What is a Heat Exchanger?
At Jerry Kelly Heating, Air Conditioning, Electrical and Plumbing, keeping your home safe is our top priority, which is why we always check heat exchangers for potential hazards. A heat exchanger is a component found in your furnace that contains the flames and gasses within the heater, preventing them from entering your home. If there is a break, or even a minor crack, in your heat exchanger it could potentially endanger your family.
Heat exchangers contain multiple chambers, or cells, that are heated by either flames or oil produced by your furnace. These barriers allow heat to transfer safely to the blower in your furnace, which circulates the hot air throughout your home. However, if these barriers are in any way damaged, the flames and toxic gasses may leak into your home and put you and your household in danger. When these gasses and flames enter the home they could disperse toxic combustion by-products.
A heat exchanger may become damaged or cracked for a variety of reasons. The cells in a heat exchanger are made of metal, and can, therefore, crack when under too much pressure. By design, these metal components with contract and expand as the furnace turns on or off, but after time this process can wear down on the components, creating fissures or breaks in the heat exchanger cells.
If our team finds a safety hazard, such as a crack or hole in the heat exchanger, we will follow industry-standard rules to ensure the safety of your household. We will turn off the gas to your furnace and notify you of the safety hazard we found. From there, we can create a plan of action based on the extent of the damage, the condition of your furnace, and other factors specific to your needs. Heat exchangers are replaceable, and we can replace that specific component in most cases. We can also work with you to determine the factory warranty on your heat exchanger or furnace.
Our technicians continually strive to uphold industry standards and to go above and beyond to keep our customers safe. If you think you may have a problem with your heat exchanger, we would be happy to take a look. Contact Jerry Kelly Heating, Air Conditioning, Electrical and Plumbing to request an appointment.