Like other household appliance, gas furnaces have their own service life and they may require repair over time.
There are several main causes of their malfunctions. Improper operation of gas equipment, unacceptable microclimate in a boiler room, untimely maintenance of all systems or low-quality components are among the main causes. Self-repair requires taking all safety precautions. The main danger of the repair of gas equipment hides in a possible gas leakage.
Furnace manufacturers strongly recommend to call a Customer Care dealer to troubleshoot the appliance and fix problems associated with failures of gas system and built-in electronic devices. An inexperienced person will not be able to independently configure, repair and restore the functions of specialized automatic systems in a gas furnace.
Closed / sealed gas burner;
Specific safety units;
Heat exchange system consisting of one or two internal devices depending on the number of serviced circuits.
Most of these units cannot be replaced or repaired by yourself. In case of any interference with the boiler construction, its owner loses the right for a repair at the expense of the manufacturer during the warranty period.
However, the owner of the gas equipment, seeking to extend its service life, can do the following:
- Chimney cleaning. It is required when the draft gets weaker and is done by mechanical manipulations or with the use of chemical agents.
- Checking the tightness of the water supply connection points, gas supply lines, heating circuits.
- Installation of a voltage stabilizer.
We should remind one more time that all actions that require you to remove the casing from the boiler must be performed by a gas service specialist. If you smell gas, you need to shut off the gas supply, immediately air the room and contact your service organization.
Modern gas furnaces are equipped with various sensors that reflect a number of important functional indicators of the appliance. They track changes of temperature, pressure and other crucial parameters. In case of a malfunction, modern gas furnaces are equipped with an automatic shutdown system. It will display an error code. It is important to remember that different manufacturers have different error codes. Аmerican standard error codes will be different from Carrier error codes. Errors on the control panel of the furnace can contain numbers, letters or indicators flashing or blinking in different modes. User’s manual that came with your furnace describes the most common malfunctions in and ways how to detect, diagnose, and eliminate them. It also describes what a specific error code means and what to do if you see lights flashing on the control panel.
Do not throw the manual away as it lists the specific features of your gas furnace model, the size and location of the mechanical nodes and parts. Yet, if the manual was lost, you can find it on the website of your manufacturer.