I live in the Washington DC area, in a 50-year-old 2300-sq-foot rambler. A service rep from my HVAC company shut down my 20-year-old Kenmore 80 1000-btu gas furnace this afternoon. He had run a camera on a cable up the burner flues into the heat exchanger, and showed me what he said were cracks: lighter lines among the black soot and more than a bit of rust. Although the monoxide alarms around the house and in the furnace room have not complained, he said the furnace was unsafe and must be replaced immediately.
OK, I can buy that the poor thing is at end of life. Question #1, do you agree that it had to be shut down immediately, or is this a pressure sales tactic? He didn't cut any wires, just turned off the breaker and the thermostat; is it safe for me to turn it back on?
Question #2, the sales rep is offering the following replacements, all 1000-btu Frigidaires (which I understand are made by Nordyne). What do you think of these furnaces, and does the price sound reasonable? They include running the required new exhaust PVC for the 93%er, plus all include $350 for running about 20 feet of flexible ducting to a badly-served dining-room addition.
80% 2-stage FG6TA096C12B $3500
80% 2-stage variable FG6RA096CVBA $4410
93% 2-stage FG6TC080CVBB $4550
The same company will replace my aged gas hot-water heater with a new 50-gal model for about $900, and add a system humidifier for about $650 if I do these at the same time as the furnace work. Comments?
Another company prefers Lennox furnaces; they say all I need is a 90K BTU furnace due to the increased efficiency these days -- though the old furnace was sized before the dining-room addition was built. They say the 80% Lennoxes are sturdy and far more reliable than the fancy Energy Star models. They are proposing:
80% G40 $2300
90% G51V $3400
and will do my hot-water heater for $625 along with the furnace replacement.
Is this apples and oranges? I really appreciate your input, and apologize for the long writeup. Both companies have good records in the area, and both have been around for more than a decade.
Lynn
ryanhughes
mikenew
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