Hi all,

still over at my friend's house... cut on heat last night for the first
time this year. He turned the heat on and went to bed; I realized after
a while that the inducer blower was running but the air handler was not.
Investigated; found that the flame was not lit, inducer was sitting
there grinding away. Popped cover, found a cracked hose between the
inducer fan housing and a pressure transducer. Cut it shorter,
reconnected, OK furnace works. But I did notice that it seems to only
run for about 5 minutes at a time, then will kill the flame, AH fan will
run for a while then shut down. Almost immediately the inducer fan will
start again, flame will relight, lather rinse repeat. My immediate
thought was that it was restricted airflow due to a gunked up A-coil for
the AC.

This evening I got over there and ripped it apart, sure enough the
A-coil looks gunky, however I could not clean it properly because I am
still fighting one rusted screw for access to it. The access panel to
the underside of the A-coil is in two parts; I removed one and replaced
the access panel on the evaporator so that some air could bypass it if
that were the problem. Unfortunately, it seems to be exhibiting the
same behavior. I didn't time how long it took it to cycle last night
(actually, early this AM - I got the thing working in the first place
about 1 AM) so I can't say if the time between cycles is longer now with
better airflow.

Now here's the weird thing. There is absolutely no nameplate, data
plate, whatever with any kind of part number that I can find on this
furnace to give me any sort of clue as to where to find a manual online
for it so I can delve deeper. Can anyone give me any hints as to where
to look?

So, I guess the question is, without knowing exactly what model furnace
this is, can anyone tell me if this is this normal behavior for this
type furnace, e.g. am I worried over nothing? I just don't want him to
have to pop for a new heat exchanger due to constant overheating.

I sadly do not have an IR thermometer - I own one, but I'll be damned if
I can tell you where it is right now.

Finally, do any of those A-coil cleaner sprays actually work well? The
A-coil is quite filthy, probably due to some ductwork pulling loose and
allowing air to bypass the filter. I'm a little concerned as this
A-coil is well past its "best before" date and when looking on the Big
Box's web site to see if my local store carried anything for this
purpose, the reviews seemed to indicate that a few people had problems
with their fins disintegrating after application of said cleaning spray.
Is this a real concern? (when I said it was past its "best before"
date, I meant it.)

thanks much,

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

On Oct 4, 6:59*pm, Nate Nagel wrote:
Hi all,

still over at my friend's house... *cut on heat last night for the first
time this year. *He turned the heat on and went to bed; I realized after
a while that the inducer blower was running but the air handler was not.
* Investigated; found that the flame was not lit, inducer was sitting
there grinding away. *Popped cover, found a cracked hose between the
inducer fan housing and a pressure transducer. *Cut it shorter,
reconnected, OK furnace works. *But I did notice that it seems to only
run for about 5 minutes at a time, then will kill the flame, AH fan will
run for a while then shut down. *Almost immediately the inducer fan will
start again, flame will relight, lather rinse repeat. *My immediate
thought was that it was restricted airflow due to a gunked up A-coil for
the AC.

This evening I got over there and ripped it apart, sure enough the
A-coil looks gunky, however I could not clean it properly because I am
still fighting one rusted screw for access to it. *The access panel to
the underside of the A-coil is in two parts; I removed one and replaced
the access panel on the evaporator so that some air could bypass it if
that were the problem. *Unfortunately, it seems to be exhibiting the
same behavior. *I didn't time how long it took it to cycle last night
(actually, early this AM - I got the thing working in the first place
about 1 AM) so I can't say if the time between cycles is longer now with
better airflow.

Now here's the weird thing. *There is absolutely no nameplate, data
plate, whatever with any kind of part number that I can find on this
furnace to give me any sort of clue as to where to find a manual online
for it so I can delve deeper. *Can anyone give me any hints as to where
to look?

So, I guess the question is, without knowing exactly what model furnace
this is, can anyone tell me if this is this normal behavior for this
type furnace, e.g. am I worried over nothing? *I just don't want him to
have to pop for a new heat exchanger due to constant overheating.

I sadly do not have an IR thermometer - I own one, but I'll be damned if
I can tell you where it is right now.

Finally, do any of those A-coil cleaner sprays actually work well? *The
A-coil is quite filthy, probably due to some ductwork pulling loose and
allowing air to bypass the filter. *I'm a little concerned as this
A-coil is well past its "best before" date and when looking on the Big
Box's web site to see if my local store carried anything for this
purpose, the reviews seemed to indicate that a few people had problems
with their fins disintegrating after application of said cleaning spray.
* Is this a real concern? *(when I said it was past its "best before"
date, I meant it.)

thanks much,

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.http://members.cox.net/njnagel

How is the internal air handler thermostat set, maybe the high limit
switch is set toward the low side. What the unit is doing is actually
the most efficient way to run the furnace.

