Understandably in some areas in NW Washington you will find more brands of furnaces than in others. In some areas of Skagit County you will find more older RHEEM furnaces than any other because in their day they where fairly inexpensive to install.
Older RHEEM 80% Furnace
Honestly I can not tell you how many RHEEM furnaces I have replaced, going on 30 years in the HVAC business I personally may have replaced well over a hundred … and may have contributed to perhaps 500 or more RHEEM replacements overall.
Existing Supply Plenum
And like almost every furnace I remove the supply plenum can looks like the picture above, a trained eye can spot the fact that this is a non-sealed plenum. Back when this furnace was installed new it was code to seal these joints.
New American Standard 2-stage variable speed
After sealing up the existing plenum we installed the new American Standard 95% 2 stage variable speed furnace onto the new base. I fabricated and installed a new return plenum and cut in a easy access filter door. A new PVC vent was ran and a new condensate drain was added to the system.
Alpine Heating And Cooling
Need a Heat Pump, Air Conditioner, Furnace, Boiler or Tankless Water Heater? We install them all over Skagit county including Mount Vernon WA, Burlington WA, Anacortes, Sedro Woolley, La Conner, Stanwood WA, and on Camano Is.
If not for a good referral I simply would not have gotten the chance to even bid this project never mind doing the project. This particular customer knew exactly what he wanted and because of my experience I believe that is why he chose Alpine. Referrals make up 80% to 90% of my business and I appreciate everyone I get.
The focus to begin with was not the furnace but his ducting, rats had taken over his crawl space and had severely damaged the flex lines. Unfortunately he had one of those systems that was 100% flexible. After the owner had a clean crawl installed he removed his insulation and ducting and hire Alpine to install a sheet metal trunk line with flexible branch runs. A much better method for air delivery and efficiency. We also installed balance dampers at the take offs for added control.
Older Arcoaire 80%
The older Arcoaire furnace was actually over sized for the home while the added on Trane AC unit was actually undersized. Here you can see even physically it was over sized.
Newer American Standard 2 stage variable speed
American Standard with their 2 stage variable furnace makes it a lot easier to match up to systems like this one. We get the full fan we need for the AC but yet we get the lower BTU that I’m looking for in the 2 stage. Even though I could not match up physically with the unit with the new furnace we where a lot closer to design with the existing AC coil.
Alpine Heating And Cooling
Need a Heat Pump, Air Conditioner, Furnace, Boiler or Tankless Water Heater? We install them all over Skagit county including Mount Vernon WA, Burlington WA, Anacortes, Sedro Woolley, La Conner, Stanwood WA, and on Camano Is.
What a huge difference this will make for my customer… unfortunately these are new tenants who just moved in who have no idea how much their heating bills could have been, thanks to the owner who decided to upgrade their system.
Older Lennox Oil Furnace
The existing Lennox oil furnace was only a couple years old but because natural gas was coming down the street and new tenants where moving in I think it was a wise decision to replace it with the American Standard 95% single stage furnace at this time.
American Standard 95% Single Stage
In my opinion … If your existing ducting is located outside of the living space, is questionable on how well it is sealed or insulated and can not be repaired I would consider looking at a single stage versus a multi stage piece furnace. Unless your more worried about comfort than your are efficiency than think about the American Standard 95% 2 stage variable.
Heating And Cooling Skagit County
Need a Heat Pump, Air Conditioner, Furnace, Boiler or Tankless Water Heater? We install them all over Skagit county including Mount Vernon WA, Burlington WA, Anacortes, Sedro Woolley, La Conner, Stanwood WA, and on Camano Is.
This PAYNE 90% has the worst clogged secondary heat exchangers I have ever seen. The heat exchangers where so clogged that the flames where burning yellow starving for air and overheating the combustion box … the condensation actually ate through the exchanger. After putting up with headaches and a unusual odor they decided to give us a call. They are lucky to be alive in my opinion.
Older PAYNE 90% Furnace
The PAYNE furnace actually sat up on a air conditioning coil that is about 24″ tall, imagine trying to lift a furnace off and on that coil. Fortunately my customer hung around to help me with the lifting.
American Standard 95% 2 stage variable speed
The new American Standard 95% 2 stage variable speed furnace was physically the same size and slide right into place with very little modifications. After reconnecting up to the venting, gas pipe and drain system I dialed in the propane pressure on the valve. I know I have said this a hundred times in my blog but I’m going to say it again … I really love installing this furnace model of American Standard, I have no issues and it does as promised every time.
