Proactively replace 1998 furnace that works fine and appears in good condition??

[Andrew S.]

Good evening BP,

I have a move out in one of my units that has a 1998 gas furnace that works great. No visible issues, haven't had any issues during the 5 years I've owned the place. Does anyone proactively replace furnaces or wait until they fail? I was planning to give it an inspection & cleaning.  I can find common parts on Amazon.  I've even thought about purchasing some common spare parts to have on hand.  (igniter, thermostat, ?).  Might hire a local HVAC guy for an inspection as well.

My plan:

-Clean all the dust off the inside (very minimal if any)

-Test amp draw on blower motor vs FLA

-Test capacitor

Furnace info:

Gas furnace, 80% efficiency (the efficiency does not influence my decision)

Manufacturer: International Comfort Products Corp

Model# NTC6100GFA1

Curious if anyone has any other recommendations? Thanks!

[Bill B.]

This unit could easily outlast a replacement you bought today. The house I’m writing from has 13 year old garage door openers and an 8 year old water heater that were “near the end of their life” 8 years ago when I moved in. The furnace is 21 years old as well. (Both Ac units died 2 years ago, this is vegas after all.).

BUT, if I had replaced the water heater, today I would be told that my replacement water heater was “near the end of its life”. 

Wait until the repairs are excess. You’ll forget about it until it breaks 5-10 years from now. And then you’ll have a new unit instead of 1/2 dead one.