Would you replace a furnace before it breaks?

Question

I just made an offer on a house with a thirty year old furnace as a turnkey hold and rent. Hot water heater is in a similar state although not quite as old.  Would you go ahead and replace now or wait for it to break? I am in the frozen north so if it breaks it’s likely an emergency repair.

James Hamling · Answer

@Peter Woerner for Water Heaters, everything is about the anode rod and what your water quality is.

It blows my mind how many have no knowledge of the anode rod. It's similar to a forced air furnace air filter, it requires regular maintenance and if not done, if not maintained, it drastically accelerates the speed the water heater will fail and require replacement.

ALL LANDLORDS OUT THERE, if not familiar with this look up a video title on YT "30 Minute Secret Makes Your Water Heater Last Decades" via LRN2DIY. Best no BS explanation I have ever seen including where to get replacement items, how to replace them, and alternative options such as a powered anode rod.

Many years back I had 3 water heaters blow-out in 1 month, so I made it a mission to find out why. I dun-got-learned, lol. Since then, were talking well over a decade if not 2 ago now, I have not had a single water heater "surprise" failure, not 1.

Maintain the unit, the unit will last. Simple.

Scott Mac · Answer

Maybe.

HUD (estimates) service life at 20 years for an electric or gas furnace, but a February failure could mean a wait for an install or a wintertime price gouge.

How long is the wait time for a repair or replacement in the below freezing times in the area?

24 hours at a reasonable fee, or do they jack the prices through the roof at that time, or make you wait 6 weeks or etc...

Do you have a TRUSTED repairman in the area, who will take care of you?

HUD Estimates service life of Hot Water Heaters at 12 years.

You can look up your heater type here if you would like: https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/EUL_FOR_CNA_E_TOOL.PDF

Furnaces do not fail in the summer (because they are turned off), so you know when it does fail it will most likely be cold outside (frozen pipes bursting weather possibly).

Good Luck!

Kevin Sobilo · Answer

@Peter Woerner, many people use the term "furnace" loosely. Is it a forced hot air furnace or a boiler system (steam or hot water)? The reason I ask is that hot air furnaces might have an expected lifespan of ~20 years while a boiler might be expected to last 25-40 years at least. A 30 year old boiler is not considered end of life if well maintained.

My general thought on expensive capital expenditures is to mitigate the risk and get the maximum time out of each item. For example a roof might be a "25 year roof" but if you monitor and do repairs you could really expect to get 30-40 year out of it and with roofs being expensive its cost effective to do that.

Your concern with the heating system is that any issue with it creates an "emergency". Even with a newer system those issues can happen, so why not address that with some sort of mitigation. I like having 2 heating systems in a house! How about slapping a couple large 8' strips of electric baseboard in the house? That might not heat everything to the tenant's ideal comfort but if there is a heating issue with the furnace/boiler it would provide basic heat until its resolved.

Alternatively, in nicer units adding a ductless air conditioning system could help you boost rent AND provide a back-up heat source! Again killing multiple birds with 1 stone.

Angie Russell · Answer

Peter, I like Scott's reply. When the life span is that past, if you have the funds, I feel in many circumstances, it's better to be proactive instead of reactive. Good luck.

Jaron Walling · Answer

We replace water heaters proactively but not the HVAC. We get units inspected every couple years but in general we aim to get the most out of it. I do provide filters for our tenants which gives us an excuse for a property inspection.

Also, I believe flushing water heaters to get more life out of them is myth.

Peter W. · Answer

Thank you all for the comments.  That ended up being a much more informative discussion than I expected. Especially thank you James for the education on furnaces. It sounds like there is some alpha to be gained by learning about the furnace and hot water heaters though most of you don’t think it is worth it.

Jaron Walling · Answer

@Peter Woerner Good conversation for sure.

One more tip; look for the scratch and dent stores. We can find name brand $799 water heaters for $349 in our market. It's usually first come, first serve, and various sizes. Our plumber can do the install for $275. The anode rod replacement is thing but a lot of times you can't get the bolts undone due to corrosion or rust. Cheers.

Mark Wright · Answer

Going into winter & assuming you're in upstate NY, yes.

Better now than mid January when it's a high of 0°.    :-)

Kevin Sobilo · Answer

@Jaron Walling, with a major rehab I will proactively replace a water heater but otherwise not. A water heater can last a LONG time as well. I have a 6 year water heater in my own home which was installed August 2003. So, its OVER 20 years old!

I think flushing water heaters is less important to prolonging water heaters than replacing the anode rod neither of which I really do but maybe I should.

Also, wish flushing the tank, you can pulse the water after its emptied to "scrub" the bottom. The cold water entering the tank is through a dip tube that goes to the bottom of the tank. So, the pulses of water are sprayed right at the bottom. That is done so that in normal use the water doesn't mix as hot water comes out the top while cold water goes to the bottom.

Alan Asriants · Answer

Love the Filter excuse to check on property! Great way to make sure it is done and check the condition your property is in! Might have to change the responsibility to myself on this and kill 2 birds with one stone.

To add: replacing HVAC before its kicked is unecessary. You might change it and it can have 5 good years left. Waste of money at that point!

Water heaters are a different story, especially if they are not located in a basement and next to a drain. Being proactive here is better than doing water damage control

Would you replace a furnace before it breaks?

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