Your furnace is a powerful heater that serves to keep your home warm on the coldest days. Just like any heating system, your furnace can also develop repair needs. Unlike some other systems, however, there is a specific repair need that your furnace can develop that can turn it from a helpful part of your home to a harmful one. This is a cracked heat exchanger.
If you are noticing a problem with your furnace heater of any kind, it is best to reach out to a professional for your furnace service in Winder, GA. This is true of every repair need of course but especially so for this one. Let’s look at why addressing a cracked heat exchanger is such a big deal.
Understanding Your Heat Exchanger
The heat exchanger of your furnace is there to hold the combustion gases that your system creates when it burns natural gas. This is important because the heat on those combustion gases warms up the metal walls of the heat exchanger which heats up the are in your furnace. Without a heat exchanger, your furnace wouldn’t warm much of anything!
What Creates A Crack?
Cracks in your heat exchanger can form due to time and regular wear and tear. Thankfully, maintenance and prompt repairs can stave off this issue for extended periods of time. However, this problem can still develop, especially in older heaters that have experienced years of expansion and contraction as the metal heats and cools.
Why A Cracked Heat Exchanger is Bad News
A crack in your heat exchanger is a bad issue because it can reduce your comfort, increase your energy bills, and put your wellbeing at risk. Allowing combustion gases to escape makes it harder for your furnace to heat the house. What’s more, those combustion gases include harmful gases like carbon monoxide which can cause sickness and even death if you are exposed to them too much.
How to Detect a Crack
Figuring out if you have a crack in your heat exchanger isn’t going to be all that easy. This is why it is best to reach out to a professional for expert diagnoses and repairs. That said, here are the warning signs to check for that will alert you to the presence of a cracked heat exchanger:
- Hissing: a hissing furnace may have a crack that is allowing gas to escape into your home.
- Reduced heat: Less gas warming up the heat exchanger means less warmth in your home.
- Bad smells: Natural gas is infused with a substance that allows us to detect the smell of rotten eggs or sulfur so we know when there is a gas leak.
- CO sickness symptoms: Issues like nausea, fatigue, dizziness, and confusion are going to be indicators that you are being exposed to carbon monoxide. If you notice these symptoms, call for emergency services and evacuate the house first and foremost before scheduling repairs!
Whether it is a cracked heat exchanger or another problem, you can rely on our team to repair your system.
Bringing Comfort to America, One Home at a Time. Contact American Comfort Heating and Cooling today.