Nate Nagel wrote:
Hi all,

still over at my friend's house... cut on heat last night for the first
time this year. He turned the heat on and went to bed; I realized after
a while that the inducer blower was running but the air handler was not.
Investigated; found that the flame was not lit, inducer was sitting
there grinding away. Popped cover, found a cracked hose between the
inducer fan housing and a pressure transducer. Cut it shorter,
reconnected, OK furnace works. But I did notice that it seems to only
run for about 5 minutes at a time, then will kill the flame, AH fan will
run for a while then shut down. Almost immediately the inducer fan will
start again, flame will relight, lather rinse repeat. My immediate
thought was that it was restricted airflow due to a gunked up A-coil for
the AC.

This evening I got over there and ripped it apart, sure enough the
A-coil looks gunky, however I could not clean it properly because I am
still fighting one rusted screw for access to it. The access panel to
the underside of the A-coil is in two parts; I removed one and replaced
the access panel on the evaporator so that some air could bypass it if
that were the problem. Unfortunately, it seems to be exhibiting the same
behavior. I didn't time how long it took it to cycle last night
(actually, early this AM - I got the thing working in the first place
about 1 AM) so I can't say if the time between cycles is longer now with
better airflow.

Now here's the weird thing. There is absolutely no nameplate, data
plate, whatever with any kind of part number that I can find on this
furnace to give me any sort of clue as to where to find a manual online
for it so I can delve deeper. Can anyone give me any hints as to where
to look?

So, I guess the question is, without knowing exactly what model furnace
this is, can anyone tell me if this is this normal behavior for this
type furnace, e.g. am I worried over nothing? I just don't want him to
have to pop for a new heat exchanger due to constant overheating.

I sadly do not have an IR thermometer - I own one, but I'll be damned if
I can tell you where it is right now.

Finally, do any of those A-coil cleaner sprays actually work well? The
A-coil is quite filthy, probably due to some ductwork pulling loose and
allowing air to bypass the filter. I'm a little concerned as this A-coil
is well past its "best before" date and when looking on the Big Box's
web site to see if my local store carried anything for this purpose, the
reviews seemed to indicate that a few people had problems with their
fins disintegrating after application of said cleaning spray. Is this a
real concern? (when I said it was past its "best before" date, I meant it.)

thanks much,

nate

Hi,
No trouble code?

On 10/04/2011 08:16 PM, Malcom "Mal" Reynolds wrote:
In , Nate
wrote:



I can't answer your question, but is it possible that it is somehow being
starved for combustion air? Recent weatherization?

Don't think so; air intake appears to actually be inside house and only
exhaust goes outside (I can only find one pipe anywhere,) I have not
however checked exhaust for airflow as it has been raining for what
feels like about a year straight now...

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

On 10/04/2011 10:35 PM, Tony Hwang wrote:


Nate Nagel wrote:
Hi all,

still over at my friend's house... cut on heat last night for the first
time this year. He turned the heat on and went to bed; I realized after
a while that the inducer blower was running but the air handler was not.
Investigated; found that the flame was not lit, inducer was sitting
there grinding away. Popped cover, found a cracked hose between the
inducer fan housing and a pressure transducer. Cut it shorter,
reconnected, OK furnace works. But I did notice that it seems to only
run for about 5 minutes at a time, then will kill the flame, AH fan will
run for a while then shut down. Almost immediately the inducer fan will
start again, flame will relight, lather rinse repeat. My immediate
thought was that it was restricted airflow due to a gunked up A-coil for
the AC.

This evening I got over there and ripped it apart, sure enough the
A-coil looks gunky, however I could not clean it properly because I am
still fighting one rusted screw for access to it. The access panel to
the underside of the A-coil is in two parts; I removed one and replaced
the access panel on the evaporator so that some air could bypass it if
that were the problem. Unfortunately, it seems to be exhibiting the same
behavior. I didn't time how long it took it to cycle last night
(actually, early this AM - I got the thing working in the first place
about 1 AM) so I can't say if the time between cycles is longer now with
better airflow.

Now here's the weird thing. There is absolutely no nameplate, data
plate, whatever with any kind of part number that I can find on this
furnace to give me any sort of clue as to where to find a manual online
for it so I can delve deeper. Can anyone give me any hints as to where
to look?

So, I guess the question is, without knowing exactly what model furnace
this is, can anyone tell me if this is this normal behavior for this
type furnace, e.g. am I worried over nothing? I just don't want him to
have to pop for a new heat exchanger due to constant overheating.

