new gas furnace recommendations needed

Bob. It you read my post properly I advised the OP of the dangers of what an actual breach of the heat exchanger tubes (see the light through the hole) should have caused by now-------illness and possible death, not a light matter to ignore. His post says that he was suspicious of the contractors thinking more of their revenue than of his needs. My advice was to get the gas company to make an unbaised and professional assessment if that breach is as reported. I don't know the regulatory procedure in his neck of the woods but a gas company representative (and any contractor) seeing such a breach would have immediately red tagged that furnace and secured it from further use. End of suspicions and end of argument. That hadn't happened with the contractors who just advised that he get his furnace replaced. As others have chimed in there are indeed a lot of contractor scams around especially in the US. Just ask Hurricane Katrina survivors.

Reply to
PaPaPeng
Loading thread data ...

The original contractor told me he was supposed to red tag it and turn off the gas. I told him not to do it since it was in the Twenties here yesterday. He took a Poloroid picture of the furnace and turned off the Emergency Switch on the wall. He told me he was doing that and it was up to me what I wanted to do. I did see the hole in the exchanger, it was large enough to slide a penny or nickel through it sideways and was at the far end of the enclosure.

After having it inspected today by the gas people and being told even more emphatically not to use it I turned it off and signed a contract with the people who quoted me the Lennox furnace. I live in SE VA and our winters are generally mild and not as long as the North. Considering I don't plan on living here much longer the extra price of the 90% efficiency furnace wasn't worth it to me. Besides I assume the outside unit will be ready for a replacemnet soon also. Two summers ago I had to take the fan apart and drip some oil down the shaft to make it stop squeeling. So far it has been working fine but you never know.

Reply to
badgolferman

If the compressor is past it's expected life, I'd strongly consider replacing the whole thing at the same time. I would expect you'd get a better deal and the unit is likely a low SEER, so you'll be saving on electric as well. Plus, many utilities have rebates of several hundred dollars, there are energy tax credits, etc that can sweeten the deal by a few hundred bucks.

Reply to
trader4

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.