DIY Furnace Repair Tips
Repairing a furnace seems like a rather daunting affair. With all the wires and technical stuff you tend to get lost amongst it all. But when you have a broken or limply functioning furnace system and the winters are particularly bone chilling then getting through them can be quite difficult, to say the least. However, there should be a few things that can be done to prevent your machine from getting from bad to worse. Things that you can do before having to spend a ton of money on some technician. The following tips are simple and just require a little bit of attention to details and a few dollars here and there; nothing that is very difficult to understand or carry out.
The first thing you have to do is check the thermostat. Thermostats tend to be the first thing to give way and can give faulty readings or none at all if they happen to be spoilt. They can also mess up the temperatures in the room making it too hot or cold regardless of what temperature you try to set it at. Therefore the first thing to do is check if your thermostat is broken in any particular place, if so, it can be easily fixed with a bit of electrical take. You should also remove your thermostat completely and check to see if there are any loose wires. All you have to do here is fix them back into place properly and ensure that they can’t get lose any time soon. While you are doing this you can clean out all the loose dirt from the thermostat.
The next step is making sure that your thermostat is powered. It would be a waste of time, energy and money to call a repair guy to fix your furnace when all is really required is the flip of a switch. If the switch does not turn the furnace on remove it and check for loose wiring and fix that too. Sometimes, all it is are a bunch of loose wires that just need to be put back in place. Now and then it could also be that the fuse has burnt out. In this case you can buy or make a new fuse for yourself, which is a rather simple task, and fix it back on again.
Another thing people forget to check is the panel above the blower motor. If this panel is not properly secure then the furnace will not work properly at all. This is because when it is in place it presses down on a switch that allows the furnace to turn on. So make sure that this panel is in the exact place it is meant to be. The next thing to check are the filters. If you have clogged or dirty filters then your machine will not work properly at all. This is the case with all kind of machinery. Even it is working it will not be fully efficient and will function poorly. Dirty and clogged filters is the number of cause of furnaces not functioning properly. So make sure you check your filter every three to four months and change it within that time span as well.
A lot of grime, slush and winter dirt and leaves gets caught up in these filters and even if it does not look very dirty you should most definitely change the filters regularly. If you are unaware of where to locate the filters or how to get to them then you should look up the gas manual for the most accurate directions. Using fiberglass filters are not only easy to change but they also protect the blower and the blower motor. Another thing to keep in mind is that a dirty pilot can cause the flame sensor to register a wrong reading and therefore make the furnaces too hot or not hot enough. Cleaning the pilot is the simplest all you have to do is remove the dirty with a simple drinking straw. This will allow direct cleaning and you can get the tiniest specs of dirt out of the way.
The next thing you need to do is make sure your gas in turned out. You might think that you have already turned the gas on and the situation is absolutely incredible but a lot of the time people forget the smallest and simplest of things like turning the gas on. It is a known fact that furnaces drain gallons of water when it used, however, if you notice that this is not happening then there is probably something clogging the drain pipes like dirt or grim or something else. Make sure that you change or clean the pipes out regularly. These steps will ensure that your furnace lasts longer and you save a lot more money.
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