What to buy in Quad-cities Iowa

[duane7]

Have a 27 year old single story ranch style house (988 sq ft) with heated basement and right now insulation is minimum. Current furnace is still functioning but I want to replace it before winter. I have had quotes on Tempstar and Rudd. I may get a quote on Carrier/Bryant also.

I am leaning toward the Rudd and have spent hours on the board trying to learn all that I can to make a wise investment. The winner (so far) is the Rudd Achiever 90 plus modulating with the Rudd two stage a close second. For the modulating furnace I think I need to have a special tsat. The quote only gave a programmable so I think that needs to be examined.

ANY advice would be greatly appreciated

[duane7]

Comments or suggestions would be appreciated before I jump off the deep end and spend $......(a lot of money)!!!

[cehs]

How many brands/estimates have you gotten??

[BaldLoonie]

The Mod wins on heating comfort hands down. It does require a special stat for full capability. There's a new touchscreen coming soon! Don't let them oversize, a house that size needs very little heat. Make sure the dealer does a careful heat loss calc!

[duane7]

I have two estimates from Rudd dealers and one from Tempstar dealer. All of them are within a few hundred dollars of one another. I have pretty much reached a decision to go with the Rudd Modulating but with a 988 sq ft home will it be worth the expense?

[duane7]

Comfort is important of course but I also want the most economical there is when it comes to gas useage. Will the modulating be more money saving vs a 2 stage?

[heatingairman]

Buy a Lennox, they're made in Marshalltown. Support your state and it's employees!

[BaldLoonie]

Single stage, 2 stage & the Mod aren't out there for gas savings, they are for comfort. The AFUE tells the efficiency. There could be a tiny advantage to more stages due to less savings but really, don't expect a big $$ savings if you step up from a single stage.

A tiny house is a candidate for 2 stage or the Mod. My house is the same size. The real key is DON'T OVERSIZE!!! You'll lose the advantage of having the extra stages. Make sure the dealer has done a careful heat loss calculation. Depending upon your insulation level and amount of windows, you are probably looking at the -04 or -06 sizes from Rheem. Around here, and we have similar temps, the -06 which is 60,000 BTU input can heat houses typically 1500+ sq ft. If well insulated and not an excess amount of windows, you might be able to get by at 45,000 BTU which is only available in the 2 stage unit but at 95% which qualifies for a tax break.