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  #1   Report Post  
Dave
 
Posts: n/a
Default Furnace Maintenance?

Hello,

As a new homeowner, I was wondering whether annual (or other interval)
maintenance is needed on the furnace (other than regular
changing/cleaning of the filter) ? I called the company whose name
was on the heater tag for the unit in the house I live in (it's about
4 years old) and they told me they normally do a yearly or
semi-annually cleaning for customers.

My question is - Is this necessary? And if so, what do they really do
and what is the frequency that I should have it done.

Thanks very much for any info!
  #2   Report Post  
willshak
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Dave wrote:

Hello,

As a new homeowner, I was wondering whether annual (or other interval)
maintenance is needed on the furnace (other than regular
changing/cleaning of the filter) ? I called the company whose name
was on the heater tag for the unit in the house I live in (it's about
4 years old) and they told me they normally do a yearly or
semi-annually cleaning for customers.

My question is - Is this necessary? And if so, what do they really do
and what is the frequency that I should have it done.

Thanks very much for any info!


An annual inspection and cleaning will help maintain your system. If you
have it done before the heating season, you may prevent having an
emergency call during a snow storm or on Christmas day.
  #4   Report Post  
Bob Kaplow
 
Posts: n/a
Default

In article , willshak writes:
An annual inspection and cleaning will help maintain your system. If you
have it done before the heating season, you may prevent having an
emergency call during a snow storm or on Christmas day.


Sort-of-related question:

What is the expected lifetime of a natural gas forced air furnace? Just
replaced the H2O heater this summer after 14.5 years, and wondering how much
life I should expect out of the furnace?

Bob Kaplow NAR # 18L TRA # "Impeach the TRA BoD"
To reply, remove the TRABoD!

Kaplow Klips & Baffle: http://nira-rocketry.org/LeadingEdge/Phantom4000.pdf
www.encompasserve.org/~kaplow_r/ www.nira-rocketry.org www.nar.org

26-October, 2001: A day that will live in infamy
Support Freedom: http://www.indefenseoffreedom.org/

.... One nation under survielence, divisive, with liberty and justice for none.
  #5   Report Post  
Noon-Air
 
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Default

Provided its taken care of and serviced regularly, *normal* design service
life is 18 - 20 years

"Bob Kaplow" wrote in message
...
In article , willshak
writes:
An annual inspection and cleaning will help maintain your system. If you
have it done before the heating season, you may prevent having an
emergency call during a snow storm or on Christmas day.


Sort-of-related question:

What is the expected lifetime of a natural gas forced air furnace? Just
replaced the H2O heater this summer after 14.5 years, and wondering how
much
life I should expect out of the furnace?

Bob Kaplow NAR # 18L TRA # "Impeach the TRA BoD"
To reply, remove the TRABoD!

Kaplow Klips & Baffle:
http://nira-rocketry.org/LeadingEdge/Phantom4000.pdf
www.encompasserve.org/~kaplow_r/ www.nira-rocketry.org
www.nar.org

26-October, 2001: A day that will live in infamy
Support Freedom: http://www.indefenseoffreedom.org/

... One nation under survielence, divisive, with liberty and justice for
none.





  #9   Report Post  
Stormin Mormon
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Yes. Annual. Remove and clean burners. Inspect heat exchanger. Oil blower
motor. Clear drain line if it has one. Look for visibly bad parts. Run a
couple cycles of heating up and blowing heat. See if limit switches and such
are working.

Spring time maint is a good idea if the unit has AC.

--

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
www.mormons.com


"Dave" wrote in message
om...
Hello,

As a new homeowner, I was wondering whether annual (or other interval)
maintenance is needed on the furnace (other than regular
changing/cleaning of the filter) ? I called the company whose name
was on the heater tag for the unit in the house I live in (it's about
4 years old) and they told me they normally do a yearly or
semi-annually cleaning for customers.

My question is - Is this necessary? And if so, what do they really do
and what is the frequency that I should have it done.

Thanks very much for any info!


  #10   Report Post  
Stormin Mormon
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Most furnaces go 15 to 20 years. Yep, it's about time to consider getting
that replaced. The new ones are more energy efficient, anyhow.

--

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
www.mormons.com


"Bob Kaplow" wrote in message

Sort-of-related question:

What is the expected lifetime of a natural gas forced air furnace? Just
replaced the H2O heater this summer after 14.5 years, and wondering how much
life I should expect out of the furnace?

