Our Friend the Furnance

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rseas
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Our Friend the Furnance

Post by rseas » Wed Feb 20, 2019 11:57 am

We have heat! I know, so what and what am I talking about?

Almost 3 weeks ago our furnance threw a code and shut down. Being one that is both cheap and think that I can fix anything I rolled up my sleeves put an a stocking hat (it was 14° out) and broke out the 20 year old furnance manual.

Based on the code the over temp limiter had tripped. I double checked the filter, purged the condensate trap, tested various circuits and slapped it back together. After running for about an hour it shut down again.

During my testing I had identified an over limit switch that was bad, I had ordered it from Amazon and on delivery installed the new switch. Power on and all looked good but all was not well. Using my infrared thermometer I discovered that the external surface of the fire box was way too hot. Worse yet, the new over limit switch was not tripping. I broke out the white flag, cried uncle and shut off the gas and circuit breaker.

1 week (7 days of 20° or below weather) after the furnace died I called our service company. Unfortunately they were booked up a week out so we made appointment and broke out a couple/3 space heaters. One was placed in the bathroom, one in the pantry and the other in my office where all the pets, the wife and I set up shop. For me the acclamation to our 3,200 sf icebox wasn't bad but my wife isn't quite as adaptable so the wait for the repair person was a long one.

After a chilly wait for our service appointment the day was finally upon us. We eagerly escorted him to the basement where our fire breathing friend lived. The service guy said something about a dinosaur but I corrected him; it was a dragon, a fire breathing dragon not a dinosaur...

After hooking up an array of meters and test equipment we fired up the beast. Almost immediately the carbon monoxide detector goes bonkers and tells us to disconnect and leave the area. Long story short he condemned my furnace and basement. It turned out the both the primary and secondary heat exchanger had burned through and the combustion gasses were being distributed throughout the house and basement.

We ended up having to order a new furnance. There was a mfg recall for the secondary heat exchanger so the the replacement cost was offset a bit. Three weeks after our fire breathing dragon went silent we have heat!

I think that the average person takes home heating for granted. As we did, we all change the filter with the season but don't give it much thought beyond that. After 3 weeks of sub-freezing weather we have a new appreciation for our scaled friend in the basement.

A quick note:

If you smell any odd odors or you notice that the performance of your central heating system isn't what it should be, shut it down and make a service appointment. In our case if we had continued to run the furnace it is likely that I wouldn't be typing this. The carbon monoxide levels in the basement and house were so high that they were life threatening. The dogs crates are in the basement, we were very lucky that we caught the problem when we did.

I think that an annual heating system check-up is less that a hundred bucks; spend the money and make sure your family is safe!

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Amx
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Re: Our Friend the Furnance

Post by Amx » Wed Feb 20, 2019 1:49 pm

Very good the dogs didn't die. In the '80s a woman I knew lost many puppies because her furnace was bad. She and her boyfriend had colds for awhile. Her father came over one day and found both of them unconscious in bed. He dragged them outside and called 911. The firemen said they were very lucky. The mother dog and only a couple puppies survived. So if a person has a cold and can't get well, puppies die or are sick, check the furnace.

Also I need to get a carbon dioxide alarm detection thing, it's the law here.
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4n6fisher
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Re: Our Friend the Furnance

Post by 4n6fisher » Wed Feb 20, 2019 2:58 pm

Yes a carbon monoxide detector is not only the law, but very smart if you have any types of combustion going on. Also while they do make combination smoke-CO detectors, always a good idea to get an extra couple CO detectors and place them near the ground (or close by the combustion unit, stove, furnace, etc.). CO is heavier than air and settles, so if the detectors are in the ceiling (like smoke detectors should be) it might not go off soon enough. Always good to have those in any trailer or camper as well. No need to asphyxiate yourself trying to stay warm.

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Re: Our Friend the Furnance

Post by hewesfisher » Thu Feb 21, 2019 7:30 am

Amx wrote:Also I need to get a carbon dioxide alarm detection thing, it's the law here.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) won't hurt you like Carbon Monoxide (CO).

