Somethings wrong. That furnace should be more than enough. It is well within specs for your square footage and the fact that your home is newer, therefore well insulated.
Better call a service technician to look at it and not try to sell you a new one.
2006-12-06 10:23:40
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answer #1
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answered by bob j 3
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A 75,000 btu furnace should heat your home properly, providing the ducts are sized correctly and you have an adequate amount of return air ducts.
I'm assuming you have a 2.5 ton central air. That means there should be about 10 return air ducts in the house. Count them and see how many are located upstairs. One per bedroom will make your central air work better Make sure they are not blocked with furniture. A 2 ton central air is to small for your house.
Remember that warm air rises and cold air does not. The blower on your furnace moves the cool air in the warm months thru the ducts (called supplies) but the air does not move around each room. Ceiling fans really help move the air. If no ceiling fans, use regular ones.
The ducts should be 6-7" in diameter. If smaller, you will not get the proper amont of air moving. Undersized and blocked return air supplies are often the cause of improper heating and cooling.
Duncan Brand is not a real good brand of furnace, however it should still do the job and last for 10 more years. Make sure the filters are cleaned and changed every ohter month, summer and winter.
Good luck!
2006-12-10 18:23:42
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answer #2
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answered by Anonymous
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Several others have said this, and I agree: That furnace should be plenty big.
The problem seems to be airflow, that it's just not getting distributed.
Once you are sure that your filter is ok, and the fan itself is ok you can start to "balance" your system.
Ok, start by opening all the registers and all the volume dampers. The volume dampers are in the ductwork, near the furnace...they are "valves" that you can set to lower the volume in different runs of ducting. Most systems have them, but you might not. Look for metal handles about 3" long that are on the sides of the duct. The shaft the handle is on is like a flattened rod...so it can be grabbed with a pair of pliers...and when the flat part is perpendicular to the duct, it's closed. Experiment a bit...they are simple things.
Now, with the heat on high...like 80F...start closing down the areas that are getting warm the fastest. You will notice when you adjust the flow at the registers, that they will make a lot of noise. That's where the volume dampers come in. Close the dampers associated with that register and the noise will go down.
With some adjusting, always keeping in mind the idea of closing down the areas with too much flow will divert more flow into the other areas, you should be able to easily reach all the areas of the house.
The area with the thermostat is real important...you want to balance the air so that area gets warmed up at the same speed as the areas further away from the furnace.
If you still don't have enough airflow, see if the fan motor can be re-wired to speed it up. Many fans have multiple speeds, depending on what combination of wires is used.
The tech that said you need a new furnace is wrong.
2006-12-06 12:49:34
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answer #3
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answered by roadlessgraveled 4
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Dear Nina J,
35,000 BTU should heat your 1,280 sq ft home. I have never heard of a Duncan furnace and could not find any reference online. Three things I can think of that may involved with your problem:
1. Inproper operation of the blower fan in your furnace. Typically these are squirrel cage fans. The motor turning the fan may not be working properly. Sometimes there is a fan belt drive from the motor to the fan, that belt may be worn and slipping. The fan may be clogged with dirt/dust or the drive shaft of the fan may be slipping. Have a trusted technician check the operation and condition of the motor and blower fan.
2. Make sure your filter is clean and installed in the proper orientation. There should be an arrow showing which way the air should flow.
3. Sometimes the higher end duct systems have valves in them so they can be adjusted to send custom amounts of heat/cooling to various rooms. Check the settings of these valves found on the smaller ducts just before the room vents, if your system has them. Also look at your vents, they too have an adjustment. Make sure they are open where you want more air.
That's a start. I disagree with the technician that said you need a bigger furnace; he is either incompetent or is trying to gouge you. I would say get another opinion. Good luck.
2006-12-06 10:44:45
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answer #4
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answered by Bullwinkle 4
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To start with, 75,000 btu's should be plenty for a 1,280 S.F. home, if the home is only 4 years old.
You should have plenty of insulation, because the code would have called for it.
You should have high effeiciency windows.
Plus most states now hold a building contractor reliable for poor workmanship for ten years on a new home.
I would guess you bought the home new so more than likely the comtractor is responsible. I would check with a lawyer about that before I spent a dime on it.
I would think you have one of the following problems, which most have already been stated by the good people on this site.
I would check them in this order.
1:: filter ,,,, As had been said
2:: flaps in ducks and open registers,,,,as has been said
3:: dirty ducts ,,,, there should only be two screws holding the registers on. Remove a couple of the and run your hand in them to check for dirt build up.
4;; Check with the inspectors office about the size ducts required for the lay out of your home and the size blower required for the heating system. The best I can remember you need something like 2 x the air flow for central air as you do for the heating system and it sounds like the blower is too small for either if none of the above things are at fault.
One last thing is it is hard to picture a new two story home that only has 1,280 SF but I know they build some like that for small lots etc., but I am wondering if you have the footage wrong.
