How Furnace Inspections & Buying HVAC Parts Go “Hand-IN-Hand”

How Furnace Inspections & Buying HVAC Parts Go “Hand-IN-Hand”

The #1 concern that we often hear from our beloved customers is, “How long is it going to take to receive my part, as we are without heat?”

We often receive emails, to this effect:

“I am without heat right now, and it is going to be cold tonight. When am I going to receive my motor?”

“I have young children and it will be cold tonight, where is my part?”

“I need my part, I have no heat!”

As an ONLINE HVAC Parts Store, we do all that we can to get the parts to our customers, as quickly as possible; but the fact is that in most cases it will take 1 to 3 days before the customer receives their part(s), in some cases this can be longer, and unfortunately there is nothing we can do to speed up that process.

We can only go as fast as our shipping provider allows us, and our dealers and suppliers.

However...

There is something you can do to prevent yourself from finding yourself in a situation where you have no heat and you are in the cold waiting for a part or calling in an HVAC company and spending lots of money to fix the problem.

We do not want to see our customers in this situation, this is why we highly recommend that you,

Have a Furnace Inspection once a year!

“Why would a furnace inspection help me out of this situation?”

When it comes to parts on a furnace breaking down, in most cases there are signs of this occurrence and these signs can be spotted before the break down occurs.

I know, I know “…but won't I have to let the tricky sales driven HVAC technician come in and try to up sell me on a new furnace, that I don't want or can't afford?” or “…wont they red tag my furnace and shut it off?”

In most cases, you are going to have to bring them into your home; but this does not mean that you cannot be prepared by questioning the technician and their knowledge of the TSSA codes, which govern the HVAC trade.

Unfortunately, for those of you who have a furnace that is 12 years or older, you will be the targets of the larger HVAC companies, as there are many incentives given to HVAC technicians who get their customers to change out their furnaces. You might as well get used to hearing about how inefficient your furnace is and how upgrading it to a new and more energy efficient furnace will save you so much money on your heating bills.

We know all about this ugly side of the HVAC trade, as we have worked in this industry for many years. We also get emails from customers telling us of what an HVAC company did, when they came into their home.

Unfortunately, the cold hard fact is that you will have to filter out the bad and search for the good information and useful information, which will save you money.

When it comes to break downs on furnaces, especially mid and high efficient furnaces, the number 1 problem is the inducer motor.

Why?

Inducer motors are more prone to breaking down because of their very nature and what they do. They deal with the by-product of Natural Gas, which is CO (Carbon Monoxide) and this can be very corrosive by nature, not to mention deadly to humans. This corrosive CO burns out inducer motors, much faster than your furnace blower motor, which only has to worry about pushing air passed your furnace’s heating exchanger in the winter or the AC coil in the summer.

Here Is the Good News...

99.999% of the time these inducer motors do not simply stop working.

In most cases, there are signs that the motor is about to die. Is there a loud grinding sound upon the start of your furnace?

Is there a continuous grinding sound when the furnace is on?

“Does my furnace sound like it wants to take off like an airplane?”

Is there water leaking out of the inducer motor?

If so, chances are your inducer motor is about to die.

In these cases, I would recommend purchasing the correct replacement part immediately, or to have an inducer motor on hand, so that when your furnace quits, you can replace it immediately.

A licensed and certified technician will be able to catch this potential break down, almost instantly when doing a furnace inspection; it is that obvious. They will in all accounts inform you in their written report or verbally, that “You might want to think about replacing your inducer motor, as it's showing signs that it may die soon”. They may go into a sales pitch at this point in time, but at least you know what you have to keep an eye on.

In most cases, motor break downs, whether it is the inducer motor or the blower motor, there will always be a grinding sound to the motor.

You just need to get it narrowed down, and this is why having an HVAC company come into to your home to perform a furnace maintenance is beneficial to you.

With HSIs (Hot Surface Igniters), there are also signs that an HVAC technician will be able to recognize, which can prevent a break down from happening.

In most cases, the HSI will start to lose its ability to completely light, and this is a sign that it is on its way out. HSIs are very brittle and in most cases last between 5-10 years before they give up the good fight.

Again, this is something that can be caught by a HVAC technician, during a furnace inspection.

Flame sensors are also a common part which becomes faulty.

Capacitors are another popular faulty part, which can leave you in the cold or the heat, depending upon the season.

If the capacitor is about to die, even the most unexperienced technician will be able to catch this part, from leaving you high and dry. If this part is faulty, the blower motor will have a hard time starting up, as the capacitor must work, in order to start your furnace’s blower motor.

Another reason why having an HVAC technician come and inspect your furnace is a great preventative measure, in saving you from a cold night at home.

OemHvacPartsCanada.ca does not take pride in having our customers sit in the cold, waiting, waiting, and waiting for their parts to arrive.

This is why it is so important to have a maintenance done on your furnace once a year.

It may not be a guarantee that your furnace will never break down, but at least you are trying to prevent it from happening or to prepare by having a specific part on hand, if necessary.

In closing, it is always a good idea to have a professional come in and inspect your furnace, as being left in the cold is something that most of us would not choose willingly.

Have your furnace inspected!

Friendly advice from OemHvacPartsCanada.ca