[PipeGuy]

Lately I've been wondering about when I might need to replace my furnace (home heating). I'm thinking it'll die the same year as my first child goes to college, my balloon note comes due, my roof needs replacing, etc., etc. Maybe an educated guess by an HVAC pro will help me sleep better at night.

The unit was built in '83 and installed new in '86. It's a Whirlpool (Heil / Quaker) "high efficiency" gas unit rated at 100K BTU/HR. The model is NUGK100AH01.

I live in central MD. The unit starts running late October gets turned off mid April. I've lived in the house since 95' and have never done anything to the unit...nothing. It has always fired off when called upon an heats my 2500 sf house just fine.

What kind of service should I be doing and at what intervals? About how many years do these things last?

Thanks

 

[HVAC Doc]

There are furnaces out there chugging away pushing 35-40 yrs. old and some that die after 15 yrs. or less. I would recommend though having it checked as far as heat exchanger integrity and operation of the safeties. As for what kind of service, burners pulled and cleaned, blower motor oiled (if oilable), blower wheel cleaned/checked for broken vanes and separation, vacuum it out, temperature rise checked. Most manufactures recommend yearly checks. As for when is it time to replace, well you could get all checked and cleaned up and it run great another 10 yrs. or you could pull the burners and discover they have rusted out on the burner faces not burning properly, or crack in the HE is found etc. etc. The best time to replace obviously is on your own terms when you want to. Just keep in mind in terms of efficiency, that sucker is a gas hog.