Proactively replace 1998 furnace that works fine and appears in good condition??

Question

Good evening BP,

I have a move out in one of my units that has a 1998 gas furnace that works great. No visible issues, haven't had any issues during the 5 years I've owned the place. Does anyone proactively replace furnaces or wait until they fail? I was planning to give it an inspection & cleaning. I can find common parts on Amazon. I've even thought about purchasing some common spare parts to have on hand. (igniter, thermostat, ?). Might hire a local HVAC guy for an inspection as well.

My plan:

-Clean all the dust off the inside (very minimal if any)

-Test amp draw on blower motor vs FLA

-Test capacitor

Furnace info:

Gas furnace, 80% efficiency (the efficiency does not influence my decision)

Manufacturer: International Comfort Products Corp

Model# NTC6100GFA1

Curious if anyone has any other recommendations? Thanks!

Jaron Walling · Answer

I'm in the camp if it's not broken, don't fix it.

We will replace older water heaters because it's easy (most of the time), I find scratch and dent deals, and a plumber friend installs them for cheap.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

I'm living in a house with a 1980's boiler. It's fully functional and safe. I just had my first repair on it two days ago (bad zone controller). These things are work horses and typically require very little maintenance and last forever, but I would recommend they be inspected every 1-2 years for cracks.

The bad news is efficiency. My current furnace is about 80% efficient which means a lot of wasted energy. I'm considering the upgrade simply because the cost of utilities has increased so much that I could probably pay for a new furnace within 5-6 years by increasing efficiency, and it will make the house more sellable when I choose to leave in 4-5 years.

Bill B. · Answer

This unit could easily outlast a replacement you bought today. The house I’m writing from has 13 year old garage door openers and an 8 year old water heater that were “near the end of their life” 8 years ago when I moved in. The furnace is 21 years old as well. (Both Ac units died 2 years ago, this is vegas after all.).

BUT, if I had replaced the water heater, today I would be told that my replacement water heater was “near the end of its life”.

Wait until the repairs are excess. You’ll forget about it until it breaks 5-10 years from now. And then you’ll have a new unit instead of 1/2 dead one.

Chad Hale · Answer

I had a furnace from the 1950's running strong.  Only replaced it because we wanted to add AC.We had it checked every couple years for cracks, etc.  Every time we were told this was a tank and would run forever...

Water heaters are said to only last 8-10years now.  Depending on location you may want to proactively replace.  For example inside the home where it could cause significant damage.  On the other hand, if in the garage where flooding water wouldn't matter, might as well wait for failure.  It could be many years later.

Bob S. · Answer

Its only about 1200 to remove and replace so why not

Richard F. · Answer

Aloha,

Cracks in the heat exchanger are difficult to locate and can allow carbon monoxide into the living space. At that age, you should have it closely examined. CO is an odorless killer.

Eliott Elias · Answer

You could delay it out, you’re just procrastinating at that point. I mitigate risk before the tenant calls me in the middle of the night, with a blown out HVAC.

Proactively replace 1998 furnace that works fine and appears in good condition??

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