What To Look Out For When Inspecting The Furnace

To be certain that your furnace is in top working condition, you should regularly inspect it. If this is the first time you are doing it, you might wonder whether you should look out for it in your inspection, right?

Well, there are plenty of things you should consider. Which are these things? Here they are as given by furnace repair service providers:

Check the air filters

Every furnace has an air filter that significantly determines the air quality getting into the furnace and circulating in the house.

When the air filter is dirty, your furnace fails to function efficiently and increases the chances of your unit breaking down.

To be certain that your unit isn’t going to break down soon in the middle of a cold night, you should check the air filters and ensure that they are in top working condition.

Most air filters will be dirty, but if yours are worn out or have any other damage, it would be wise to replace them.

When buying new units, buy high-quality ones that will withstand the test of time.

Heat exchanger

The heat exchanger is a tube-shaped metal structure inside the furnace that contains air and water, that heats up during operation. Due to old age, the tubes get rusty or warped, leading to reduced heating efficiency, not to mention the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

You should inspect the heat exchanger and replace it if damaged or has any other problem.

Ignition system

If you have a more recent unit, it most likely has an electric igniter that doesn’t require constant flame and pilot light. The most popular type of electric system is the hot surface igniter, where the heat from the filament causes natural gas to ignite when electricity passes through it to complete the combustion process.

You need to inspect the ignition system and if you can see any abnormality, let an experienced professional know about it, as chances are that fixing it will be out of your skill level.

Electric controls

Check your controls and ensure that the current and voltage are safely flowing between the thermostat within the safety levels.

Check all the connections for any issues they might be having and if there is an issue, fix it before it causes an electrical short circuit or power disruption that can lead to an injury or even expensive repair work.

Exhaust system

The exhaust system vents out the harmful gases, and you need to keep a close eye on it to ensure that there are no obstructions in the path leading to where the gas needs to go.

You should note that if there are any obstructions, carbon monoxide and other harmful gases won’t leave your house, which increases the chances of you and your family inhaling these gases. You don’t want this to happen to you, do you?

To eliminate the risk, confirm if there are obstructions and if present, get rid of them. If they are a problem to remove, ask an experienced contractor to help you out.

Gas pressure

Do you have a gas-powered furnace? You should confirm that the gas pressure is high enough to keep your appliance running.

A too high or too low pressure reduces the unit’s efficiency, so confirm that your unit is running at optimum pressure.

A good way to confirm that the pressure is right is to turn off all the appliances in your home using natural gas then check the reading on the gauge at your meter box using a gas detector pen.

What should you do when you identify a problem?

If you have been taking good care of your appliance, you will rarely have a problem, but if you identify a problem, gauge the extent of the problem and find out the best way to fix it.

If the problem is minor, you can fix it yourself, but if extensive, let experienced furnace service Long Island professionals fix it. When hiring professionals, don’t hire just any other contractor—take your time and hire those that have handled similar cases before.

You don’t want quarks causing more problems than were originally there, do you?

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