As we move into heating season, the strain on your furnace is going to increase. More wear and tear on the furnace means more chances for problems to develop. Hopefully, you’ve already scheduled preventive maintenance in order to protect your furnace from the worst of it. There’s still a chance that a problem could occur with the system, though. For the sake of your furnace, it’s important that you be able to identify problems and have them repaired as quickly as possible. So, make sure that you know what symptoms indicate that your furnace is in trouble. Let’s take a look at some of the more common problems that can afflict your furnace this heating season.
Air Handler Issues
The air handler is the part of the furnace responsible for circulating air throughout the house while the system is operating. This generates a lot of strain on the system, so to compensate for it the air handler motor uses a series of lubricated bearings. These bearings wear down over time, causing the friction on the air handler motor to increase. If you notice a loud grinding sound coming from your furnace, it probably means that your air handler bearings need to be replaced. If those bearings are not replaced in time, the air handler motor could overheat and burn out.
Pilot System Failure
Most furnaces are gas-burning, which means they need a pilot system to ignite the gas when the furnace turns on. You’ve probably experienced the pilot light blowing out at some point, in which case re-lighting it should solve the issue. If the system itself fails, though, you won’t be able to ignite the flow of gas without fixing it. If your furnace can’t seem to start up, it may be that your ignition system has failed.
Sunset Air offers furnace repair services throughout Olympia, WA. Call today for an appointment.
