{"id":1613,"date":"2020-11-30T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-30T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.koolbreeze.com\/blog\/?p=1613"},"modified":"2020-11-25T14:02:49","modified_gmt":"2020-11-25T19:02:49","slug":"is-a-cracked-heat-exchanger-an-emergency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.koolbreeze.com\/blog\/heating-service\/is-a-cracked-heat-exchanger-an-emergency\/","title":{"rendered":"Is a Cracked Heat Exchanger an Emergency?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"jets-of-a-furnace\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The short\nanswer to this question is, \u201cyes!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But we don\u2019t\nexpect you to take that at face value. After all, it\u2019s such a small component,\nhow important could it be? Well, if we\u2019re talking about the heat exchanger in\nyour gas-powered furnace, pretty darn important! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look, we\u2019re not here to panic you or scare you into thinking that gas-powered furnaces are inherently dangerous\u2014they\u2019re not. But when you ignore a problem as serious as this, they certainly can be. Just like any other appliance that creates combustion gasses, a furnace has the potential to create health hazards if the system isn\u2019t properly maintained. Treat your gas furnace well and you\u2019ll have little to worry about. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cracked heat\nexchangers are a problem usually isolated to aging furnaces\u2014that is, any\nfurnace over 15 years old. For this reason, we typically recommend system\nreplacement once your furnace has reached this age. Read on as we uncover why\nyou don\u2019t want a cracked heat exchanger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

First, What Is <\/em>a Heat Exchanger?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As you may have surmised from the name of this component, it\u2019s\nresponsible for exchanging heat\u2014in this case from the furnace jets to the air\nthat goes through your ventilation system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The combustion gasses that go into the heat exchanger from the jets cannot come into direct contact with the air, otherwise unhealthy fumes will wind up going into your home. The heat exchanger, when your furnace is operating correctly, contains these gasses as the heat raises the temperature of the metal casing. As the air from the blower passes around the heat exchangers, heat transfers to the air. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essentially, heat exchangers are what enable your furnace to\nactually work as a heater. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Problem with a Cracked Heat Exchanger<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A cracked heat exchanger is a problem because, as we alluded\nto above, it allows exhaust fumes to leak into your indoor air. The most toxic\nof these gasses? Carbon monoxide, or CO. CO poisoning leads to hundreds of\nfatalities and illnesses each year in the U.S. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your furnace typically sends all fumes out of a flue into\nthe outdoors, but a crack in the heat exchanger will allow some gasses to leak\nout. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what causes this? Well the most likely culprit is corrosion.\nThe reaction between the combustion gas and metal throughout the years can\ncreate a weakening of the metal. This is why it\u2019s something to definitely watch\nout for in an aging furnace. Even a small crack is a problem, since it will\nstretch bigger as the heat exchanger turns hot and expands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow Do I Know If I Have a Cracked Heat Exchanger?\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Have you noticed a clicking noise from the furnace after the\nblower shuts off? If so, this could very well be a sign of a cracked heat\nexchanger, with the sound originating from the metal contracting as the heat exchanger\ncools. Another sign that requires immediate attention is if your CO detectors\ngo off. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contact Kool Breeze of Northwest Florida, Inc.<\/a> for professional heating services in Navarre<\/a>! <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The short answer to this question is, “yes!” But read on to learn more about this important component. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[76],"tags":[190,88],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.koolbreeze.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1613"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.koolbreeze.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.koolbreeze.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.koolbreeze.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.koolbreeze.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1613"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.koolbreeze.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1617,"href":"https:\/\/www.koolbreeze.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1613\/revisions\/1617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.koolbreeze.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.koolbreeze.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.koolbreeze.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}