Printer-friendly versionThe temps here in upstate NY are starting to dip into the too cold to not heat the house range. It gets gown to around 40 deg (F) at night and will certainly go lower very soon now.
The furnace itself has been working except for one annoying problem. The fan doesn't properly turn off at the end of a heat cycle. Sometimes it can run for hours at a time wasting electricity and blowing colder air until the burner starts up again. All of the boards in the furnace have now been replaced at least once because they've failed. The last board burned up and almost caused a melt-down.
When I tested the furnace a few days ago it still had the problem with the fan not turning off. I decided to take the job of fixing it on myself since my heating guy seems to be a total klutz at diagnosing the problem. Since the only thing that controls the heat that hasn't been replaced or looked at was the thermostat I started there. It's one of the type with two mercury switches and a bi-metallic coil that senses the temperature. I know if they aren't exactly level to within a degree or so that it can cause a bunch of problems.
I got out my trusty iPod Touch and used an app I downloaded that turns the Touch into a fairly accurate level gauge. When I checked the thermostat is was almost 5 degrees out of being level. That's enough to cause the problems I've been having so I re-leveled it.
I'll have to wait a few days until the temps take another nosedive enough to bring the heat on again but I'm fairly confident that this time the problem will be fixed. If it isn't I can get an inexpensive electronic thermostat and put that in place.
A friendly reminder to those of you in the colder parts of the country to do a heating check and make sure that things are working properly before you need the heat the most. It's also a good idea to replace the batteries in any smoke detectors and/or Carbon Monoxide detectors if you have them.
Bob Arnold
Hadn't thought of that
I have had problems with my furnace in the last few winters, it hadn't occurred to me to check the level of the thermostat. Since I live in a mobile home a mile and a half from the San Andreas Fault, getting out of level is really easy. Easy to fix, too, with a long wrench to reach the jacks under the house. Takes two people though.
Anyway, I'm still having problems with heat. My swamp cooler is still leaking and water runs off the roof every time I use it. Got another week or two of 90+ temps here then the glory of autumn in the mountains for six or eight weeks before winter comes. Hope we don't have too much rain this winter, with such a vicious fire season not over yet, we're prime for an epic mudslide season.
Hugs,
Erin