Best Gas Furnace Brand

[rosc]

If anyone out there is thinking of a new furnace, you

should first check out consumer reports for Feb 05. There

is good advise there, plus you can see whose rated DEAD LAST

so you don't buy the wrong equipment and look like an (IDIOT)

[joeoilman]

2hot2coolme you must be WAY OVERSIZING them if you think they're noisy. i happen to think they're very good units. very low repair calls. sturdy,easy to repair on the rare occasion they need work. roboteq will testify to the fact that most "problem" furnaces are NOT sized or installed properly. most of the outfits up here couldn' troubleshoot if you held a gun to their heads. worked on a bryant today that was real noisy but,ran well. those new goodman "army" furnaces run real good too. proper installation & ducts do more to determine good from crap than anything. if you do quality work it'll show no matter what equipment you use. and you won't sound like a politition at election time bad mouthing the other guys.

[RoBoTeq]

Originally posted by rosc
If anyone out there is thinking of a new furnace, you

should first check out consumer reports for Feb 05. There

is good advise there, plus you can see whose rated DEAD LAST

so you don't buy the wrong equipment and look like an (IDIOT)

Anyone using a CR survey with a 2.4 point difference between best and worse with a 4 point margin of error is an idiot. The only one dumber would be someone who is supposed to be a professional recommending such a way to judge HVAC equipment.

If you want to use consumer orgs as references, I can show you three major ones recommending Goodman products. Really means a lot, eh?

Like I stated before, if you knew what you were talking about it might have a better impact to those of us who do know what we are talking about.

[greenhornz]

I am not an HVAC tech but I have an observation about multi position FAF's that I have seen that seem to be a flaw. I have asked hvac techs this question and their response was it was designed to work like this.
When mounted vertically the fan rotates on a vertical plane but when mounted horizontally the squirrel cage fan rotates on a horizontal plane. In old horizontal only furnaces the fan spun in the same manner as a vertical furnace. I asked if the cage should be rotated 90* on a horizontal installation but was told it can't. If the motors and bearings were designed for vertical rotation (hence "squirrel cage")I feel they would wear quicker in a horizontal position. It is obvious that the stress points are different in both installations due to weight and gravity. I feel some manufacturers have overlooked this issue and got too excited after induced draft venting was introduced which saved a lot of costs. Any comments on this issue?

[RoBoTeq]

Manufacturers don't overlook anything, they are strictly marketing oriented. If a potential issue will not affect the warranty return potential for a product, that issue is negotiable.

Besides, blower and fan motors have been utilized in multi-positions since the development of HVAC. I don't see a problem.

[l•k]

The blower motor on my furnace is labeled "oil every three years with #10 motor oil non-detergent".

Just curious- How long do they typically last if you DON'T oil them?

[rosc]

Originally posted by RoBoTeq

Originally posted by rosc
If anyone out there is thinking of a new furnace, you

should first check out consumer reports for Feb 05. There

is good advise there, plus you can see whose rated DEAD LAST

so you don't buy the wrong equipment and look like an (IDIOT)

Anyone using a CR survey with a 2.4 point difference between best and worse with a 4 point margin of error is an idiot. The only one dumber would be someone who is supposed to be a professional recommending such a way to judge HVAC equipment.

If you want to use consumer orgs as references, I can show you three major ones recommending Goodman products. Really means a lot, eh?

Like I stated before, if you knew what you were talking about it might have a better impact to those of us who do know what we are talking about.

Ro bo tec you must know who finished dead last, I never mentioned any brand names. I have never read the issue, tell me who did finish dead last? I bet you would be using Consumer Report if your brand finished in the top 5 no matter where they get their information. You just don't get it! Have a nice day.

[greenhornz]

Originally posted by RoBoTeq
Manufacturers don't overlook anything, they are strictly marketing oriented. If a potential issue will not affect the warranty return potential for a product, that issue is negotiable.

Besides, blower and fan motors have been utilized in multi-positions since the development of HVAC. I don't see a problem.

You're right! I forgot my condenser fan motor spins horizontally and I'm only on the second one since 1971.

[rosc]

Originally posted by mike siraj
About the heat pump, that's a good suggestion, however the winter here in Dallas gets very cold sometimes even though it is not that long. So the heating capability of a heat pump might not be adequate to heat a large house.

Just an update, I got 4 bids from Trane, Lennox, Carrier and Frigidair. Trane is the most expensive, and the Frigidair is the least expensive (For a 5 ton system). I am leaning torward the Carrier bid since it appears to be the most value between cost and Brand name (No offence to any other Brand lover!) since this topic (Brand picking) seems to be controversial.