I sadly do not have an IR thermometer - I own one, but I'll be damned if
I can tell you where it is right now.

Finally, do any of those A-coil cleaner sprays actually work well? The
A-coil is quite filthy, probably due to some ductwork pulling loose and
allowing air to bypass the filter. I'm a little concerned as this A-coil
is well past its "best before" date and when looking on the Big Box's
web site to see if my local store carried anything for this purpose, the
reviews seemed to indicate that a few people had problems with their
fins disintegrating after application of said cleaning spray. Is this a
real concern? (when I said it was past its "best before" date, I meant
it.)

thanks much,

nate

Hi,
No trouble code?

This thing isn't that new... Just on appearance this looks older than
the one that was in my last house which was installed in the late 80's.

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

And if he had a blinking trouble code, he can't look it up.
Not knowing the brand and model of the furnace.

With the reduced air flow, sounds like it repeatedly over
heats. I havn't used any of the evaporator cleaners in a
spray can, but "rinse well" is the key. Rinse the dirt and
chemicals out.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"Tony Hwang" wrote in message
news

Nate Nagel wrote:
Hi all,

Now here's the weird thing. There is absolutely no
nameplate, data
plate, whatever with any kind of part number that I can
find on this
furnace to give me any sort of clue as to where to find a
manual online
for it so I can delve deeper. Can anyone give me any hints
as to where
to look?


thanks much,

nate

Hi,
No trouble code?

"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

CY: Hi, Nate!

still over at my friend's house... cut on heat last night
for the first
time this year. He turned the heat on and went to bed; I
realized after
a while that the inducer blower was running but the air
handler was not.
CY: Sounds odd.

Investigated; found that the flame was not lit, inducer
was sitting
there grinding away. Popped cover, found a cracked hose
between the
inducer fan housing and a pressure transducer. Cut it
shorter,
reconnected, OK furnace works.

CY: Good diagnostic skill.

But I did notice that it seems to only
run for about 5 minutes at a time, then will kill the flame,
AH fan will
run for a while then shut down. Almost immediately the
inducer fan will
start again, flame will relight, lather rinse repeat. My
immediate
thought was that it was restricted airflow due to a gunked
up A-coil for
the AC.

CY: I'd want to touch the supply air duct, see if it's super
hot. Quick check, to see if it's cycling on thermal over
heat. I worked on one furnace, the fan limit switch had gone
bad, and wasn't letting the furnace properly heat up. Might
be fan limit switch problem.

This evening I got over there and ripped it apart, sure
enough the
A-coil looks gunky, however I could not clean it properly
because I am
still fighting one rusted screw for access to it. The
access panel to
the underside of the A-coil is in two parts; I removed one
and replaced
the access panel on the evaporator so that some air could
bypass it if
that were the problem. Unfortunately, it seems to be
exhibiting the
same behavior. I didn't time how long it took it to cycle
last night
(actually, early this AM - I got the thing working in the
first place
about 1 AM) so I can't say if the time between cycles is
longer now with
better airflow.

CY: Would be nice to know if that helped. But, like you say,
you were working on it a long time.

Now here's the weird thing. There is absolutely no
nameplate, data
plate, whatever with any kind of part number that I can find
on this
furnace to give me any sort of clue as to where to find a
manual online
for it so I can delve deeper. Can anyone give me any hints
as to where
to look?

CY: Typically, one of the narrow sides of the furnace lifts
up and out. The name plate is often near the gas valve.

So, I guess the question is, without knowing exactly what
model furnace
this is, can anyone tell me if this is this normal behavior
for this
type furnace, e.g. am I worried over nothing? I just don't
want him to
have to pop for a new heat exchanger due to constant
overheating.

CY: Not normal. The furnace should run constantly until the
house is at temp (first run of the season) and then as
needed to keep the temp.

I sadly do not have an IR thermometer - I own one, but I'll
be damned if
I can tell you where it is right now.

CY: I know that kind of trouble. Really irritating.

Finally, do any of those A-coil cleaner sprays actually work
well? The
A-coil is quite filthy, probably due to some ductwork
pulling loose and
allowing air to bypass the filter. I'm a little concerned
as this
A-coil is well past its "best before" date and when looking
on the Big
Box's web site to see if my local store carried anything for
this
purpose, the reviews seemed to indicate that a few people
had problems
with their fins disintegrating after application of said
cleaning spray.
Is this a real concern? (when I said it was past its
"best before"
date, I meant it.)

