conquest 90

[froggy22]

I have a conquest 90 furnace that just doesnt seem to cut the mustard. I notice in the cold snaps that the thing doesnt operate any better. they advertise it being a 2 stage so when it gets colder it kicks in second stage to help keep things warm . It seems to me this is not happening. I also notice the air coming from the furnace doesnt seem all that hot. I mean as long as its not down around zero everything comfy. But when it gets real frigid it just seems not to perform all that well. I just wonder if there are some things I need to look at. The furnace is about 4 years old.

thanks if anyone can shoot me some input.

[energy star]

What size is it? It may be to small.

[qhinspect]

We actually need to know how many BTU's the furnace is, square footage of house, style of house, age of house and do you have a lot of windows. That information is usually a good start.

Just wondering, did you have an oil furnace before you had this gas furnace installed?

[hausdok]

'Cuz I thought you'd want to know:

to, too, two

[energy star]

Nope. Just want to help the guy with the heat prob. But hay, oops, hey, thanks.

[Jim Katen]

Originally posted by froggy22

I have a conquest 90 furnace that just doesnt seem to cut the mustard. I notice in the cold snaps that the thing doesnt operate any better. they advertise it being a 2 stage so when it gets colder it kicks in second stage to help keep things warm . It seems to me this is not happening.

You're misunderstanding how this furnace works. The second stage doesn't "kick in" when it gets cold out. The second stage is just a normal part of a condensing furnace. It's how the furnace manages to reach an efficiency of over 90%. The furnace works the same whether it's 50 degrees outside or -50-degrees outside. It doesn't know the difference. The second stage is always in use.

I also notice the air coming from the furnace doesnt seem all that hot.

Define "all that hot." On the furnace's data plate, it will state the allowable output temperature range. Is the heat rise not within that range?

I mean as long as its not down around zero everything comfy. But when it gets real frigid it just seems not to perform all that well.

In what way? Is the furnace unable to satisfy the thermostat? If it's working as designed, the furnace cycles will get longer and longer as it gets colder and colder outside. Ideally, with a perfectly designed system, the furnace will run constantly, without cycling off, on the coldest day of the year. Most furnaces are grossly oversized and will never do that.

I just wonder if there are some things I need to look at. The furnace is about 4 years old.

thanks if anyone can shoot me some input.

When's the last time you had it serviced?

Changed or cleaned the filter?

Here's the bottom line. If the furnace is holding the indoor temperature a the level dictated by the thermostat, then it's probably working just fine. You have a very efficient furnace there; the penalty you pay for this is that the warm air that it produces isn't particularly warm. Oh, sure, it's warm enough to satisfy the thermostat, but it doesn't always feel warm on the skin. Think about it; the furnace has to raise the indoor temperature from, let's say, 68 degrees to 70 degrees. It can easily do this by blowing 90-degree air out of the registers. Unfortunately, your body is 98 degrees and 90-degree air feels cool when it blows over your skin. Welcome to the world of energy-efficient appliances.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[Tom Raymond]

That is precisely why I have a boiler. There are no drafts with radiant heat.

Tom

[Richard Moore]

What others said. The only other thing I can think of is...Is it an older house with long runs of un-insulated ducts (supply and/or return) in unconditioned areas (crawl, attic)?

[qhinspect]

Originally posted by froggy22

I have a conquest 90 furnace that just doesnt seem to cut the mustard. I notice in the cold snaps that the thing doesnt operate any better. they advertise it being a 2 stage so when it gets colder it kicks in second stage to help keep things warm . It seems to me this is not happening. I also notice the air coming from the furnace doesnt seem all that hot. I mean as long as its not down around zero everything comfy. But when it gets real frigid it just seems not to perform all that well. I just wonder if there are some things I need to look at. The furnace is about 4 years old.

thanks if anyone can shoot me some input.

It sounds like you need to call a different heating company out and ask if the furnace is a 2 stage or just a standard 90 plus.

When it comes to the temperature rise, the information is on the furnace so he will be able to determine easily if the furnace is operating efficiently. Besides that, the only thing I can recommend is making sure your air filter is clean and that you don't have the return registers covered/blocked.

I agree about the "Welcome to the world of energy-efficient appliances." I miss many of the 70% efficient gas force air furnaces that were made before the 1990's. [:-censore Goverment.

[qhinspect]

Originally posted by Tom Raymond

That is precisely why I have a boiler. There are no drafts with radiant heat.

Tom

Too bad there isn't a system that can do the same but cool instead of heat.

[Jim Katen]

Originally posted by qhinspect

Originally posted by Tom Raymond

That is precisely why I have a boiler. There are no drafts with radiant heat.

Tom

Too bad there isn't a system that can do the same but cool instead of heat.

There are several. But you still have to have a separate system that dehumidifies the air to avoid condensation problems.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[energy star]

I think he may have a two stage gas valve.

[Jim Katen]

Originally posted by energy star

I think he may have a two stage gas valve.

You're probably right.

http://www.cstock.biz/staticpages/index.php/Conquest_90

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[Richard Moore]

Interesting! Also seems you can use a normal thermostat or a two-stage one. If using a normal (single stage) thermostat, the furnace runs on low for the first 12 minutes and then, if the thermostat is not satisfied, kicks in the higher burn rate. Operation with a special two-stage thermostat is, ummm, different.

You can read about the two modes of operation at http://www.heatcontroller.com/products/ ... %20IOM.pdf , pages 39 and 40.

So I wonder what thermostat Froggy has and if he knows about the 12 minute delay if it's an ordinary one. And, of course, he may actually have a controller problem of some sort.