Annual Furnace Maintenance Diy

First take a look at your furnace.

Annual furnace maintenance diy.

The valve to turn off your gas line should be located near the gas meter. The exact amount of time is determined by how dirty the furnace is it s age and how many items are on the maintenance checklist. Take caution if you are performing any kind of gas furnace maintenance turn off the gas line. Make sure that your furnace filter has a cover over the slot ensuring an efficient return air system.

They should be blue and steady not yellow or orange and. The maintenance tasks involving the blower chamber also apply to oil furnaces. Here are some general guidelines for maintenance on various types of filters. Heat pumps on the other hand work more like a central air conditioner than like a furnace so we won t deal with them here.

Next turn up the thermostat so your furnace comes on and check the flames in the burner. These instructions apply to a whole home air conditioning or heat pump unit. However you can do annual maintenance yourself and save some of that money. A clean well adjusted heating system will save you money on fuel and prolong furnace life.

Annual servicing is cheap typically less than 100 especially when compared with the price of a new furnace. Look look at the flames in the burner. A dirty filter will cause excessive strain on your furnace increase heating costs and reduce the life of your equipment. Do it yourself furnace maintenance will save a repair bill.

If you have scheduled furnace maintenance by your appointed technician you will do well to familiarize yourself with a checklist of the tasks that the heating professional will perform. Not having a cover poses a safety issue. Whatever type of system you have don t wait until it breaks down to do diy furnace maintenance. Both types will have an interior unit evaporator and blower and an exterior unit condenser coil and compressor.

You should see a steady blue flame. Tune up or maintenance completion time. Apply two to three drops of lightweight machine oil and replace the caps. Your heating ventilating and air conditioning system hvac will consist of either a furnace and ac or a heat pump which both heats and cools.

Some older furnaces have two motor bearings and two blower shaft bearings that require annual oiling. However oil furnace combustion chambers are very different and should only be worked on by professionals. There shouldn t be any black soot or combustion residue on or around it. 1 to 2 hours per unit time needed for proper annual maintenance.

Diy or hire a pro.