CY: Never used the cleaner sprays. I'd use a garden sprayer
and hot water to rinse, until the rinse water came clean.

thanks much,

CY: You're welcome. Hope that helps. Sounds like you're a
good friend. Ideally, to pull the A coil out totally, and
clean it with refrigeration coil cleaner. However, that need
a HVAC tech to pump it down, cut the lines, and rebraze,
evacuate, and check the freon level after it's reconnected.

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

On Oct 5, 7:45*am, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
"Nate Nagel" wrote in message

...
Hi all,

CY: Hi, Nate!

still over at my friend's house... *cut on heat last night
for the first
time this year. *He turned the heat on and went to bed; I
realized after
a while that the inducer blower was running but the air
handler was not.
CY: Sounds odd.

* Investigated; found that the flame was not lit, inducer
was sitting
there grinding away. *Popped cover, found a cracked hose
between the
inducer fan housing and a pressure transducer. *Cut it
shorter,
reconnected, OK furnace works.

CY: Good diagnostic skill.

*But I did notice that it seems to only
run for about 5 minutes at a time, then will kill the flame,
AH fan will
run for a while then shut down. *Almost immediately the
inducer fan will
start again, flame will relight, lather rinse repeat. *My
immediate
thought was that it was restricted airflow due to a gunked
up A-coil for
the AC.

CY: I'd want to touch the supply air duct, see if it's super
hot. Quick check, to see if it's cycling on thermal over
heat. I worked on one furnace, the fan limit switch had gone
bad, and wasn't letting the furnace properly heat up. Might
be fan limit switch problem.

This evening I got over there and ripped it apart, sure
enough the
A-coil looks gunky, however I could not clean it properly
because I am
still fighting one rusted screw for access to it. *The
access panel to
the underside of the A-coil is in two parts; I removed one
and replaced
the access panel on the evaporator so that some air could
bypass it if
that were the problem. *Unfortunately, it seems to be
exhibiting the
same behavior. *I didn't time how long it took it to cycle
last night
(actually, early this AM - I got the thing working in the
first place
about 1 AM) so I can't say if the time between cycles is
longer now with
better airflow.

CY: Would be nice to know if that helped. But, like you say,
you were working on it a long time.

Now here's the weird thing. *There is absolutely no
nameplate, data
plate, whatever with any kind of part number that I can find
on this
furnace to give me any sort of clue as to where to find a
manual online
for it so I can delve deeper. *Can anyone give me any hints
as to where
to look?

CY: Typically, one of the narrow sides of the furnace lifts
up and out. The name plate is often near the gas valve.

So, I guess the question is, without knowing exactly what
model furnace
this is, can anyone tell me if this is this normal behavior
for this
type furnace, e.g. am I worried over nothing? *I just don't
want him to
have to pop for a new heat exchanger due to constant
overheating.

CY: Not normal. The furnace should run constantly until the
house is at temp (first run of the season) and then as
needed to keep the temp.

I sadly do not have an IR thermometer - I own one, but I'll
be damned if
I can tell you where it is right now.

CY: I know that kind of trouble. Really irritating.

Finally, do any of those A-coil cleaner sprays actually work
well? *The
A-coil is quite filthy, probably due to some ductwork
pulling loose and
allowing air to bypass the filter. *I'm a little concerned
as this
A-coil is well past its "best before" date and when looking
on the Big
Box's web site to see if my local store carried anything for
this
purpose, the reviews seemed to indicate that a few people
had problems
with their fins disintegrating after application of said
cleaning spray.
* Is this a real concern? *(when I said it was past its
"best before"
date, I meant it.)

CY: Never used the cleaner sprays. I'd use a garden sprayer
and hot water to rinse, until the rinse water came clean.

thanks much,

CY: You're welcome. Hope that helps. Sounds like you're a
good friend. Ideally, to pull the A coil out totally, and
clean it with refrigeration coil cleaner. However, that need
a HVAC tech to pump it down, cut the lines, and rebraze,
evacuate, and check the freon level after it's reconnected.

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.http://members.cox.net/njnagel

First thing I would do is make sure the thermostat is
constantly calling for heat. Could do that by temporarily
bypassing the thermostat and connecting the wires
directly.

As Stormin said, I've found on the furnaces I've dealt with the
tag with the model and other data has been located
inside where the gas valve is, on the upper inside
surface of the right side of the unit.

On Oct 5, 9:24*am, "
wrote:
On Oct 5, 7:45*am, "Stormin Mormon"





wrote:
"Nate Nagel" wrote in message

...
Hi all,

CY: Hi, Nate!

still over at my friend's house... *cut on heat last night
for the first
time this year. *He turned the heat on and went to bed; I
realized after
a while that the inducer blower was running but the air
handler was not.
CY: Sounds odd.

