On Wednesday, December 25, 2013 9:55:05 PM UTC-5, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
On 12/25/2013 9:00 PM, micky wrote:



I haven't pursued getting a "modern" furnace because I have neighbors who have put in newer furnaces and have had all sorts of problems with them.. As an electrical engineer, I love to try new technology, but I have to say that I will keep this furnace for as long as it holds out since there is nothing electronic to go wrong when there is are nearby lightning strikes or power surges, both of which have taken out neighbors furnaces more than once.



Wow. That's very interesting. I don't want to lose a control board

to lightning or surges. They're at least 500 dollars by now, probalby

7 or 800.



My 34 year old oil furnace does have a few electronic parts, that is,

one circuit board with maybe 30 parts iirc (last looked at 10 years

ago at least) including 1 or 2 transistors iirc, or even maybe a

little IC.



Makes no sense. I replaced a 33 year old oil burner and save about $900

a year in oil costs. I've done that for the past three years now. So,

for fear of losing a $500 board you think I should spend an extra $900 a

year? The boys at Mobile/Exxon thank you for the business.

Whether it makes sense depends on the yearly operating cost difference
and the payback time period. You have oil, which is a lot more expensive
than natural gas. He may also be located in GA or similar, where
the fuel usage isn't that great. Instead of saving $900 a year, he
might only save $250, which makes a big difference.