Heat not working


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Old 12-10-03, 11:14 AM
rlrcstrs
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Heat not working

I went to switch on the heat the other night but cold air is coming out of the vents. The light on the thermostat comes on (red) as if it is heating. I hear the furnace going down in the basement but it is emitting cold air. Any ideas what could be wrong?
 
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Old 12-10-03, 12:12 PM
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What kind of system do you have? Heat pump, Gas, Straight electric?
 
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Old 12-10-03, 01:11 PM
rlrcstrs
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Heat

Originally posted by mattison
What kind of system do you have? Heat pump, Gas, Straight electric?
Not sure but let me tell you what I DO know. It is in the basement and is electric. (At least the man who lit the pilot on my water heater told me that). I could have sworn that no gas meant no heat but the gas company tells me I am wrong.
 
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Old 12-10-03, 02:10 PM
rlrcstrs
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Re: Heat

Originally posted by rlrcstrs


Not sure but let me tell you what I DO know. It is in the basement and is electric. (At least the man who lit the pilot on my water heater told me that). I could have sworn that no gas meant no heat but the gas company tells me I am wrong.
I just called an HVAC place that is local and they told me that all the furnaces in my condo complex are gas. I think the man who lit the pilot in my water heater simply though the furnace was electric for some reason. SOoo, I called the gas company and they are sending someone out to light the furnace pilot.
 
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Old 12-10-03, 03:20 PM
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Thermocouple

Tell them to change out the thermocouple so that he doesn't have to come back....this is the case in 90% of the standing pilot systems we see, and tell him to show you HOW to light the pilot so that you can do it, should it blow out in the future.... This sometimes happens from a downdraft...like if the gas heater is running and the bathroom fan and kitchen fan is running and your doing laundry, and have a load in the dryer....with all this exhaust from the house on the air has to come from somewhere and the air comes screaming down the flue pipe and blows out the pilot...if a window was cracked open during all this it wouldn't happen but unless it's Korean Kim-chee, no one opens a window.
 
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Old 12-10-03, 04:37 PM
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I would want to bet that the guy ment the furnace has an electronic spark ignitoion system.. So there is no pilot light..

If this an apt, I would call the land lord to get a service company out.
 
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Old 12-10-03, 06:34 PM
rlrcstrs
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Darned Gas Company!

Well, the gas company sent someone else out to light the pilot to the furnace. It is indeed a gas furnace so she lit the piloy - she said it looks like an electronic unit, though.

anyway, the pilot got lit but the main burner is not coming on, so she said. It is still blowing cold air. She was about to call someone else out to help her fix it when she asked if I was on their insurance program. I told her I was not and that it was explained to me today. I told the gas company this afternoon it sounded like a good plan but that, since it would not help me with this situation, I would think about it.

Well, when she heard I was not on the plan, she said tht she lit the furnace and that is all she was supposed to do since I am not on the plan - and she lefT!
 
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Old 12-11-03, 04:08 AM
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Now that the pilot is lit look at the gas valve to see if she turned the knob on it from pilot to on.
 
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Old 12-11-03, 04:20 AM
rlrcstrs
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Gas Valve

Originally posted by mattison
Now that the pilot is lit look at the gas valve to see if she turned the knob on it from pilot to on.
I know nothing whatsoever about this unit. I am not sure I know how to recognize the knob. What does it look like? Will it be clearly marked ON and OFF positions? Would I do this with the furnace off or on?
 
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Old 12-11-03, 03:35 PM
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i will recommend you call a pro at this point and consider "getting on the plan" or a service agreement with a local company in the future. gas is not something that is very forgiving when it comes to error. there will be several items to check, a meter may be needed in this troubleshooting cycle, and i think now is the time to get a pro
 
 

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