Furnace problems...Bryant, Grrrrr.

[Gun guru]

I have a Bryant 96% eff. furnace. This thing is a piece of S**t. I now have another cracked heat exchanger, I had the other one replaced 3 or 4 years ago. Plus other service calls, all totaling about $3000 in 10 years. A buddy of mine is going to check to see if he can get a low eff. furnace and install it.
Any HVAC guys here.
Is it possible to buy a 85% furnace? I know that they cost more in fuel to run but I will actually save money in the long run due to no high-tech crap that breaks.
I have my pellet burner that will run and keep the house warm for a while.
If I cant get a low eff. furnace then I may get an outdoor wood furnace and load it up before I leave in the morning for work. And keep the Bryant unit for the Air conditioning.
I wish I could slap the s**t out of the azzholes at Bryant for designing and making such junk.

 

[WyoDave]

Sure, you can still get them. You'll have to change out the stack, and it's still going to be "high tech". I think you just got a lemon. I'd still say you're better off putting in a new 95% furnace, than an 80%. Just my opinion though.
David

 

[showcrop]

Can't help you but I appreciate knowing about problems with Bryant as I will be looking for an HE unit soon.

 

[buickanddeere]

Amen.
Mid range cost/efficiency equipment that is reliable beats expensive high tech junk that doesn't work.

 

[Tramway Guy]

Was this fuel oil or LP/ Natural Gas. We have a gas furnace that has worked absolutely perfectly for 10 years. Made by Trane. It was neither the most expensive nor the cheapest. But the installer had a very good reputation.

 

[Dusty MI]

The 85% is the same furnace without the secondary/condensing heat exchanger.

The Ruud-Ream (sp) seams to be a good furnace. I put in a Goodman for a guy in early December, you can buy them on line, I liked the principle on how it operated. But until it's been in operation for a few years, I can't say how well they hold up.
I'm "old school" I like a very well built old style furnace with a good vent damper.
The new furnaces do not use a temperature sensor for fan control. I can go into more details, but !!!!!!!!!

Dusty

 

[Bob S.]

Howdy,
Just replaced my Bryant before Christmas, checked around, everyone said Bryant has problems. It worked good, when it worked. Cost me $1950 for a basic furnace, installed, it's 95% efficient gas.
I was told the least efficient available is 80%.
I guess the gov. has their nose in your heating system as well as your toilet (1.6 gal per flush).
Switching the AC was not aproblem even though the new furnace is only 42" high.
Bob S.

 

[Gary from Muleshoe]

I am by no means an expert but being in the commercial building maintenance business I will say this. They all have problems with heat exchangers cracking, but in my experience Carrier is the most reliable. They still have things go wrong but nearly as bad as others I have been around. Just my two cents, if it were me I would go Carrier. I use geothermal in my home and have only had to have it repaired once in the thirteen years I have owned my home. And the are very efficent.

 

[kevinj54]

(quoted from post at 15:20:56 01/14/12) I am by no means an expert but being in the commercial building maintenance business I will say this. They all have problems with heat exchangers cracking, but in my experience Carrier is the most reliable..

Bryant, Carrier, Day Nite, Payne, and maybe others all come off the same line.

Heil, Comfortmaker and others come off the same line also

I used to work for a Bryant dealer and yes they had issues. You need to be sure the temp rise is proper thru that furnace.

Improper install & setup will kill a hi eff in short order.

I like Heil and have one in my own home.

 

[Ky. Hauler]

Heil makes a good furnace. I have an Arco air conditioner that is 15 years old that has been a good one, but now it runs without the compressor on sometimes. I think Heil bought them out. Made in Tenn. I think. The Arco AC I have used to be called the black beauty. It is very quiet. I hope my new Heil is the same.
My neighbor has replaced his ac several times. They all are noisy as heck even though they are 250 feet from my house.

 

[M-MAN]

Got to agree with B&D. Alway's stay in the middle. High end is just as bad as low end if not worse. I think 90% is the minimum allowed now.

That being said, Bryant is top notch. With that many problems you either got a lemon or your installer blew it by using the wrong size unit or installing it wrong. The HX is still under warranty so it's free. Make them fix it.

 

[Jim in N.M.]

I and my company have inspected more "Bryant"furnace's in the last 30 years than most people see in a lifetime, Bryant is the worst for cracked heat ex changers (fire box) as we call them And they always crack in the same place,I'll bet we've changed 500 or so over the years. And I've seen the new fire box crack in the same place the following year....just my two cents worth...Jim in N M

 

[Ky. Hauler]

I bought a Goodman on line for $680 if I remember right, about three years ago. My old TrueBlu was not running right. I drove from Louisville to Columbus, Oh. to pick it up. This Goodman is a 100 BTU or there abouts while my old furnace was a 120. The Goodman runs fine and is a 90+. I have heard good and bad on just about all brands. I had a master HVAC friend of mine install it. If he sells a job, all he uses is Heil. Very few callbacks.

 

[brokenot]

Our Bryant Plus 90i, (96% I believe), was installed 14 years ago. About a year in, the installing dealer came out and replaced the inducer/blower at no cost to us. It still worked, it was just noisy as it spooled up to speed.

This year, I replaced the accordian-style rubber drain hose for the condensate.

That's all so far. Not too shabby I think. We're in North Dakota, about 90 miles from the Canadian border. So yeah...the furnace gets used.

 

[spacecadet9]

(quoted from post at 12:20:57 01/14/12) I have a Bryant 96% eff. furnace. This thing is a piece of S**t. I now have another cracked heat exchanger, I had the other one replaced 3 or 4 years ago. Plus other service calls, all totaling about $3000 in 10 years. A buddy of mine is going to check to see if he can get a low eff. furnace and install it.
I wish I could slap the s**t out of the azzholes at Bryant for designing and making such junk.

Yep. My Bryant (same company as Carrier) Plus 90 furnace cost more in annual repair than I saved in LP. I tried to research the brands the local shops carry (Bryant, Carrier, Amana, and Lenox). On one forum a HVAC repairman said they all have their problem so choose by the service your local dealer provides. All the shops said the early Bryants had design problems.

I had a new Lenox installed this fall from an old local company.

 

[WGM]

It"s Lennox, not Lenox

 

[El Toro]

I have a Ruud that's 16 years old and so far I've only replaced the ignitor once. Hal