On Thu, 22 Nov 2007 11:04:51 -0500, "MitchS"
wrote:


"PaPaPeng" wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 21 Nov 2007 17:05:51 GMT, PaPaPeng wrote:

If the valve works otherwise on your current setting the valve works
OK. Its the controls to the valve that needs work or replacing.


One more tip. If you think the valve is sticking use a rubber mallet
and give it a good thump. The feed gas pipe to the valve is made from
very tough black iron. The gas burner manifold that connects the
valve to the burner array is made of as tough a material (mine is
silver colored that is not paint). You can't dent either with a heavy
hammer if you tried. A good thump on the valve won't damage anything
and may just loosen the valve. That was what the gas company service
guy did to my furnace.

In the end I replaced my furnace valve. But the actual problem was
the old brittle plastic insulation on the 24Volt wires to the valve
that had caused an electrical short. It was not visible as I had
wrapped them with electrical tape and the wires looked OK. Once used
the new valve could not be returned for a refund.


First off, you and your "gas company service guy" are idiots !!!

Hey if you are so nervous about working on gas installations go find
some other line of work. One of these days you'll die of a heart
attack because of a strange click while you are working on one.

Telling someone to grab any kind of hammer and whack a gas valve
is not only idiotic, but downright criminal. You want to help him
blow up his house ? the fact that the valve had a malfunction is
reason enough to not dick with it, and just replace it with a new
one. you want a ****ing half ass repair job or one that's done
right ????


It will be a very brave or foolhardy homeowner who will stike his
furnace valve hard enough with a steel hammer to damage something.
The chances are he'll be too scared to tap it hard enough to unstick
the valve (a very light rubber disk on a teeter totter requiring a
milligrams force to open. Its normally closed). So how much do you
make every time you scare some poor home owner with a sticky valve
that could have been unstuck with a THUMP of a RUBBER mallet. $300?
More? If not a rubber mallet then use the handle of a large
screwdriver. The force delivered is pretty modest no matter how hard
you strike.

Secondly, if you had an "electrical short", you better hope a
fuse opened up somewhere. If it didn't then you got more issues.
Let me guess, the "gas company service guy" replaced the fuse
with a loose bolt off his truck (it fit the fuse holder perfectly
right?).


A fuse on a 24 volt line? Why do you think they use a 24 V system in
the first place? Hint. Inherent safety for just this very instance
of a wire short. Anyway short means no juice to the valve. Valve
never opens. No gas. No heat. No danger of a gas leak explosion.
You don't know your basics.


So let's recap. It's a miracle your house is still standing -
after - gas guy whacks valve with big hammer, electrical wires
smolder without popping fuses.

The 24 V wire insulation had degraded from age (25 years) in a hot
environment (near the burner array). These things happen. And also a
lot of more weird furnace malfunctions in many ordinary households.
You don't hear of houses blowing up all over the country. This is
because there are many interlocks and strength built into the system
to prevent ham handed fiddling that will result in a gas explosion.
Lots of unknowledgeable people do try to save themselves from price
gouging by people like you. The built in furnace safety features have
taken into account such amateur attempts at fixing.

There's nothing much in items the homeowner or the service guy can fix
anyway. Just the thermostat, the 24V transformer (correct voltage
output?), the integrity of the associated 24 V wiring and of course
the sticky valve thing. Other parts like the fan, the motor, etc. are
mechanical and any problems are obvious and non critical (ie no
linkage to a possible gas leak.

My advice is to try a few simple steps first. Its not always possible
to get a service guy to come promptly. And the ability to understand
how the furnace works and what one can do for oneself avoids a lot of
anxiety as to when to call the service guy and as to what is a
reasonable charge for the work involved.

you need to buy a freakin lottery ticket ! your luck is
amazing.

Don't forget to pray to your gods too.