Concerned Customer

[david1988]

Good Morning All.

New to this website. Just started learning about furnaces in the last week because the York I had in my house decided to go down hard - cracked heat exchanger. I'm basically posting this to ask for advice. I've received 4 bids from 3 different contractors. I don't have the financial means to go to a heat pump and an 80% efficient natural gas replacement is just fine for me. Here are the bids I have so far.

Contractor 1:
American Standard - x installed
Coleman - x installed

Contractor 2:
Trane - 2600 installed

Contractor 3:
Goodman - x installed

Now, from what I have read it seems that most people don't look to hard at the brand of the equipment rather than the installer and the quality of their work. All these guys are accredited businesses who have good reviews and 20+ years of experience. All the warranties look amazing as long as you get it registered appropriately through the company. Basically, am I looking at this the right way? Am I looking to hard at brand reliability? I'm just a homeowner trying not to avoid purchase regret. I don't know about different furnace brands or anything like that. Ask me about golf clubs and I could write you an essay, but not furnaces. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all very much!!

V/R,

David

P.S. I understand no matter what brand you buy of anything you could always get a lemon, but I think the more info I have about this before I make my purchase the better.

[JES]

I don't think you can go wrong with any those brands. Did they give the model numbers ? That's where you can tell the difference.

[Bazooka Joe]

Whatever brand model you decide on, those brands ( backed by the manufacturer, not the Installing Contractor ) you mentioned offer a extended labor warranty also up to 10 years. The Goodman is called Asure.

You can ask the Installing Contractor about the cost and length of the labor warranty if that interest you and you want more peace of mind. A typical labor warranty from Contractors is one year.

Yes registration is very important as if the equiptment is not registered your parts warranty typically will be cut in half. Registration is not required if you reside in California or Quebec to receive the full Manufacturer warranty.

[david1988]

Thanks for the replies.

@JES:

Just called the contractors to get model numbers.

American Standard - AUD18080A936
Coleman - TG8S080B12MP11
Trane - XV80
Goodman - GMH8/GDH8

I may be completely off base but from what I can tell, it seems like it's comparing apples and oranges just based on the different specs and warranty provided from the manufacturers. That's sort of why I'm here though. You guys know better than me. That's for sure.

@Bazooka:

Yes all the contractors offer a 1 year labor warranty included in the price of instillation. I've done some reading into the product registration piece and have read some horror stories about contractors saying they would take care of it and then not. So I think that is something I'm going to run into the ground myself.

V/R,

David

[david1988]

Also,

I apologize for adding pricing to my original post. I won't let it happen again. Just here for advice on the different furnaces. Not looking for DIY or pricing advice. Thank you very much.

V/R,

David

[Bazooka Joe]

What are you looking for, two are single stage, two are two stage. One has a variable speed motor ( Trane ) others have a standard multi speed blower motor. The Trane has the 2nd best manufacturer warranty. The Goodman the best. New furnace if HX fails within 10 years of ownership. Both the Trane and Goodman have a limited lifetime HX warranty to the original owner.

Chances are your old furnace was a single stage with a standard multi speed motor with a 20 year HX warranty. Where you happy with the multi speed blower from your old unit?

[wahoo]

Any of those brands will be fine, agree with B Joey on the warranty however another thing to consider is that once these units are out of the 10 yr. parts warrranty, it'll probably be cheaper to just replace the furnace than replacing a variable speed blower motor ( they are very expensive out of warranty)! Might work neat, but hard to justify the expense at repair/replacement time.

[david1988]

Bazooka,

My old model was a 1989 York model that quite frankly I didn't know much about. I was pretty loud during operation but it got the job done for sure. Had an ignitor go out on me and some electrical issues which led to the contractor finding the cracked heat exchanger. He said that's something they all check no matter what they get called out for. Had a second contractor verify the cracks with a 6 foot flexible camera. Which led me to where I am today. As for what I am looking for, I just want to be as least naïve as possible about what the different furnaces have to offer. Don't know much about the two stage/single stage, variable speed/multi speed blower. Looks like two stage variable speed offers some energy savings and more quiet operation as well as some humidity and air quality control. That is just based off a quick internet search though. Would you be willing to provide more info on advantages of variable speed/two stage vs single stage/multi speed blower? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

V/R,

David

[david1988]

@wahoo,

In your experience have you noticed difference in reliability between variable speed and multi speed blowers? I like that info about replacement parts. Something for me to consider for sure. Thank you.

