On Jan 26, 7:59 am, wrote:
Okay, last stupid question about my stupid Amana furnace.

I keep forgetting to use my IR thermometer on the exhaust pipe, but it
seems awfully hot to the touch. You can't keep your hand on the pipe
for more than a second or so. I don't think it'd burn, but it is beyond
the human threshold of pain.

It's an 80% efficient furnace, so I'd expect the pipe to be somewhat
warm to the touch. But, it's got a power vent too. Exhaust goes up a
conventional chimney and out the roof, along with at least 20% of my
gas bill

Should it be that hot? Understanding that some is radiating off the
pipe into the basement, is there a way to reclaim more of that heat?

Thanks for all the info!

I assume the furnace "exhaust pipe" is metal?

Metals are very good heat condcutors & do not have to be very much
above skin temp to give you the sense "this thing is pretty hot, better
not touch it or it will burn me".

How delicate are your hands? Do you have low pain threshold? People's
tolerance to hot objects varies a lot person to person.

Yes you can reclaim some of the heat by adding "heat fins" to to "pipe"
but you need a certain amount of residual heat in the flow to get it to
rise through the chimney.

I wouldn't mess with it.

cheers
Bob