NEW GAS FURNACE

   / NEW GAS FURNACE
  • Thread Starter
#11  
SCOTTAR, heehaw, and BXmark: those were the type of comments i am looking for, good or bad. i like the janitrol only because it is basicaly what i have now( newer and more efficient) and the old one has done a nice job for 21 years. but am kida interested in the 2 stage burner, in theroy it sounds good but can not find anyone that is familar with them. contractor say s it lights off in low fire and might run longer, but using less gas and giving a slower even heat, if after 12 min it does not shut off it realizes it is too cold out so kicks in to max fire. sounds good but i don't know? also the cost of it is $250 more, but that is not really a big deal. keep them comming boys/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
 
   / NEW GAS FURNACE #12  
I found this on the net regarding NG and propane.

"Different heat values result primarily from differences in specific gravity. The higher the specific gravity, the heavier the gas. Since burner orifices, flow meters, regulators, etc. have fixed openings, they allow less flow of heavier gas and therefore must have a higher heat value to provide the same energy input as a lighter gas."

Most natural gas has an average heat value of approximately 1050 BTU/cuft (9350 kcal/m³) and a specific gravity of 0.6 (nominal). Compatible propane-air replacement should have a heat value of approximately 1450 BTU/cuft (12,467 kcal/m³) and a specific gravity of 1.297."

Natural gas is typically quite a bit cheaper then propane. The reasons are most likely because propane which is derived from petroleum will fluctuate considerably as the price of oil does ( this will affect NG as well). Processing costs will be higher and transportation must be considered. I too must use propane since I have no natural gas lines available. My propane supplier works with us and fills the tank when the price is lowest. We payed about 1.10/gal last month.
 
   / NEW GAS FURNACE #13  
Wingnut, I recall the guy who figured the size of my current LPG furnace telling me the furnace would produce "X" % less heat with LPG than with NG. He said it's the same furnace with different jets. I tried looking for info to verify this, but got lost in the maze. There was a site with conversion charts and wording something along the lines of "Apples, Oranges and Gas"................chim
 
   / NEW GAS FURNACE #14  
<font color=blue>but am kida interested in the 2-stage burner, in theory it sounds good but cannot find anyone that is familiar with them.</font color=blue>

Frank

I have an American Standard with 2-stage burner. I like it when the unit is running on low burner. The heat is not the hot you get with the burner is on high.

To take full advantage of a 2 stage burner get a digital thermostat that will monitor the outside temperature and inside humidity. Here is a Thread that has some links on a Honeywell that I have installed on my furnace. <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=rural&Number=76475&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1#Post76475> Click Here</A>. Check out the rest of this thread there was a lot of information written to it.

Also do a search for HVAC on TBN and on the Internet. You will get so much information your head will spin.

The American Standard also has variable fan and flue motors. This allows the furnace to keep circulating the air at a low speed that will equalize the air though out the house.

If you do not have 90 plus furnace now, one thing I notice was the flue fan makes more noise than anything else on the furnace. Another is you will need a smaller furnace than you currently have. If you can size your furnace properly it should run without ever shutting off on the coldest day that you may have in your area.
 
   / NEW GAS FURNACE #15  
Frank

We've had an LP Heil with 2 stage burner and variable fan for over a year now. It seems to work just fine. The fan kicks on so low and slow that you can't hear it and then slowly ramps up to speed. The low burner setting seems to blow cool air out of all the vents, yet the house never gets cold.

The furnace seems to be pretty energy efficient and with a temp setting of 68 degrees (with a few swings up to 75), I think we used about 250-300 gallons of fuel last year (near as I can recall).

I understand what you're asking, is it worth the $250.00 for the burner or are you just buying bragging rights. My best advice is that it definitely adds to the comfort level, and saves a few bucks on gas, too.

SHF
 
   / NEW GAS FURNACE
  • Thread Starter
#16  
RONH; thanks for the link to the thread, u are right a lot of useful info, i will check it out in more detail later, and thanks again for the input on 2 stage burners
 
   / NEW GAS FURNACE
  • Thread Starter
#17  
SHF: thanks for the info, what i am most concerned about is just what u stated that the furnace seems to blow cool air when in low fire. this unit does not have var.speed motor, it has 2 speed which will be set on low speed the way this one works if the contractor explained it right , is that the furnace starts off on low fire, and after 12 min it is still calling for heat it then goes into high fire, my concern was that even tho it would be using less gas on low fire it would be running longer, and not really warming the house till it kicked into high fire. we too keep our stat at 68 only higher when we have visitors. my min concern was for the air comming out on low fire would feel cool.
 
   / NEW GAS FURNACE #18  
Frank

It does feel cool, but the house always seems to stay the right temperature. The nice thing about cool, is that you don't have to worry about scorching your tootsies on a hot floor vent. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif I've also noticed that the furnace does not seem to leak alot of heat out of the cabinet. Ours is down in the crawl space, which is insulated and has a slab. You'd think the crawl space would warm up, but it doesn't, even when the furnace is running, it maintains a pretty steady temperature. I'm thinking this is a by product of the heat exchanger doing it's job really well and the low burner.

SHF
 
   / NEW GAS FURNACE #19  
I have 2 janitrols.
1 in house is 125kbtu w/CA. hi eff. w/ 3" pvc vent 7 yrs. old.
1 in shop is 80kbtu, no CA yet, hi eff. w/ 2 stage burner and
sealed combustion chamber, it hangs from ceiling 6yrs. old.
Sealed combustion is nice, burn outside air, less heat lose and I think it is safer in garage
because of less chance of fire from vapors(gas, thinner, or anything else).
Only problem has been 2 hot plate ignitors went bad.
First one in house, 3 AM took one out of garage and put in the house,
warranty gave me new one and I bought an extra ($10-15 I think).
I had to put it in last winter, 2 min. job, so this reminds me to get another one now.
As for cool air on low, they have multi-speed fans just change wire combinations,
set fan for slowest speed then air will be warmer.
When I put the CA in had to change fan speed to get the superheat and pressures OK.
 
   / NEW GAS FURNACE
  • Thread Starter
#20  
tim : thanks for the info on janitrol, i still am not sure about the 2 stage, think i might just go with single stage as that has worked well for me in the past.i understand about the fan speed, needing to be on low, and as far as u having to change your ca to high speed that is normal. u need to get air flow across the coil, but sounds like u know about that, if u are talking superheat and pressures u must have some hvac background.
 

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