V/R,

David

[Bazooka Joe]

Bazooka,

My old model was a 1989 York model that quite frankly I didn't know much about. I was pretty loud during operation but it got the job done for sure. Had an ignitor go out on me and some electrical issues which led to the contractor finding the cracked heat exchanger. He said that's something they all check no matter what they get called out for. Had a second contractor verify the cracks with a 6 foot flexible camera. Which led me to where I am today. As for what I am looking for, I just want to be as least naïve as possible about what the different furnaces have to offer. Don't know much about the two stage/single stage, variable speed/multi speed blower. Looks like two stage variable speed offers some energy savings and more quiet operation as well as some humidity and air quality control. That is just based off a quick internet search though. Would you be willing to provide more info on advantages of variable speed/two stage vs single stage/multi speed blower? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

V/R,

David

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/73...dman-Gmh8.html

Above web site explains how the Goodman two stage furnace works pages 21 & 22 it's not a true two stage where the 2nd stage of the t-stat controls the high fire. You can use a regular single stage thermostat. Basically once the thermostat calls for heat both high and low fire energies then the high fire drops out, blower fan is on a time delay and the blower fan comes on at low speed. If the low fire does not satisfy the thermostat within a certain amount of minutes the logic board energizes the high fire and the blower fan goes from low to high speed.

[wahoo]

We don't sell a lot of variable speed (ECM) motor units and if I do then I make sure to warn the customer that 12 years down the road they'll be looking at over a grand to replace motor. We've replaced numerous variable speed furnaces due to the price of the motor replacement and age of unit. As for actual reliability, both are about the same in our experience. You will save money with a variable speed motor, however the replacement cost about makes you break even once warranty expires.

[david1988]

Wahoo,

With the exception of replacement, benefits of variable speed seem pretty considerable based on what I can tell. However, I do understand the concern 10-12 years down the line. It's something for me to think about for sure. Thank you.

V/R,

David

[david1988]

Wahoo,

BTW, the maualslib site is amazing!!

V/R,

David

[BaldLoonie]

The XV80 is a great machine if used with a 2 stage thermostat. Great comfort, quiet. I had one for 15 years til upgraded to 95%.

The Goodman is a 2 stage but can't use a 2 stage stat so the board decides if you need high after a certain amount of time on low. So lots of cycling, the big advantage of 2 stage is gone - long periods on low in bitter weather for quiet warmth.

Yes, ECMs are expensive to replace. Luckily the motor rarely goes, just the module and with some brands, like Trane, the dealer can get it separately from the motor.

[david1988]

BaldLoonie,

If I were to go with the XV80 I would have to get a new thermostat because I'm sure the one I have is not 2 stage. Is there a company you would recommend for that? Also, if the Goodman doesn't work with a 2 stage thermostat, why even make a 2 stage furnace? Like you said, it seems like the big advantage of 2 stage goes away at that point. Thanks for the reply.

V/R,

David

[david1988]

BaldLoonie,

Is there a company you would recommend for that?

I meant brand of thermostat. Based on a quick search Honeywell looks pretty decent.

[ebierley]

The board on the Goodman calculates when it needs to stage up based on fun time history.
While I'm a big fan of Goodman/Amana equipment, unless it has changed dramatically in recent history I've found the 80% furnaces to be louder than most. Just my $.02


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[david1988]

Ebierley,

Thanks for the reply. I'll keep that in mind. I think I understand the Goodman 2 stage now. BaldLoony explained it earlier. I guess I just needed to hear it twice to really get it. Lol. So that means if I get the Goodman I won't need to replace the thermostat. Thanks for the info.

V/R,

David

[david1988]

Got another question. I'm hearing concerns about the noise of the Goodman 80% furnaces. Where this furnace is installed is right next to the garage door, then there is about 8 feet then my bedroom door. Is Goodman going to be too loud to put there?