Considering Buying A New Furnace - HVAC Brands And Who Makes Them

[Wrenchturner44]

Redhat's post about turning on the heat made me think of this article / web link. Also with the recent discussion on washers and how many so new appliances seem to be made poorly, I thought it timely that I post this information. My apologies if this has been posted before, but like many industries the HVAC industry seems to have gone through a lot of consolidation among many brands.....some of these whom I have never heard of.
https://www.furnaceprices.ca/posts/who-makes-every-brand-of-furnace-and-air-conditioner/

 

[Silver]

My system is the one that came with the house when it was built in 1979. I've replaced a blower motor, condensor motor and a few capacitors so far. It works as it should, knock on wood. Meanwhile I see mention of folks with much newer, sometimes just a few years old, that start breaking.

HVAC has always seemed mysterious to me until I slowly was forced to learn about all the parts. Now they seem pretty simple, with replacement parts very plentiful. I'm just not sure it's smart to replace a system that was obviously built better than modern day, being that parts are readily available and in most cases easily replaced.

The only thing that seems hard to deal with is the evaporator coil up in there somewhere that I'm sure is filthy. I'm not even sure my system has a control board? per say which seems to commonly fail on newer models and is expensive.

Of course if you're paying the Dark Lord of Greed (hvac repair company) for repairs, then WOW maybe you should just replace the whole thing or at least keep a warranty on it. I wonder if any of those home warranties would cover my dinosaur.

 

[ArcherDriver]

Do not buy Peerless Boilers. They are a very poorly made product, and the company does not provide good suppport. I have gone through 4 main control panels in 8 years, at a cost of approximately $400 each. The final nail in the coffin was the coldest night of the year a few years ago, and our boiler crapped out. Of course the repair company didn't keep the failed part in stock. Peerless is made somewhere in Pennsylvania. Do yourself a favor and look elsewhere. I'm not joking around. I guess I'm just fed up with poor quality products from everybody that don't perform as promised.

 

[Fitter30]

Ingersoll Rand owns Trane as of june of 2008 renamed trane technology. Johnson controls owns York. There's only a dozen of companies that make the majority of the equipment under multiple brand names and have even have partnered with over seas mini split companies. Like with anything built the installing contractor is more important that the brand. There's is industry standards and practices. Standards how it should be installed, practice how the crew puts it in. The higher the efficiency over 18 seer the sharper the service has to be and might need a laptop with the correct program and cabling which get upgraded at lease once a year. Size of equipment have u made improvements with windows, doors or insulation. Nows the time to address problems with air flow. Check with your utility companies for rebates. And if u pay taxes​

https://www.google.com/url?q=https:...EQFnoECAcQBg&usg=AOvVaw3Ecniv-hR3Cn_ILqWLIyxl

 

[NismoNVT]

Furnance as an baseboard heat, steam, or Central Air?

 

[Hall]

Furnance as an baseboard heat, steam, or Central Air?

Furnace here generally means a single-unit, fuel-fed (natural gas, etc) heating unit. They'll normally have an electric blower attached. Baseboard heat is almost always electric-only, not gas. Steam heat isn't that common (anymore).

Central-air typically refers to cooling although the cooling unit (compressor) uses the same blower and ductwork as the furnace.

 

[brianl703]

Furnance as an baseboard heat, steam, or Central Air?

A furnace heats air. A boiler heats water.

 

[Wrenchturner44]

A furnace heats air. A boiler heats water.

Which begs me to ask this question to any of you way more knowledgeable than I on this subject. Why do so many houses in the northeast part of the U.S. have boilers instead of forced air heating? Also why is oil the more dominant fuel vs gas?

 

[SeaJay]

We replaced a 30 something year old Burnham a few years back. Our HVAC service provider installed another one that as far as I know (sold the house) is still working. It was for an old school steam radiator heated house running on natural gas.

 

[brianl703]

Why do so many houses in the northeast part of the U.S. have boilers instead of forced air heating?

Guessing that it's easier to install water pipes than duct work. Easier to conceal them and the house doesn't need spaces and chases for them.

 

[hrv]

I got 22 years out of my Goodman HVAC and natural gas furnace.....It was installed in 1998....A few years ago I had a Carrier system installed...I was told by the installer that dont expect the newer unite to last more that 10 to 12 years...esp the AC side of the unit...He mentioned that it really does not make much what brand you get 10 to 12 is about it....That was his opinion...He has been in the HVAC business for 40 years....He has been around the block a few times...

 

[NismoNVT]

Guessing that it's easier to install water pipes than duct work. Easier to conceal them and the house doesn't need spaces and chases for them.

Retrofit causes are insane especially if these are old houses with zero wall space. The middle ground has been keeping the boiler and then adding supplementary mini splits. I dont know if the OP is looking for recommendations or just a general sharing knowledge, but call up installers and see what brands they service. You want the brand who everyone knows and whose parts are easily available.

 

[brianl703]

Retrofit causes are insane especially if these are old houses with zero wall space. The middle ground has been keeping the boiler and then adding supplementary mini splits.

The cheapest houses in this county built in the 60s all have boilers. At the time air conditioning was very expensive, but a forward-thinking builder might have installed a furnace and ductwork, to make the eventual installation of air conditioning easier. But "forward-thinking" and "cheap" don't usually go together. It's not like the climate here doesn't warrant air conditioning. Hot and humid, warm enough to grow cotton.

 

[NismoNVT]

The cheapest houses in this county built in the 60s all have boilers. At the time air conditioning was very expensive, but a forward-thinking builder might have installed a furnace and ductwork, to make the eventual installation of air conditioning easier. But "forward-thinking" and "cheap" don't usually go together. It's not like the climate here doesn't warrant air conditioning. Hot and humid, warm enough to grow cotton.

Forward thinking builder...what are thoooosee?

 

[hrv]

Boliers are still popular in the UK even in high priced homes...Most still use steam heat in the house...When my daughter lived in Haddenham Cambrigshire UK the home they lived in a very nice home in a subdivision and it had a boiler and steam heat...Had a oil tank in the back yard...

 

[cmarshall78]

I wouldn't worry too much about brand, I'd be more concerned about getting a quality install.