Furnace rebates

How many of you jumped on the Govt energy rebate that expires on the 31st? I am getting in last minute, but what a deal, between manufacturer rebates, utilitie rebates and the fed, I am getting $2500 in cash back and "assistance" to replace my 25 year old furnace and air with high efficiency stuff. Will only be $3000 out of pocket for Rheem 75,000 btu furnace and 2 ton AC installed. Appliance welfare, who would of thought. Not to late, I just started calling yesterday!

horkn wrote: I hope they do, because while I did add insulation to my existing insulation to make it R60 or so (yeah, really that much),

Tom,
I have to assume this was in your attic. Was additional blown in? What did you do at the heel for ventilation? Was it eve ventilated? If blocked, you could have condensation problems. BTW, the R60 is not uncommon. I went beyond that with my shop. Also, depending on what was done at the heel of the roof and the pitch, that R60 may not start until you are 4 to 6 feet away from the outside wall. What was done? I'm curious.

Alan,
Problems with the rebate or the tax credit? I used the tax credit two years ago on a Lenox furnace only.

Hey Dave, I didn't think you guys in Minnesota even new what A/C was?

I think i posted this one other time, you gotta watch those HVAC guys, when I built our building I needed office heat 75000 btu...well about a year ealier a guy in the HVAC business brought a scratch and dent furnace in for me to pull off the covers and straighten the sheet metal, I believe he paid 150 bucks for it, I completely forgot about it.
well he did the office and the bill was around 2500.00 (from memory) and a couple months went by and i was in the furnace room and noticed a couple creases in the covers.....the mfer sold me the scratch and dent furnace....lets put it this way...you didnt want to be around that day. I dont mind paying a guy what he deserves, but...

eric lavine wrote: I think i posted this one other time, you gotta watch those HVAC guys, when I built our building I needed office heat 75000 btu...well about a year ealier a guy in the HVAC business brought a scratch and dent furnace in for me to pull off the covers and straighten the sheet metal, I believe he paid 150 bucks for it, I completely forgot about it. well he did the office and the bill was around 2500.00 (from memory) and a couple months went by and i was in the furnace room and noticed a couple creases in the covers.....the mfer sold me the scratch and dent furnace....lets put it this way...you didnt want to be around that day. I dont mind paying a guy what he deserves, but...

I have found the answer to be the utilities service plan, I pay 13 a month to cover the furnace/AC, waterheater (gas) and gas dryer, They tend not to run up the bill when they are paying for it. I have them in every other year to replace the blower sensor that goes out so I figure it pays itself, one dryer breakdown and I am ahead. They eventually will red tag stuff though when it gets to old to find parts for, it is in their contract.

eric lavine wrote: is that when you guys start skiing? when the ice breaks in August? lol

Its one great week sometimes two before they freeze again.

8122pbrainard wrote: horkn wrote: I hope they do, because while I did add insulation to my existing insulation to make it R60 or so (yeah, really that much), Tom, I have to assume this was in your attic. Was additional blown in? What did you do at the heel for ventilation? Was it eve ventilated? If blocked, you could have condensation problems. BTW, the R60 is not uncommon. I went beyond that with my shop. Also, depending on what was done at the heel of the roof and the pitch, that R60 may not start untill you are 4 to 6 feet away from the outside wall. What was done? I'm curious.

Yep, in the attic, and blown in. That was a fun job for me. not..

It is ventilated well at the overhangs with proper plastic spacers to let the roof breathe. It also has vents in the roof top as well.

Had it not been vented, I certainly would have mega condensation issues with my 300 gallons of salt water reef tank already in my house, with probably another 350-400 g tank going in upstairs in the next year.

We just missed this- had to replace the AC and Furnace and ended up going with Payne HE units in 2008. Well over 5K for both (I want to say 5800) and that's with a good friend's company purchasing and installing (discounted). Still going strong with no problems. It is amazing that the exhaust is so cool that it can vent via PVC (and it draws fresh air in via a separate pipe). My "chimney" is now only used for the hot water heater.

Not a deduction, that would come of your income resulting in a tax savings at the rate of your federal taxes, You get a 30 percent tax credit which comes directly off your tax bill, so if you got the full 1500 as a deduction and you were in the 15% bracket it would save you $225 off your tax bill, as a credit you get the full $1500 off your bill, provided you had 1500 worth of taxes on income to offset.

The Rheem warning goes for water heaters too.
Don't forget the credit goes for them too!

fwiw, I used to be in the HVAC business, and I never heard/ saw anything bad with rheem water heaters or furnaces.

I will tell you that I worked and dealt more with boilers and plumbing than furnaces, but i have gone on a few no heat calls for furnaces. Thermocouples can go bad on any furnace.

OverMyHead wrote: thatdude596 wrote: stay away from rheem. they are not crap, but they are also not a well built/designed system. look into train american standard carrier or even bryant. Duuuudddee, your majorly bumming me out, warning me about getting rheemed the night before my furnace install. I did my research and two independant consumer ratings (One was consumer reports) rated both the rheem AC and furnace as lowest for repair calls. I am not guestioning your advice, OK maybe wondering a little about your credability (your profile is pretty empty) I am wondering the basis for your opinion. Are you in the industry? A consumer with bad experience? Do you have an ex-wife that stands to inherit the rheem fortune? , I am too far in and got to good of a price to turn back now. I will cross my fingers and keep paying my sevice plus coverage after the warrenty expires.

credentials- well for starters i have been around and in the biz since i was in diapers. my grandfather is a retired tinner, all 3 uncles and old man are union tinners, including myself. all have done hundreds of residential units, installs, check ups, service calls, etc. i have two uncles who own non union companies, and have several friends that own companies as well. lets just say the credentials are over qualified. back to the facts, i dont know anyone who would install rheem systems. even if i got the units much much cheaper than the above stated, its not worth the headache. headaches being faulty equipment, bad factory support, and the dreaded service calls. are they junk, no. there is some real pos furnaces out there, like goodmans lennox, keeprites, amana,comfortmaker, ducane, etc. why i and most people i know wont use rheem is quality and craftmanship of the units. they boxes and design and cheaper, comparable to many builders grade boxes. they are louder, and noisy than most. they have a horrible blower fan that is undersized, thus prone to burning up. the pc board is not as high quality as other top end furnaces. burners are not of same gauge and as well built. really they are an inferior product of the furnaces i stated above, but again not junk. you may never have a problem, or you may get rheemed in the end. to be honest i worked with a guy who started his own union residential company on the side using rheem equipment. he no longer is in the residential game, due to a few reasons, one being the equipment and reps were not very well. again this wasnt the only deciding factor, but one of them. btw did you opt for the single stage or variable speed blower? the variable speeds are the way to go with the 95%. good luck and dont me to scare you away to much!

8122pbrainard wrote: horkn wrote: fwiw, I used to be in the HVAC business, Thermocouples can go bad on any furnace. Tom, How long ago were you in the trade?

Too long for a college degree.

overmyhead
for what its worth, i have been told that whatever unit you pick out, make sure it has a copeland compressor. so far mine has been great, but its only 1.5 years old. also, the 2 stage in my opinion is worth the extra money.
p.s. my wife is from clarkfield minnesota. i have experienced a little bit of your winters and decided i dont have what it takes to survive up there.