An important component of your furnace, the heat exchanger makes it possible to heat your home safely. Heat exchangers often get a bad rep, but their metal component is responsible for containing the combustion fumes produced by the burner, so these fumes don’t escape into the warm air being circulated through your home.
With a failing heat exchanger, the fumes containing toxic gasses such as carbon monoxide may leak out into your home, compromising everyone’s safety.
What Causes Your Heat Exchanger to Crack
Your heat exchanger may crack due to a number of reasons: frequent temperature cycling, old age, incorrect installation, poor furnace preventative maintenance, and bad manufacturing.
Symptoms of a Cracked Heat Exchanger
The sooner you recognize the symptoms of a cracked heat exchanger, the sooner you can address the problem before it can have repercussions on your health.
1. Unusual smell
A cracked heat exchanger will release an unpleasant smell akin to formaldehyde. When your heat turns on and you notice this smell, arrange for an HVAC technician to visit and inspect the heat exchanger.
If you have a functioning carbon monoxide detector, it should also alert you.
2. Your furnace is leaking water
There are several reasons why your furnace is leaking water.
However, it’s possible that a faulty primary heat exchanger is the culprit if there’s water leaking out of a standard-efficiency furnace.
3. Soot build-up
A clear sign of an incomplete combustion, soot build-up is also a symptom of a cracked heat exchanger.
Checking for soot build-up isn’t something we recommend you do alone, since it requires taking your furnace apart.
4. A flickering flame when you the heat is turned on
If it flickers after the blower kicks on, you may be dealing with a cracked heat exchanger.
5. Physical issues when you’re near the faulty heat exchanger furnace or in your home
A cracked heat exchanger may allow toxic gasses to leak inside your home, causing household members to feel sick or disoriented, lightheaded, and nauseous.
How to Avoid Heat Exchanger Problems
Scheduling regular furnace maintenance is still the smartest way to avoid heat exchanger problems. A professional HVAC technician will thoroughly clean the furnace, check the heat exchanger for cracks or corrosion, and make the necessary adjustments or repairs so your system keeps running efficiently, safely, and reliably.
FURNACE REPAIR NEAR ME – Contact a Good Guy!
There are Heating & Air Conditioning maintenance tips to keep in mind so you enjoy uninterrupted heating.
But when you require furnace repair, choosing a Good Guy for the job ensures it’s done right the first time, so you won’t have to encounter the same problem anytime soon.
We’ll thoroughly inspect your furnace and diagnose the problem ASAP, so your home is once again warm and comfortable.
Aside from professional furnace repair, we also offer maintenance services to help you get the most out of your system. Nothing slips through the cracks: we check everything and catch small issues before they become bigger, more expensive problems for you later on.
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