My contractor had planned on using the Hydron Module (water to water) heat pump for our retrofit project.  He had used Hydron Module for many years and said "I've been using Hydron Module heat pumps for 9 years and have been happy for the most part, dealing with a smallish company within a Hudderite Colony in South Dakota, making a good product.   The Colony had a work ethic different from the standard found in large industry " He recently contacted me to say he was no longer going to buy a Hydron Module as he is no longer happy with the sales and support since they have been bought by a larger company (Enertech).

He is now suggesting we go with a HP from Geofurnace Manufacturing Inc

He told me that the company has only been around since June 2008, but that it is run/owned by someone he has worked with and this person also consulted initially for Hydron.

I told him that my concerns were that this is a new company with no track record.  I worry about long term support for this product and being a guinea pig for a new product (ie "beta" tester).

Anyone ever heard of Georfurnace Manufacturing?  My understanding is that there is/was another "Geofurnace" but this is a different company.

BM

Sorry Bartman, but I know nothing about Geofurnace.

However I use Hydron as my brand of choice. I have been very happy with the service and product.

Your concerns are valid about a new product and new company.

It wouldn't surprise me if the units are made by another company and GeoFurnace just puts their name on the units. Hard to say really.

Not sure what to recommend here.

Dewayne,

Have you noticed any difference in the responsiveness of the Hydron Module service and support since it was bought out by Enertech/Geocomfort?

Bart

I became a Hydron dealer about the same time as the change in ownership. I have met with the top management of Hydron several times and have been very impressed with their integrity, dedication to the customer and their enthusiasm for the industry. They make a great product.

Is your contractor giving you a price adjustment for switching brands?

The cost to me will be the same.  But on the surface the Geofurnace (according to him) will be better.  Two stage vs. the one stage he quoted me, "better" components, and a longer warranty.  I don't want to start sounding like an advertisement, but he did explain this stuff in detail.

BM

How much faith do you have in the contractor? He is the one who will need to perform the warranty work on the unit.

100% (well maybe 98%) confidence. We've worked together on previous projects for me.

He did tell me that most HP manufacturers just source out standard parts and components and that if worse comes to worse, we could get replacements from the original supplier. 

He is right about that.

The contractor's knowledge and commitment is more important than brand choice, and yes, many of the components such as blowers, contactors, compressors, etc all come from same or very limited number of manufacturers.

Well I don't know about one supplier, but I do know that at least three different companies put there own label on Geothermal system made by Climate Master, there was at least one that rebranded Water Furance, I believe Florida Heat pumps make there own systems, I'm not aware of any rebranding.

I just now surfed GeoFurnace website for a few minutes - I noticed a number of typographical errors and not much in the way of good hard data such as specifications, efficiencies, capacities or ARI certifications. Both are bad signs. No links or PDFs of brochures or other documentation, either.

I don't think they are relabeled CM of WF, but I'm far from certain of that opinion.

DeWayne - you know HydronModule - maybe GeoFurnace is relabeling those - have a look and let us know what you think.

GeoComfort is a private label Hydron.

It is the only one that I know of.

My advice would be to make sure that it has nothing to do with the previous Canadian made Geofurnace. Boy did we get bit by that bill of goods. They went bankrupt and disappeared. They had multiple compressor failures, and we had to stand behind it ourselves. In fact, it killed the geothermal program we had going at the time. Anyway, the point is that you make sure that it's not the same company or people that were involved there.

Good Luck.

Features and location do sound a tad like Hydron. But I yeild to Dewayne on that one.
Clark reiterates the importance of the dealer when he points out that they stood behind a product when manufacturer bailed.
I do like the notion of a heating dominated climate pump.
TG, Geo Excel is a re labled FHP
J

I believe that the GeoFurnace is actual OEM or designed by a Canadian company called 'Northern Heat Pump' (NHP).  Looking at the only two pictures of a GeoFurnace Water-Air HP, the unit is not a Hydron design.  It looks like a Northern Heat Pump ForcAir 2 unit.  Here is the link to NHP's 2008 U.S. product catalog:

http://www.northernheatpump.com/documents/NHP%202008%20US%20Product%20Catalog.pdf

I also found the following address at the 'The Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration News'  (HVAC Contrator's magazine publisher) website under Manufacturer Listings.  Northern Heat Pump and GeoFurnace is using the same address and telephone numbers.

Source: http://www.achrnews.com/thedirectory/results/listing?code=171&company=2415194&page=1&state=SD
Company Information:
Name:     Northern Heat Pump Company
Address:     605 4th St. S.E.
DeSmet, SD 57231
UNITED STATES
Phone:     (605) 854-9205
Website:     www.geofurnace.net
Company Description
Manufacturer of ground source heat pumps.


Source: http://www.geofurnacemfg.com
GeoFurnace Manufacturing Inc.
De Smet, SD 57231
P: 605.854.9205
F: 605.854.9285
geofurnacemfg.com


Source: http://www.northernheatpump.com/contact.cfmrchased
Northern Heat Pump
3 - 201 South Railway Ave
Winkler, Manitoba, Canada
R6W 1J9
ph. 1.204.325.9772
fax. 1.204.325.4954
[email protected]


Dewayne,  Have you seen any changes with Hydron Module since Enertech purchased Hydron?  Are there any differences between the GeoComfort HP vs the Hydron HP? 

I hope this helps you out. 

Bob Gausman
Madison, VA

Some minor improvements have been made since the purchase. 

The Hydron units have a stainless steel cabinet, GeoComfort as a painted steel cabinet is the biggest difference.

There were several other differences mentioned in the sales meeting,  but I can't recall them right now.

Hey Bob, thanks for the research.  I will ask my contractor if he knows anything about the NHP issue.  In the meantime, he sent me the manual for the water-->water HP he wil be using form Geofurnace.  Much more in the way of specs and other info.  Interestingly, the WW doesn't look  or have specs much like the NHP.  Here is a link to the manual in case anyone is interested: http://www.mediafire.com/?hj4iczjmycn

Thaks everyone for all their help!

BM

Who sells the re-branded waterfurnace units?

Some time ago I convinced myself that geothermaldyi.com / Terrasource resells Waterfurnace. Since then I've revisited their site and that is no longer clear to me - I guess they removed specific product info or I've forgotten how to find it.

Geocomfort used to but not any more.