I get this annoying noise when my furnace kicks on, it sounds as if it's
going to explode or something.

What on earth could it be?

Chrissy Wellard wrote:
I get this annoying noise when my furnace kicks on, it sounds as if it's
going to explode or something.

What on earth could it be?


Natural gas, propane, Oil, kero ???

On Fri, 08 Dec 2006 02:00:19 GMT, Speedy Jim wrote:

Chrissy Wellard wrote:
I get this annoying noise when my furnace kicks on, it sounds as if it's
going to explode or something.

What on earth could it be?


Natural gas, propane, Oil, kero ???

Nuclear?

Chrissy asked: "What on earth could it be?"

Well, if it's a serious enough problem, "on earth" is a place you and
your family might not be for much longer.

Assuming it's an older unit with a pilot light, it sounds as if the
burner chamber is filling with gas before the pilot ignites it. Once
the fumes build up enough, they reach the pilot flame and things go
boom.

I would seriously consider placing a service call before the boom gets
any bigger. A hospital (or worse) is a terrible place to spend the
holidays.

Reminds me of a show where the bad guy lit a candle and put it on top
of the fridge. He then loosened the flex pipe to the stove and calmly
walked away. It took a long time for the gas fumes to fill the room and
eventually reach the candle. By the time the house blew up, he had
established a pretty solid alibi for being far from the explosion when
it occurred.


Chrissy Wellard wrote:
I get this annoying noise when my furnace kicks on, it sounds as if it's
going to explode or something.

What on earth could it be?

My mother had that problem with the heater in her basement, and it went on
for weeks until she called the police to ask if there was artillery practice
going on in the neighborhood. Then she looked in the basement and the
furniture was strewn about. The whole house could have been blown to
smithereens. Turn off the heater and get the problem fixed NOW.
-Em

"DerbyDad03" wrote in message
oups.com...
Chrissy asked: "What on earth could it be?"

Well, if it's a serious enough problem, "on earth" is a place you and
your family might not be for much longer.

Assuming it's an older unit with a pilot light, it sounds as if the
burner chamber is filling with gas before the pilot ignites it. Once
the fumes build up enough, they reach the pilot flame and things go
boom.

I would seriously consider placing a service call before the boom gets
any bigger. A hospital (or worse) is a terrible place to spend the
holidays.

Reminds me of a show where the bad guy lit a candle and put it on top
of the fridge. He then loosened the flex pipe to the stove and calmly
walked away. It took a long time for the gas fumes to fill the room and
eventually reach the candle. By the time the house blew up, he had
established a pretty solid alibi for being far from the explosion when
it occurred.


Chrissy Wellard wrote:
I get this annoying noise when my furnace kicks on, it sounds as if it's
going to explode or something.

What on earth could it be?

dont know what type of burners you have ,but if its old type with
rail burners and pilot light,, vacuming the burners and pilot area may
help. but really , a trained person should look at it if cleanng doesnt
help. lucas

http://www.minibite.com/america/malone.htm

I lived in a rental house with this issue once, and that's exactly what
was wrong.

By the way, for all of you landlords who are always howling about bad
tenants, in this house the furnace was not controlled by the
thermostat, either. We had to go out on the (unheated) back porch and
flip the circuit breaker on and off to turn the furnace on/off.
Roommate and I took turns at night (whoever got cold first, then
whoever got hot first, and so on). Oh yeah, porch was unlighted, too,
so we kept a flashlight on the kitchen counter by the door so we could
find the circuit breaker in the night.

It took the landlord months to get someone to check into the "exploding
furnace" issue, which would rattle the windows and knock knick-knacks
off shelves.

When the sewer backed up, his answer was to open up the cleanout in the
yard and run the sewage directly into the roadside ditch.

I could say more, but just thought I'd take this opportunity to get a
tenant's 2 cents worth in for a change.

Jo Ann

wrote:
dont know what type of burners you have ,but if its old type with
rail burners and pilot light,, vacuming the burners and pilot area may
help. but really , a trained person should look at it if cleanng doesnt
help. lucas

http://www.minibite.com/america/malone.htm

"Chrissy Wellard" wrote in message
...
I get this annoying noise when my furnace kicks on, it sounds as if it's
going to explode or something.

What on earth could it be?

My neighbor had this problem, and it turned out that the gas jet
for the pilot light was partly plugged, so the flame was too small
to quickly light the burner. I removed the jet, cleared it with a fine
wire. Problem solved.

Bob

Bob F wrote:
"Chrissy Wellard" wrote in message
...
I get this annoying noise when my furnace kicks on, it sounds as if it's
going to explode or something.

What on earth could it be?

My neighbor had this problem, and it turned out that the gas jet
for the pilot light was partly plugged, so the flame was too small
to quickly light the burner. I removed the jet, cleared it with a fine
wire. Problem solved.

Bob

Same here.. pilot light had to be cleaned. When the gas guy came out to
light my natural gas water heater, it did the same thing.. A little
boom/poof.. etc.. Made my pant leg move and I felt the heat.. but
that's it. No problems since..

Chrissy Wellard wrote:
I get this annoying noise when my furnace kicks on, it sounds as if it's
going to explode or something.

What on earth could it be?

As a bit of counterpoint to some of the other responses. My gas
furnace also gives kind of a boom/woosh when it fires up, and its
normal, has been doing it for years without any problem. I guess it's
a matter of degree. I wouldn't say it sounds as if it's going to
explode, but you can hear it if you're on the first floor (furnace is
in basement). It has a glow-plug type ignitor. You might try just
watching the furnace while it fires up to see if flames shoot out or
anything. Or for safety and peace of mind, get a technician in to
check it out. -- H