December B.S. Thread
Posting Guru
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,888
Likes: 0
From: Fallon, NV
Good Morning! We go about a half inch here, it's supposed to rain later today though.
Thanks for the advice! It's not the thermostat you have to wiggle, but the box on the furnace with the restart button on it. The last time the furnace guy was out he said we needed to replace the whole thing, it would be 50% more efficient, but maybe he was just trying to sell me a new one. Good thing I have lots of firewood!
Thanks for the advice! It's not the thermostat you have to wiggle, but the box on the furnace with the restart button on it. The last time the furnace guy was out he said we needed to replace the whole thing, it would be 50% more efficient, but maybe he was just trying to sell me a new one. Good thing I have lots of firewood!
Fleet Owner
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 28,609
Likes: 18
From: Lake Tahoe, Nevada
Good Morning! We go about a half inch here, it's supposed to rain later today though.
Thanks for the advice! It's not the thermostat you have to wiggle, but the box on the furnace with the restart button on it. The last time the furnace guy was out he said we needed to replace the whole thing, it would be 50% more efficient, but maybe he was just trying to sell me a new one. Good thing I have lots of firewood!
Thanks for the advice! It's not the thermostat you have to wiggle, but the box on the furnace with the restart button on it. The last time the furnace guy was out he said we needed to replace the whole thing, it would be 50% more efficient, but maybe he was just trying to sell me a new one. Good thing I have lots of firewood!
That would be the regulator. Usually there is a thermocouple attached to the regulator, and the thermocouple is the more common failure.
Does your furnace have a pilot light? If so, it is probably old enough that the replacement idea could easily be valid. The main concern with an old furnace is a cracked heat exchanger. That's the housing that separates the combustion air from the the heated air for the house. (Then there is the danger of carbon monoxide getting into your living space.) I'm presuming it is a forced air furnace(?) Your furnace guy should be able to check for carbon monoxide. But if you notice fine black dust all over in your house, that is also a sign of failure. If you have either of those conditions, don't even use it. Get a new one.
The thermocouple is easy to find. It touches the flame of the pilot light and looks like a wire, leading back to your regulator. You might try just jiggling that next time it doesn't start up on it's own. (It's similar to the small diameter tubular item that connects a mechanical temperature gauge to the sensor in a race car.) If there is scale built up on the end that touches the flame, sometimes just cleaning that off can make it work better. The thermocouple is the most common failure.
FTE Leadership Emeritus
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 111,873
Likes: 153
From: Wharton, NJ
Ditto, that was my problem, the thermocoupler was in the flame until the temp got up high enough to raise the pilots flame off the thermocoupler. Thats why the whole thing shut down, pilot and all not just the main burner. And the flame raising off the thermocoupler didn't happen when the logs were out of the fireplace, then it stayed on.
Posting Guru
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,888
Likes: 0
From: Fallon, NV
Thanks again, I will let the Mr know all that stuff. I'm not sure if it has a pilot light or not. I don't think so, beacuse we don't light anything in the fall, just flip the switch on the wall. No black dust, but an occasional smell of diesel when it starts. I have a CO detector with a digital readout and so far it hasn't registered anything. If we can get it to finish this winter we should be able to replace it next year, I'm hoping it will be cheaper in the off season.
Post Fiend
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 9,176
Likes: 4
From: Western Central NV
Michelle, that could be true if you buy it someplace besides Fallon. I can't believe how they just rape people here on prices. I had a 120 gallon propane tank from Amerigas & they charged me $3.43/ gal. I called them & told them to take out the tank & they said well we'll drop the price to $2.93/gal. That is robbery. That is just one item I have run into here in Fallon. That is a part of why we are going back to Lovelock. Why is it I can buy propane & gas cheaper in Lovelock than Fallon? The propane comes from Fallon companies. Bi-State & Amerigas.
FTE Leadership Emeritus
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 111,873
Likes: 153
From: Wharton, NJ
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