Heating And Cooling Skagit County
Need a Heat Pump, Air Conditioner, Furnace, Boiler or Tankless Water Heater? We install them all over Skagit county including Mount Vernon WA, Burlington WA, Anacortes, Sedro Woolley, La Conner, Stanwood WA, and on Camano Is.
If you have a furnace or hot water tank 10 plus years old you should seriously consider replacing it. True your furnace or HWT may last a few more years, but considering the CNG rebate and the tax credit’s that could go away you may want to give me a call and at least way your options.
This particular customer has a 90% YORK that is on its last legs, with the repair bills mounting up it really made sense for her to replace it with an American Standard 95% single stage furnace.
Older YORK furnace
I had a little bit of a challenge because the room was very dark and my drop light dropped and broke. I had to position my flashlight on a piece of furniture to have enough light. And yes from now on I will be carrying extra bulbs for my drop light.
New American Standard 95% Single Stage Furnace
The American Standard 95% single stage furnace slid right into place, leaving very little room. Fortunately enough room to still access the gas pipe, venting and condensate drain. The job went fairly smooth with very little issues and after about a 30 minutes the house was back up to a comfortable temperature.
Heating And Cooling Skagit County
Need a Heat Pump, Air Conditioner, Furnace, Boiler or Tankless Water Heater? We install them all over Skagit county including Mount Vernon WA, Burlington WA, Anacortes, Sedro Woolley, La Conner, Stanwood WA, and on Camano Is.
The customer of this 18 year old American Standard (Trane) furnace finally decided to replace it. The repair costs versus the price of the new American Standard furnace, the rebate from CNG and the fed tax credit was all it took to convince him.
Older 90% Trane Unit.
The physical size and or foot print caught me a little of guard, but nothing a little piece of ducting can’t fix, other than that this was a fairly straight change out … no real surprises.
New American Standard 95% 2 Stage Variable.
The new American Standard 95% 2 stage variable will not only provide a higher efficiency than the older furnace but more comfort while doing it.
Heating And Cooling Skagit County
Need a Heat Pump, Air Conditioner, Furnace, Boiler or Tankless Water Heater? We install them all over Skagit county including Mount Vernon WA, Burlington WA, Anacortes, Sedro Woolley, La Conner, Stanwood WA, and on Camano Is.
Here we have another RHEEM 80% that has died, my customer decided to way the costs of repair versus new furnace and with this year potentially being the last year for tax credits they decided to replace the dinosaur. I have to admit if there is any application for an American Standard 95% Variable 2 speed its this one. 2 story home with the ducting located between the floors and the equipment located within the home.
Older Rheem 80% Gas Furnace
As you can see the Rheem furnace is located in a closet next to the HWT, this is a fairly easy replacement. I just need to run the vent and condensate out and make a few duct changes.
Flex Connector
One of the best friends of a change out installer is the flex connector, above you can see it installed. This type of connector allows the installer the flexibility of the ducting so he or she can slide the furnace in to place and stop any vibrations from the equipment. Even though it can be done without this connector it surely is easier with it.
New American Standard 95% 2 stage variable gas furnace.
Above you see the American Standard 95% 2 stage variable speed furnace installed. A condensate pump had to be added because there was no floor drain available. We also converted there electronic air cleaner over to a 4″ filter bank. the existing EAC was not operational.
Heating And Cooling Skagit County
Need a Heat Pump, Air Conditioner, Furnace, Boiler or Tankless Water Heater? We install them all over Skagit county including Mount Vernon WA, Burlington WA, Anacortes, Sedro Woolley, La Conner, Stanwood WA, and on Camano Is.
I’m not a big fan of Arcoaire furnaces, I use to be a dealer back in 1992 and quickly drop them because I felt the quality just wasn’t there. That being said this one was installed in 1990 and on this last maintenance call my technician found a hairline crack on the heat exchanger. This is enough to label the furnace as a health issue.
Arcoaire Furnace
As you can see the older Arcoaire 80% furnace vented out with metal, sharing a vent with the existing hot water tank. So when quoting an 80% to 95% furnace you have to consider new PVC venting and condensate, everything else like the gas, electrical and ducting should be present and re-usable with slight modifications.
New 95% American Standard
My customer elected to go with an American Standard 95% single stage furnace. This is a good solid piece of equipment that still meets the 95% federal tax credit but without the 2 stage or variable speed blower. In some cases this is what I recommend.
Heating And Cooling Skagit County
Need a Heat Pump, Air Conditioner, Furnace, Boiler or Tankless Water Heater? We install them all over Skagit county including Mount Vernon WA, Burlington WA, Anacortes, Sedro Woolley, La Conner, Stanwood WA, and on Camano Is.