my furnace, just asking a theoretical question). I'm just wondring if there is a way to get though the weekend and have the service performed on a weekday instead.

Reply to
scott_z500

Good for you Mark.

Check out goodman/janitrol site for documentation if you don't have it. Then check EBAY for ignitors.

Everybody would be lucky to have a BIL like you.

HM

Reply to
HonestMan

Please stay away from anything that burns a fuel, as you have just shown that certain people can/are very dangerous to be around!!

Sure there is, use supplemental heat till Monday!

~kjpro~

Reply to
~KJPRO~

Come on Dave....Where's the proof ya fundy f*****ad

Reply to
Yuban Hadd

Scott asked : 'If the igniter isn't working on a weekend is it possible to manually light it, like you could with a stove with an electronic ignition that's bad? I mean itsn't it really the same thing? Just curious (and I don't have electronic ignition on my furnace, just asking a theoretical question). I'm just wondring if there is a way to get though the weekend and have the service performed on a weekday instead.'

Yes Scott...there is a way to get heat if the Hot Surface ignitor doesnt work...but its only good for ONE cycle , then you have to do it again. After the gas valve opens (youll hear it click ..) you simply hold a long match in close proximity to the ignitor and the burners will ignite the same as if the ignitor was doing it. This should only be done in an extreme emergency however ; its always best to wait till a Serviceman can come out if at all possible.

Reply to
DN B

Dave your BS is real only because Lennox or Carrier will not sell to you,, you druel your total Lian Unsubstantiated Bull Shitt. Your an unlisenced , unqualified, underinsured , undereducated , a Con that deserves a rest, from society. Yes Dave Their Color brocheres are Nice arent they, Good for a con like you , since Goodman is and has always been the crap in the barrell. of HVAC. To bad there are no yearly quality reports of an un biased source , Im sure they would surely show Good Man asc the CRAP you push. , as YOU ARE .........

Reply to
m Ransley

More dangerous advice Asshole!

Reply to
KissHanksAss

Thanks to all those that replied with a meaningful message. I'll not waste valuable time responding to the remainder, only to say I hope and pray I NEVER have to have you set foot in my house for any repairs.

The ignitor was replaced this morning, after a night of near 0 degree temps. It was replaced under warranty, but that's little solice for the inconvenience. I'll have her check with the repair folks to see what the problem is. Oh, and the company HAS been in business in the area for at LEAST 40 years, because they replace my families furnace back in the 60's.

Reply to
mwlogs

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