Author Topic: When to replace furnace and air conditioner  (Read 2356 times)

SimpleCycle

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When to replace furnace and air conditioner
« on: April 05, 2018, 11:58:41 AM »
We live in a condo in Chicago that was built in 1998.  When we moved in in 2015, all the mechanicals and appliances were original - furnace, AC, hot water heater, and everything in the kitchen.  So at that point everything was 17 years old, which is near the end of useful life for most of the things I have mentioned.  We have replaced the dishwasher because it was leaking and the hot water heater because it was a ticking time bomb.  Now we're wondering if we should begin to think about replacing the furnace and AC proactively rather than waiting for them to fail.  Furnace is gas forced air.

We will own this place at least another 5 years, maybe longer.  Our last furnace servicing revealed that it is showing signs of its age but nothing is actually failing right now.  I don't remember what was said about the AC other than "you should start saving up for a replacement".  Both seem to work fine.  The furnace guy said we would save money on our electric bill if we replaced the furnace because fans are much more efficient than they were 20 years ago.  In theory the furnace and AC will also be more efficient, although I don't know by how much.

Anyone have thoughts on this?  Pros and cons?

Cranky

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Re: When to replace furnace and air conditioner
« Reply #1 on: April 05, 2018, 01:06:18 PM »
Good question, and one that's been on my mind. Our furnace and a/c predate 1995, which is when we bought the house. We've made a couple of repairs over the years, but nothing very expensive.

I was thinking about replacing them preemptively, but now we're talking about maybe moving when we retire (grandchild related), and I think I don't want to sink any more $ into them until we really decide. So, I think I'll have the furnace inspected this summer and squeeze another year or two out of them.

When we had the a/c repaired last time, the repairman said he'd keep that one as long as possible because he doesn't think the new systems are as reliable, but who knows? And our heating bills are nothing spectacular, so even if a new furnace is more efficient it would take a long time to pay for a replacement in savings.

Mr. Green

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Re: When to replace furnace and air conditioner
« Reply #2 on: April 05, 2018, 02:36:33 PM »
Why would you consider replacing them before they fail? My house was built in 1998 as well and the units are adequately efficient. I will replace them when they die, because they could last many more years. There are always excepts to how long the general consensus is something lasts. I have a hard time believing that fans are so much more efficient that it would merit spending thousands of dollars on a new furnace. I'd for sure do some research on that.

poetdereves

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Re: When to replace furnace and air conditioner
« Reply #3 on: April 05, 2018, 03:10:30 PM »
I say wait on the replacements. My wife and I bought a house in Colorado in 2014 and when we had our inspection they said that we would need them replaced soon. We didn’t want to front the money for replacements, but made sure to change filters and keep up on maintenance. We sold our home almost 4 years later, never replaced our units, and the buyers were fine with it. It saved us probably close to $10k to not replace them.

Our house now has the same scenario. Our units are the originals from when the house was built in 1989. The inspector said to be ready for them to be replaced, so we keep it in the back of our minds that it will need to be done, but we just continue to change filters and maintain them. In some ways it is like a car. If you run it all the time and never change the oil, brakes, tires, etc. it will die with 80k miles on it, but if you’re a tad handy and do preventative maintenance it can go for 500k miles.

I say get some quotes, have an idea of what it would cost for different types of units, do your own research, and replace them when they fail. You’ll be 10x more prepared than others if you assume it will happen and know what you want instead of taking the first overpriced option quoted to you by whoever comes by on a hot summer day or freezing winter night.

SimpleCycle

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Re: When to replace furnace and air conditioner
« Reply #4 on: April 05, 2018, 03:34:50 PM »
Why would you consider replacing them before they fail? My house was built in 1998 as well and the units are adequately efficient. I will replace them when they die, because they could last many more years. There are always excepts to how long the general consensus is something lasts. I have a hard time believing that fans are so much more efficient that it would merit spending thousands of dollars on a new furnace. I'd for sure do some research on that.

Well my logic is if we need to replace them at some point while we own the place, we might as well reap the benefits of increased efficiency now.  But there's no way to tell the future and how long they'll last.

SimpleCycle

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Re: When to replace furnace and air conditioner
« Reply #5 on: April 05, 2018, 03:35:57 PM »
I say wait on the replacements. My wife and I bought a house in Colorado in 2014 and when we had our inspection they said that we would need them replaced soon. We didn’t want to front the money for replacements, but made sure to change filters and keep up on maintenance. We sold our home almost 4 years later, never replaced our units, and the buyers were fine with it. It saved us probably close to $10k to not replace them.

