Furnace with Arthitis

[sneuberg]

I’m having a strange problem with my Carrier Weathermaker 8000 58WAV furnace. It’s about fifteen years old and getting cranky. It doesn’t want to start in the morning. I turn my thermostat down when I sleep so normally the furnace doesn’t run at night. When I turn up the thermostat in the morning the induced draft motor runs for a few seconds and then shuts down. About a week ago when this problem first occurred the system would restart on it own, each time the induced draft motor would run a little longer until the system was up and running. Now thing are worse and sometimes I have to go through the start-up procedure to get the furnace going. Once it is running it runs fine all day long. And by the way the LED is not flashing any fault code

Since this is an intermittent problem I’m wondering if these symptoms are sufficient for a service technician to determine the cause of the problem (It’s hard to fix something that isn’t broke). I’d rather not wait until the system fails entirely and I have no heat at all, but I don’t want to pay for a service call where the technician has no way of knowing what could be wrong. Do these symptoms add up to a single component? Could a service technician determine the cause?

[skippedover]

I'd recommend you consider an issue before calling out a tech. That issue is to be honest with yourself and determine how much money you're willing to pay to repair a 15-year old furnace. Write that number down and if the repair cost exceeds that amount, then you'll instead opt for a new furnace with a new warranty, properly sized, of course and then properly installed.

My suggestion is to keep you from investing significant funds into a very aged unit and then regret the investment later if something else should malfunction. I'd also ask you to consider whether you think, in your estimation (the only one that counts) this unit will require more repairs, no repairs or less repairs as it continues to age. These are important questions for you to answer for youself before you begin the repair process. While the furnace could last 20-years, the national average is about 15-years. Seems like you're right there so establishing the 'rules of the game' before you begin playing is important.

Okay, now you've got the main issue. Yes, I'd recommend you call a service tech and if the unit does this every morning, arrange for a 1st in the morning call to be scheduled so the tech can view the problem first hand. You're quite correct, it won't do anybody much good if the unit fires right up when he's there. It's always better to see the malfunction.

[TwincamDave]

That's good advice right there.

[sneuberg]

I’m not naïve and I try to be honest with myself. I know the system needs replacement. I’m about to ask for quotes on a new system, but there are so many questions. This is not just a new furnace, but an upgrade on the entire system. Which company sells the best system for my needs? Which model would suit me best? I’m upgrading from an R22 system. Should I have the line set replaced or just hope they flush out the old lines adequately? How can I be sure they evacuate the system to 50 microns? How can I be sure that the brazing doesn’t leave deposits in the lines? Etc? I wish there were some boiler plate contract that would cover all the steps in a proper installation. As it is, it seems I have read up on it and write my own.

[Gross]

I’m not naïve and I try to be honest with myself. I know the system needs replacement. I’m about to ask for quotes on a new system, but there are so many questions. This is not just a new furnace, but an upgrade on the entire system. Which company sells the best system for my needs? Which model would suit me best? I’m upgrading from an R22 system. Should I have the line set replaced or just hope they flush out the old lines adequately? How can I be sure they evacuate the system to 50 microns? How can I be sure that the brazing doesn’t leave deposits in the lines? Etc? I wish there were some boiler plate contract that would cover all the steps in a proper installation. As it is, it seems I have read up on it and write my own.

any contractor you pick should answer ALL your questions fully. you should feel comfortable with them in your home. A good contractor will conduct a manual j (some times called a load calculation) on your home to properly size a system for you. once they do that they should show you all your available options, not tell you that you "need" one. they should cover their warranties and guarantees and explain their customer safety nets just in case.
tip: the companies with the best warranties and customer guarantees usually has the least issues with their customers, otherwise they'd go broke!