Posts Tagged ‘heat exchanger’
Monday, January 9th, 2012
Boilers have a very long lifetime especially when they are cared for properly. At Four Seasons, we have seen old boilers last 20, 30 and even 40 years before breaking down to the point that they need to be replaced. So, how old is your boiler? Is your boiler still the original unit that was there when you moved into your home? If so, you can save money and energy by replacing that old system with a new high efficiency boiler from Four Seasons Heating and Air Conditioning.
Overpaying Every Month
You run into two problems when you allow an old outdated boiler to run in your home. The first problem is the cost. The older the boiler the odds are the less energy efficient it will be. Some older boilers waste as much as 50% of the natural gas they consume during the combustion process. That adds up to a hefty cost every month on your utility bills and for most of us, overpaying every month by 50% is simply not an option! (more…)
Tags: age, Boiler, energy efficiency, Four Seasons, heat exchanger, Heating, hot water, installation, Peerless, replacement, Safety, save money, steam, utility bills
Posted in Boiler, Heating, Savings, Tips and Suggestions, maintenance | Comments Off
Thursday, December 29th, 2011
Your furnace is your home’s source of comfort. As long as that unit keeps running and continues to keep you and your family warm, there is a sense of security in the home. However, your furnace can quickly turn into a source of danger if you don’t take the proper precautions. Having a furnace in the home is like having a well ventilated and circulated fire in the home. It is able to keep everyone warm, but in the process is creates harmful combustion gases that must be expelled from the home. When everything is working properly and well cared for, venting these harmful gases is not a major concern. Yet, when maintenance falls by the wayside, the furnace can cause dangerous problems for your family. Luckily Four Seasons Heating and Air Conditioning is around to help you keep your furnace in check.
Heat Exchanger Deterioration
Not maintaining the furnace yearly could lead to a variety of problems that will require any number of repairs. But, the problems that a lack of maintenance can cause for your furnace’s heat exchanger are what truly concern us. The heat exchanger expands and contracts with every cycle of the furnace. Over time this will lead to the development of cracks and holes in the steel of the heat exchanger. Nearly all furnaces will meet this fate if they are in operation for long enough, but the goal is to prevent this from happening for as long as possible. That means that you must have yearly furnace cleanings performed on the system along with regular filter replacements. (more…)
Tags: air flow, Alsip, Chicago, comfort, filter replacement, Four Seasons, Furnace, furnace cleaning, Hanover Park, heat exchanger, Heating, heating problems, HVAC contractor, IL, maintenance, maintenance checks, over heating, Safety, yearly cleaning
Posted in Furnace, Furnace Repair, Heating, Safety, Tips and Suggestions, furnace filtration, maintenance | Comments Off
Thursday, November 3rd, 2011
When you buy a car, it usually doesn’t come with much of a warranty. If you buy it new you may have coverage for a few years but there isn’t a return policy. If the car is used, you often take it as it is. For such a large purchase, you’d think you would get a little more protection. Unfortunately, that is not the case, and most large purchases are like this, unless of course you are buying a furnace from Four Seasons Heating and Air Conditioning. Part of our promise to our customers is that when you buy one of our furnaces it is guaranteed not to be a lemon. We make this promise and then we back it up.
The No Lemon Guarantee
The No Lemon Guarantee states that if your furnace’s heat exchanger fails within 25 years of the installation we will replace the entire system for free. The heat exchanger is the core of your furnace, and a crack or break in this part would normally be the death of your system. However, if your system is from Four Seasons, we will replace the unit completely in this event as long as the unit was installed within 25 years of the breakage. The average furnace only lasts about 20 to 25 years, so you are basically protected for the life of the unit. (more…)
Tags: 100% satisfaction, Chicago, Four Seasons, free estimate, Furnace, heat exchanger, Heating, home comfort specialist, HVAC contractors, IL, installation, investment, Lemont, Lisle, no lemon guarantee, parts and labor, Skokie, warranty coverage
Posted in Consumer protection, Furnace, Furnace Repair, Heating, Quality | 1 Comment »
Monday, September 19th, 2011
Many heating and air conditioning companies will tell you horror stories about how your furnace will be taken over by mold if you do not have it cleaned every year. Well, there is some truth to their fear mongering, and though it may be rare, some families do end up with a furnace full of mold at the end of the summer season. However, it is much more likely that your furnace will simply be packed with dust and other debris from buildup over its long time in hibernation, but dust isn’t much better than mold when it comes to the damage it can do to your system and your comfort. Our Four Seasons technicians have seen first hand what years of dust buildup can do to a furnace and unless you want your furnace to meet the same fate, you may want to consider having annual maintenance checks performed by Four Seasons Heating and Air Conditioning.
