Receiving your routine furnace maintenance helps keep your heating system operating up to 30 percent more efficient and helps extend the life of the equipment. But things may still malfunction, and when they do, you could feel like there is always something else.
This time it’s your motor, next time it’s your control board. Now you need to replace your flame sensor.
Also, what is a flame sensor?
A flame sensor is an important safety feature on your gas furnace. During the ignition cycle, your gas furnace undergoes a process where a spark or a hot surface ignitor actually ignites the gas. As the gas is ignited, the flame sensor generates a current of electricity. The current is quantified in micro amps. If the furnace’s control board does not read the correct level of micro amps, the furnace will stop giving the system fuel to avoid an explosion.
Over time, if the flame sensor is not cleaned appropriately, oxidation or carbon buildup can impede the flame sensor’s ability to work properly, which can end up causing the heating system to malfunction.
The way to establish if an unclean flame sensor is the reason for a furnace malfunction is to take a micro amp draw reading, which a professional furnace technician can give you. If a dirty flame sensor is the reason, the heating expert will clean the sensor with steel wool. If dirt was the single factor, we will see a significantly higher amp reading. If the reading does not change, the technician will carry on with the heating system repair diagnostic process.
If you aren’t sure your furnace is going to outlast these last few weeks of winter, give BW/Cook Service Experts a call and we’ll come out and perform a full furnace maintenance or a complimentary in-home estimate on a new furnace.
