One of the hardest things to tell a customer, is that they have cracks in the heat exchanger of their furnace! The heat exchanger is the heart of your gas furnace, can be a costly repair, and most of the time it just makes more sense to replace the entire heating system. In most cases, unless you have scheduled routine furnace maintenance, you may not even know you have cracks or holes in the unit, until the heating system fails! This article aims to help you understand the functions of your furnace heat exchanger and the life threatening dangers of running your system with a cracked heat exchanger. What Is The Furnace Heat Exchanger? The non-technical definition is that the heat exchanger is a series of tubes or ribbons inside your furnace that form a chamber of sorts, designed to separate the hot gases and flames of the heating system from the forced air passing over it, and being spread throughout your home. When you furnace ignites, a flame is generated. That flame and the hot gases are routed into the heat exchanger, and eventually out the flue, or exhaust system. The tubes or ribbons naturally heat up as the unit runs. When the blower turns on, the air is forced to pass through or over the heat exchanger, thus warming the air and sending it through your home in the form of heat! The Dangers of a Bad Heat Exchanger! While natural gas or propane burns very clean, the combustion process can produce small amounts of CO, or Carbon Monoxide. CO is known as the deadly killer, because it is odorless, colorless and tasteless. In other words, you would never know if there is CO being put into your home without a CO Detector. When your heat exchanger has holes, cracks, or rusted out sections, the air passing over it can actually spread those dangerous gases into your home! Having your heating system inspected annually can detect heat exchanger problems before they get out of hand and put your or your family at risk! If you have been told you have a bad heat exchanger, we are always happy to provide a second opinion, or an estimate to repair or replace the furnace. Contact us today!
Posted on: Sat, 17 Aug 2013 22:31:00 +0000
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