Furnace on the fritz

[beelah]

Technology....love it and hate it... I put in a new furnace 4 years ago, 10 days before Christmas and paid over $5000.

Need a new air filter and the only supplier was the original buyer at at cost of $50 a pop, but only need to replace once a year. Now two years later, the price is up to $60.

Last april smelt burning wiring and then furnace not kicking in and no heat... call the tech and it is a seized fan motor but still on warranty, but service repair bill $125.

Yesterday smelt the same burning insulation smell and no heat....shut down furnace and call the tech. First date they gave me for a visit was Thursday!!!!!! after much yelling and expressions of frustration tech can make it over Monday afternoon at 1:30.

So it is a cold house for two days ...lucky I dont live wher Mule Kicker lives as the temp is just hovering around freezing, but cold is all relative to what you are use too. One good thing is that my latest rum wash is clearing nicley in the cold cold basement.

I can't recommend a Carrier furnance to anyone.

[MuleKicker]

what model do you have beelah? i have the whole carrier comfort system and have never had a problem. is it the main blower that is burnt? do you know if its a dc drive? i have an extra blower that i got from a buddy.

[beelah]

Don't rightly know what I got. I will give her a check, but she is under warranty so I am getting the installers to fix it anf I hope fix it right this time.

I am selling my house this spring and heading out of the city and up the coast and I think I am going to go retro and burn wood instead of oil or electric. Keep it simple. There is lots of wood for free that only needs an inevestment of some sweat equity.

If I could I would get off the grid, but you can't setup a private hydro electric on your own property and there just isn't enough wind all year round nor enough sunlight to go solar

I will let you know what the damages are tomorrow afternoon.

[MuleKicker]

Warranty is good. Ive been heating with wood completely for 4 years now. I heat my house/garage, and potable hot water with an outdoor woodburner. Havent paid the gas man for a while. Nice

[ScottishBoy]

I just got through with a crapoload of research on furnaces and the various methods we could heat with. We need to replace our furnace.
Interesting points to mention:

1. Nearly all of the 95% efficient furnaces come with some very complicated maintainence routines. Yearly service is practically mandatory and you are expected to shell out replacement parts on a continual basis.

2. Nearly all of the High Efficiency furnaces produce condensate that is highly acidic. This is often glossed over by the manuals. If you have your own septic system, the sulfuric acid will eat at your concrete, steel, iron and some forms of PVC, bringing your system to a premature end. They estimate it can destroy a system in ten years.
Okay for city water users, but private septic folks need to know this.

Installation is EVERYTHING when buying a furnace. We are lucky enought to have a guy who has been doing it forever and he is selling me the same one that he and his crew uses. Its about 87% efficient, but doesnt produce acid and revaps the water. Basically made for a 50 year cycle. He says these things can go 30 years without needing anything other than the occasional cleaning. He says ( and is backed up by a good deal of research) that the best furnace in the world will act like crap if its not installed properly and that 80% of the problems he encounteres are furnaces that are not vented or routed properly. You have to make sure they pay attantion to things like bends in pipes, accumulated resistance and distance runs.

Do your homework and you will get a good install.

We are looking at getting it installed next month. Cost 4900 for the furnace, plus that again to have it installed.

( PLUS! I get all the copper scrap from the pipework! )

[beelah]

That's interesting what youi say about the problems withe the high-effeciency furnaces as I was talking to a friend last night and he was tellingme about having to replca the fan motor in the power ventialtion part and when he did it it was all rusted and corroded???

I guess it is because of the vapour build up and as you said and also the acids as well. I will need to let him know.

What I don't understand is how you get the sulphuric acid into the septic system???

[ScottishBoy]

They usually use a shunt pipe that allows the water/acid mix to drain out of the line...and they usually connect it to a drain in your house. Probabaly should have mentioned that before.

[beelah]

Ah!!! no such drain in my system...maybe that`s the problem. Mind you mine is not the high-effeciency type, only mid effeciency - around 80-85%.

Thanks for that information

[MuleKicker]

Hey beelah, do you have the april aire air filters? i know they are spendy, but I get them online, i can get 3 for $60.