* Investigated; found that the flame was not lit, inducer
was sitting
there grinding away. *Popped cover, found a cracked hose
between the
inducer fan housing and a pressure transducer. *Cut it
shorter,
reconnected, OK furnace works.

CY: Good diagnostic skill.

*But I did notice that it seems to only
run for about 5 minutes at a time, then will kill the flame,
AH fan will
run for a while then shut down. *Almost immediately the
inducer fan will
start again, flame will relight, lather rinse repeat. *My
immediate
thought was that it was restricted airflow due to a gunked
up A-coil for
the AC.

CY: I'd want to touch the supply air duct, see if it's super
hot. Quick check, to see if it's cycling on thermal over
heat. I worked on one furnace, the fan limit switch had gone
bad, and wasn't letting the furnace properly heat up. Might
be fan limit switch problem.

This evening I got over there and ripped it apart, sure
enough the
A-coil looks gunky, however I could not clean it properly
because I am
still fighting one rusted screw for access to it. *The
access panel to
the underside of the A-coil is in two parts; I removed one
and replaced
the access panel on the evaporator so that some air could
bypass it if
that were the problem. *Unfortunately, it seems to be
exhibiting the
same behavior. *I didn't time how long it took it to cycle
last night
(actually, early this AM - I got the thing working in the
first place
about 1 AM) so I can't say if the time between cycles is
longer now with
better airflow.

CY: Would be nice to know if that helped. But, like you say,
you were working on it a long time.

Now here's the weird thing. *There is absolutely no
nameplate, data
plate, whatever with any kind of part number that I can find
on this
furnace to give me any sort of clue as to where to find a
manual online
for it so I can delve deeper. *Can anyone give me any hints
as to where
to look?

CY: Typically, one of the narrow sides of the furnace lifts
up and out. The name plate is often near the gas valve.

So, I guess the question is, without knowing exactly what
model furnace
this is, can anyone tell me if this is this normal behavior
for this
type furnace, e.g. am I worried over nothing? *I just don't
want him to
have to pop for a new heat exchanger due to constant
overheating.

CY: Not normal. The furnace should run constantly until the
house is at temp (first run of the season) and then as
needed to keep the temp.

I sadly do not have an IR thermometer - I own one, but I'll
be damned if
I can tell you where it is right now.

CY: I know that kind of trouble. Really irritating.

Finally, do any of those A-coil cleaner sprays actually work
well? *The
A-coil is quite filthy, probably due to some ductwork
pulling loose and
allowing air to bypass the filter. *I'm a little concerned
as this
A-coil is well past its "best before" date and when looking
on the Big
Box's web site to see if my local store carried anything for
this
purpose, the reviews seemed to indicate that a few people
had problems
with their fins disintegrating after application of said
cleaning spray.
* Is this a real concern? *(when I said it was past its
"best before"
date, I meant it.)

CY: Never used the cleaner sprays. I'd use a garden sprayer
and hot water to rinse, until the rinse water came clean.

thanks much,

CY: You're welcome. Hope that helps. Sounds like you're a
good friend. Ideally, to pull the A coil out totally, and
clean it with refrigeration coil cleaner. However, that need
a HVAC tech to pump it down, cut the lines, and rebraze,
evacuate, and check the freon level after it's reconnected.

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.http://members.cox.net/njnagel

First thing I would do is make sure the thermostat is
constantly calling for heat. *Could do that by temporarily
bypassing the thermostat and connecting the wires
directly.

As Stormin said, I've found on the furnaces I've dealt with the
tag with the model and other data has been located
inside where the gas valve is, on the upper inside
surface of the right side of the unit.

good ideas, I will try both tonight.

nate

Would be intersting if the furnace is behaving normally, but
the OP is over analyzing.

Many times, it's easier for me to pop a digital pic of the
serial number plate, and read it off my camera screen.
Compared to trying to stick my head in.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


wrote in message
...

First thing I would do is make sure the thermostat is
constantly calling for heat. Could do that by temporarily
bypassing the thermostat and connecting the wires
directly.

As Stormin said, I've found on the furnaces I've dealt with
the
tag with the model and other data has been located
inside where the gas valve is, on the upper inside
surface of the right side of the unit.

Be intersting to hear, when you find out what's the real
problem. And, if it's repaired.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"N8N" wrote in message
...


First thing I would do is make sure the thermostat is
constantly calling for heat. Could do that by temporarily
bypassing the thermostat and connecting the wires
directly.

As Stormin said, I've found on the furnaces I've dealt
with the
tag with the model and other data has been located
inside where the gas valve is, on the upper inside
surface of the right side of the unit.

good ideas, I will try both tonight.

nate