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With extreme cold descending on Saskatchewan recently, furnaces have been working overtime.
Unfortunately, some furnaces have had troubles keeping up with the heavy workload.
Curtis Beingessner with Arrow Plumbing & Heating joined Greg Morgan this week to share some tips on how to prevent any issues with furnaces.
“We need to service these furnaces,” said Beingessner. “It’s not always going to be the solution to not having any issues, but it’s definitely going to be a step forward into finding out if there’s a problem going on.”
Modern furnaces use a lot of technology, so Beingessner said a professional should check out the furnace to ensure it’s in good order.
“We’d check your motors and your sensors and your pressure switches,” said Beingessner.
A good inspection will also ensure venting is clear, he added.
“The venting frosts up so easy, and if we get snow mixed in with it, that causes havoc,” Beingessner said.
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If an inspection catches a problem early enough, he said they can stop it from causing any issues 80 to 90 per cent of the time.
The more a furnace works the more condensation it produces, and Beingessner that condensation can lead to icicles forming on some outdoor pipes.
Beingessner said it’s important to knock these icicles off.
“They do block off (the pipes) after a while,” said Beingessner.
“In a two-pipe situation, one is an intake one is an exhaust. On the intake side of things – which will most likely shut your furnace down – it’ll suck snow and hoar frost into that pipe and eventually choke it off until it can’t breathe.”
Beingessner said on the exhaust pipe, icicles can form all the way up the pipe, though it’s rarely enough to block it off.
Over the past few weeks, Beingessner explained that he’s received call about burst pipes after heating failures. Beingessner stated that you can’t really control a burst pipe, and that’s why having your furnace serviced regularly is important.
“If you lose heat, you’re going to get frozen pipes within 24 hours,” he said.
