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rusting 90%ers?

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Dale
Dale Member Posts: 1,317
in THE MAIN WALL
Most of the ones that went bad quickly didn't use outside air for combustion, basement chemicals got them pretty fast, next the ones badly oversized where the primary heat exchanger didn't stay hot long enough, next the ones where the prevailing wind brought the exhaust back into the intake. Then the older Carrier type collection boxes that weren't made of plastic. I must say quality of 90 percent stuff is getting better. Rheem for example has made very large improvements inquality IMHO. Sizing is still important, smaller the better.

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  • Timco
    Timco Member Posts: 3,040


    Serviced two 90%ers in the same house today that had the same problem....condensate leaking out of every seal & joint in the unit. Had to break down the entire exhaust system, and re-seal each point. One needed a new collection tray as the screws were rusted into little clumps and would not come off. Is this common? Entire bottom of blower chamber was flooded and the entire unit was flakey rust all over. Really bad. The 'factory trained' guy just blew out the intake & exhaust and said the condensate drain was blocked. Clear signs of the entire collection tray flooding all the way. WOW!!!

    Tim
    Just a guy running some pipes.
  • Floyd
    Floyd Member Posts: 429
    Yup!!!!

    people a whining and moaning about boilers that may only have a life of 10-15 yrs. These thing the Avg. life is considered to be 7 yrs!!!!! Don't make 'em like they usta....

    Floyd
  • S Ebels
    S Ebels Member Posts: 2,322
    Were these

    Were these the same brand furnace? York/Luxaire or maybe Amana? Mighty common occurence sad to say.Actually, I seen this an many brands but the ones I mentioned above are almost gaaaraaanteed to leak.

    Ran into one a couple weeks ago that I had never seen.......Snyder General brand about 12 years old I'd guess. It would run OK in mild weather but as soon as the cycle count got up a little bit the thing would lock out. Had me mystified until I spotted TWO wires coming off the flame sensor terminal on the W/R control board. One went to the falme sensor as usual but the second one plugges into a socket on the very lowest part of the HX compartment. The schematic on the blower door called the device a condensate sensor. Long story short, the trap was 90% plugged off and wouldn't drain. When the condensate backed up, it would short the flame sensor causing a shut down. The trap was a real odd affair that was impossible to clean so I field fabbed one out af a piece of PVC and some reinforced vinyl tube. Hasn't shut down since.
  • Timco
    Timco Member Posts: 3,040


    Day & Night...(Carrier) 1986 vintage. Both the same make & model, but subtle differences in the condensate collectors & GV. Also, when testing/adjusting manifold press, the press changes when you put the cap back on. 3.25 without the cap, and if you put the cap on or put your finger over it, 3.50.....

    Tim
    Just a guy running some pipes.
  • S Ebels
    S Ebels Member Posts: 2,322
    Wow!

    20 years is a long life for a condensing furnace! Most die around 11-12 years of service from what I've seen. Lot's of makers had a learning curve that was nearly a vertical line back in those days.
  • John Mills_5
    John Mills_5 Member Posts: 952
    took it out

    We had to take Sis's Rheem 90 out to redo the plenum in the garage slab. It was the first of that line we put in as a field test model in 1993. It's a hair undersized to runs hard. After 13 years, the heat exchanger looks like the day it was put in. There's some rust under the burners where a drain hose cracked and dripped a while before I noticed it. I was pleased with how well it looked after a hard life. After the "DrUM" Rheem learned how to build a good 90!
  • Steve Ebels_3
    Steve Ebels_3 Member Posts: 1,291
    As far as 90%ers go

    My humble bit of experience has been that the harder they run the happier they are. They just seem to live longer and with fewer problems if they are sized right on the edge. Hmmmm.......... a lot like condensing boilers.
  • mtfallsmikey
    mtfallsmikey Member Posts: 765
    When these newfangled furnaces first came out

    We had no idea how long they would last. Most of them I sold way back then lasted about 10 years. Of course Lennox had the most problems of any manufacturer back then early on. I worked on a Trane for a friend recently that was '89 vintage, still in great shape.
  • Mitch_4
    Mitch_4 Member Posts: 955
    Been using

    Olsen's (Canadian) since they came out..never an issue some over 22 years..

    Mitch
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