Red Rock Mechanical, LLC Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Gas Furnace’

The Safety Features of Your Gas Furnace

Monday, March 14th, 2022

natural-gas-furnace-burnersWe often remind customers who have natural gas furnaces that these systems aren’t “dangerous.” It’s true that gas furnaces can develop safety hazards, but this is also true of many different home appliances. With the right maintenance for your furnace, as well as calling for prompt furnace repair in Plattsburgh, NY whenever necessary, you can expect your gas furnace to safely serve you and your family for many years.

To help explain how your furnace operates safely, as well as how to tell when something may be wrong, we’re going to look at several key safety features built into gas furnaces.

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Do Gas Furnaces Still Use Pilot Lights?

Monday, February 28th, 2022

gas-flames-furnaceThe standing pilot light was the conventional way that natural gas furnaces lit their burners whenever the heating system turned on. They’ve become so identified with home furnaces that people take for granted that pilot lights are still around doing the same job as usual.

This isn’t the actual situation, however. Although you can still find gas furnaces with standing pilot lights, they have mostly gone of out use since 2010. If you have a furnace installed after that year, it almost certainly doesn’t use a pilot light to light the burners but an electronic ignition system.

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6 Signs You May Need to Get a New Furnace

Monday, November 22nd, 2021

rustic-furnaceOne of the most important facts you need to know about your home’s gas furnace is when to have it replaced. No powerful appliance like a furnace can last forever and, considering our extreme winter weather, it’s amazing most furnaces last for as long as they do. At a certain point, you’ll need to make the choice to stop arranging for furnace repair in Burlington, VT and instead invest in getting a new furnace installed. This is a big step, one you won’t want to take lightly. We can help you to make the choice, and we’ll start with this post.

This isn’t an exhaustive list of signs your furnace is retirement-ready, but it’ll help you get an idea of when to call us for a professional opinion.

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Why Won’t the Burners in My Gas Furnace Light?

Monday, January 18th, 2021

burners-in-furnaceThis is something that will cause a sudden pit of panic in your stomach: it’s a cold winter day and when you turn the furnace on … nothing happens. The burners won’t ignite and you can’t see the blue color of the flames in the cabinet. That means no heat for the house. 

There’s no reason to panic, however, since you can always get the furnace repair in Burlington, VT you need with a call to our professionals. Although there are a few simple troubleshooting steps you can try when a furnace isn’t responding, don’t attempt to make any actual repairs yourself. Only trained professionals can safely repair a gas furnace.

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Facts on Condensing Furnaces and How One Can Benefit You

Monday, March 2nd, 2020

piggy-bankIf you have a furnace in your house that’s more than 15 or even 20 years old, any replacement system will have a higher energy efficiency rating. This because standard for gas furnaces have changed dramatically over two decades, and even the new mid-efficiency models have a higher standard than the mid-efficiency models at the start of the 21st century.

If you upgrade to a new furnace at the end of this year’s heating season, you can expect energy-saving performance. And if you want a major efficiency upgrade, one of the best options is a condensing furnace. These furnaces score some of the highest AFUE ratings (efficiency ratings) of any heating system on the market, with as little waste as 2%.

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What Strange Furnace Smells Might Be Telling You

Monday, January 20th, 2020

girl-pinching-noseWhen a furnace first turns on for the winter season, it emits a burning odor into the air from the vents. This is normal. It’s odor of the dust along the heat exchanger or heating elements burning off as the unit heats up. The smell will subside after a short time and the furnace will get into the regular groove of warming the house.

But if a furnace starts to smell funny after it’s started up for the season, it’s often a warning something is wrong that needs attention. We want you to know what these unusual odors may mean and when to call for furnace repair in Plattsburgh, NY from our team, so we’ve written a short guide. If you have any doubts about your furnace, don’t spend long analyzing it—shut the furnace off and call for assistance. Always better to be safe when it comes to a central furnace.

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Corrosion and the Furnace—Yes, It Can Happen

Monday, December 9th, 2019

rusted-furnaceWhat sort of home appliance do you think is most likely to corrode? You’ll probably think of the water heater, or shower heads and other water-using fixtures. You probably don’t think about your gas furnace rusting. It doesn’t use water to warm your house, after all. It applies heat to the air through a metal heat exchanger that contains hot combustion gas.

But furnaces can rust, and many do. It can be a minor irritation, a sign the furnace is too old and needs to be replaced, or even a major safety hazard. Let’s look a bit more into how corrosion can affect a furnace and what it means.

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Can My Furnace Explode? (And a Few Other Questions)

Monday, March 18th, 2019

gas-flames-furnaceFurnaces are found in more homes than any other type of central heating system. Ironically, they’re also not well understood by the average homeowner, and that’s probably because they are so common; they’re easy to take for granted.

You don’t need to be a furnace expert to have a good working furnace—that’s why you have professionals like us to help with any furnace service or other heater repair in Burlington, VT you may require. In fact, only professionals with licenses to work on gas-powered heaters should ever handle service on a furnace.

But extra knowledge is always helpful, and homeowners often have questions about the furnace. Below are two of the most urgent people have—plus a bonus one that pops up as well.

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Last Minute Furnace Repairs—Don’t Ignore Them

Monday, April 2nd, 2018

hand-holding-wrenchThe weather is still cool-to-cold here, and who knows what sudden shifts may occur through the rest of April and even in to May? You are probably still running your furnace during the evenings and sometimes the days as well. If you think your furnace is showing signs that something is wrong, like a loss of heating power or strange sounds from the cabinets, make sure you call a professional to repair the system right away.

When you read that last sentence, did a pestering voice in your head say, “Why bother? The furnace is about to shut down for the warm season. There’s not much point in hustling to get a minor problem fixed now. Wait it out.”

Please don’t listen to that nagging part of your brain! Ignoring furnace repairs, no matter the time of year, is bad for your comfort, your bills, and even your safety. We’ll explain further.

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Start Considering Furnace Replacement Options

Monday, March 5th, 2018

technician-examines-furnace“Spring hasn’t even arrived yet, and yet I should be thinking about replacing my furnace?”

Yes! Your current furnace is still working away, and will continue to do so until the warmth finally settles in. But the “spring/summer break” for your furnace is an ideal time to make plans to replace it. The point when you need the furnace the least is the time to have it taken out and a new one put in, because…

  • You’ll be far ahead of the next cold weather and won’t have to worry about cramming in an installation in fall.
  • Local HVAC contractors don’t have schedules that are packed during the spring and can find a convenient time to arrange for the work.
  • You’ll have enough time to review your options carefully for a new furnace installation.

Let’s take a deeper look into that last point. Choosing a new furnace is trickier than it may seem, especially if you’ve never had to have one replaced.

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