Originally Posted By: waksell
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Can someone please tell me the of life expectancy of a forced air, oil furnace?
I remember reading somewhere 15-20 years. That seams awful low.
Thanks, Wes
Can someone please tell me the of life expectancy of a forced air, oil furnace?
I remember reading somewhere 15-20 years. That seams awful low.
Thanks, Wes
Originally Posted By: bking
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I read 18-20 yr. somewhere.
The reason is the lack of proper maintenance and also improper installations.
I am finding many homeowners with maintenance contracts that are getting driveby service techs.
Originally Posted By: lkage
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20 to 30 years is what AHIT teaches.
–
“I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn’t learn something from him.”
Galileo Galilei
Originally Posted By: jwilliams4
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It depends on the quality of manufacture…some makers have
two or more models each year of varying grades. They also
warrant them for varying periods.
As reported above, care and feeding plays a big part of the unit's
life, but don't ever try to estimate how long a furnace is going to
last...there are way too many variables(whatever those are).
--
"not just an inspection, but an education"
Originally Posted By: dandersen
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One to 50 years.
I hate to ask, but what is the relevancy of this information in your home inspection report?
Is this something like the 21 year-old home inspector versus the 62-year-old home inspector? 
Originally Posted By: pbolliger
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1-50 is great…
1 year if it is incorrectly installed and the home owner dies from CO poisoning / house burns down.
50 years if the install is perfect, atmospherics, house, location, brand, use, perfect and no hazards ever encountered.
Impossible to estimate and I will never guess on this. Standard accepted industry rating, fine with me . This is for the clients false sense of security and we pay for that later... "The home inspector said 20 year...but but but. "
Check your new car tires and see what they tell you about wear??
Originally Posted By: rwills
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Quote:“I hate to ask, but what is the relevancy of this information in your home inspection report?”
I hate to ask but why do so many reply to questions here with questions? 
--
Bob Wills - MAB Chairman
BW Inspection Services
Warminster, Pa.
http://www.bwinspections.com
Originally Posted By: mboyett
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Life_Expectancies1.PDF )
–
Mike Boyett
Capital City Inspections
Austin, Tx
www.capcityinspections.com
Originally Posted By: dandersen
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| Quote: |
| I hate to ask but why do so many reply to questions here with questions? |
It helps in responding to the question.
If someone wants to know how old the unit is, I would like to get information when I give information!
This section of the BB seems to be a non-stop quest for the age of the equipment. I have yet to figure what this age requirement is all about. I'm still looking for the answer. Therfore, question the question.
Does someone have my answer?
Originally Posted By: lkage
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| dandersen wrote: |
| If someone wants to know how old the unit is, I would like to get information when I give information!
This section of the BB seems to be a non-stop quest for the age of the equipment. I have yet to figure what this age requirement is all about. I'm still looking for the answer. Therfore, question the question. Does someone have my answer? |
I like to help my client plan, as best I can, for deferred cost items: Items that have reached or are reaching their life expectancy or show signs that they may require repair or replacement any time during the next five years.
--
"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him."
Galileo Galilei
Originally Posted By: rwills
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Dave,
Sorry I just read it the wrong way. It was the way your question was posed that puzzled me. Asking about the relevancy as if there could be none, coupled with the question " Is this something like the 21 year-old home inspector versus the 62-year-old home inspector?
I would venture to say that many inspectors include approx age estimates (when available), and/or life expectancy ranges in their reports. A lot of HI software include this in their boilerplates as part of HI questions. There are tons of threads here with information regarding age of various components including charts etc . 
--
Bob Wills - MAB Chairman
BW Inspection Services
Warminster, Pa.
http://www.bwinspections.com
Originally Posted By: dandersen
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O.K. , So a lot of this is from report programs?
I made my own reporting program.
There are so many questions regarding age. I'm thinking I missed the boat on something there.
Personally, I verbally "Age" the unit, but unless it's a mess, I don't put the units date of birth in the report. I have never been right in predicting the life of mechanical equipment (when I was in the business). If I could, I guess I would be too rich to be a Home Inspector! 
Originally Posted By: rwills
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Dave wrote:“I have never been right in predicting the life of mechanical equipment (when I was in the business).”
Maybe this is where you're missing the proverbial boat you mentioned. I'm not saying I predict the life of any units in my report and anyone who does is surely headed for the lawyers office sooner or later.
Most, if not all, of my clients want some kind of idea of the age and condition of say a heating unit. Giving them the mfg date gives them an idea of the physical age of the unit. Telling them the average life expectancy under normal maintenance conditions gives them an idea or a basis to make an informed decision. A home with a 30 year old heater versus an 8 year old heater that's been maintained the same gives them something tangible to help deciding on a home purchase.
--
Bob Wills - MAB Chairman
BW Inspection Services
Warminster, Pa.
http://www.bwinspections.com
Originally Posted By: mcyr
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When I bought my house that I am now in 1988, I inspected the house myself, and one of the comments to the Real Estate Agent was that the house was 26 years old and appeared to have the original boiler "Utica" which I new was no later manufactured and commented that since there were no evidence of cleaning tags attached to the furnace indicating maintenance, I said that the boiler was on it's last leg and used that to drop the price down.
A year later, the boiler sections breached and had to replace it.
Sometimes it is obvious as to how old it is, and sometimes it is not.
Don't guess at how old it is or how long it will survive. No one knows that and no one can estimate how long it will last.
Report the condition it is at at the time of the inspection and you have done your job.
You can go further and take the Serial numbers and establish the manufactured date. This does not tell you the condition.
I would never put myself on the line as to how long a boiler would last on an inspection.
Marcel