Common Furnace Problems And Their Answers

Mechanical Breakdowns

• The forced air furnace doesn't turn on.
• The fan motor keeps running and never turns off.
• When the blower motor turns on I hear a loud bang one time.
• The burners light and then go off quickly.
• The fan makes a loud rattling noise.
• The furnace smells like it is burning plastic.
• The furnace turns on but won't keep the temperature where I set it on the thermostat.

Cracks (base, heat exchanger, firebox)

• The gas company said my heat exchanger appears to have a crack.
• The gas company said I have cracks in and around the base. What is this?
• The carbon monoxide detector keeps turning on when the furnace is running.
• The smoke detector turns on when the furnace is running.
• I get cold like symptoms and a headache when the furnace turns on.
  

Cleaning Related Problems

• My allergies really flare up when the furnace is running. Why?
• The furnace smells musty when it turns on.
• There are brown dirty streaks by the supply registers in each room What are they?
• I had my ducts cleaned. The company says to put air filters in each room. Are supply register filters good?

Ducting Issues

• How often should my ducts be cleaned?
• Can duct cleaning hurt my air ducts?
• I have asbestos insulated air ducts. Is this a big problem?
• The temperature upstairs is too hot compares to the downstairs.
• What is duct testing?

New Furnace Facts

• What is AFUE and what efficiencies are available?
• What is the difference between a variable speed motor and a standard motor.
• What brand furnace is the best one?
• What brand of furnace is the most efficient one?
• Is it better to put the furnace in the attic or in a closet?
• Why do I need building permits for a furnace installation?

Your Safety And Your Family's Safety Are The Smartest Reasons To Choose Us to Tune Up Your Home Heating System Each Year.

50% Of All Furnaces We Check With Our Free 2nd Opinion Do Not Have Cracks

Chances are good, that if you cannot see the breech in your furnace's heat exchanger, then it probably isn't cracked and you probably don't need a new furnace or firebox.

Fluorescent hydro scanning is the only proof positive way of verifying for cracks in a heat exchanger.

Never accept only a visual determination from a contractor or the Gas Company. You could be investing needlessly in a new furnace.

Free Estimates Cheerfully Given for Cracked Firebox Replacement

Why do Heat Exchangers Crack?

The most common cause of cracking is from expansion and contraction of the metal during the furnace cycling process. Your furnace will turn on and off more than 100,000 times each year. This causes stress and will eventually degrade the heat exchanger to the point of failure.

Why do Heat Exchangers Prematurely Crack?

The overwhelming reason is lack of airflow across the firebox. This lack of airflow can come from improperly maintained furnaces with clogged filters, clogged air conditioning coils, ducting that is too small or improperly installed ducting.

How Can I Prevent Cracked Fireboxes?

Easy, give us call. We will perform a HeatMaxx evaluation. This HeatMaxx evaluation will let you know how much airflow your furnace is actually putting out and what the temperature rise across the heat exchanger is. Too high a temperature rise equals cracking. We can perform this on a regular service call.

Free Estimates Cheerfully Given for Heater Replacement

If we perform your furnace tune up and it breaks down this season, our service is free. We are that confident that your heating system will work perfectly after we tune it up and fix any little items that could need a little tender care.

Left Picture: Rust buildup in the firebox burner area due to lack of proper maintenance. This can cause a fire in the home. A simple cleaning and we are good until next year.

Wall furnace to forced air furnace upgrades, floor furnace to forced air furnace upgrades and single stage 80% AFUE to three stage 95.5% AFUE with variable speed technology are just some of the upgrades that we perform every day.

Right Picture: This was a minor fix. The condensation line was clogged for the air conditioning system. The wiring needed to be cleaned up and then they we back in business.

If we can't make you happy with our work, the service is free.

As far as we are concerned our job is to impress you so that you think our work is worth at least twice as much as your investment. If that isn't the case, we didn't do our job good enough and we don't think that you should owe us anything. It's that simple.
Left Firebox: Cracked firebox from a clam shell furnace. This is a stress area that is held together by a missing ring (think rivet). This is very difficult to find unless a fluorescent hydro-scan is performed. This furnace was under warranty.

No Lemon Heating Guarantee

If the heat exchanger or firebox fails in the first 10 years we will replace the entire furnace for you at no charge. No shipping, no handling, no warranty and no labor charges whatsoever. This includes code required upgrades. No charge means absolutely no charge. No other company offers this rock solid guarantee.

Lack of Air Conditioning Maintenance Can Destroy a Furnace Firebox

We perform the first year's maintenance for free on every new furnace that we install and there after at a very affordable investment amount. Many clients actually reduce their utility bill significantly after maintenance making that maintenance more than pay for itself.
Left: This furnace heat exchanger is suffering from water running down it from a leak in the condensation pan of the evaporator coil (air conditioning) on top of the forced air furnace.

Quality of Installation Counts – Permits Can Save Your Life

A forced air heating system improperly installed can cause a cracked firebox or cracked heat exchanger. Undersized and improperly installed ducting can cause overheating and heat exchanger rupture. Not having your new furnace inspected by the city inspector certifying that it has been installed correctly is like playing Russian Roulette. Don't skimp on materials and skimp on labor. Have your installation done correctly now.

Heat-Moisture-Time Are the Enemies

A couple of the products of natural gas burning are carbon monoxide and moisture. While carbon monoxide can kill, the moisture from the natural gas flames is what’s typically destroys a firebox.

Left: This is an inside view of a ruptured firebox. On the surface, this cracked and rusted through heat exchanger looked just fine. This is why a thorough examination of your heat exchanger and furnace is required each year.

Sometimes it is Just the Design

Not all furnaces are created equal. Some burn hotter and some burn cooler. Metal fatigue on a hot burning furnace can start the day it’s installed. The most important day in the life of the furnace.

Left: You can see the metal discolorations in this fairly new firebox. Design flaws allow parts of the firebox to expand and contract with the heat at different rates than other parts of the heat exchanger. This movement causes stresses and then cracks.

We here at the Empire Family of Services offer the finest heating and air conditioning service and repair in Southern California. With our highly trained heating and air conditioning service personnel and our friendly office staff we strive to ensure that your heating and air conditioning experience is a fast and painless one.

Our primary focus is your convenience and safety. With two hour service windows 6 days a week, no overtime ever, we can meet you at your home at the appointed time for your home air conditioning repair. We will meet your time table for your air conditioning service, guaranteed.