I had a new Keeprite gas furnace installed in July 2001, and have had it inspected and cleaned yearly. I was wondering if it was really neccessary to have it cleaned and inspected every year. If anyones knows, I would appreciate hearing from you. Thanks.

I had a Keeprite furnace & central air installed in 1988 by Furnasman in Winnipeg.

I normally vacuum the burner area and oil the motor once a year. I also have a 3 stage filter system which includes an electronic filter - therefore the system stays relatively clean as I clean the electronic filter once a month, vacuum the pre-filters and change the accordion filter once a month.

I had a service guy in for inspection in 1995 and 2003. Primarily I had this done for them to look over the unit to ensure that there were no holes devloping in the chamber which is a safety factor (carbon monoxide). I do have carbon monoxide detectors in the home as a safeguard.

The last serviceman told me that as long as I keep the furnace as clean as I have been doing, oiling once a year and changing/cleaning the filtering system then it is not necessary for a person to have an annual servicing done - he suggested every 3 years.

Of course everywhere you look they suggest an annual inspection but I think that if your very astute about keeping your unit clean and the filters up to snuff - then why waste over $100 every year? On the other hand there are people who don't do all of the above - then it is a must to have a service chap in annually.

I second diboja's advice. Modern gas furnaces require very little maintenance. I'd have one checked annually for a couple of years, just to make sure I'm running & cleaning it properly, then go to a 3-year inspection schedule. There's hardly anything that can go wrong; in fact, the 3-year schedule is just for peace of mind. I really think you're OK if you just run it, with normal homeowner maintenance: cleaning/replacing filters, keeping ducts clear, visual inspection for funny-looking flame, listening for odd noises. You could probably get along fine with no professional servicing until it doesn't work right.

How many times have you heard of anybody getting hurt by a modern gas heating system? The problems we read about in the papers are always with kerosene space heaters, or, rarely, with very old (older than we are) furnaces.

Thank you.

Being a person who suffered from low grade, long term carbon monoxide intoxication, I will have to say that yearly inspections are NOT always safe. DO NOT rely on the companies that do them. I had picked a large company to inspect my unit, and not the cheapest either, turns out that a part of the exhaust system was missing and this furnace was inspected 3 times and it was not noticed. This was a new home I had just purchased.

It was only when another company came to install a new hot water heater that the missing part was noticed.

I ended up on long term disability and suffer a lot of consequences because of it. I will not go into the legal story at all.

I refuse to live in a house that has gas or oil anything. I do not trust the so called experts at all.

When it comes to doing it for yourself, I think that is the safest bet, but ensure that it is not only the unit that is inspected but the total exhaust system as well. Also ensure that you are fully trained by the company that sold you the system.

I now have an electric hot water system, am very pleased with it.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by terry383:


When it comes to doing it for yourself, I think that is the safest bet, but ensure that it is not only the unit that is inspected but the total exhaust system as well. Also ensure that you are fully trained by the company that sold you the system.

Terry383:
Thanks for sharing your unfortunate experience with carbon monoxide health problems.

Diboja does an excellent job of keeping his system running at maximum efficiency.

However there are two important different issues in this short thread.

1. System efficiency.

2. System safety.

Unfortunately[as Terry383 noted] there is a wide variance in the quality of a residential inspection of a heating system.

For the average fee of $75-100 the furnace technician will not have the expensive equipement and/or expertize and time to do a thorough check of the safety of the system.

I do not want to be over-alarmist here and get everyone up-tight as the vast majority of systems run well and are safe.

However I would suggest that everyone with a combustion heating system have at least two carbon monoxide detectors [from two different manufacturers] installed in their homes.

JDDAVE

I have a good furnace and carbon monoxide detectors.Like Terry I once had a bad experience.Lived in a rented condo,w/an old furnace,came home sick one day in fall,smelled gas,asked the landlady to check it out.She thought I was nuts, so I called the gas company.There was a lg.hole in the furnace,w/a huge flame,leaking gas.The furnace was so old the gas man couldn't get parts for it(Made in N.B.)It took 4 hours to get it working properly.Finally had to replace the whole thing.Trust your instincts!

I have an older furnace a carry a maintenance protection program that covers parts and labour of major components.

This program also includes an annual inspection in the cost. I have this done every year.

Cost per month is $17.83.

My daughter, a single mother, couldn't afford to get her furnace replaced when the heat exchanger went, so she opted for a rental.

Although expensive at $40. per month, it of course belongs to the gas company and they have to do everything that is required to maintain it, and/or replace it if need be. I believe there is an option to buy it from them with part of the rental applied to the purchase price, although she has had it now for 5 years, so wouldn't want to buy it at that point.

The advantage is that she knows where she stands financially and doesn't have to worry about an unmanageable expense.

Not for everyone.

....dwezel...

I have a 4yr old Keeprite Furnance
Last Spring each time I turned the heat on I just got cold air. I've had it check 3 times including having the automatic thermastat replaced. The company installed a "monitoring" device for 24hours and recently came to replace a part just this past week . I've tried using the heat three times and it still blows cold air. Has anyone else expereince this problem & was it corrected?

mican...
Never experienced that problem.

That is basically a new furnace and I would assume is under warranty, therefore the cost to repair is not an issue but if your thermostat is working, your pilot light is functioning, the furnace fires-up and the fan operates - there should be heat?!

Its odd that your serviceman could not identify the problem immediately. It could be an inoperative electric spark ignition but he would have caught that right away..

I would assume the guy that you have coming to look at your furnace is the original installer - go after them again, there is no excuse for not fixing the problem the first time around. The new furnaces are complicated but they are not that difficult for a Qualified serviceman.



[This message has been edited by diboja (edited 20-09-2004).]

I have two furnaces, one oil fired, one wood fired, for my baseboard hot water heating system. Also heats my domestic water. I have my own woodlot, so I like to use wood as much as possible, however I am older now, and sometimes I just run on oil. I have the man who installed the system out every fall to go over it and do what has to be done. He is very careful and particular. I used to have the oil company technician do an annual check, but was not satisfied with him. When my husband had the oil furnace installed, would you believe that oil was .17c a GALLON?
(1972). Of course I have replaced the oil furnace since then, and I think I will probably have to bite the bullet and replace again soon. Woe is me!!

diboja Thanks for your response. The service tech is qualified, I've known him & his father for over 20years. The furnace is still under quarantee & has an electronic starter, not a pilot light. He's changed the part that the monitoring device indicated was the trouble, but it hasn't solved the problem. I would like to search the internet to see if there was suggestion to the problem, but I'm not sure if there are sites that would deal with my search. Any suggestions would be welcome. I'm just worried that the problem may re occur while I'm away in the winter.

Mican...

Possibly you can find some answers here:
http://forum.doityourself.com/archive/inde...x.php/f-26.html
http://www.hannabery.com/servicetips_2.shtml
http://www.hvacmechanic.com/forums/hvacr/m...sages/10467.htm

I would contact Keeprite - here is their Canadian site and a form where you can explain your problem and they will provide an answer
http://www.keeprite.com/canada/feedback.html

I am sure you have checked to make sure the switch is to "HEAT" and not the "COOL" setting...but just in case
If you have a heat pump it will not blow out hot air but will feel cool ...but it does heat the house.
Lyn