Altoona Furnace Repair: “Furnace Turns Off Every 5-10 Minutes”

Periodically at Metro Heating & Cooling, we like to share with you “real-life” cases and scenarios from people around the Des Moines Metro area who have HVAC troubles. In “Case #3620 – Altoona Furnace Repair”, we discover that a homeowner thought he needed a completely new furnace, but the problem turned out to be much simpler:

Overview

An Altoona homeowner comes home from work to find the temperature of his house at 55 degrees. He turned the thermostat up and nothing happened. Since he just bought the house this past summer and knowing his furnace was at least 10 years old. He thought, “GREAT, NOW I HAVE TO BUY A NEW FURNACE.” He calls Metro Heating & Cooling to come out and take a look at the furnace. While he was waiting he noticed the furnace had turned on. He was able to breathe a sigh of relief, but it was short lived because after 8-10 seconds the furnace turned off. “What is going on?” he thought.

SONY DSCSolution

The service technician from Metro arrived at the home. The homeowner explained the problem and how the furnace was acting while he has been home. The homeowner also informed the technician that the furnace is “kind of old”, so he thought he may need a new one. The tech went downstairs to the furnace to see what the problem was. It was the flame sensor. The technician cleaned the sensor along with the rest of the furnace because he saw the furnace has been a little neglected over the years.

Altoona Furnace Repair

The technician from Metro discussed with the homeowner about the benefits of  seasonal maintenance agreements. This is where Metro will come out twice a year (fall / spring) and clean all components of the furnace and air conditioner so that breakdowns like this can sometimes be prevented. Also, the technician informed the homeowner that the furnace was roughly 12 years old, but working fine at this time. With regular maintenance, the furnace should have a few more years of efficient operation.

Author: Joe Tollari