So when should one replace their furnace?

[momof5boys]

Each year we have our furnace serviced and each year we hear that our furnace (Airco) is the best out there and not to bother replacing it even with a more energy efficient furnace. This furnace is easily 45 years old and NEVER has caused any problems. It runs like a clock and the service guy says that it only has five parts and not much can go wrong with it.

We were told to have it replaced when our gas bill averages out to $100 per month per year. Last year we paid an average of $77.85 per month which includes our hot water tank/furnace. (We have a larger BC box type home...six bedrooms/two bathrooms). So we are thinking it's probably better to stick with our old long lasting furnace as the newer models also tend to break down easier and have costly parts. Just wondering what others think about this.

[linnyeg]

If you've never had a problem with it I wouldnt replace it! Our gas bill is similar to yours (smaller house) and our furnace is only 16 years old!

[sweet sparrow]

We replaced ours when the home inspector said ours had one or two good years left. It was a 25 year old Lennox. We replaced it with a top of the line, as-efficient-as-possible furnace. The installer said he bought a ton of mid-efficiency furnaces for his family, as these ones are not built to last. One malfunction with the all-important internal circuits makes for a very expensive repair.

On his advice, I'd keep yours until it completely dies or there are energy rebates (government or manufacturer) in your area that will bring down the cost significantly.

[momof5boys]

We replaced ours when the home inspector said ours had one or two good years left. It was a 25 year old Lennox. We replaced it with a top of the line, as-efficient-as-possible furnace. The installer said he bought a ton of mid-efficiency furnaces for his family, as these ones are not built to last. One malfunction with the all-important internal circuits makes for a very expensive repair.

On his advice, I'd keep yours until it completely dies or there are energy rebates (government or manufacturer) in your area that will bring down the cost significantly.

It's also interesting that a plumber/heating repair guy told us that, when we do decide to buy a new furnace, not to go with a heat pump. He literally said, "Save your money and go on a vacation." He had installed a new furnace with a heat pump in his home and said his costs to run that heat pump were very high. Anyone else with this experience? ...note, though, that we are on the BC Coast so we don't have extremely hot and humid days here in the summer.

[blueeyetea]

Unless it gets red-tagged by your service man, don't worry about it. At 45 years of already, it's not like you can predict how long it will last, so for all you know it's good until the next inspection or it breaks-down. It might be a good precaution to save the money now to replace it.

[momof5boys]

Unless it gets red-tagged by your service man, don't worry about it. At 45 years of already, it's not like you can predict how long it will last, so for all you know it's good until the next inspection or it breaks-down. It might be a good precaution to save the money now to replace it.

We've had the money saved for this for the last ten years lol....

[Shwa Girl]

My parents had an old furnace too. The furnace did it's job and the heating bill was not overly large. The only reason they changed to a newer furnace was that one part broke, and they did not make it any more.

It seems like the older furnaces had better workmanship, than the newer furnaces.

You seem to have a good one.

[matrix82]

Honestly, I worked in a church in Northern Ontario, it was a large building that ran by a furnace that was 105 years old. Made of I think cast iron and brick It was originally coal burning and at some point they changed it into an oil furnace. It was a beast, and very loud, took up it's own room but it worked, and it worked well. They kept up with the repairs to it over the years and as far as I know it's still working like a charm.

[i_forget]

I would not change it....it sounds like it is doing pretty good. The house that I live in is an old house, newer windows. In the 6 years that I have been here, I have had to put a new condensation pump in twice, which cost me about $150 each time. It is a newer furnace and really energy efficient.
My equal billing gas runs me about $70 a month, and my house is like 25C in the winter, so if that is all that it is costing you, then keep it.

[Minou]

Furnace companies tell customers to replace their furnaces too easily. We actually had our furnace cleaned once, and as soon as the guy left, we were unable to turn the furnace fan on. They came back and told us that the circuit board was fried, and that it would cost $800, but since the furnace was more than 10 years old, it would be a good idea to replace the whole furnace for about $5,000, as we wouldn't be able to count on it lasting. Well, we called in a smaller, independent contractor, and we were told that a wire to the fan had been disconnected (by the person cleaning the furnace, as it had been working before the cleaning). The service person hooked up the wire, checked the furnace, and didn't charge us any more than the cost of a service call. Later that winter, we saw two of our neighbours getting new furnaces installed by the larger company that had told us we needed a new furnace! I wanted to run over and drive the service guy out of their houses! We moved a few years later, and the furnace was still working well.

If the furnace is inspected regularly and is working well, keep it!

[momof5boys]

Thanks for all your comments....I forgot to mention that we also have a small gas fireplace insert upstairs and we run that just to keep the living area upstairs warm when it isn't freezing temps. No sense warming the bedrooms when the boys only use them for sleeping. So our main furnace is on very little actually....a bit in the morning to warm up the house a bit and if it becomes really cold outside. Also, I do A LOT of baking and, at the moment, making juice so that in itself also keeps the house fairly warm.

We are definitely keeping the old furnace until we are advised to replace it - we have a very honest service company so will just go on their word. Interestingly, before we asked this company to check our furnace, we had another guy clean it and he told us we better get the funds together because the furnace needed replacing. So, always better to get a second opinion for sure.

[maggiespice]

Furnace companies tell customers to replace their furnaces too easily. We actually had our furnace cleaned once, and as soon as the guy left, we were unable to turn the furnace fan on. They came back and told us that the circuit board was fried, and that it would cost $800, but since the furnace was more than 10 years old, it would be a good idea to replace the whole furnace for about $5,000, as we wouldn't be able to count on it lasting. Well, we called in a smaller, independent contractor, and we were told that a wire to the fan had been disconnected (by the person cleaning the furnace, as it had been working before the cleaning). The service person hooked up the wire, checked the furnace, and didn't charge us any more than the cost of a service call. Later that winter, we saw two of our neighbours getting new furnaces installed by the larger company that had told us we needed a new furnace! I wanted to run over and drive the service guy out of their houses! We moved a few years later, and the furnace was still working well.

Wow Minou, that is quite the story. Aren't you glad that you called someone in before you replaced your furnace? Lesson is if your furnace is working perfectly before someone comes in and cleans or inspects it, and then all of a sudden it quits working, then something is fishy! Something all of us can learn from!

[Ciel]

The Toronto Star ran an article in Monday's paper about hydronic furnaces. I did not know about them.

http://www.yourhome.ca/homes/repairs...tion-may-occur