Warmth . . . Finally!
Posted on February 2, 2007 - Filed Under Housing |
Here’s a tip: a repair man who always offers to replace the cheapest parts first is probably a good guy.
My Larry Carlton heater repair man taught me a few slick tricks regarding gas heaters. More specifically, why they go out.
I’ll share with the class.
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My first suspicion was the thermocouple had gone bad. The pilot light of the furnace blows directly onto the thermocouple, keeping it hot. If the pilot light goes out, the thermocouple gets cold and shuts the entire furnace off. This prevents the room from filling up with gas and having an A-Team style explosion minus B.A. Baracus. If the thermocouple goes bad, it will shut off the furnace. |
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It was replaced, minimal charge. Unfortunately, waiting was required due to the furnace cutting out at night.
The furnace went out again. I dreaded the repair man telling me that he would have to replace the "gugenheim" bar or some other mythical part that would cost me around $500. Ugh.
Nope. He pointed out the second sensor: the second possibility.
Near the top of the heater, near the flue, there is another sensor. This sensor almost works in the reverse fashion as the thermocouple. If your flue (vent) is blocked, hot smoke would fill up the room and probably kill the little canary a tenant might have. To prevent this, the sensor at the top will shut the furnace off if it gets hot due to the smoke coming back into the room.
This sensor was replaced.
The furnace works.
It’s interesting to note the reaction of the tenant. He was almost irritated that the heater had been fixed. His new complaints are with the insulation.
Maybe I should have left a mint on his pillow.
For future note, the first three things to check on a furnace that won’t stay lit is the thermostat, thermocouple then the flue sensor. All of which could be replaced with a little savvy and elbow-grease.
As is my case, my "savvy" came after the fact.
But he did give me a great suggestion: Listen to some Oscar Peterson. That man can play!
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One Response to “Warmth . . . Finally!”
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Ah… The Thermocouple…. Cheap part if youo know about… Expensive as hell for servicing the first time…
Out here on Long Island, every person or group that services gas heating, or any kind of heating for that matter, requires a service contract… It’s their hook to make you pay them a couple hundred bucks to get repairs done rather quickly. It pretty much felt like extortion rather than a service contract / form of insurance.
Our pilot light went out conveniently just as it began to get chilly in the Fall. I’m fairly handy so i tried lighting it repeatedly, to no avail. The damn thing just wouldn’t stay lit. So after calling around to several places, I found the gas compny to be the cheapest AND fastest. The guy was very friendly and gave me choices of thermocouples. The $13 model that tends to need replacing within a year or the $31 model that lasts about 3 years.
Some quick math told me that this should be the better deal, we’ll see…
$226 later the pilot light was lit and running smoothly.
Of course I was reminded during the instalation, which I observed very closely, that if I had the service contract with them it would only have cost me the price of the part for the service call.
I told him I’d think about it and sent him on his way…
Considering that the furnace itself is only 3 years old, and hte Thermocouple that was replaced as original to the unit, by replacing it with a new oneI should be fine for a couple of years with that problem.
I’ll be able to replace this part in the future with no trouble. If I didn’t reside in the house, I think I’d go for some kind of cotract. But since we live here and have a tenant here as well, I can play handyman and gamble on minimal repairs. I’m hoping my future with the appliances here doesn’t end up lilke your on-going issues with your heat!
Keep up the excellent work on the blog!