Turning On Your Furnace? Read the Label Inside It First.

When a furnace keeps lighting and shutting off on the first cold night, the whole house notices, and that is where everyone's attention goes. The furnace that runs smoothly all winter can be wearing itself down the entire time, and nothing about the way it heats the house gives that away. Whether you are dealing with a furnace not turning on or one that seems perfectly fine, there are five things worth checking before winter settles in, along with one request to make of the next technician who works on it. 0:00 Five Furnace Mistakes to Avoid 1:45 Read the Fault Code Before Resetting 4:02 Test Your Furnace Before Cold Weather 6:16 Keep Vents Open and Filters Clean 8:47 Clear Outdoor Vents and Check CO Alarms 11:43 Check the Rating Plate and Temperature Rise SOURCES AND FURTHER READING This video covers looking, listening and label reading on a residential gas furnace, and it is general information, not a diagnosis of your system. Anything involving the gas valve, burners, venting, heat exchanger or gas pressure belongs to a licensed heating technician. If you smell gas or a carbon monoxide alarm sounds, get everyone out and call 911 from outside. If anyone has headache, dizziness or nausea that could be carbon monoxide, get them to fresh air and see a doctor. FURNACE SETUP AND OPERATION Allied Air gas furnace installation instructions Temperature rise must fall within the nameplate range, and running outside it can cause erratic limit operation and premature heat exchanger failure. https://s7d2.scene7.com/is/content/Al... Goodman single-stage gas furnace installation instructions Requires furnace doors to be in place whenever the furnace is running. http://igate.northernplumbing.com/man... Goodman GM9S and GC9S service and troubleshooting manual Gas pressure set to the rating plate, and how excess pressure leads to overfiring and heat exchanger failure. https://hvacdirect.com/media/pdf/90%2... ICM Controls ICM2811 furnace control installation instructions The ignition sequence from inducer and pressure switch to ignitor, gas valve, flame proving and blower delay. https://www.siglers.com/mwdownloads/d... Carrier, Furnace Ignitor How hot surface ignitors work, why they are fragile, and the missing orange glow as a sign of trouble. https://www.carrier.com/us/en/residen... AIRFLOW AND FILTERS Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Register Closing Effects on Forced Air Heating System Performance Study showing closed registers raised energy use through duct leakage, and warning against closing more than sixty percent of registers. https://homes.lbl.gov/publications/re... U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Operations and Maintenance: Heating and Cooling Filter type recommended by the equipment manufacturer, and the extra fan energy a dirty filter causes. https://hud.gov/program_offices/publi... VENTING AND CARBON MONOXIDE U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Annual Furnace Inspection to Prevent CO Deaths Nests in vents over spring and summer, blocked exhaust entering the home, and what a yearly inspection should check. https://www.cpsc.gov/Newsroom/News-Re... U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Seasonal Heating Systems Inspections Flu-like early symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning and the case for professional inspection. https://www.cpsc.gov/Newsroom/News-Re... U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, CO Alarms Alarm placement on every level of the home and outside sleeping areas, and monthly testing. https://www.cpsc.gov/Safety-Education... National Fire Protection Association, Carbon Monoxide Safety Monthly alarm testing, replacement per the manufacturer's instructions, and clearing furnace vents after snowstorms. https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education... CBS Detroit, Consumers Energy guidance on furnace vents and snow Utility advice to clear intake and exhaust pipes by hand and take care with rooftop pipes. https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/... Michigan Public, Before You Call the Furnace Repair Person, Check Outside Utility explanation of how blocked intake pipes trip pressure switches and stop a furnace from starting. https://www.michiganpublic.org/weathe...