trouble free furnaces

rick in Alaska

My area is just now getting natural gas and I haven't been around enough brands to know which ones are the good ones.

 My local suppliers are selling Goodman, York, and Heil, all in the over 90% range.

 I have done some investigation on the net and find that of these brands, people either say they are the worst or the best. I know installation is the biggest factor, but taking that out and just looking at longevity, ease of service, and  overall quality, which is the best of these three?

 Any and all answers appreciated.

Rick

 p.s. I will be at Tim Mcelwains class in R.I. on May 13th, so if anyone else will be there I look forward to seeing you!

nicholas bonham-carter

Boilers or furnaces?

A lot of the reasons for choice of equipment come simply from the supply side, and who has parts. Have you any stocking distributors closeby? Can you afford to stock parts for many different makes/models if you are far away from the distributor?

All boilers are only as good as their installation, and regular maintenance.--NBC

rick in Alaska

parts, etc.

sorry about lack of info. I am talking furnaces in this case. I do have 3 suppliers about 80 miles away that stock most of the parts, (at least I hope they will since they are selling the furnaces).

 I also understand the  installation concerns. That is not going to be the problem, nor is the lack of stocking, at least somewhat.

 I just need to know what would be my best choice of furnaces to be buying of the ones I named so I know which supplier I will be using. Then I can find out what parts to be stocking.

Thanks for any replies.

Rick

John Mills_5

As Charles would say:

Surely you jest! Trouble free anything these days doesn't seem to be happening. Sorry I have a dim view of the industry as they have cheapened the product to satisfy cheap homeowners. Used to be able to slap in a brand R 80 or 90 gas furnace and not touch it except to clean it. Now, expect pressure switch issues, inducers locking up... We went years without changing an ECM, now with Genteq it isn't that unusual. One of our brands went to China for ECMs and they are worse. I don't know of any standout brand these days. Right now all furnaces are made in the USA but full of 3rd world country parts. A couple of mfrs. are moving furnace production to Mexico in the next year or more.



I'd say research the supply houses that will be selling to you and pick the best one(s). That way you have support when your product acts up. Look for parts in stock, a tech rep on staff, sharp countermen or women. That's what a dealer should look for in a brand. If you pick a brand that isn't as well known, sell yourself and the customer will buy what you suggest. Train your installers on the product as lots of issues are caused by poor installation as well as cheap components. At least you have control over that.

bill_105

Hi Rick

That's a tough question. BTW I ran into an Enstar guy I know and he told me about gas down there. There is a meeting for anyone at Badarki Inn at the end of June. His discription of it was "How not to blow yourselves up"

bill_105

?

rick in Alaska

thanks

Thanks for the replies!

I am in the process of getting a few bids out for conversions now as people are finally starting to believe gas is coming after all these years. Piping is being put in right now and they say maybe turning some of it on by the end of June. Going to be a busy summer.

 I think whatever I get for furnaces will be what they will be. Hopefully problem free for a while anyway. The last time I took on a new line of condensing furnaces I lost about 5 hours on each one of them for callbacks and tweaking due to bad parts and the unit itself. Hopefully this won't happen again.

Anyway, thanks for all opinions!

Rick

p.s. Hey Bill are you in Anchorage area or Palin ville?

bill_105

Palin ville??

Easy now - Last I heard she now is residing in Arizona, which is a good place for her!

As for ourselves it's Indian. You know it's between Girdwood and the big city.