I had my 20 year old Carrier forced air furnace tuned up today. The
technician snaked a camera up the inside of the furnace. He did NOT find
any cracks, but he found "bulging spots" which he also referred to as "hot
spots", inside the furnace. He claimed the heat exchanger had these bulges
and claimed that this is a sign that it is getting close to developing
cracks, and showed me the bulges.

But I wonder if what he showed me really was the heat exchanger....can a
camera can really be snaked up inside a heat exchanger?...or was what he
showed me something else. I always assumed that a heat exchanger is a
tremendously dense piece of metal and that you would not be able to "view
inside it with a camera" only "view it from below with a camera". This
same cavity could also be seen without a camera by looking into the furnace
with flashlight (he had removed one of the panels above where the burners
are) What he showed me was was a vertical cavity which had a couple of
bulges on the sides of the cavity which were bulging toward the outside.
Is that really the heat exchanger he showed me? What does the heat
exchanger on a 20 Yr. old Carrier furnace look like and exactly where is it
located?

There is also some rust present on the inside of the furnace.

The burners look like they produce a nice blue flame.

The technician is recommending a new furnace based on the age and based on
the bulges and rust. Do I really need to be seriously thinking about
getting a new furnace at this time because of the rust and bulges, or is it
possible this furnace could last several more years? I believe they
recommended a new furnace 3 years ago when I moved in although I don't
recall anyone showing me the bulges before, but I'm suspecting they could
have been present 3 years ago too.

BTW, the company I've been using prefers to install Goodman systems,
although they would also be willing to give me a price on another brand that
I have in mind which is Carrier. They say that they will warranty both the
parts and labor for 10 years on the Goodman, but the warranty on the Carrier
would depend on what their warranty is. Is a Goodman likely to last as long
as a Carrier?

Thanks,

J.