new furnace

nicholas bonham-carter

anytime you move air with a fan in a furnace, you will get the "airplane" background noise. for complete quiet, why not make the switch to steam or hot water with a boiler and radiators!--nbc

bill_67

SEEK PEACE AND QUIET

it is time for a new furnace, current furnace is a 70 thou btu intertherm,i would like to put in a less noisey model or brand this summer,appreciate any heads up on a quiet replacement.

Big Ed_4

Noise

If you move too much air through a duct noise will be generated. Time to do the math. First do a heat loss calulation to figure the smallest furnace needed. Find out the CFM needed for the new proper size furnace.. Next measure the supply and return ducts and hit the charts to make sure they are big enough to Handel the load. Friction per 100' of duct use .1 or less..

bill_67

my point has been missed,i want a quieter furnace,i was not complaining of the air through the duct noise,i have sound insulated the furnace compartment which is in the hall right next to the living room and it (the furnace) is still too loud,is there a model or brand of furnace that is known for less noise....

nicholas bonham-carter

quiet furnace-never!

sorry we missed your point [what was that anyway?] what sort of sound is it making:...fan,...burner,...clicking gas valve,...? all devices with moving parts make noise,-the trick is to isolate that noise and vibration which you have tried to do with your insulation to no avail. is the furnace sitting on the floor, transmitting vibration through the structure to the surrounding areas? maybe the ductwork is acting as a sounding board?

where can the sound be heard most,...inside furnace room,...next to return air register,...next to supply register,...elsewhere...? if it has only recently increased in volume, the blower wheel bearing may have started to go bad.--nbc

bill_67

this has become very convuluted,i am a oil heat serv tech and i am looking for a new furnace, the old one (still in use)is old technology and has damage from a previous water leak down the flue besides being a noisy unit,please no more tutorials on possible causes of the noise,i live in the sticks in alaska and just thought i would ask on the wall if anyone could steer me in the direction of a furnace known for it lack of noise

Big Will

jet propeled furnace

First I would like to say that I love hydronics. Base board radiant what ever its fun to install and service and great heat.
That said forced air gets a lot of bad press in on this site.
I started out in the forced air industry. I can say without a doubt that a good forced air furnace that is installed properly will not be heard. My business is only about 40% forced air now but when I do install forced systems I pride myself in making it so quite that the customer cannot tell it is even running.
It sounds like in your case the cabinet is to close to living space and the return may open into the cabinet. This sounds like a Modular home set up. Although that does not matter.
What you want to look for is a two stage furnace. This keeps the furnace running at a lower speed unless the heating load is high. Trane makes a three stage furnace no this further reduces noise. Rheem/Ruud makes a true variable speed furnace but I would avoid that brand like the plague.
The next step is sealed combustion this is easy with the high efficiency furnaces. It just means the burner compartment is enclosed and the combustion air is taken from the outside of the home. Now I am biased towards Trane but the sealed combustion furnaces are so quite when they ignite that I have to look in the view port to see the flame to verify that they are running. Last is the closet itself. I cases where the return air grill is very close to the blower it can be very difficult to make them quite. I my last home the furnace was in the garage on a stand with the return of the bottom through the wall into the hallway. It was so noisy that I had to turn my TV up when it came on. I moved it to the attic and extended the duct. Sometimes you can make a baffle and cover it with acoustic insulation. this forces the sound waves to bounce of the baffle and the walls of the Return plenum before entering the house. This reduces the noise greatly but requires some space for the baffle.

billtwocase

mobile home?

The furnace described, and the water damage down the flue sounds like a mobile home counter flow furnace. Thermopride if so. peace

nugs

Yes, Thermo-Pride is the way to go. A bit more money but well worth it.

Who recommended steam ? Steam? for residential ? it's 2009 man.

billtwocase

I would say

System 2000, but I'm thinking he has a mobile home. I suppose if he could get his hands on a Timken rotary, he would have peace and quiet He doesn't have many options for mobile home. I guess Miller, Coleman, Thermopride. peace

oil-2-4-6-gas

Timken no still too loud, if you want quiet you want coal- gravity hot water

billtwocase

Nah

I think electric baseboard would be quieter. Perhaps a sunroof to get some solar heat in there

nicholas bonham-carter

T-I-C

tongue-in-cheek about the steam for a new install, but when it is PROPERLY MAINTAINED, it can be as quiet as a mouse! rather difficult to install in a new house.--nbc