Our house now has the same scenario. Our units are the originals from when the house was built in 1989. The inspector said to be ready for them to be replaced, so we keep it in the back of our minds that it will need to be done, but we just continue to change filters and maintain them. In some ways it is like a car. If you run it all the time and never change the oil, brakes, tires, etc. it will die with 80k miles on it, but if you’re a tad handy and do preventative maintenance it can go for 500k miles.

I say get some quotes, have an idea of what it would cost for different types of units, do your own research, and replace them when they fail. You’ll be 10x more prepared than others if you assume it will happen and know what you want instead of taking the first overpriced option quoted to you by whoever comes by on a hot summer day or freezing winter night.

Thanks, this is a really helpful perspective.  I am totally on top of the maintenance, so we're good there.

Sibley

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Re: When to replace furnace and air conditioner
« Reply #6 on: April 05, 2018, 04:04:42 PM »
I have a 30 year old dryer. Should I replace it? Yes, because it's 30 years old! Except - it clearly wasn't used heavily for most of that time. It's had some basic maintenance recently because some pieces died from age. It's not really abused. And it'll probably work for another 10 years. So, no. I'll keep it until it breaks, and even then I'll see if I can reasonably repair it.

Age isn't everything. Maintenance, actual usage, and how it's built matter a lot.

Cranky

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Re: When to replace furnace and air conditioner
« Reply #7 on: April 05, 2018, 06:14:03 PM »
Why would you consider replacing them before they fail? My house was built in 1998 as well and the units are adequately efficient. I will replace them when they die, because they could last many more years. There are always excepts to how long the general consensus is something lasts. I have a hard time believing that fans are so much more efficient that it would merit spending thousands of dollars on a new furnace. I'd for sure do some research on that.

Because it's really, really frigging cold in January if the furnace dies of old age.

chasesfish

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Re: When to replace furnace and air conditioner
« Reply #8 on: April 05, 2018, 06:48:36 PM »
I say wait on the replacements. My wife and I bought a house in Colorado in 2014 and when we had our inspection they said that we would need them replaced soon. We didn’t want to front the money for replacements, but made sure to change filters and keep up on maintenance. We sold our home almost 4 years later, never replaced our units, and the buyers were fine with it. It saved us probably close to $10k to not replace them.

Our house now has the same scenario. Our units are the originals from when the house was built in 1989. The inspector said to be ready for them to be replaced, so we keep it in the back of our minds that it will need to be done, but we just continue to change filters and maintain them. In some ways it is like a car. If you run it all the time and never change the oil, brakes, tires, etc. it will die with 80k miles on it, but if you’re a tad handy and do preventative maintenance it can go for 500k miles.

I say get some quotes, have an idea of what it would cost for different types of units, do your own research, and replace them when they fail. You’ll be 10x more prepared than others if you assume it will happen and know what you want instead of taking the first overpriced option quoted to you by whoever comes by on a hot summer day or freezing winter night.

+2 on this advice.  The only thing I would add is get on an annual/semi-annual maintenance program with a reputable local HVAC firm that also does replacements.  We had a 1991 house in Georgia and the units started failing in 2011.  Already being a client of this reputable firm meant our repairs/replacements were done a LOT quicker in the middle of the summer when others were on 1-3 week waits.  I just picked the oldest member of the local chamber of commerce, wonderful people with the majority of the technicians being in their 50s.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: When to replace furnace and air conditioner
« Reply #9 on: April 05, 2018, 07:28:25 PM »
My take- replace what can cause massive damage if it fails, if it's showing signs of impending doom. This includes dishwashers, garbage disposals, and water heater tanks. Don't replace something that can be replaced time of with little doom, like things involved in climate control or normal cooking (stoves, AC/heat, so on).

...basically, if it'll flood, I replace it if it earlier (ex, the 26 year old hot water heater the house came with couldn't be drained. Clearly it hadn't been being taking care of. So there was no way to know how bad it was... except that the house had been empty for the prior 8 months, and the owner did no maintenance the prior 6 years minimum. This, plus clear efficiency gains, AND an undersized tank for the house, made it an easy choice to replace). Our heat pump on the other hand? It was our big worry moving in, and it's still working just fine a couple winters in.

 

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