Starting Your Furnace For The First Time


With the first cold front of the year comes the ritual of starting the home's furnace for the first time.  Surgi's recommends the following simple procedure to start your gas furnace.

12 STEPS TO START YOUR FURNACE 
  1. Make sure your thermostat is in the Off position.  Open all air grilles in the floor or ceiling.  Change the filters in your system. 
  2. Go outside and look up at your flue pipe.  It should be capped with a galvanized cap and be at least 2' above the roof. 
  3. Visually inspect the furnace.  Look for signs of damage to the cabinet, gas line, and flue pipe.  If you smell gas DO NOT CONTINUE.  Call Surgi's at 469-4232 for service.
  4. Move all boxes and storage items at least 2 feet away from the furnace and off of the top of the furnace and the ductwork. 
  5. Make sure the gas valve handle near the furnace is parallel to the pipe.  This indicates that the gas is turned on.  (If the handle is perpendicular to the gas pipe the gas is off.) 
  6. Turn the power switch (looks like a regular light switch on the power line running to the heater) off, wait 10 seconds and turn it back on.  This will reset the heater control board and eliminate any errors that may have occurred since last winter. 
  7. Now, turn the thermostat to Auto and Heat.  Raise the temperature setting to 5-10 degrees above the present room temperature and go to the furnace and observe the following operating signs. 
  8. First, the tiny fan motor inside the heater will begin to run.  This is called the induced draft motor and it pushes air up the flue pipe to start a draft. 
  9. After 10-20 seconds you will hear a hissing sound of the gas being turned on and  rapid popping sounds.  This is the electronic ignition sparking to ignite the gas.  When the gas ignites you will hear the normal whooshing sound of ignition. 
  10. The main fan will not come on until the heat exchanger inside the furnace reaches the proper temperature (30 seconds to 1 minute). 
  11. After the main fan starts continue to observe the furnace and surrounding areas for a few minutes to make sure that everything seems safe.  Walk around your home and make sure each room is receiving heat.
  12. Turn the heater off by lowering the desired temperature to the present room temperature.  You will observe the furnace shutting down by 1) Gas shuts off and flames go out. 2) Induced fan motor shuts off.  3) Main fan shuts off when furnace cools off.
 If you have any problems, the system does not follow the steps above or something just doesn't "feel" right call us.  We will be happy to walk you through the process on the phone at no charge.  Usually it's something simple.  Just call us at 469-4232. 

If you would like a professional cleaning and start up or you want an estimate on a new furnace Surgi's can help.  Remember, Surgi's offers free second opinions. 

Need a healthier, more comfortable life?  We can change the way you feel about your home. 
 
Call 469-4232 for a free estimate today!
 
While you are researching try the following articles on Surgi's website:
Surgi's Smoke Test
Free Second Opinions
 
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