"Colbyt" wrote in message
news:MQzHe.210334$x96.52003@attbi_s72...

"Don" wrote in message
news:RszHe.177274$tt5.101451@edtnps90...
How long should a new 80% Gas furnace last before requiring repair? My
old
Lennox ran 25 years without any repair but I've heard the new models are
less reliable.

To answer the OPs question:

Till it breaks.

Now long should you service it? EVERY YEAR, without fail.




This is just a layperson's opinion.

The basic hardware componets are almost as reliable as they ever were.

From a pros, not even close.
Several makes of furnace, have incredible failure rates on control
boards...Lennox, being perhaps the worst.


The gottchas a

The flame igniter and the control board. Both of which are very costly if
you have to pay a service company to replace them.

There is also the draft inducer blower which I have not replaced yet.

A $15 igniter can cost up to $150 with a service call and off the truck
parts pricing.


Theres no such thing now as a $15 ignitor...those are now $22-$25 wholesale
and I dont use the cheap things.
The ceramic ones I replace the carbides with are now in the $45 range
wholesale, and I have never replaced one for more than $100...

The control boards run $200 and up plus labor.

Most we replace are under $200 with labor...
SOME, can be VERY high, and normally, the older the unit, the more expensive
the board.
There are exceptions, and have seen a few that are in the $450 range
wholesale.


I have replaced 2 igniters and one control board in 10 years (two
furnaces).

IMO the cost of the gas for a 70% system would have been less.

HVAC guys don't flame me I just told it like it is.


Not flaming you, but might I suggest that in some areas, such as mine, its
illegal to sell to a non licenced person, therefore, you are at the mercy of
the company that is doing your service and repair work.
While that can be a good thing, overall, when looking at the big picture, it
can also be quite a hindrance to someone that is looking to repair his own
unit, that isnt qualified to work on it, and has no clue about the proper
installation or testing once the units repaired.
I might also add, that there are indeed times, that just replacing a part,
isnt the fix that the unit needed, and you may have many people that can
tell you that XYZ company came out after they replaced a part several times
themselves, and finally, when they could not figure out why it continues to
fail, they call XYZ and they in turn, found another part that was causing
the secondary part to fail, and since they repaired it, it hasnt given a
moments trouble.

Colbyt