Bob Kaplow NAR # 18L TRA # "Impeach the TRA BoD"




  #11   Report Post  
twfsa
 
Posts: n/a
Default

My last furnace Natural gas was replaced after 18 yrs, no annual maintance I
oiled the motor every 3 yrs and replaced the filter monthly. The furnace
was still going when I did replaced it just opted for a more efficient unit.
I would install a carbon monoxide detector if I was not going to have the
heat exchanger inspected annually.

Tom


"Bob Kaplow" wrote in message
...
In article , willshak
writes:
An annual inspection and cleaning will help maintain your system. If you
have it done before the heating season, you may prevent having an
emergency call during a snow storm or on Christmas day.


Sort-of-related question:

What is the expected lifetime of a natural gas forced air furnace? Just
replaced the H2O heater this summer after 14.5 years, and wondering how
much
life I should expect out of the furnace?

Bob Kaplow NAR # 18L TRA # "Impeach the TRA BoD"
To reply, remove the TRABoD!

Kaplow Klips & Baffle:
http://nira-rocketry.org/LeadingEdge/Phantom4000.pdf
www.encompasserve.org/~kaplow_r/ www.nira-rocketry.org
www.nar.org

26-October, 2001: A day that will live in infamy
Support Freedom: http://www.indefenseoffreedom.org/

... One nation under survielence, divisive, with liberty and justice for
none.



  #13   Report Post  
Rich
 
Posts: n/a
Default

PLEASE don't cross post to alt.home.repair, this group is for peple that
like to help other people when they can, seems to be the opposite of
alt.hvac.

Thank You!


As for the suggested group alt.go.****.yourself, I would have expected you
to be the monitor of that group.




wrote in message
...
On Mon, 04 Oct 2004 16:16:05 -0600,
wrote:

wrote:

Do not cross-post to alt.hvac


Or the boogey-man will crawl out of his cave and yell "Do not
cross-post to alt.hvac"

HVAC = Heating, ventilation, air conditioning

Hmm, a question about heating seems to fall under that definition.

If the trolls in alt.hvac really don't want cross posts based on the
name of the newsgroup, how about starting their own MODERATED group?

Hey, here's an idea! How about starting a new group called
alt.hvac.leaveusalone - or better yet alt.hvac.we_are_no_help.


how about

alt.go.****.yourself ???











Paul ( pjm @ pobox . com ) - remove spaces to email me
'Some days, it's just not worth chewing through the restraints.'

HVAC/R program for Palm PDA's
Free demo now available online
http://pmilligan.net/palm/
Free Temperature / Pressure charts for 38 Ref's
http://pmilligan.net/pmtherm/


email to (remove the "notreal-")



Paul ( pjm @ pobox . com ) - remove spaces to email me
'Some days, it's just not worth chewing through the restraints.'

HVAC/R program for Palm PDA's
Free demo now available online
http://pmilligan.net/palm/
Free Temperature / Pressure charts for 38 Ref's
http://pmilligan.net/pmtherm/



  #14   Report Post  
PrecisionMachinisT
 
Posts: n/a
Default


wrote in message


Hey, here's an idea! How about starting a new group called
alt.hvac.leaveusalone - or better yet alt.hvac.we_are_no_help.


I have an even better idea--if YOU wanna tell others what to do, then start
your OWN ****ing group.......

--

SVL


  #15   Report Post  
TURTLE
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
.. .
Most furnaces go 15 to 20 years. Yep, it's about time to consider getting
that replaced. The new ones are more energy efficient, anyhow.

--

Christopher A. Young


This is Turtle.

Stormy, The man said his hot water tank give out and had it replaced in 14.5
years and not his furnace. He is now looking at maybe changing his furnace out.

TURTLE




  #16   Report Post  
pjm@see_my_sig_for_address.com
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Mon, 4 Oct 2004 19:41:32 -0500, "Rich" wrote:

PLEASE don't cross post to alt.home.repair, this group is for peple that
like to help other people when they can, seems to be the opposite of
alt.hvac.

Thank You!


As for the suggested group alt.go.****.yourself, I would have expected you
to be the monitor of that group.


Alt.suck.my.dick






wrote in message
.. .
On Mon, 04 Oct 2004 16:16:05 -0600,
wrote:

wrote:

Do not cross-post to alt.hvac

Or the boogey-man will crawl out of his cave and yell "Do not
cross-post to alt.hvac"

HVAC = Heating, ventilation, air conditioning

Hmm, a question about heating seems to fall under that definition.

If the trolls in alt.hvac really don't want cross posts based on the
name of the newsgroup, how about starting their own MODERATED group?

