Need a new furnace - any recommendations?
 

My furnace is 13 years old and it appears to have a cracked heat exchanger. Looks like I'm going to be needing to replace it. I already have a few bids and I'm in the process of getting more furnace guys out with some more bids. Any pros on here that know some things about this? Any particular brand of furnace I should absolutely avoid? Any particular brand that is head and shoulders above the rest? Any additional info would be helpful.

consumer reports data

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/r...0502fur001.gif

Maybe try trading Jenny Gump your furnace for her water heater?

I don't know anything about this other than I spotted it last night. It might work for you.

http://kansascity.craigslist.org/hsh/281407538.html

Wait till Bob Dole leaves town and steal his furnace.

If you are in the KC area, call my kid. He has a HVAC buisness: E.R.Mann Heating & Cooling. Family owned and operated since 1962.

He'll give you excellent advice and stands behind his products.

Good luck!

Comfortmaker? Never even heard of that. Thanks for the suggestion but I think by the time I pay for labor, I can get a much more well known model installed for the same or maybe even less.

Thanks, that is good info. Funny thing, my furnace (was installed a couple years before I bought this house) is a Goodman. According to this list, that brand has the most repair issues by far. :banghead:

No problem. I just happened upon it last night so I figured I'd share. I've never heard of them either.

Seems like there is someone else on here that installs furnaces.

Try the dude the inspector knows. If he does a good job you can give him a plug on here from time to time and give him more business.

Relatively new around here, a thousand or so posts. Can't remember who it is off hand.

Thanks man.

E.R. Mann is my wifes uncle but he is in the process of retiring and has partnered with my son, Travis, who is running the business.

Heck, I'm giving a lot of consideration to retiring myself next spring and taking the other "partner" position there.

Travis has been basically running the business for about 3 years and really knows his stuff. He also stands behind his work and products.

It's hard to stop a Trane.

From what I've been reading, Trane and Rheem seem to be the consensus most reliable.

Inspector, does your uncle know what HTL quality is like? Also, I was told that Goodman bought Amana and now they're trying to rebuild their reputation. The contractor that told me that information also said that Goodman was using the same parts in thier new furnace as in the Amana except the heat exchanger is different. But they will give a lifetime warranty on the heat exchanger. Would your uncle know if any of this is true?

BTW, I don't live in KC. I'm in Topeka.

those stats are a few years old on the graph, but I still agree with them..Any of those brands can be good if they are installed properly. There are a lot of low bidders out there that will give you the brand you want and just toss it in and you will have to keep their number on speed dial. I've install Rheem and have installed Trane before that...good products. Ask them to do a load calc as it's possible your heat exchanger cracked because it was originally oversized.
Don't just talk to a salesman, ask to talk to an installer so they can observe the layout of your ductwork.

The most important thing about a new heater isn't the brand, but the installation. Make sure you have someone who will stand behind the product they install.

If you are planning on staying in your home for a long time, go ahead and splurge on a very high efficiency heater; it will cost more up front, but will pay for itself in the long run---especially with rising energy prices.