Mike

Carrier is a good choice, although Lennox and Trane would be equally as good. Thank goodness you stayed away from Frigidare.
they are made by Nordyne which also makes Tappan and Intertherm all very low end equipment. I know because they constantly need service. The only thing that needs more service is Goodman. They will pay for parts for 10 years buth the labor will eat you alive.

[RoBoTeq]

Originally posted by rosc
Ro bo tec you must know who finished dead last, I never mentioned any brand names. I have never read the issue, tell me who did finish dead last? I bet you would be using Consumer Report if your brand finished in the top 5 no matter where they get their information. You just don't get it! Have a nice day. [/B]

And you would lose that bet, as anyone who has been on this forum any amount of time will attest to. I do not pay attention to CR's surveys. And no, I do not know in what order the brands of furnaces are rated. It was sad enough that CR did the same type of survey on cooling systems a while back.

What the hell makes you think you have the right or the knowledge to "ever" state that "I just don't get" something? I have taken this business very serious for longer then you have most likely lived and I can assure you, I may be wrong at times and my opinion may even need to change at times, but when it comes to my trade...I get it.

The main thing "I get" is that we will never boost this industry as long as petty, whiney little snivelings such as yourself continue to bash the industry with innacurate crap.

Just curious; do you ever have anything positive to add to our industry on this forum?

[rosc]

Originally posted by RoBoTeq

Originally posted by rosc
Ro bo tec you must know who finished dead last, I never mentioned any brand names. I have never read the issue, tell me who did finish dead last? I bet you would be using Consumer Report if your brand finished in the top 5 no matter where they get their information. You just don't get it! Have a nice day.

And you would lose that bet, as anyone who has been on this forum any amount of time will attest to. I do not pay attention to CR's surveys. And no, I do not know in what order the brands of furnaces are rated. It was sad enough that CR did the same type of survey on cooling systems a while back.

What the hell makes you think you have the right or the knowledge to "ever" state that "I just don't get" something? I have taken this business very serious for longer then you have most likely lived and I can assure you, I may be wrong at times and my opinion may even need to change at times, but when it comes to my trade...I get it.

The main thing "I get" is that we will never boost this industry as long as petty, whiney little snivelings such as yourself continue to bash the industry with innacurate crap.

Just curious; do you ever have anything positive to add to our industry on this forum? [/B]

Just remember I have a nationally published magazine Consumer report that agrees with me. End of Story

[Christheheatingdude]

[i]Originally posted by rosc [/B]

Just remember I have a nationally published magazine Consumer report that agrees with me. End of Story [/B][/QUOTE]

I kind of think that the whole point was that Consumer Reports issue on furnaces was not worth the paper it was printed on, and not a good survey of the reliability of furnaces.

[rosc]

By the way RoBo Teq I think your most likely an OK guy just wrong about this one thing, maybe we should talk about the weather or something ?

[NormChris]

Consumer Reports totally misses the quality of the installation in their ratings. Their ratings are flawed.

[RoBoTeq]

What the hell do the rest of you pros know? A national magazine has made a statement so what they state must be true no matter what you professional HVAC jerks think.

If nothing else, the span of their admitted accuracy makes the CR survey a complete sham. I am not sure when CR started going downhill, but they have not had much respect from the industries that they rate goods from in years.

When I was in rehab after my heart attack, the wall in front of the treadmills was papered with attacks on CRs findings for treadmills. The physical therapists for most major hospitals completley refuted CRs findings and rated much less expensive equipment higher then the expensive brands that CR was claiming was so much better. Seems that CR does have its biases, which means that somewhere down the line someone at CR is being lobbied.

[NormChris]

I purchased a bike based upon consumer Reports so called best buy. What a mistake.


Later, after some personal research and the advice of a local bike shop, I purchased a real bike. What a difference!

[docholiday]

Maybe you didnt install the first bike correctly.

[trogmaster]

Same company

Goodman---Janitrol

Carrier---Payne

Trane-----American Standard

Same unit just a different name

good luck

[RoBoTeq]

Janitrol is the name of the company that Goodman bought in 1982. While the Janitrol name was kept in use for some time, it is being phazed out and I believe no longer used in the Eastern part of the country at all any longer.

I'm not sure I understand the purpose for that post though.

[elkhvac]

I still likeAmerican Standard even thou it was rated #1 by CR