Hey, here's an idea! How about starting a new group called
alt.hvac.leaveusalone - or better yet alt.hvac.we_are_no_help.


how about

alt.go.****.yourself ???











Paul ( pjm @ pobox . com ) - remove spaces to email me
'Some days, it's just not worth chewing through the restraints.'

HVAC/R program for Palm PDA's
Free demo now available online
http://pmilligan.net/palm/
Free Temperature / Pressure charts for 38 Ref's
http://pmilligan.net/pmtherm/

email to (remove the "notreal-")



Paul ( pjm @ pobox . com ) - remove spaces to email me
'Some days, it's just not worth chewing through the restraints.'

HVAC/R program for Palm PDA's
Free demo now available online
http://pmilligan.net/palm/
Free Temperature / Pressure charts for 38 Ref's
http://pmilligan.net/pmtherm/




Paul ( pjm @ pobox . com ) - remove spaces to email me
'Some days, it's just not worth chewing through the restraints.'

HVAC/R program for Palm PDA's
Free demo now available online http://pmilligan.net/palm/
Free Temperature / Pressure charts for 38 Ref's http://pmilligan.net/pmtherm/
  #17   Report Post  
Rich
 
Posts: n/a
Default

PLONK..A$$(*&e


wrote in message
...
On Mon, 4 Oct 2004 19:41:32 -0500, "Rich" wrote:

PLEASE don't cross post to alt.home.repair, this group is for peple that
like to help other people when they can, seems to be the opposite of
alt.hvac.

Thank You!


As for the suggested group alt.go.****.yourself, I would have expected you
to be the monitor of that group.


Alt.suck.my.dick






wrote in message
. ..
On Mon, 04 Oct 2004 16:16:05 -0600,
wrote:

wrote:

Do not cross-post to alt.hvac

Or the boogey-man will crawl out of his cave and yell "Do not
cross-post to alt.hvac"

HVAC = Heating, ventilation, air conditioning

Hmm, a question about heating seems to fall under that definition.

If the trolls in alt.hvac really don't want cross posts based on the
name of the newsgroup, how about starting their own MODERATED group?

Hey, here's an idea! How about starting a new group called
alt.hvac.leaveusalone - or better yet alt.hvac.we_are_no_help.


how about

alt.go.****.yourself ???











Paul ( pjm @ pobox . com ) - remove spaces to email me
'Some days, it's just not worth chewing through the restraints.'

HVAC/R program for Palm PDA's
Free demo now available online
http://pmilligan.net/palm/
Free Temperature / Pressure charts for 38 Ref's
http://pmilligan.net/pmtherm/

email to (remove the "notreal-")


Paul ( pjm @ pobox . com ) - remove spaces to email me
'Some days, it's just not worth chewing through the restraints.'

HVAC/R program for Palm PDA's
Free demo now available online
http://pmilligan.net/palm/
Free Temperature / Pressure charts for 38 Ref's
http://pmilligan.net/pmtherm/




Paul ( pjm @ pobox . com ) - remove spaces to email me
'Some days, it's just not worth chewing through the restraints.'

HVAC/R program for Palm PDA's
Free demo now available online http://pmilligan.net/palm/
Free Temperature / Pressure charts for 38 Ref's
http://pmilligan.net/pmtherm/



  #20   Report Post  
Chet Hayes
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message ...
Yes. Annual. Remove and clean burners. Inspect heat exchanger. Oil blower
motor. Clear drain line if it has one. Look for visibly bad parts. Run a
couple cycles of heating up and blowing heat. See if limit switches and such
are working.

Spring time maint is a good idea if the unit has AC.

--

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
www.mormons.com


"Dave" wrote in message
om...
Hello,

As a new homeowner, I was wondering whether annual (or other interval)
maintenance is needed on the furnace (other than regular
changing/cleaning of the filter) ? I called the company whose name
was on the heater tag for the unit in the house I live in (it's about
4 years old) and they told me they normally do a yearly or
semi-annually cleaning for customers.

My question is - Is this necessary? And if so, what do they really do
and what is the frequency that I should have it done.

Thanks very much for any info!



If it's a relatively new gas furnace, I wouldn't waste money on having
it serviced more than every few years. I change the filters on mine
twice a year, vacuum and dust, dirt debris, etc., make sure the flames
look ok, make sure the drain is working, never had it serviced and
have never had a problem in close to 20 years in 2 homes. If it's an
oil system, well that's another story. I would have that serviced
once a year.