If someone needs a referral for an HVAC firm in the greater Seattle/Tacoma area let me know via PM. One of my brothers is an owner/Service Manager and another is a commercial electrician working with same firm. Both have been in the industry a very long time.
Phil

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Amx
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Re: Our Friend the Furnance

Post by Amx » Thu Feb 21, 2019 8:49 am

hewesfisher wrote:
Amx wrote:Also I need to get a carbon dioxide alarm detection thing, it's the law here.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) won't hurt you like Carbon Monoxide (CO).

If someone needs a referral for an HVAC firm in the greater Seattle/Tacoma area let me know via PM. One of my brothers is an owner/Service Manager and another is a commercial electrician working with same firm. Both have been in the industry a very long time.
Ya, that's it, I get them mixed up now and then.
Tom.

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The Quadfather
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Re: Our Friend the Furnance

Post by The Quadfather » Thu Feb 21, 2019 4:36 pm

Kinda likes mixing up your Triploid Raibows, and your Diploid Rainbows.
Except neither one will kill ya. :-k

But AMX, you don’t target those slimy things, so we’ll give you pass. [thumbup]

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Amx
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Re: Our Friend the Furnance

Post by Amx » Thu Feb 21, 2019 6:02 pm

But I catch them now and then, by pure accident. lol The biggest were about 5 pounds, and 2 of those in one day a couple minutes apart in the spring. I HAVE to get pictures of those fish some day. But I just want to get them back in the water real quick so never got pictures.

One person at the lake said that big of a rainbow was a hold over. Another person said they were triploids, and I don't know what a diploid is. lol
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The Quadfather
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Re: Our Friend the Furnance

Post by The Quadfather » Thu Feb 21, 2019 6:36 pm

Triploid rainbows have 3 sets of chromosomes. (Not good for making babies). ](*,)
Diploid fish, cells have your normal 2 sets of chromosomes. (Baby makin’ machines) [sneaky] [sneaky] [sneaky]

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Amx
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Re: Our Friend the Furnance

Post by Amx » Thu Feb 21, 2019 6:47 pm

My research says diploids have double the amount of chromosomes. Haploid have single number, like native fish? Or is a Dip a native fish? And yes the Trips are suppose to be sterile, but the males can grow gonads and 'try' to mate/spawn which can screw up the native males from spawning, so I read a few minutes ago. lol

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/triploid?s=t

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/diploid

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/haploid?s=t

But what I was looking for was how to tell the difference by looking at the fish. Nothing showed up about that, or which dip or trip grew biggest in a given lake, except Idaho. That one says Trip live longer, and I think bigger. But can a native Rainbow grow to 5 pounds? MANY years people caught lots of Rainbows from this lake that looked to be 5 pounds. I saw a couple on the grass at the resort that I rented a boat from before I bought my first boat. I didn't know anything about triploids back then, probably never even heard of them. Back about 1975.
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The Quadfather
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Re: Our Friend the Furnance

Post by The Quadfather » Thu Feb 21, 2019 7:03 pm

When I was referring to ‘Normal’ 2 sets of chromosomes, I was just meant normal 2 sets, as like most of the critters we know.
It’s all good.

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Amx
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Re: Our Friend the Furnance

Post by Amx » Thu Feb 21, 2019 7:14 pm

YUp, we all does, one set from each parent. I don't know why haploid was even mentioned in the one article that I read earlier, or which article it was in. :-) But that's ok, big trout = big trout, Trip or Dip. lol


I think I'm going to bed early, been thinking too much and too hard. LOL [laugh]
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Re: Our Friend the Furnance

Post by hewesfisher » Fri Feb 22, 2019 7:37 am

I can ID a triploid from a native exclusive of an adipose fin which most all triploids on Roosevelt are missing (notice I said "most").

They have a different "shape" that, once you've caught enough, is easy to see. Folks 'round these parts call them "football shaped".

SO, we have MONO-rainbow, DI-rainbow, and TRI-rainbow. [laugh]

Back to furnaces, it's 12° here and glad my heat is working well. [thumbup]
Phil

'09 Hewescraft 20' ProV
150hp Merc Optimax
8hp Merc 4-stroke
Raymarine DS600X HD Sounder
Raymarine a78 MultiFunctionDisplay
Raymarine DownVision
Raymarine SideVision
Baystar Hydraulic Steering
Trollmaster Pro II
Traxstech Fishing System
MotorGuide 75# Thrust Wireless Bow Mount

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