Furnace Problems You Need to Know About

Summer is over, and heating season is here. As you start to use your home’s heating system more and more in the coming months, it’s a good idea to keep an eye out for the various problems that can afflict your system. Furnaces, for example, have a number of issues that can decrease performance or cause a breakdown. It is important to know the symptoms of these issues, so that you can call for repairs as soon as possible. Let’s take a look at some common furnace problems now.

Delayed Ignition

Gas burning furnaces are not perfect systems. There are always byproducts of burning natural gas, one of which is carbon molecules. These molecules can build up on the burner assembly over time, and eventually prevent the jets from igniting properly. Delayed ignition often causes one or more of the jets to burn through all the excess gas at once, when they finally do ignite. This creates a loud booming sound every time you turn on your furnace. Typically, the way to address this is to simply have the burner assembly cleaned.

Failure to Start

If your furnace isn’t starting at all, it is possible that you have a problem with your pilot light. The pilot light is the ignition source for the burner assembly, the part that actually sparks the first flame every time the furnace turns on. Without it, the furnace has no way of burning gas and generating heat. Occasionally, a pilot light can be repaired by replacing broken parts like the thermocouple. In some cases, however, the only thing to be done is to replace the entire pilot light.

If your furnace needs repairs of any kind, call Saddleback Plumbing. Our expert HVAC technicians serve the entire Mission Viejo, CA area.