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big_al_41

my son is in need of a new Furnace any thoughts ?

big_al_41
11 years ago

lives in Connecticut oil fired hot air ..the furnace has a cracked chamber. A/C side is still good. should he stay with the BTU's from the old one as it seemed to do the trick and what about warranties etc ..are they all the same. if you need more info let me know just wondering he doesn't have a whole bunch to spend ...thanks

Comments (4)

  • mike_home
    11 years ago

    The first question is does he have access to natural gas? I recall you were looking at doing a gas conversion, but I don't know the outcome.

    There is a good chance the old furnace is oversized. He should have the contractor do a load calcualtion.

    Most good equipment comes with a 10 year parts warranty and one year of labor coverage. You can upgrade the labor coverage to 10 years. I would only consider an extended warranty from the manufacturer and not the contractor.

  • big_al_41
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    The NG is NOT available for him and the question of using NG was for me. At my end the gas company wanted $15,000 from each of us on our street to install a main gas line .. Bummer.. too expensive for us.

    Going back to my sons problem, is there a particular furnace that he should request. I don't think they will do a Manual J ( cost etc ) I think he is going with the Btu's from the old unit. I know he should but it's just not in the cards right now.

  • mike_home
    11 years ago

    There are not a lot of choices when it comes to oil furnaces. I would look at the Carrier Comfort and Performance series. If he is trying to save money then he doesn't have to get the variable speed version. Trane and Rheem also have furnaces but their selection is limited. He is probably going to have to change the condenser coil. It would good if could match the coil and condenser with the furnace.

    I don't have experience with oil furnaces, but I think the oil burner is a separate unit. Beckett and Riello are two manufacturers of burners.

    Does he buy is oil from an HVAC contractor? Usually these guys want to push their line of furnaces and offer you some type of deal to keep you as their oil customer. That is OK the provided it is a quality furnace.

    Today's oil furnaces have efficiencies of about 85%. This is probably higher than what he has now. The input BTU of the new furnace can be lower than the old and still provide the same output. Hopefully the HVAC contractor will point this out to him.

  • tigerdunes
    11 years ago

    As mentioned above, the biggest favor you can do yourself is being sized correctly and definitely not oversized considering your fuel source is expensive oil.

    IMO

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