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Posted by Tony Hwang on October 5, 2007, 11:24 am
jay-n-123@verizon.net wrote:
> I had my 20 year old Carrier forced air furnace tuned up today. The
> technician snaked a camera up the inside of the furnace. He did NOT
> find any cracks, but he found "bulging spots" which he also referred to
> as "hot spots", inside the furnace. He claimed the heat exchanger had
> these bulges and claimed that this is a sign that it is getting close to
> developing cracks, and showed me the bulges.
>
> But I wonder if what he showed me really was the heat exchanger....can a
> camera can really be snaked up inside a heat exchanger?...or was what he
> showed me something else. I always assumed that a heat exchanger is a
> tremendously dense piece of metal and that you would not be able to
> "view inside it with a camera" only "view it from below with a
> camera". This same cavity could also be seen without a camera by
> looking into the furnace with flashlight (he had removed one of the
> panels above where the burners are) What he showed me was was a
> vertical cavity which had a couple of bulges on the sides of the cavity
> which were bulging toward the outside. Is that really the heat exchanger
> he showed me? What does the heat exchanger on a 20 Yr. old Carrier
> furnace look like and exactly where is it located?
>
> There is also some rust present on the inside of the furnace.
>
> The burners look like they produce a nice blue flame.
>
> The technician is recommending a new furnace based on the age and based
> on the bulges and rust. Do I really need to be seriously thinking about
> getting a new furnace at this time because of the rust and bulges, or is
> it possible this furnace could last several more years? I believe they
> recommended a new furnace 3 years ago when I moved in although I don't
> recall anyone showing me the bulges before, but I'm suspecting they
> could have been present 3 years ago too.
>
> BTW, the company I've been using prefers to install Goodman systems,
> although they would also be willing to give me a price on another brand
> that I have in mind which is Carrier. They say that they will warranty
> both the parts and labor for 10 years on the Goodman, but the warranty
> on the Carrier would depend on what their warranty is. Is a Goodman
> likely to last as long as a Carrier?
>
> Thanks,
>
> J.
>
>
Hi,
Have a second opinion and if I were you, I'd plan for a replacement
furnace. Sounds like you are trying to get last drop out of 20 year old
inefficient furnace on today's standard. Remember Murphy's law. Things
like that will fail on coldest day when techs are busiest. You can't
even save some money then being in a big rush.
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