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Photograph of rusty, unsafe gas furnace (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com Heating System Repair FAQs

Index to Building Heating System Q&A

Heating system installation, repair, maintenance questions & answers:

Q&A on how to inspect, diagnose & repair a heating system furnace, boiler, electric heat, heat pump, or other heating equipment.

These heating system articles answer questions about all types of building heating systems and describe how to inspect, diagnose, and repair heating system problems, how to cut heating bills, and heating system safety, heating system efficiency and heating trouble-shooting advice.

Page top: severe rust on this gas furnace means that the heater may be unsafe, risking combustion gas leakage and carbon monoxide hazards for the building occupants.

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Heating System Inspection Methods, Diagnosis, Safety, Repairs

Gas furnace schematic (C) Carson Dunlop AssociatesThese Q&As were posted originally

at HEATING SYSTEMS- home. In these heating system articles we explain how to inspect and detect all defects and hazards on heating systems, boilers, furnaces, and other equipment.

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Below is our index to reader Q&A about troubleshooting & repairing building heating systems and their controls.

Article Index

 

Suburban RV gas heater won't stay lit

i have a Suburban RV furnace that wont stay lit. It new right out of the box and its doing the same thing old one was. lights and then goes out 3 times then lockout.reset and it does it again.ive decided it has to be a gas problem. I'm thinking i have a partailly clogged line.

would that make my wc vary and cause my sensor to shut of gas valve? On 2020-12-01 by Richard Rowe

Reply by (mod) -

The first most common cause of a gas burner that won't stay lit is a bad thermocouple.

See the diagnostic and repair advice

at THERMOCOUPLE REPAIR / REPLACEMENT 

and

at GAS PILOT WON'T STAY LIT 

Check gas pressure, flow, piping length and diameter

And venting and safety controls

Can a combination coal and oil furnace run off the same thermostat

Can a combination coal and oil furnace run off the same thermostat On 2020-02-15 by Terry McLoud

by (mod) - maybe

Terry

Yes but ... the devil is in the details - in this case, of wiring. One would need to understand how the "furnace" swaps between its two fuels and how its operation is controlled when running on each of those fuels.

Presumably wiring the TT ahead of the two controllers or in parallel to each of them can work.

After all the TT is nothing but a simple "on-off" switch.

 

How do I find a replacement for an old Hydrotherm circulator control unit?

Noticed the water pump running when the heat is off. Have located the issue and in need of an obsolete part for a Hydrotherm Boiler. The part is: Hydrotherm Circulator Control LS50. This part came from a Hydrotherm Model HC-85B.

How can I locate this part? Is there an alternate part I can use to fix this issue? On 2017-10-09 by Krystyna

by (mod) - circulator pumps and circulator control relay switches are usually generic

Krystyna

Both circulator pumps and circulator control relay switches are usually generic: you can replace the pump or its controller with any of a variety of brands.

The circulator brand does not have to match the brand of your boiler.

 

Blocked condensate drain shuts down high efficiency gas furnace

Hi, I had a high-efficiency gas furnace installed last year and within just a couple days, it wouldn’t stay on.

The owner of the company came out right away and told me it was because the drain pipe for the condensation had been installed in a way where a section was run up before back down again.

So, in this section, the water was getting trapped and was turning off the heater.

Anyway, they came out and cut the pipe at that section and left it where the condensation just drained directly below into the crawl space under the house. I have a raised foundation and he said letting the condensation drain into the dirt won’t be a problem short term and would get back to re-route the pipe as soon as he could.

He finally returned today to tell me the pipe can’t be re-routed to drain outside for some reason related to framing of the house and the only other thing he could do would be to put in a pump but he didn’t really explain how that would work because he was pushing me to just leave it forever to drain under the house.

He said the condensation only makes about 1/2 cup of water a day when running the heater all day and it will never cause any damage.

I live in Los Angeles and we do have mild winters but it still gets cold enough that we run the heater almost every day for a good 4 or 5 months.

I wanted to get professional opinions on this matter to either give me assurance that what he is telling me is correct or explain why I need to insist that he do what is needed to drain the water away from my house. Thanks! On 2017-05-13 by Zoom

Reply by (mod) -

Zoom

In my opinion you need to drain the condensate to a drain system or to the building exterior; you might need a condensate pump if you can't make the drain work by gravity.

Continuing to wet a crawl space invites wood destroying insect damage, mold, rot.

 

Is OK to Vent a direct-vent furnace into an existing masonry ?

A home that I'm considering buying here Michigan had a 96+ furnace installed on 2015.

The PVC exhaust vent is venting into one of a two flue chimney. The PVC pipe for combustion air is routed directly from the furnace to the return air plenum. Is this correct?

Isn't the combustion air pipe usually routed to the outside of the home. Also, I don't see the exhaust vent pipe exiting through the top of the chimney. Won't the moist exhaust air rot the inside of the Chimney? On 2017-04-20 by Mike Hickens

by (mod) - NO, its dangerous as well as risking loss of heat

Watch out: Venting a direct-vent furnace into an existing masonry chimney may

- violate the manufacturer's installation instructions
- be unsafe risking fatal carbon monoxide poisoning

And I am totally baffled by the second part of your question: combustion air from the return air plenum?

What? Perhaps I misunderstand, but if I don't, I have to ask

1. who's going to live in this house?

2. does someone want to kill them?

Not to be too silly about it, the situation you describe sounds unsafe and improper.

I suggest noting the brand and model of the furnace, giving the the manufacturer a call, and ask them for an opinion. Keep me posted.

No one should be sleeping in the home you describe without working smoke and CO detectors properly installed, located, tested, and resolution of the question you raise is so urgent and sounds so unsafe to me that I suggest that any occupants be informed immediately of the concerns you've raised.

 

My Amtrol Extrol expansion tank caused a blocked condensate drain?

I have an amtrol extrol boiler system expansion tank thats showing on the screen " blocked condensate drain." how do I clear the drain because there is no hot water On 2017-04-03 by Anonymous

by (mod) - Amtrol Extrol heating boiler expansion tanks have on impact on condensate drains; here's how to solve your problem

Anon

The Amtrol Extrol heating boiler expansion tank does not use a condensate drain and has nothing to do with condensate disposal. Expansion tanks handle thermal expansion of water in hot water heating systems.

I think you probably have an air conditioning/heat pump system - that does use a condensate drain.

For detailed help un-clogging that drain see CONDENSATE DRAIN CLEAN & DE-CLOG at https://inspectapedia.com/aircond/Condensate_Drain_Cleaner.php

(found by using the InspectApedia search box just above to look for "clogged condensate drain"

Or see our ARTICLE INDEX


What tools and procedures does a heating service tech use to figure out what's wrong?

I would like to know what are the procures and tools used by a service technician in determining what's the problem with a furnaces. On 2017-03-14 by myles J.

Reply by (mod) -

Myles you ask a perfectly wonderful question, but far more than would be appropriate to try typing in to an off-the-cuff reply window.

Since you mention furnaces specifically, I add that there is a series of detailed, step-by-step heating system diagnosis and repair articles here at InspectApedia.com, addressing various areas of problem and solution.

Start at NO HEAT - FURNACE - https://inspectapedia.com/heat/Furnace-Diagnosis-Repair.php

Techs start with the basics: is there power, is there fuel, does the burner run, does the fan run, does air come out of registers; each of those general areas becomes a focus for a more-detailed look depending on the yes or no answer.

Separately, depending on the fuel type, e.g. oil or gas, we have flowcharts showing what a tech considers, for example, if the oil burner doesn't run.

It sounds as if you are taking a test - I hope you're not cribbing.


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