Can My Furnaces Heat Exchanger Get Cracked?

It is important that you have your furnace cleaned and checked each fall to have the heat exchanger inspected. The furnace in your home has many different parts that work together to heat it. One of these important parts is the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger holds all the gasses that are harmful for us to breathe in. If your furnace heat exchanger is cracked then you risk having your family breathe in these harmful gases like carbon monoxide. Here are four warning signs to tell if your furnace has a cracked heat exchanger. One of the signs is buildup on your furnace. That buildup can prevent correct combustion of the fuels and gases inside the heat exchanger and can possibly cause damage. If you have an abnormal amount of carbon monoxide in your home then you might have a cracked heat exchanger. The first thing Bartlett Heating and Air does during the clean and check is to check for carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is called the silent killer because you can’t see, taste, or smell the gas and prolonged exposure can be deadly. You should have carbon monoxide detectors in your home to help protect your family from carbon monoxide poisoning. Another sign that you might have a cracked heat exchanger is having a flame that is not clean and blue. A healthy flame in your furnace is strong and blue and does not dance around. Flames that are yellow and dancing can be a sign of fuel that is mixed improperly which happens when the heat exchanger is starting to crack. One of the last big signs you might have a cracked heat exchanger is rusty metal and components. When metal, water, and oxygen mix you get rust which can lead to cracking. These are some signs that your heat exchanger might be going bad. If you see any of these warning signs, call Bartlett Heating and Air to have one of our qualified technicians come out and look at your furnace.