Comfortmaker is one of the umbrella companies in the ICP group...certainly not a top or cutting edge brand.

ICP

Here is the Comfortmaker web site. Carrier and Bryant are part of the ICP group of companies. Don't let the installer convince your daughter Carrier makes Comfortmaker furnaces. They are different products.

above not true...Carrier and sister company Bryant are not part of the ICP umbrella group...ICP and Carrier/Bryant are both owned by United Technologies...

TD

Here is what I found on the Wikipedia web site for Carrier. It says Carrier bought the ICP group in 1999. United Technologies currently owns Carrier. You may have better information as to how close this relationship is.

My point was dealers who sell Heil, Comfortmaker, Day & Night, Payne and other ICP brands are going to say the furnaces they sell are made by Carrier. They are implying the furnaces are the same so why pay for the Carrier brand name. This is like saying Chevrolet and Cadillac are the same cars because they are made by General Motors.

"This is like saying Chevrolet and Cadillac are the same cars because they are made by General Motors."

And that's why who make's what for whom only muddy's up the water for already confused individuals. I recently sold a used Holiday Rambler 5th wheel for more than their buget model sale's for new. My older than me 99 Savage is worth three brand new models.

Payne is low end brand and certainly not part of the ICP umbrella...

TD

According to Wikipedia Payne is listed as a Carrier brand. It is not the most reliable source and may have changed since the last time it was updated.

All this is confusing to buyers and dealers use it to their advantage.

Comfortmaker is just a Carrier brand and is just fine. As with most manufacturers, they almost always market under at least two brands (covering their bases). I have written an article dealing with brand and secrets contractors don't want you to know. If you're interested see Dirty Secrets Your Contractor Doesn't Want You To Know.

Air and Energy,

You have a lot of industry experience as a professional. I assume during your career you have repaired many 25+ year old Carrier furnaces. My question is how many 25+ year old Comfortmaker, Payne, and Heil. or Tempstar furnaces have you repaired? How do the Carrier and ICP furnaces compare with 25+ year old Goodman furnaces? Do you think all properly installed furnaces will have similar longevity?

I'm afraid the days of 25 old furnaces may be over. I remember back 10 or 15 years ago, we used to see a few old furnaces and they all had one thing in common, cast iron heat exchangers. You don't see those anymore. Just about everyone I'm aware of uses tubular steel and they're all good for 10 or 12 years, which by chance is around the warranty period. As far as comparison of Carrier, Trane, York, or Goodman, they seem to last about the same amount of time. You did, however remind me of something i wasn't thinking about, stainless steel heat exchangers. Many manufacturers are now offering stainless steel heat exchangers that last a very long time. Some even offer lifetime warranties for the heat exchangers. It's a good idea and they don't cost a lot more. The only issue I have is that while the new heat exchangers are stainless steel, the rest of the furnace is mild steel or aluminum, and even if the heat exchanger lasts forever, it will still be sitting in a pile of rust in about 15 years. I have a lot of opinions, some strong opinions that I like to think are better than anyone else's but deep down, I realize that we're all legends in our own minds, me included. Also, if you're interested, I have an article on high efficiency furnaces that I believe touches on the new stainless steel heat exchangers, High efficiency furnaces . Thanks for your response!