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Oil furnace at death's door
QUESTION:I'm being told my original 1951 oil furnace has a cracked heat exchanger
and needs to be completely replaced.
Furnace: Brand on the outside of the unit is "Universal," Seattle,
Washington, but there are "Honeywell" (electrical?) components, and a
(newer) "Beckett" blower.
Home: 940 sf main, 940 sf finished basement/garage, clad with cedar
shakes, all new windows. A rental for 26 years, not well taken care
of. I purchased it 2 years ago. Home inspection found original oil
tank in front yard was leaking; seller agreed to remove/replace tank and
bioremediate soil.
History: Within a few months, ducts closest to furnace began "leaking"
soot powder. Service man said past service company had furnace
"adjusted to burn incorrectly" so he readjusted. I had a chimney sweep
clean out exhaust chimney. 6 months later, furnace ducts began leaking
soot powder again. Service man came out again, pronounced heat
exchanger cracked.
Options: New high-efficiency oil furnace, or convert to gas (gas lines
available on street). The company that has been servicing my oil
furnace has made some recommendations, but I'd appreciate comments and
advice from this group.
1. Pros/cons to choosing oil or gas? (I'm leaning towards gas for
reasons of resale).
2. Service man claims gas company will "install meter for free"
(including all ditching, street work, etc.) if I convert my entire home
over to gas. Anyone heard if this is true? Or does it differ from
state to state? I'm in Seattle, Washington.
3. Service man recommended a furnace called "AquaTherm." Apparently
involves a new gas hot water heater, with a tube that transfers hot
water into a "furnace unit," where air is forced over the tubes of hot
water to heat the house. Service man raved and raved. Quoted a price
of $3500. Here's a URL for those interested:
http://www.firstco.com/aquatherm.html
ANSWER: This is probably very true considering the age and the fact that later on
you state that soot is coming out your ductwork. If you had said that soot
was coming out your flue pipe, that would be different and can be remedied.
But soot coming out your heat-circulating ductwork? You are in danger of
CO2 poisoning! Do NOT Use That Furnace Anymore This Season. Period!
Or YOU may find yourself at Death's Door.
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