Furnace HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SIXBANGR]

My furnance was doing this at the beginning of the season. I had to tighten the thermocoulpe at the valve just a bit. Been fine since. Have a new one just in case. My furnance is an old gravity feed. Makes all sorts of creaking noises. House was built in 1930.

 

[Dabigguy]

Glad you were able to tighten it a little and make it work. Just be careful when you tighten these. There is a ceramic insulator that will break if over tightened. They say finger tight and then an extra 1/4 turn.

 

[GNBRETT]

Went back up there when the tech arrived and it fired right up. He said probably air in the line. States the unit is working perfectly fine.

 

[BobbyBuick]

actually in a milivolt system such as a gravity furnace or a non sparking fireplace .In other words if the electric goes off and you still have heat it is a milivolt system .these are called pilot generators and look like this

in a furnace with a 24 volt transformer and a continuous pilot it is called a thermocouple both do the same function but are differant .A thermocouple looks like this

 

[Scott A.]

My LP furnace does not have a pilot light, but I have a LP heater in the garage that does. My tank is about 200 feet from the house, every spring I turn off the tank valve since I do not need to heat anymore, and every October when I turn it back on, it takes a long time to purge the line so the pilot light stays lit. About (10) minutes sometimes. Sometimes it will light and look ok, but then extinguish until its completely purged. You may have a couple of issues to look at, but the basic theory of 'worked fine before they turned off the gas line' seems to pinpoint a line issue.

 

[SIXBANGR]

it may have been changed in it's life because it has a thermocouple. Heats the house pretty good for just having two vents. Actully one, just comes out both sides of the wall.

 

[stack1]

That's good you got it fixed. We had to think about back up heat after we were without power for a few days in December a few years ago. We have a heat pump so when ice knocked out power everywhere, we were screwed. I installed a wood burner and now it's 80 degrees in this house (13 outside). I have to open the door once awhile to let it cool down. If I had to buy another wood burner, I'd get pellets with the automatic feeder so I don't have to keep putting wood in.

 

[TURBOPOWERED68]

good to see that you are up and running again

 

[GNBRETT]

That's good you got it fixed. We had to think about back up heat after we were without power for a few days in December a few years ago. We have a heat pump so when ice knocked out power everywhere, we were screwed. I installed a wood burner and now it's 80 degrees in this house (13 outside). I have to open the door once awhile to let it cool down. If I had to buy another wood burner, I'd get pellets with the automatic feeder so I don't have to keep putting wood in.

I thought about the pettet idea and a few of my friends have them. The only problem with that is you have to buy all the pellets in the summer time if u don't want to get rapped come winter. In the summer I want to buy good gas for my car vs. pettet stoves....

Your gonna have to buy several pallets worth and you need somewhere to store them. Space is limited here in my garage. I have no basement. Pellet stoves seem great in theory but can be kinda a PITA.

I think it will just be easier to buy a small propane gas fireplace for downstairs. Or maybe a wood burning stove. I do live in the woods and have hundreds of acres of woods behind be. It might just be easier to cut up a few trees and store a cord or so like my neighbors do.

 

[Scott A.]

Have you thought about the add-on wood burners for your existing furnace? They sell them at Menards, TSC, etc for around $1k and less. I've been watching the outdoor boilers for several years waiting to get a deal on one, and really haven't found one yet. I figure it will cost around $7k+ if I install it myself. Lately I've been considering the wood burning inserts too, for supplemental and emergency heat.

 

[Quick6'n'-K.C.]

I spent all thanksgiving week cutting down 2 65-70' oak trees. Each tree was about 48 inches across.

It was alot of work, i dont wish that upon anyone....

This was me at 45' , there were power lines on two sides of the tree..., i only took out the internet cable line once

 

[101prf]

if you have a thermocouple you need to start saving for a new furnace they havnt made them for at least 20 years and probably more like 25
and if you have propane with a thermocouple you are paying way to much for heat in your home you could cut your bill by 45-60% with new equipment
good luck Bob Slusser
Gen Manager Airtron Heating and A/C

With Propane being the second most expensive heat next to electric and 30% tax credits for HE furnaces right now would be a smart time to replace. Attics are not the best place for a condensing furnace as the drain may need heat tape. Tax credits I believe end at the end of 2010. As for wood vs pellets, pellets are less work but your woodstove will work if we have another icestorm like last year.