You need your furnace for a Eugene winter—it’s non-negotiable! The best way to ensure that you’ll always stay warm and toasty during winter is to have a reliable HVAC team that you trust and to inform you about your furnace. You don’t need to know the complex inner workings or any in-depth industry jargon, but learning the basics will save you a headache. That’s why we’re here today to inform you about your heat exchanger because you don’t have to wait until something goes wrong with it to learn about it. We’re here for you here at Comfort Flow Heating, if you need furnace repair in Eugene, OR make sure to contact our team.
What’s a Heat Exchanger?
If you have a furnace in your home, it’s more than likely that this furnace runs on natural gas, which is by far the most common fuel for a furnace. Your heat exchanger is an integral part of your furnace system. It’s the part of the system where the heat from the combustion gas is transferred through the air from the blower fan to the ventilation system.
Your heat exchanger makes this process safe. Without it, the combustion gas would come into direct contact with the air and emit unhealthy fumes into your living space. Instead, the combustion gas enters this chamber, raises the temperature of the metal, and transfers heat to air passing over it from the blower. Without your heat exchanger, your home would be freezing cold this winter!
Why A Cracked Heat Exchanger is a Big Problem
Your heat exchanger is what protects your home from noxious exhaust fumes (specifically carbon monoxide) so without it, you’re at risk. Heat exchanger cracks allow these fumes to seep out of your system.
Why Your Heat Exchanger Cracks
So, what exactly causes your heat exchanger to crack? There are many factors that can accelerate the wear and tear of a heat exchanger. A lot of times, it’s just the wear and tear exacerbated by a lack of maintenance. Here in Eugene, we see cold winter temperatures so you’re running your furnace a lot over winter. Your heat exchanger heats up and cools down often.
A good analogy to describe the process of wear and tear on your heat exchanger is this: imagine a paper clip being stretched out and then formed back to its original shape. You can only repeat this process a few times before the paper clip breaks. It’s the same with a heat exchanger, the process of heating and cooling would be the bending of the paper clip, and after a certain time, you’re just going to need a new system.
If you’re not having routine maintenance done on your heat exchanger, then your heat exchanger will become bent out of shape will happen a lot sooner. Make sure you have a professional team like ours perform an annual tune-up in fall so that your furnace is prepared to heat your home all winter long.
