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Furnace Heat Exchanger Repair
QUESTION:I have a natural gas forced air furnace, about 26 years old. It was just
checked and the heat exchanger was found to have a couple of cracks in it.
The HVAC shop is checking to see if 1) They can find a replacement, and 2)
they're going to quote me on a new furnace. The existing furnace is called
Weather King, by Dearborn. From what I can tell, from the Dearborn Stove
Company. the repairman said it looked similar to a Rheem furnace in general
design, but the heat exchanger was slightly different.
Is there any way to repair a cracked heat exchanger? Does anyone know if a
heat exchanger for this vintage of furnace is likely to be available? Can
anyone ballpark guess the cost I might be looking at for the replacement of a
heat exchanger? How about for a new furnace? I think the existing furnace
is about 120,000 BTU.
ANSWER: If it's a Dearborn.....forget it......at 26 years old, you need a new unit.
Trust me on this...You can repair a cracked heat exchanger by welding, but
you will be throwing good money away, because the metal is probably thinning
out elswhere. 'Cracked' is not exactly accurate, "burned through" is
probably most accurate. You will end up with 'cracks' down the road,
probably sooner than later, even after the repair. Your absolute best bet
is to get a new furnace.
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