Heater: Save Money/ Furnace Issue/ Yearly Cleaning

I had the city out last year and they did an emissions test and full inspection on my furnace. Yes this ting is old but its a goodie! I have been servicing my furnace yearly since I purchased this place, and have had to service others ( Parents/ Friends ect... Because lets face it service calls are expensive! I'm not gonna take you threw all the hard stuff, just a few simple steps to keep you going or helping to diagnose some simple issues.

This year my furnace was being temperamental. The burner would turn on then shut down. The fan would continue to blow cool/ cold air all night and it would not get above 63 degrees.

So off to the mechanical room I go! These are my steps to resolving my issues and something I do every winter just to keep this old gal running!

PARDON THE IMAGE QUALITY: ALL IMAGES WHERE TAKEN HANDHELD, NO TRIPOD AT HIGH ISO AND NO FLASH.

Simple Step Turn the thermostat to "off" then shut the furnace off. Thus can be done with a switch usually located on one of the sides of the furnace its self. If this is not available shutting the power off at the breaker box will work as well.

Take off all the panels In this case 2 panels. The upper panel usually has the electronics and the burners/ manifold / exhaust fan in it. The lower usually has access to some electronics / cage fan or blower.

Note the switch in the lower panel. This will shut down the furnace and prevent ignition if working properly.

This unit has a simple code system. My code was blinking telling me my system was locked out. So first things first. CLEAN!

I know this sounds stupid but just keeping your unit clean will help more than you can imaging. While your doing this look for loose wires and anything else that may be of concern.

Being this has happened in the past I cleaned and immediately went to the flame sensor. This sensor is also a great thing to clean yearly. Carbon can build up on this sensor and cause all sorts of issues.

While your locating the flame sensor, look on both sides of the shelf above the manifold. There are 2 little sensors that have 2 wires coming out of them. Mine Just so happens to be in front of the flame sensor. These are Roll Out Switches. Make sure they are pressed in. If they are not, Press the button until they click to reset.

The flame sensor will be hanging below the manifold shelf and in front of a burner.

Now remove the flame sensor. This is simple a screwdriver or in my case a multitool is more than enough. Simply unscrew.

The flame sensor should be sanded with ultra fine emery cloth... Your wife's/ girlfriends/ sisters emery board will also work.

Sand the carbon off until it is nice and shiny. ( Grey Color Is Carbon)

Reinstall.

At this step flip on the switch and the thermostat. Then install lower panel. This will depress the safety switch and burners should cycle then fire.

Watch this closely.

Make sure the electronic ignition is clicking on and burners ignite within about 10 seconds.

The flame at this point shod be mostly blue with but still have an orange glow.

The igniter should turn off shortly after burners fire.

Flame should now be blue and maintain that color. A few random blips of orange is not a concern.

While this is running simply do a visual to make sure everything just looks okay.

Sometimes furnaces will need to cycle multiple times. Mine needed to once. Threw a roll out high limit code then shut off and re-fired in normal operation.

After the cycle has run I like to turn the system off one more time for a few minutes.

The furnace will again fire normally, shut off then fire again with no codes. if this happens put the panels back on and enjoy no e warm air worry free.

DON'T FORGET TO CHECK/ CHANGE YOUR FILTER IF NEEDED. THIS IS ALSO A GOOD TIME TO GET IN YHE HABIT OF AND CHANGE THOES SMOKE BATTERIES IN YOUR SMOKE ALARM AND CARBON MONOXIDE DEFECTORS!

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