I’m buying a house with a high-efficiency gas furnace (for the time it was installed – about 80%) installed in the late 80s (new at the time). It seems to still be operating just fine, no obvious signs of impending doom – can it be expected to last for a while longer? I live in Saskatchewan, so it gets a good workout every winter.
Jesse David
Edited 1/20/2005 1:50 pm ET by JesseDavid
Replies
no...
and 80% isn't HE... 93% or better is....
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
We don't really know since the technology in the 80+ furnaces has only ben around about 25 years, but another 25? Very unlikely.
Personally, I think of 80+ as "high efficiency" in the sense they are higher efficiency than the old natural draft, but aren't as high as the 90+.
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Sojourners: Christians for Justice and Peace
Yeah, i didn't think that was really HE by todays standards, but i think it was back then?? Obviously not my area of expertise. Are most furnaces that old still doing alright, or should i expect it to be nearing the end of its lifespan? I believe it was new in '89, so it's about 16 years old.
Jesse David
Edited 1/20/2005 1:51 pm ET by JesseDavid
Edited 1/20/2005 2:38 pm ET by JesseDavid
There are a few exceptions, but assuming no life shortening conditions exist, you can expect 25 plus years out of the avergage, properly sized furnace.
Conditions that will significantly reduce the life of some of the components are being oversized (excessive cycling), frequent large setbacks or very low operating temps (this causes condensation in the hx and vent) and severe environments (like salt air or very damp , leaky basements, etc.)