Thank you for your response, Tigerdunes. I appreciate it.

I'm a firm believer in preventative maintenance and I understand that despite this, there may very well come a time when the system needs greater repairs. Thus, my initial fear. All else being equal, I want that repair to be both quick and easily arranged when needed. I don't want to hear that the part cannot be obtained. As you say, it may not be an issue.

And this is really only an issue if Lennox is back on my radar for installation. As I said, I favor the Carrier system. I simply am losing faith in our local Carrier installer, who has been considerably less responsive than his Lennox counterpart. If this is his level of service when tens of thousands of dollars are on the line, I can't say that he's winning my confidence to be available when I need him on short notice down the road.

Regarding your comments regarding Lennox in relation to the other systems, do you find it less reliable overall? Less advanced? Less efficient?

Again, thank you for your time.

I can just say this. Lennox thinks a lot more of their product than I do, including their pricing.

IMO

I know this was a few years ago, but which brand did you end up going with and are you satisfied with it?

We ended up going with the Carrier system, Maya. Your comment was actually good timing because we've discovered our first problem with the system in the past week.

Up until recently, the system has worked very well. It is quiet and efficient. The Net-connected nature of it means we can control it from afar when necessary and last week, I'd have said we have no complaints.

However, we had our normal start-of-summer routine maintenance this week and it was discovered that the damper that directs air to the upstair's split in our system has failed. It is frozen at 20%, rather than fluctuating based on need. Thus, while we are getting air, it isn't much and it isn't per our set schedule and requirements. We've been having colder-than-normal temps, so it wasn't as noticable as it would have been if it were in the 80s or 90s.

It will be interesting to see how Carrier and our local dealer handle this. The damper assembly will need to be replaced. I can keep you posted.

Thanks for the reply! It wasn’t an easy decision but we went with an upgraded Lennox since were 2 miles from a parts distributor and our new furnace that came with the house is Lennox. We asked the HVAc company a lot of questions based on our internet research and they were helpful. Fingers crossed.

I wanted to provide a further update for you, Maya, since I indicated I would (and perhaps this information will be of use to someone down the road). The damper in our unit was found to be defective. It is being replaced under our warranty with Carrier. The damper itself will come at no cost to us, but the labor will not be reimbursed under the warranty. Our original installer has indicated that it will take about one hour to compete the swap-out. While I'm not happy to be out-of-pocket at all for a defective part, they are standing behind the warranty as written. FYI.

Good luck with your Lennox system!

Thanks again! Ans so far so good with Lennox. Only one hiccup when the condensation pump fried 4 days after the install. We had to pay for a new one, but the installer didn't charge for labor. Everything I read pointed to the electrician making the error, but the installer said everything was ok. It's a mystery what happened, but the new pump seems to be holding.

We have been sweating through record setting 100-110 degree heat since our Lennox furnace blew a small electrical chip mid June and the blower wont work, so no AC. its almost August and the Lennox dealer keeps telling our contractor, the largest in the region, “another couple of weeks”.

Lying liars. Huge supply chain problem. Two largest HVAC contractors in town say they will no longer install Lennox for that reason.

There are alot of things from materials, to parts, to motors to odd ball stuff that are extremely limited or out of stock to back ordered.

It doesn't just happen to be one brand. It's pretty much industry wide problem. They call it a "pandemic". The world didn't stop, but manufacturing did.

Manufacturing of nearly everything has ground to a halt. Interesting times for sure. I know who you should blame, starts with a "C".

No it's not Carrier. LOL.

I service the Katy, Texas area.

The availability of parts has been the biggest compliant about Lennox even before the problem caused by Covid.

I'm having the same issue with Rheem - outdoor condenser fan motor (2 speed ECM, so not an off the shelf part) has been backordered for 2 weeks. Meanwhile we're sweating it out in humid, high 90 degree temps - especially at night! :(

If anyone can fedex this part to me youll save me buying a new $6500 furnace today. Just sayin’.

Jeff.

Have your tired calling Supply House? They have a Lennox replacement motor listed on their website because the motor and module you show (18M8101) are discontinued. It is worth calling them to see if this is an acceptable substitute. It also seems the motor and module are separate items. You have to determine if you need both.

Have you googled "Lennox 18M8101 motor" - lots of options.

Thanks, we tried that route, including Supply House.. Once you dig in a bit they are all back ordered for months. Lennox customer service looked at our case again today…they still have no idea on a date, said ”Maybe September?” Part is probably on the other side of the Pacific or bobbing outside a Gavin-closed port some where.. Challenging times. Just ordered the new furnace for want of that part. Daiken. Made in Texas. $7,480.

Got my Rheem 2 speed ECM motor today................. When I got the old motor out, the fan blades were corroded onto the motor shaft, so there's another day getting them off. (They're soaking in PB Blaster but it's SLOW going)!

OP: Here's a used one. Don't like the idea of used but better than $7500!

https://for-sale.yowcow.com/listing/130696472/

The availability of parts has been the biggest compliant about Lennox even before the problem caused by Covid.

All manufacturers have this problem to various degrees. It depends on what part it is --- and when you need it.

Supply houses get charged tax on inventory they store. So there's much more to this than just blaming a "particular brand" IE brand bashing.

Certainly I've experienced the Lennox part problem before, but I've had issues with Amana as well and they are manufactured locally to me. Had problems with Carrier / Bryant -- & American Standard. There is no perfect brand, don't kid yourself.

What does a "lengthy" HVAC career tell you? You have to actually do the work to know. (OR listen to me... but many on this board have a "problem" doing that. LOL)

For the record, I wasn't blaming Covid... There's another "C" to blame. (final jeopardy, ha~ha)

I service the Katy, Texas area.