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Posted by Kevin on January 16, 2008, 1:41 pm
Hi all, I've had a very strange problem with my furnace lately. It's
happened about ten times that when the thermostat clicks and it should
start putting out heat again, the furnace does not turn on. When this
happens overnight the house temperature drops 15 degrees, or if it is
during the day we'll notice it after a couple degree drop. So here is
the strange thing -- to get the furnace running again, I walk over to
the gas stove and turn on one of the burners, and within 10 seconds I
hear the furnace start up.
When this first started happening I tried messing with the thermostat
and breaker in addition to turning on the gas stove, but the last
several times I've gotten it restarted solely by turning on the
stove. The furnace is a '91 Janitrol. Does anyone know if it might
have a gas pressure sensor that prevents it from turning on if the gas
pressure is too high or low? I was wondering if turning on the stove
regulates the pressure so the furnace can start up.
I described this to the gas company and they said it sounded like a
furnace problem, and I called an HVAC friend and he did not have any
ideas, so I was hoping someone might have ideas or some kind of
experience with this. Any thoughts are appreciated!
Kevin
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Posted by Lloyd E. Sponenburgh on January 16, 2008, 2:29 pm
493b-88dc-fd3728f408c2@f47g2000hsd.googlegroups.com:
> Hi all, I've had a very strange problem with my furnace lately. It's
> happened about ten times that when the thermostat clicks and it should
> start putting out heat again, the furnace does not turn on. When this
> happens overnight the house temperature drops 15 degrees, or if it is
> during the day we'll notice it after a couple degree drop. So here is
> the strange thing -- to get the furnace running again, I walk over to
> the gas stove and turn on one of the burners, and within 10 seconds I
> hear the furnace start up.
I'd be willing bet it's a the regulator at the supply. Most gas valves
protect against over-pressure; turning on the stove may cause it to drop
just a tad -- just enough to allow the furnace valve to open.
If it's not the regulator, then the furnace valve is probably defective.
This is not a do-it-yourself job. Hire a qualified technician. (blowing
one's house off the foundations is more serious than just breaking what
you're working on)
LLoyd
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Posted by Kevin on January 16, 2008, 2:36 pm
> I'd be willing bet it's a the regulator at the supply. =A0Most gas valves
> protect against over-pressure; =A0turning on the stove may cause it to dro=
p
> just a tad -- just enough to allow the furnace valve to open.
>
> If it's not the regulator, then the furnace valve is probably defective.
>
> This is not a do-it-yourself job. =A0Hire a qualified technician. =A0(blow=
ing
> one's house off the foundations is more serious than just breaking what
> you're working on)
>
> LLoyd
LLoyd, thank you for the quick reply! I agree, I will definitely have
a professional work on this. I was just looking for thoughts since
the gas company and my HVAC friend did not have any ideas. If it was
the regulator at the supply, do you know if that is something the gas
company is usually responsible for? The gas company person I talked
to on the phone said it's free to have them test the gas, so he said I
could have them do that but then discouraged me from it since he
guessed it was a furnace problem. One more question -- if I had the
gas company come out to test, would it be best for them to test while
the furnace is in the "not turning on" state?
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Posted by Lloyd E. Sponenburgh on January 16, 2008, 2:45 pm
4f43-aee2-e752617a41b2@i3g2000hsf.googlegroups.com:
> LLoyd, thank you for the quick reply! I agree, I will definitely have
> a professional work on this. I was just looking for thoughts since
> the gas company and my HVAC friend did not have any ideas. If it was
> the regulator at the supply, do you know if that is something the gas
> company is usually responsible for? The gas company person I talked
> to on the phone said it's free to have them test the gas, so he said I
> could have them do that but then discouraged me from it since he
> guessed it was a furnace problem. One more question -- if I had the
> gas company come out to test, would it be best for them to test while
> the furnace is in the "not turning on" state?
IF it's a supply pressure problem, they'll be able to determine it with a
manometer, and will correct it if it's out of tolerance. It's the static
pressure when no appliance is running that they'd test first. Some
regulators will leak a little under no demand, and pressurize the
downwind pipes beyond normal working pressure. When you use gas, the
tiny "closed position" leak doesn't prevent the regulator from
regulating, so it'll look more or less normal then.
It's a fairly common problem with old regulators. Wear in the needle
seats or a flake of gunk can cause it.
LLoyd
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Posted by Lloyd E. Sponenburgh on January 16, 2008, 3:11 pm
"Lloyd E. Sponenburgh" <lloydspinsidemindspring.com> fired this volley
I presumed, when you said "turn on the stove", you meant the top burners.
If that's the case, try just the oven, without turning on any top
burners. If the static supply pressure is high, it will probably fail to
light, also.
It won't fail necessarily, but bi-metal type gas valves protect against
high supply pressure. If your stove has a "solid state" (glowing type)
igniter in the oven, rather than a standing pilot, it will probably have
the type of valve that will fail to open under high pressure.
Don't forget to turn it off after the test.
LLoyd
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