Repair or replace 17 year old WaterFurnace?

[lkelly4]

I have a WaterFurnace AT070. It's approximately 17 years old (not sure exact date, we bought the home 1.5 years ago and the WaterFurnace was already installed). We've been seeing low-pressure faults for a couple weeks now. The tech diagnosed it as a leak in the air coil (ours is the old-style, without the corrosion-resistant coating they put on them now). We can replace the air coil (with a new coil that does have the corrosion-resistant coating) for about $$$$ or replace the whole furnace for about $$$$. Obviously I'd like to avoid the $$$$ hit right now, but is it foolish to put $$$$ into a 17-year-old furnace?

The tech seemed to think our furnace might be nearing it's end of life? I know they replaced the flow pump in 2009 and I think the compressor has been replaced once but I need to double-check that and I don't have a date. Anyway I"m looking for advice on whether to replace or repair? Thanks!

[wahoo]

For only $$$$, I'd go ahead with repair. IMO anyway.

[jpsmith1cm]

lkelly4

pricing isn't permitted here.

[lkelly4]

Sorry for including pricing, my bad. Question still stands though, should I do a somewhat costly repair (without pricing, let's say approx 10% of the cost of a new system) on a 17-year-old water furnace? Or cut my losses and get a new system with a new 10 year warranty?

[Artietech]

Depends, does the furnace burn the fuel correctly? Have your tech inspect the furnace for any damage to the heat exchanger, have him do a carbon monoxide test to ensure its not killing your family. Suffer from frequent headaches when you heat the house? could be a sign of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Now if the furnace passes all these test you still have to ask yourself, How long before these problems show up? I;d rather replace now, than have to wait for replacement in the middle of winter.

[wahoo]

For just 10% of replacement cost I'd repair it. If repair cost gets close to 25-30%, then I'd look into replacing. Usually if compressor goes (out of warranty) then it's time to replace.

[Brent Ridley]

Artdavilla:
This customer has a geo thermal system. It doesn't burn fuel or create carbon monoxide. It uses water for heat transfer.

To the OP:
As far as replacement goes; That is a decision you will have to make. If you repair, there still is old and expensive components (I.E. Compressor).

The only way to increase your odds of not having a breakdown is replacement.

[catmanacman]

might be able to get a 30% tax credit if you replace it

[hobie52]

You should get a 30% tax credit on replacing the old unit, plus you need to check with your utility co. for any possible rebates that you might be able to get. Some of our local utility
companies will give up to $500 per ton in rebates even on a change out.

[54regcab]

At 10% cost I'd repair it.

[catmanacman]

Depends, does the furnace burn the fuel correctly? Have your tech inspect the furnace for any damage to the heat exchanger, have him do a carbon monoxide test to ensure its not killing your family. Suffer from frequent headaches when you heat the house? could be a sign of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Now if the furnace passes all these test you still have to ask yourself, How long before these problems show up? I;d rather replace now, than have to wait for replacement in the middle of winter.

its a waterfurnace , ie geo thermal

[SkyHeating]

Depends, does the furnace burn the fuel correctly? Have your tech inspect the furnace for any damage to the heat exchanger, have him do a carbon monoxide test to ensure its not killing your family. Suffer from frequent headaches when you heat the house? could be a sign of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Now if the furnace passes all these test you still have to ask yourself, How long before these problems show up? I;d rather replace now, than have to wait for replacement in the middle of winter.

You need to do a little more research before answering. A "WATER" furnace does not burn fuel, unless you mean use electricity for the compressor and backup heat. Also the heat exchanger runs WATER not carbon monoxide through it.

As for the unit, I would certainly look towards replacing, while it may not be time for replacement and may not fully need it, you probably will need to replace it in 3-7 years and by then the tax credit(supposed to be in place til 2016 but who knows after this election) may be gone and then you lost 30%. WaterFurnace also has the 7 Series and 5 Series units out know which are amazing in terms of efficiency and noise level and features. If you can afford to replace it, I would, if it would stretch your budget i would probably repair it and start saving/planning for a replacement when the time comes. If you are in Oregon give my company a call, we are located in Portland and are a WaterFurnace GeoPro and can help you any direction you go with your geothermal system.
Where in the country are you located?

[tedkidd]

might be able to get a 30% tax credit if you replace it

As for the unit, I would certainly look towards replacing, while it may not be time for replacement and may not fully need it, you probably will need to replace it in 3-7 years and by then the tax credit(supposed to be in place til 2016 but who knows after this election) may be gone and then you lost 30%. WaterFurnace also has the 7 Series and 5 Series units out know which are amazing in terms of efficiency and noise level and features.

Is the dying unit 2 stage? If not that's a huge upgrade.

Climatemaster has a modulating unit with SEER near 40 and super high COP.

Just the ECM blower will save a bunch.

I bet a new unit will cut your cost 25%. What's your annual bill? Comfort issues? Noise? Humidity? All these things will be improved.