horiz don't last as long?

[ccut]

I was recently told by a installer that horizontals don't last as long as upflows. I have never read any post claiming that. The heat exchangers are lifetime, I think that is bull and ask for clarification.Thanks

[SBKold]

Horiz in attic or crawl space? That makes a big difference.

I would say too.... if I was building a house id have a nice conditioned upflow spot picked out.

[airproguyrick]

I was recently told by a installer that horizontals don't last as long as upflows. I have never read any post claiming that. The heat exchangers are lifetime, I think that is bull and ask for clarification.Thanks

The labor to replace a warranty hx in a horizontal furnace might be cost prohibitive depending on accessibility etc. Especially a 90 plus model a few years down the road.

[ccut]

Horiz in attic or crawl space? That makes a big difference.

I would say too.... if I was building a house id have a nice conditioned upflow spot picked out.

this particular situation was in a crawl space.

[SBKold]

I would say if conditions were less than ideal in that crawl space....it would last longer as a vertical.

Plus as others have noted you willl have higher repair bills for a unit in crawl space vs upflow.

[t527ed]

i think the location is more of a deciding factor.

if you take 2 multi position furnaces and install 1 in a nice dry basement and put the other 1 in a nasty crawl space which one will last longer???

[SBKold]

2 add to that......

if you had to work on 2 furnaces and one was upflow in a nice dry basement and one was in a insulation pit of a crawl space.....

which would have more labor hours involved?

[ccut]

thanks for you help guys. makes perfect sense.

[wahoo]

Even with lifetime HE warranties, we still have more problems with horz. or downflow furnaces. Basically it is a physics reason...hot air rises, and if it must go horizontally or down, then there is more of a tendancy to overheat (especially if the HO fails to keep the filter clean!). Don't forget the problems when the power goes off in mid-cycle and the manual limit trips and must be reset by a service tech. (homeowners just LOVE this!). Ha Ha