"Tom" wrote in message
om...
I have a forced hot air heating system. Even when the thermostat is
set to Off, power to the heating element in the heater stays on,
although the blower stays off. I can hear the heater clicking on and
off - I assume there is some sort of emergency shut off so it doesn't
get too hot if the blower is not on to remove the heat. The only way
to shut the system is at the circuit breaker. Does anyone know
whether the problem would be with the heater or the thermostat? I am
thinking it is a faulty thermostat since it wouldn't make sense that
the heater is receiving power with the thermostat in the Off position
unless the thermostat were faulty.

Being in the trade for over 20 years I know what you should do, you should call a heating
contractor in right away! I'm VERY serious on this issue. Most fires as a result of a
furnace failure does NOT occur right away, it sometimes takes hours, days or even weeks. I
have seen your particular situation that over time caused the insulation to come loose and
then catch on fire etc. It didn't happen right away. The homeowner said he was having
problems for the last week or so before his home burned. Not a total loss but substantial.

Seriously, you have a very bad situation there and you could die from it. Its worth the
over time charge for a weekend call to have it serviced.

Rich