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QUESTION:I recently had my ductwork cleaned and my furnace checked. The technician
advised me that I had cracks in a heat exchanger plate and this would need
to be replaced. First off, does this sound reasonable? Would there be any
way to simply repair the cracks without having to remove the plate?
Although the part is under warranty from Tempstar, the factory is charging a
$120.00 factory handling fee to get the part to my contractor. This sounds
weird, since I would imagine that $120.00 more than covers not only getting
the part from a warehouse, but also the cost of the part. The furnace is
almost 9 years old now.
My contractor has told me that the this particular Tempstar furnace is very
unreliable and that I can expect other things to go bad such as the heat
exchanger itself or the blower motor. They gave me a quote on a new Carrier
furnace ( around $1800 installed ). Since repairing the heat exchanger
plate will cost something like $600.00 anyway, I wonder if I'd be better off
long term just starting with a new furnace which presumably will be more
reliable.
ANSWER: I think this guy is just trying to sell you a new furnace. If it is
under warranty I would replace the heat exchanger.
Is this an upright or horiz furnace? If it is an upright with
individual cells and a center panel I would always replace the center
panel and all the cells under warranty.
Most companies around here would charge $300 to $400 to replace a heat
exchanger under warranty.
I would call around to some other companies, or call the dist to see
if this $120 charge is right.
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