Home mechanical; just need some ideas

simple_gifts

simple_gifts

Joined
Jul 26, 2004
Messages
14,115
Location
New Bri-en, CT
Recently moved to a condo in Feb and probably have to do some mechanical upgrades based on the inspection report and subsequent issues.

Forced HA Furnace = NG Lennox Signature (maybe 13 years old)
AC = York; 30+ years old
Electric HW; AO Smith; 13 years old; HOA requires "under warranty" Recently stopped making HW.
Electric Panel "Challenger" (needs replacement because model is deemed not suitable)

mech.jpeg


Curious what BITOG'rs would do in this circumstance. (broken HW, 30+ year old AC) I was thinking replace the AC with a heat pump (AC is on roof 5 stories up) and use the Lennox as a backup or just get rid of it? NG prices going down IIRC. Replace the HW heater with an on demand gas? ( I assume this requires a separate vent from the furnace?)

This mechanical closet is on the second floor of the unit and basically is behind a door in "living space" so I am concerned about using a Hybrid electric hot water heater. Does anyone have one and how much noise does it make. When the HW heater was working i would basically hear the thermostat click on so the idea of having a compressor behind a wooden door is concerning.

Just looking for what BITOGs experienced with the stuff would do in this circumstance. Probably going to make a service call on the HW heater. Could be just the thermostat.

-T
 
You need to compare your gas and electric rates to start...that will be important for the heat question and whether or not the water heater should go to gas too. A 13 year furnace has plenty of life left assuming it's been properly maintained.
 
Can you DIY? An electric water heater from Home Depot is under $500. Even if not, you can buy it and have it there ready to install and hire somebody for the hookup for $100-$150. If you call a plumber they will charge you $500-$1000 for the install plus mark up the heater.

Why is the electric panel unsuitable if it's working fine? Same for the other things. If it ain't broke don't fix it.
 
Based on the PVC exhaust pipe on the Lennox furnace, that is a high efficiency (95%+) condensing unit. As such, replacing it really won't buy you any energy savings. I agree with the other posts that recommend keeping the furnace and A/C unit until they fail. Newer HVAC systems will not have the same longevity as the older stuff.

If you are handy with a multi-meter and basic electrical testing, you can probably repair the water heater by changing out one or both heater elements. If both elements are good, it is probably a bad thermostat. If you opt to replace the water heater due to its age, do yourself a favor and get an identical A.O. Smith unit from Lowe's instead of the Rheem unit from Home Depot. The copper lines will line up perfectly with the A.O. Smith replacement, but not with the Rheem unit.

 
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Hybrid HW units aren't terribly loud, but having it sharing your living space means that it will be pulling the heat from your heated spaces, meaning you'd have to pump more heat into them from the furnace in the wintertime. In the summer it would be a winner since you'd already be trying to move the heat in your living space elsewhere.
 
The best place for a hybrid water heater is in someone’s garage. Yes they make noise. It’s important to understand how they work. They extract heat from the surrounding air and actually the air in that room will become cooler. Works great in a garage in Georgia because it will end up cooling the garage. It sucks if it’s in a small enclosed space. You wouldn't get the efficiency from it. A simple electric water heater would be best.
 
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I see the furnace is natural gas. We need to see the price of natural gas and the price of electricity. Will you be getting direct bills for each? You might want to find out what the HOA has been recommending. With the old AC unit they might be recommending tearing out your gas furnace and the AC unit and putting a heat pump system in.
 
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GMFan said:
I believe you can just replace the Challenger circuit breakers with a Cutler-Hammer / Eaton CH circuit breaker and keep the panel.
Click to expand...

If anything you'd have to use a type BR breaker NOT a type CH breaker, they are different. (CH breakers are tan handle and 3/4" wide, not 1" wide).
 
zzyzzx said:
I wouldn't replace anything that wasn't actually broken. That, and if I understand you correctly, your HOA requires you to throw away a perfectly good water heater???
Click to expand...
I’ll bet it stems from water heaters letting go and leaking. In a multi story condo that is absolutely fatal. Their solution is to have a simple age limit.
 
Snagglefoot said:
I’ll bet it stems from water heaters letting go and leaking. In a multi story condo that is absolutely fatal. Their solution is to have a simple age limit.
Click to expand...
This. I have seen insurance claim from a condo I bid on and an up-stair water heater leak can get you a 100k-200k bill. I once worked in an office of a major tech company with a 2/F water heater leak. Not sure what happened but somehow it burst and flooded an entire 1/F wing, and it wiped out a lab, caused about 30 people to relocate to a different lab and office, and probably costed that tech company 2M in repair and lost productivity (in condo it would be lost rents or temp housing). I can see their insurance policy mandate replacement past warranty.

Since warranty is a concern I'd check if I will ever make my money back with a heat pump water heater vs electric over the warranty life. Check the current electric bill and see how much is used in between different hours and whether you use that much hot water, to see if it will recoup the investment.
 
simple_gifts said:
Recently moved to a condo in Feb and probably have to do some mechanical upgrades based on the inspection report and subsequent issues.

Forced HA Furnace = NG Lennox Signature (maybe 13 years old)
AC = York; 30+ years old
Electric HW; AO Smith; 13 years old; HOA requires "under warranty" Recently stopped making HW.
Electric Panel "Challenger" (needs replacement because model is deemed not suitable)

View attachment 180635

Curious what BITOG'rs would do in this circumstance. (broken HW, 30+ year old AC) I was thinking replace the AC with a heat pump (AC is on roof 5 stories up) and use the Lennox as a backup or just get rid of it? NG prices going down IIRC. Replace the HW heater with an on demand gas? ( I assume this requires a separate vent from the furnace?)

This mechanical closet is on the second floor of the unit and basically is behind a door in "living space" so I am concerned about using a Hybrid electric hot water heater. Does anyone have one and how much noise does it make. When the HW heater was working i would basically hear the thermostat click on so the idea of having a compressor behind a wooden door is concerning.

Just looking for what BITOGs experienced with the stuff would do in this circumstance. Probably going to make a service call on the HW heater. Could be just the thermostat.

-T
Click to expand...

Noise has been a constant complaint with HP HW heaters.

You can easily stack a HP on top of your gas furnace and run the gas as backup. Afterall a HP is just an Air Conditioner which works in both directions. ;)

www.energyvanguard.com

The Easy Way to Switch to a Heat Pump - Energy Vanguard

Ready to switch to a heat pump but are worried about not having a furnace? You can have both with a dual fuel heat pump.
www.energyvanguard.com www.energyvanguard.com

Nice heater btw..looks like it's sealed combustion which is good for energy efficiency.
 
zzyzzx said:
Using that reasoning, do they also ban water lines to refrigerators?
Click to expand...
The condo my inlaw lives in had a past claim that cost 80k because of that waterline leak (slowly) and rotten the wood beam under the kitchen floor. They had to gut out the kitchen floor and replace that beam, and the cabinets above, and the counter top, living cost, moving cost, etc.
 
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