Making Repairs on Your Furnace Before the Cold Weather Arrives
Planning for winter is something that most people do with many things, and making sure the furnace in your home is ready for the seasons is an excellent way to reduce the chance of breakdowns. Maintenance and furnace repair can go hand in hand, so making an appointment for furnace maintenance and inspection is an excellent way to determine what repairs are needed.
1. Furnace Inspections
One of the most essential parts of keeping your furnace running all winter is having a furnace repair company inspect the entire heating system and check the fuel system that feeds the furnace. Often breakdowns are related to problems in the fuel system like the fuel pump on the furnace.
The furnace repair company can check all the fuel lines, the pump and the filters and replace any part that is not functioning correctly or repair leaks in the lines that may be allowing air into the system and fuel to seep out. These kinds of repairs are often minor, but ignoring them could lead to a major breakdown or failure in the middle of the winter, leaving you without heat until the repair technician can get there and fix the unit for you.
2. Clean and Replace Filters
It is important that the filters in the furnace are clean and ready to go when the times comes to start the furnace. If the filters are clogged, the system will not draw the air in that it needs, and damage can occur to the fans in the system. A furnace repair tech can replace the fan for you, but damaging a fan simply because the filters were not properly maintained could be a costly oversight.
The fuel filter should also be checked and replaced if it is dirty, especially if you use number two heating oil. The fuel is typically dirty and needs filtering before it goes into the furnace so that the fuel nozzle in the firebox is not damaged. Dirt in the fuel can clog the nozzle or erode the opening in the nozzle. In one case, you will not get fuel; on the other, you will get too much fuel. Both conditions will cause a shutdown of the furnace and require you to call a repair company to deal with it.
3. Replacing the Furnace
If the furnace is old and you need to replace it, the furnace repair company will let you know that the heater needs replacement after an inspection. Extremely old furnaces are often hard to fix because the parts are hard to find, and if you find the parts, they can be expensive, making furnace replacement cheaper then trying to repair the old heating system.
