Is my HVAC guy right - or just trying to sell me a new unit?

I had my 12-year-old furnace serviced last week, and the tech showed me a crack in the heat exchanger with his camera. He said it was a safety hazard and I need a whole new system for $4,800. But my neighbor had his unit looked at by the same company and they told him the exact same thing, and his furnace was only 8 years old. Now I'm wondering if this is a real safety issue or just a sales pitch. Anyone else run into this with their local HVAC companies?

2 comments

2 Comments

sethtorres13d ago

Had a similar run-in with my HVAC guy last year. He showed me what looked like a hairline crack on the camera, but when I got a second opinion from a smaller company, they said it was just surface rust and not a real safety issue. The fact that they pulled the exact same story on your neighbor who has a newer unit is a huge red flag. Did you ask if they could leak test the heat exchanger or show you actual carbon monoxide readings in your house?

nancy39113d ago

Idk, I'm not so sure it's that clear cut. A lot of those camera inspections can be misleading, sure, but it's also possible the second opinion guy just didn't want to deal with a tricky job or didn't have the right tools. I had a friend who ignored a similar warning from a big company, then a year later their furnace actually started leaking carbon monoxide, like the detectors were going off and everything. Maybe it's just me but I'd rather pay for a dye test or a combustion analysis myself before writing it all off as a scam.