Replacing old HVAC

12 years ago

Hello All,

I am in the process of replacing my existing furnace and AC unit and was wondering if I could get information on the two brands that I was offered.

Property info: located in South Western Connecticut, home has 1100 sqft, current furnace is original (1950) and AC unit is 1987 Sears unit (outdoor unit). Both units work for now, I just don't think they are efficient.

Estimates I was given were for:
Ã¯Â¿Â½ Bryant OBLAAB0360098 Oil Furnace
Ã¯Â¿Â½ Bryant 113ANA024 Condenser 13 SEER
Ã¯Â¿Â½ 2 ton Bryant Coil

Bryant Guarantee: Bryant condensing units have a 10 year factory warranty and 10 year factory warranty on parts. Bryant Oil furnace has a limited lifetime factory warranty on heat exchanger , 10 years on parts.

2)
Ã¯Â¿Â½ Rheem ROLA070P04 Rear Flue Oil Furnace
Ã¯Â¿Â½ Rheem 13AJN30A01 Condenser 13 Seer
Ã¯Â¿Â½ Rheem Cased Coolin Coil RCFLHM3617CC

Rheem Guarantee: All Rheem products come with ten year manufactures warranty on parts and Furnace has twenty year manufacturer warranty on the heat exchanger.

Is one unit significantly better than the other?

Thanks for your input!!!

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Comments (6)

tigerdunes
12 years ago
What is warranty of furnaces? Pay attention to this. I am not sure your warranty information on Rheem oil furnace is correct.

The Rheem condenser is low end, made south of the border.

If you have reasonable electric rate, I would consider upgrading AC condenser to a HP to leverage against the more expensive fuel oil.

IMO
mike_home
12 years ago
Any possibility of getting a natural gas connection to the house?
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gcinque
Original Author
12 years ago
Tigerdunes,

The warranty information was provided on the written estimate by the Rheem installer. One thing I remember is that he mentioned that the units were "contractor" grade. I assumed that was the low end. Will I have a lot of problems with the Rheem setup?? They Bryant estimate came in at $1k more than the Rheem.

mike_home,
While I was waiting for the HVAC estimates I did contact the gas company (Yankee Gas) and the price I was quoted to get the line brought to my house was ridiculous. I don't remember the exact amount but I think it was over 50k. My house is 800ft from where the gas line stopped/ends and the road I'm on is a County road so that adds to the cost.

If I really wanted to get away from Oil I could install a propane tank but I don't want to.

Thanks for the input!!
mike_home
12 years ago
As much as I love natural gas I agree $50K is ridiculous.

How much do you pay for a gallon of oil and a KWH of electricity? It may make sense to get a dual fuel system of a furnace and a heat pump. The heat pump will as an an AC in the summer and provide heat in the winter. On very cold days the heating will switch over to the oil furnace. This is done automatically by the thermostat. This should lower your heating costs.

I recommend you spend a little more money and not purchase builder grade equipment. They are not well built and don't have features which help protect the compressor.
tigerdunes
12 years ago
I would go propane. Why? If the line is that close, they will extend it at some point in time. If you just want Rheem, have them upgrade to the classic series. A better choice. If the dealer wants your biz, shouldn't be that much more.

IMO
udarrell
12 years ago
Don't oversize equipment; do a free whole house load-calc.

Always install the indoor coil at least 6" above the top of an oil furnace for better airflow & protection of the evap-drain pan, many are plastic.

Here is a link that might be useful: free whole house load-calc