Please don't let me insult your inteligence because that is not my intenions, but I am wondering if it isn't 2,280 sf. It's a simple mistake people make that don't work in these fields and don't know a lot about homes. I added a room on one ladies home that swore she had a 1,000 sf home. It was 28' x 52' which was something over 1,400 sf. 1,456 I think.
But anyway, 75,000 btu's should be plenty big enough for 1,280 but if it does turn out to be 2,280 sf, it would be at the limit of the heaters capacity to heat it without burning itself out prematurally.
But as I said earlier, check with an attorney to see if the contractor isn't responsible for doing shoddy work.
A 1,280 sf two story would be less than a 26 foot square.
2006-12-12 23:12:44
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answer #5
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answered by dennis_phillips7 3
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First, I agree that something is wrong. A couple of things you can check yourself having to do with the flow through the ductwork. Low flow rates would not allow the big furnace to transfer the 75000 btu's to the air.
1) Has your furnace filter been changed recently.
2) Are all of your air supply grids open?
3) Are all of the ducts open? To determine this go to the furnace and follow all of the discharge ducts from the top of the furnace. You should see arrows on the dampers that could cut off the flow of air to the duct. For the time being I'd just make sure they were all wide open. They are open when the arrow points straight down the duct in the direction of flow.
Another Issue) If you live in dusty area, or even if you live in a relatively clean area, 4 years is adequate time to lay down a lot of dust in the ductwork that could reduce the flow of air.
2006-12-06 10:38:48
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answer #6
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answered by Coach 3
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HOW ABOUT IT'S A "DUCANE" FURNACE? TRY AND CHECK THINGS OUT WITH A NEIGHBOR FOR WHAT HAS BEEN THEIR EXPERIENCE FIRST. IF YOU ARE IN A SUBDIVISION AND THEY HAVE A SIMILAR HOUSE AND FURNACE, DO THEY HAVE ANY PROBLEMS HEATING THEIR HOUSE? I WOULD FIRST SUSPECT A DISCONNECTED DUCT. YOU MAY BE TRYING TO HEAT YOUR ATTIC OR WHATEVER. IF YOU(OR YOUR NEIGHBOR) CAN'T SEE ANYTHING WRONG AFTER COMPARING THEN IT IS TIME TO START COMPLAINING TO THE PEOPLE WHO INSTALLED THE A/C ON THIS "TOO SMALL" FURNACE. THE PLACE YOU MAY END UP IS AT THE CITY OR STATE LICENSING DEPT WITH YOUR COMPLAINT. WHETHER THEY HAVE OR DO NOT HAVE A LICENSE THE A/C INSTALLER DOES NOT WANT YOU TO GO THERE. MAKE SURE YOU KEEP A GOOD LOG OF YOUR ACTIONS AND PHONE CALLS AND GET A WRITTEN INVOICE FROM THE INSTALLERS EVEN IF IT IS "NO CHARGE". MAKE SURE IT TELLS WHAT THEY DETERMINED WRONG AND WHAT THEY DID.
2006-12-11 12:42:55
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answer #7
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answered by Anonymous
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that btu is MORE THAN ENOUGH. What you need to consider is a) do you have pets? b) how many vents? c) vents open?
make sure only vents in areas that you can maintain heat are open, dont open vents near doors that are constantly being opened, that is wasted heat. Also if you have pets, and they shed, check to make sure your ducts are clean, my parents had theirs cleaned out after 25 years of having one cat, and increased air flow by 66%....if you have a couple of pets you can get it dirty in just 4-5 years ...
some rooms just happen to have poor air flow..why? height of venting runs etc, they dont have enough power from the fan to blow the heat...duct work guys often install powered fans half way up to blow from main floor to upper floor ....even though heat rises...if it takes twists and turns you wont get proper flow
also change the lint filter in the main unit i would try this first if you havent..it could be that the furnace cranks out lots of heat but the internal fan is just too wimpy...or it is stuck on low speed for some reason (thermostat setting or improper wiring)
2006-12-06 12:55:43
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answer #8
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answered by siraraya 2
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75,000 is pretty small for a house. It depends on how well insulated you are too. Also it depends on your climate. If you are in Northern Minnesota, then it is real small. I think most houses in the Mid-west run around 200,000. I think that would be more the size you need. The newer furnaces are pretty efficient so what you spend to have one installed could be added in as a saving in your heating bill.
2006-12-06 10:47:14
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answer #9
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answered by Thomas S 6
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I believe that should be big enough for your home. Especially in a house that is only 4 years old. Sometimes a booster blower is needed in the duct-work going to the upstairs, it takes a lot to get air moving that far. I would definitely get another opinion from a reputable service company!
Anyway, have a merry Christmas!!
2006-12-06 18:08:46
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answer #10
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answered by Jay H 2
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