Can you imagine your gas furnace not working during winter? Am certain it could be a nightmare. Furnaces are very important equipment in our homes more so when it comes to giving us that much needed warmth during winter. Nonetheless, like all other equipment, they are bound to have some problems at some time. In fact, it is said that anything that could go wrong does go wrong, so are the furnace, to be on the safe side, it’s very important to have some knowledge on some gas furnace trouble shooting guidelines. These are the only ways in which we can keep our gas furnace effective and efficient and in turn will contribute a lot in saving energy, which will translate to reducing our energy expenses.

The good thing on this gas furnace trouble shooting techniques is that you can do it at home and thus save you some cost. Gas furnace troubleshooting guidelines include the following; Gas leaks. They are very common not withstanding that most furnace are made of a control system that normally prevents leaks. It is quite simple to deal with this. In case you do suspect leakage, simply make a soapy solution and gently apply to the supply pipes and valves.

In case of a leak, the soapy water will bubble at the leaking areas. Usually, if you detect leakage, it is much wiser to involve an expert in this rather than deal with it by yourself. You could call your gas company or the fire department. Another thing that is very important to test is the furnace’s airflow. This is very important to test and could be done regularly to ensure that your furnace is functioning well.

To test the air flow; take a garbage bag and tape it to piece of cardboard, next flatten the bag and place it over the exhaust hood and record the time it takes for the bag to be fully inflated. Generally, if you find the airflow to be anything less than 10 L/s, then probably the amount of heat being delivered to your rooms is not enough and at this point you could have an expert look at it. This test is commonly known as the garbage bag airflow test. Another step in gas furnace trouble shooting is regular checking and changing of the furnace filter. This is important since it does much in making sure that air flows from the furnace in much efficient and economic way.

Regular check and checking of furnace filter also helps in preventing furnace parts to burn out. Ideally, the furnace filter could be changed anytime from three months and not later than six months. Hanging the furnace filter is not difficult and it can be done as follows; Open the furnace’s outer rack and slide the filter out. Check to see if whether you can see through it and if you cannot, then replace with a new one.

Another important step in gas furnace trouble shooting is removing any blockage that may be on the vents. Most commonly, snow or ice may be blocking it during winter. If you find that to be the problem, simply turn off the furnace first before you remove whatever may be blocking the vents.