Trane Variable Speed Furnace

[jwalkky]

Yeah, the Trane is a great furnace until the motor goes out. I was quoted $1000 plus labor to replace the motor. That's One Thousand Dollars! Yow, that hurts. The disappointing thing is the motor probably failed about 3 or 4 years ago... when it was still under warranty. But we didn't notice that is was no longer capable of anything but the low speed given the mild climate in Oregon. Now that the motor works properly we can see that it hasn't been this way in years. It was installed 7 years ago so no luck on the warranty. The good new is that the replacement motor is guaranteed for a whole year... One Whole Year! Wow.

Nothing Runs like a Trane wreck.

I wish I had done the due diligence seven years ago. There would certainly not be a Trane in my basement today had I done so.

Live and learn.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, That may include the motor control board. They're known to destroy each other.

[Bubba]

Hmmm, remember that 5 or 10 yr parts and labor warranty that your HVAC specialists offered you but you thought it was way too expensive then? Bad decision. huh? :-) Bubba

[http://www.thehvacmedic.com/cg]

All Trane reps will offer a 5 or 10 year parts and labor warranty. Now you know why.

[ransley]

The motors were redesigned a few years ago so they now last alot longer, if you never need more than low speed , you were probably oversized. The 10 yr warranty option should always be taken with vsdc motor. Depending on your Kwh cost over the past years you likely already have saved alot of the replacement cost on the motor from electric savings, my payback on vsdc is maybe 6 years. You might benefit from having a surge protector on your furnace and home, there are alot of electronics in your furnace.

[Smarty]

I looked at the electricity cost savings when selecting my Heil 2 stage furnace in 2006, and the payback was just not there to justify a variable speed DC motor on the much more expensive model. The slower blower speed on the 2 stage Heil draws about the same current as the slowest speed on the VS DC model, and neither runs at the higher speeds much / most of the time anyway.

I felt the extra electronics and extra cost were liabilities, and went with the 2 speed with an AC blower motor which switches taps when the higher burner output is called for. This seems like a much better value and fewer problems, in my opinion.

Perhaps the Trane has a different break-even / payback situation than the Heil, but I doubt it.

[MLD]

My gas utility company offers a service plan that will cover just about anything that can fail in the home heating or cooling system. Doesn't yours? MLD

[gfretwell]

When the motor on my TWE went bad they decided I needed the moror and the controller board. It was going to be at least $1000. For $210 (including the original service call) they put a regular motor and contactor in there and it works great. This was about 9 years into a 10 year P&L that was given away free as part of the original sales promotion but nobody seemed to remember that and I couldn't prove it. The tech said I could pay him and fight it out with Trane if I wanted or I could just stay "down" and fight it out before he fixed it.

[ransley]

Low speed draw on a vsdc can be 90-110 watts, low speed draw of an Alternating Current blower is around 350-375 watts of the same size, that can be a large payback over years of summer and winter use.

[PrecisioNmachinisT]

Quit whining the new blower is gonna pay for itself every 3 or 4 years......

[Bob Pietrangelo]

Why didn't you purchase the 10 year extended warranty. It would have cost you half of the motor and covered everything else on the furnace too.

[RickH]

Ha, the worst furnace I ever owned was a new Trane (in my old house). The best furnace I've had is my current Bryant, go figure. Maybe I just got a lemon or maybe it was mis-adjusted, it short cycled constantly in heat mode, made a loud "poof" whenver it lit up, pretty scary, and my chimney condensate increased greatly after it was installed dripping down wall under the clean out hatch, and needed several repair calls. Whereas the Bryant has been one dependable and quiet little workhorse.

[geojr]

It was your dumbass installer not the trane furnace- I'll take a trane or american standard anyday.

[Mark]

THIS IS EXACTLY CORRECT!!!!

And the variable speed electronics create radio and TV interference as well.

Mark

[hallerb]

variable speed is supposed to add much in comfort while limiting temperature swings.

that aone to me will make variable speed worthwhile, any electricity savings is gravy.

[gfretwell]

I have seen both in exactly the same machine and same house. (swapped variable speed for one speed) The only difference I see is this one doesn't "ramp up" and "ramp down". I am not exactly sure how it would really save any money if the single speed motor was tapped to match the evaporator. Heat is not an issue here.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Different installer!

[geothermaljones]

Had you taken the extended warranty... had a decent tech do a yearly check up... or a pre warranty expiration check up...

The variable speed is probably saving $15.00 a month, easy. Take the blame off the mfgr & the climate & man up...

geothermaljones

[Mark]

and you get correspondingly fewer CFM...

A VSDC motor does not deliver more CFM per watt..

Mark

[Mark]

I doubt it...got anything to back that up?

Mark