What Can Dust Do to Your Furnace?
- Burning Smell: It is really easy to find out if you have a dust buildup problem in your furnace. Just as yourself one question. Does it smell like something is burning when you turn on the furnace? If you answered yes than you know the unit needs a cleaning. Every year you allow the dust to be burnt off like that you allow a fresh layer of baked in gunk to take hold of the inside of your system. (more…)
Tags: blower motor, Boiler, buildup, burners, burning smell, cleaning, comfort, dust, energy efficiency, Four Seasons, Furnace, heat exchanger, Ingleside, maintenance, Prairie View, Richton Park, save money
Posted in Furnace, Furnace Repair, Heating, Savings, Tips and Suggestions, maintenance | Comments Off
Monday, January 3rd, 2011
Nearly every industry has their fair share of scam artists, and the furnace repair business is no different. We hear horror stories on a daily basis of customers who called the wrong company first, and end up losing their hard earned money on unnecessary work. This winter, there are many fraudsters who are going to use the frigid cold temperatures to their advantage. No one wants to be without heat for very long, and for some people going without heat for any period of time could cause major health issues. Scam artists know this fact and manipulate it for their gain.
A Common Furnace Repair Scam
Probably one of the most common furnace repair scams involves heat exchanger inspections. A cracked heat exchanger can cause carbon monoxide to leak into the homes air supply, and it can cause several health problems including the possibility of death. But, it can only do these things if it is actually cracked! A cracked heat exchanger usually results in the purchase of an entire new system, because when a customer hears that there is a problem with the unit that could harm their family, they are quick to fork over large amounts of money to repair the problem. However, if this ever happens to you, stop, take a breath, and remember to think logically. (more…)
Tags: Chicago, Consumer protection, Four Seasons, fraud prevention, Furnace, furnace repair, heat exchanger, heating services, IL, scam artists, South Holland, Tinley Park, Vernon Hills
Posted in Boiler, Consumer protection, Furnace, Heating, Savings | Comments Off
Wednesday, December 29th, 2010
Four Seasons has worked very hard to inform our customers of the dangers associated with having a furnace or boiler with a cracked heat exchanger operating in the home. Homeowners who have their heating system maintained yearly by Four Seasons receive a heat exchanger inspection along with their annual tune-up, but what if there is a crack between visits from your technician? As a proactive homeowner, you need to be able to recognize the symptoms of a cracked heat exchanger in order to protect your family. There are 4 main symptoms that any homeowner can check for periodically during the heating season:
- Abnormal Flame: As the furnace gets older, it becomes more and more likely that it will suffer a leak at the heat exchanger. From time to time, you may want to inspect the flame on the furnace or boiler. A proper flame should burn clean, steady, and blue. If the flame in your furnace “dances” or” jumps,” you may have a problem. Also if the flame is yellow or orange in color, cracks in the heat exchanger are also suspected. (more…)
Tags: Boiler, Carbon Monoxide, Chicago, CO detectors, crack, flame, Flossmoor, Four Seasons, Furnace, heat exchanger, IL, leak, Richton Park
Posted in Air Quality, Heating, Safety, maintenance | Comments Off
Tuesday, December 21st, 2010
Black dust coating various surfaces in your home, high levels of carbon monoxide, and a furnace that just doesn’t seem to be providing enough heat are all symptoms of a heating system that is in serious need of maintenance. However, if your unit is in this bad of shape, you may have waited too long already. Soot buildup on your furnace filter and on the internal components of the system will choke the flames that are trying to generate heat for your home and in many cases, destroy the furnace beyond repair.