  #21   Report Post  
Bob Kaplow
 
Posts: n/a
Default

In article , "TURTLE" writes:
"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
.. .
Most furnaces go 15 to 20 years. Yep, it's about time to consider getting
that replaced. The new ones are more energy efficient, anyhow.


Stormy, The man said his hot water tank give out and had it replaced in 14.5
years and not his furnace. He is now looking at maybe changing his furnace out.


Hmmm, when did I become "the man"?

As a matter of fact, the house is 14.5 years old, so the H2O heater,
furnace, AC, roof, sump pump, fridge, etc. are all 14.5 years old. Only the
owners are older :-(

I guess I'm not surprised to see these groups getting as many flames on
simple questions as the ones I usually hang out in. But a quick glance tells
me that alt.hvac is for the hvac trade folks, while alt.home.repairs is for
folks like me sharing home repair questions. it would seem to me that trade
folks would look forward to educating consumers, so they don't have to deal
with so many ID ten T types all the time...

As to my furnace, we'll see wht the 'pro' says this afternoon. The old one
was supposed to be a higher end unit (90% effecience condensation type).
When I do replace it, it will be with top of the line stuff, with variable
heat and fan speeds.

The house itself is as energy efficient as was possible in 1989: super
insulated passive solar. Most folks don't believe a 3000 ft^2 house in the
Chicago area can be heated with a 100K BTU furnace. [Last HVAC guy to work
onthe unit wanted to know where my other furnace was!] Nor do they believe
that when gas prices went nuts 3 years ago, and news reports had folks with
small houses paying over $1000 a month for heating, that my bill maxed out
at $145 a month. BTW, AC bills are similarly small. One HVAC co told me I
needed a 5 ton unit, the builder speced it out at 2.5 which is what I went
with, and what has done the job well for 14 years now.

Bob Kaplow NAR # 18L TRA # "Impeach the TRA BoD"
To reply, remove the TRABoD!

Kaplow Klips & Baffle: http://nira-rocketry.org/LeadingEdge/Phantom4000.pdf
www.encompasserve.org/~kaplow_r/ www.nira-rocketry.org www.nar.org

26-October, 2001: A day that will live in infamy
Support Freedom: http://www.indefenseoffreedom.org/

.... One nation under survielence, divisive, with liberty and justice for none.
  #24   Report Post  
Stormin Mormon
 
Posts: n/a
Default

And how does that affect (in the slightest way) anything I wrote?

--

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
www.mormons.com


"TURTLE" wrote in message
...

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
.. .
Most furnaces go 15 to 20 years. Yep, it's about time to consider getting
that replaced. The new ones are more energy efficient, anyhow.

--

Christopher A. Young


This is Turtle.

Stormy, The man said his hot water tank give out and had it replaced in 14.5
years and not his furnace. He is now looking at maybe changing his furnace
out.

TURTLE



  #25   Report Post  
Stormin Mormon
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Change filters.
Vacuum out.
clear drain.
inspect burner flame color.

May I suggest that YOU are doing the service?

--

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
www.mormons.com


"Chet Hayes" wrote in message
om...

I change the filters on mine
twice a year, vacuum and dust, dirt debris, etc., make sure the flames
look ok, make sure the drain is working, never had it serviced and
have never had a problem in close to 20 years in 2 homes. If it's an
oil system, well that's another story. I would have that serviced
once a year.




  #26   Report Post  
Stormin Mormon
 
Posts: n/a
Default

You didn't know how important you are? Hey, we speak well of you now and
again.

"the man answered my question...." kind of thing.

--

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
www.mormons.com


"Bob Kaplow" wrote in message
...
In article , "TURTLE"
writes:

Stormy, The man said his hot water tank give out and had it replaced in

14.5
years and not his furnace. He is now looking at maybe changing his furnace

out.

Hmmm, when did I become "the man"?



  #27   Report Post  
HvacTech2
 
Posts: n/a
Default



Hi Stormin, hope you are having a nice day

On 06-Oct-04 At About 08:02:04, Stormin Mormon wrote to All
Subject: Furnace Maintenance?

SM From: "Stormin Mormon"


SM inspect burner flame color.

Flame color doesn't tell you anything. it could look great but it could be
burning wrong. you really need to perform a combustion test to be sure.


-= HvacTech2 =-


... URA Redneck if the primary color of your car is "bondo".

___ TagDude 0.92á+[DM]
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++
spam protection measure, Please remove the 33 to send e-mail
  #28   Report Post  
Dan
 
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Default

That wasn't actually a recall, it was a service bulletin. If you got
a new heat exchanger out of it, good deal! These are good furnaces
and highly efficient, they just suffered from manufacturing problems.
That said, I would get a reliable CO detector. Not just for this one,
for any furnace burning fuel. The Lennox Pulse is a bit more
dangerous in failure than most due to the positive pressure heat
exchanger design.

