Tune-up and cleaning
Furnace tune-up and cleaning
The first cold front shows which furnaces were looked after. A visit in early fall finds the weak parts while the weather still forgives a day without heat.
What a thorough visit looks at
- Burners cleaned, and the flame watched for a steady, even pattern.
- Flame sensor polished and igniter checked for hairline cracks.
- Heat exchanger inspected for rust, cracks or soot.
- Blower wheel cleaned and motor current measured.
- Vent pipe traced from the cabinet to the outdoors.
- Condensate trap and drain flushed on a condensing furnace.
- Gas pressure and temperature rise compared with the rating plate.
- Safety switches made to trip on purpose, then reset.
Filters between visits
A one-inch filter in a return grille or a slot beside the furnace often needs changing every month or two once heating season starts, sooner with pets or remodeling dust. Thicker media filters last longer. The size is printed on the frame; write it on the furnace door so the next one is easy.
Many high-limit shutdowns trace back to a filter packed with dust. Changing it costs almost nothing and is the first thing to try when a furnace keeps cutting out.
Snow and the side-wall pipes
Condensing furnaces breathe through a pair of plastic pipes on an outside wall. Drifting snow or a crust of ice over them trips the pressure switch and the furnace stops. After a storm, clear the openings by hand and keep shrubs trimmed back.
Gas heat and carbon monoxide
A yearly check is also a chance to look at combustion and venting, the two places carbon monoxide trouble starts. Read carbon monoxide and gas furnaces for alarm placement and Colorado law.
Cold house? Make the call.
Describe the symptoms and give your street. A heating and cooling business that covers the Fort Collins area, independent of this website, handles everything after that.