FURNACE REPLACEMENT FTL

[MINNESOTA 5.0]

forgot to clean my furnace the last few years and it showed. now the heat exchanger is so full of soot i am buying a new one.

live and learn i guess.:idiot:

[68GTO]

So you're an A/C guy, not a furnace guy.


J/K

[ACRucrazy]

Ive never cleaned my furnace

How much did a new one cost you? I need a new one, its old as hell.

[GoldenPlump]

Run a good filter in your new one and make sure to change it frequently. Cheap (or no) filter will lead to early furnace failure.

I run the 3M filtrete filters and hardly ever have to clean mine. Just turned on the furnace for the first time since spring and didn't even get that slight burning dust odor that most furnaces give when they are first fired up.

[xjfish]

Oil? I've been working on mine on an off all week, its a complete dinosaur... Probably 50+ years old I'll be in your boots soon enough.

[MINNESOTA 5.0]

i just got lazy and didnt do the cleaning that should be done every year.
2 of the heat exchanger tubes had so much soot, i filled up a small shop vac 1/2 full of soot.
when i re-lit the unit,the flame would backdraft out of the unit and out of it into the air, caused from improper exhaust. that in turn just made more soot and it snowballed over the years. very bad to have it this way.
i noticed some black soot last year around the vent pipe but didn't think that it meant anything.:idiot: the gas bills from last winter i remember being kinda high and the house wasn't keeping very warm.

just thought i would post to maybe give a heads up to people to check and clean theirs before the cold weather hits.

[MINNESOTA 5.0]

So you're an A/C guy, not a furnace guy.


J/K

i hate doing house chores like that.

[xjfish]

So its an oil furnace you speak of correct? I've already filled my smaller shop vac 2x with soot... It actually seemed to work "fine" before I started cleaning/tune-up

[MINNESOTA 5.0]

mine is a forced air nat gas

[xjfish]

mine is a forced air nat gas

Wow I didn't realize they could get so dirty.

[MINNESOTA 5.0]

me either. i was very very surprised. my friend that is an hvac guy said it is real common if you dont clean them yearly.
we will be installing a new unit as i dont feel like cleaning the old one and it will be nice to have a new furnace.

[Drunko McMoppo]

I enjoy my boiler. All I have to do is make sure it has water in it.

[Fernanernie]

IB4 bluchev pawning off his furnace.

[SVT5LITER]

me either. i was very very surprised. my friend that is an hvac guy said it is real common if you dont clean them yearly.
we will be installing a new unit as i dont feel like cleaning the old one and it will be nice to have a new furnace.

Yep, real common. Just like your buddy said, clean it yearly

[SVT5LITER]

I enjoy my boiler. All I have to do is make sure it has water in it.

Uhm.. lol, no. If you've never cleaned it, DO IT.

You've heard of the tale of the shoe maker's family having no shoes?
Well the same can be said for this HVAC guy.

Story: Where I'm at it's hot water heat (boiler). It's the most efficient heating system you can have. Sucks though in the summer, and it's dry in the winter. It's pretty tough on hard wood floors. No ductwork, so 110 window shakers zappin' the energy in the summer. Anyway, last summer I woke up to a phone call from a buddy. While I'm waking up, I'm smelling a burnt smell. This wakes your ass up real quick. Something was either on fire, or currently IS on fire. While on the phone, I quick do a survey of the place. Track it down to the boiler. I noticed the year or two prior that there was considerable flame rollout on the boiler. I didn't think much about it, and made a tin canopy for the front of the boiler, which is original to the house.
Well the rollout became so bad, that it kicked out the side of the canopy and burned the wire coating of the gas valve , and this is what I was smelling. The boiler is too old to have a rollout swtich to prevent such an occurance. I kicked off the pwr and decided it may be time to clean the ol' boiler. It was a MESS! The buddy that woke me up decided to come over and help, and we both had a good 2+ hours into cleaning that thing, and the shop vac was goin' thru the paces. It had never been cleaned that good before. We had to notch the top to even get it off. I should've cleaned it again this year, but I failed to have the time again

Moral of the story? Boilers also need to be cleaned.