On Thu, 07 Oct 2004 13:53:14 -0500, Mike
wrote:

On Mon, 04 Oct 2004 14:46:27 -0500, Noon-Air wrote:

Provided its taken care of and serviced regularly, *normal* design service
life is 18 - 20 years


I just had an annual done on our 20-year old Lennox Pulse furnace. In
1998, due to a factory recall, the heat exchanger was replaced. The tech
told me today that he would expect another 20-25 years of life out of it.
The furnace is 90-96% efficient too.

Of course you never know...and I am knocking on wood. I've heard of
furnaces dying after 6 years.

The furnace, AC, and water heater in my parent's home are all 27
years old. The Heil furnace has _never_ had an annual
cleaning/inspection. The AC needed a repair once. My dad doesn't even
bother draining the water heater...ever!

We live in Wisconsin too.


  #29   Report Post  
Steve@carolinabreezehvac
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Mike" wrote in message
news
On Mon, 04 Oct 2004 14:46:27 -0500, Noon-Air wrote:

Provided its taken care of and serviced regularly, *normal* design

service
life is 18 - 20 years


I just had an annual done on our 20-year old Lennox Pulse furnace. In
1998, due to a factory recall, the heat exchanger was replaced. The tech
told me today that he would expect another 20-25 years of life out of it.
The furnace is 90-96% efficient too.

Of course you never know...and I am knocking on wood. I've heard of
furnaces dying after 6 years.

The furnace, AC, and water heater in my parent's home are all 27
years old. The Heil furnace has _never_ had an annual
cleaning/inspection. The AC needed a repair once. My dad doesn't even
bother draining the water heater...ever!

We live in Wisconsin too.


So....you think he could have saved any money by doing what the maker of the
unit suggested?

Nah...of course not.


  #30   Report Post  
Bob Kaplow
 
Posts: n/a
Default

In article , Mike writes:
I just had an annual done on our 20-year old Lennox Pulse furnace. In
1998, due to a factory recall, the heat exchanger was replaced. The tech
told me today that he would expect another 20-25 years of life out of it.
The furnace is 90-96% efficient too.


As energy efficient as our house is, we passed on the pulse furnaces. The
builder had some bad experiences with them causing a resonating noise
through the entire house.

Of course you never know...and I am knocking on wood. I've heard of
furnaces dying after 6 years.

The furnace, AC, and water heater in my parent's home are all 27
years old. The Heil furnace has _never_ had an annual
cleaning/inspection. The AC needed a repair once. My dad doesn't even
bother draining the water heater...ever!


Heil? Tempstar? HeLl! I'd never buy one of their products again. My
heil/tempstar heat exchanger failed at about 5 years. Called a reputable
HVAC contractor to fix it. He did so, but told me to contact the company, as
there was a recall and the company should reimburse me for the problem. I
did, and they said that the recall had expired, so I was SOL. Of course they
never told us about the recall when it was in effect, even though we'd sent
in the supid card. I don't do business with companies that don't stand
behind their products.

Since then 2 other failures have been from design defects, including the
combustion intake blower that's mounted horizontally where all others are
vertical.

I realize that there are only a handful of furnace manufacturers, and that
many brands are relabels. Is there somewhere I can find a list of who owns
whom? IIRC heil/tempstar is now owned by Carrier...

Bob Kaplow NAR # 18L TRA # "Impeach the TRA BoD"
To reply, remove the TRABoD!

Kaplow Klips & Baffle: http://nira-rocketry.org/LeadingEdge/Phantom4000.pdf
www.encompasserve.org/~kaplow_r/ www.nira-rocketry.org www.nar.org

26-October, 2001: A day that will live in infamy
Support Freedom: http://www.indefenseoffreedom.org/

.... One nation under survielence, divisive, with liberty and justice for none.


  #31   Report Post  
Steve@carolinabreezehvac
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Thund3rstruck_n0i" wrote in message
...
Steve@carolinabreezehvac spilled my beer when they jumped on the table and
proclaimed in
So....you think he could have saved any money by doing what the maker of
the unit suggested?

Nah...of course not.


Meh.

My $.02?

This is the type of fellow who would never change, or even check the

fluids
on his car then start bitching one day when it suddenly quits running...



NOI


DAMMIT, I had oil in it when I bought it



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