Where Does the Soot Come From?
If your heating system has been diagnosed as “clogged with soot,” you may be wondering where all of that destructive black power came from. Well there are several different conditions that can cause this problem, but when large amounts of soot are present in a furnace or boiler, it is usually the result of a combustion problem. When combustion occurs, carbon dioxide is created, but when the combustion process is interrupted or not fully completed, carbon deposits, or soot, begin to build up inside the furnace. When the problem goes unchecked, soot build up can begin to deposit on surfaces in the home and the furnace will eventually stop working all together. (more…)
Tags: Boiler, Burr Ridge, Carbon Monoxide, Cicero, cleaning, Duct Cleaning, Four Seasons, Furnace, heat exchanger, Homewood, IL, maintenance, soot
Posted in Heating, Home Services, Safety, Savings, maintenance | Comments Off
Monday, November 15th, 2010
- Cracked Heat Exchanger
If you have been told by a serviceman that the heat exchanger on your furnace is cracked or severely rusted, you should replace the entire furnace. A cracked heat exchanger can lead to a deadly carbon monoxide leak. Also, when the heat exchanger is in this condition there is a good chance the rest of the unit isn’t in that great of shape either. Replacing the entire unit will save more money in the long run.
- Age of Unit
Forced air furnaces usually last between 15 and 25 years depending on how well they were cared for. If you furnace is in that age range, replacement is recommended. Get ahead of the game and replace the furnace before it breaks down in the middle of our bitter cold Chicago winters.
- High Energy Bills
If your energy bills seem to be outrageously high or if they keep increasing every year, odds are the furnace is to blame. Old furnaces are inefficient to begin with, but with time and wear and tear, they waste more and more energy. A new high efficiency furnace will drastically reduce your heating bills. (more…)
Tags: basement flooding, energy bills, Four Seasons Chicago, Frankfort, furnace repair, furnace sales, Go Green, heat exchanger, heating services, high efficiency, Maywood, save money, tax credits
Posted in Furnace, Furnace Repair, Go Green, Heating, Informational, Safety, Savings | Comments Off
Saturday, October 23rd, 2010
How does a furnace work? The heating cycle begins as soon as the thermostat determines that the temperature in the room is below the setpoint at which the homeowner had placed on the thermostat.
***(As a side note, a programmable thermostat can save you a great deal of money in the long run as you can easily program the thermostat with a lower setpoint for all the hours that you know you will not be home. Why keep the house any warmer than you need to when no one is there? If you know that you usually arrive home from work at 6:00pm, for example, you can program the thermostat to warm your house up for you starting at 5:30 rather than keeping the house unnecessarily warm all day long). (more…)
Tags: duct work, Four Seasons, Furnace, furnace operation, gas valve, Glenwood, heat exchanger, heating cooling, HVAC, IL, Lynwood, pilot, programmable thermostat
Posted in Furnace, Heating, Informational, Quality | Comments Off
Tuesday, September 28th, 2010
The EPA, which is usually very slow and reluctant to recommend any services, except the ones which have been proven to be viable and beneficial, recommends inspecting and servicing fuel-burning furnaces before each heating season (www.epa.gov) to be sure that you are protected from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Carbon monoxide can enter your home or facility any time you have a defect in your heat exchanger. A heat exchanger is the largest part of the furnace, usually made of aluminum or stainless steel, through which the poisonous carbon monoxide-containing exhaust fumes leave the furnace and are vented to the outside of your home. Heat exchangers, over time and/or as a result of a manufacturer’s defect, can have or develop penetrating scratches and holes. The result of these defects is simple: some of the carbon monoxide that was on its way out of the home will leak through these apertures and into your home or facility. (more…)
Tags: Furnace, Furnace Inspection, furnace tune up, heat exchanger, Heating, HVAC, service technician
Posted in Consumer protection, Furnace, Furnace Repair, Heating, Informational, Safety | 3 Comments »
