Gas Furnace

[amdskip]

5 year old furnace, it will not kick on.

Last year or the year before it did the same thing, something was just corroded and the guy used some emery cloth/sand paper on it and put it back in. I think it was the thermocouple but I am not sure.

I would look at the furnace myself and fix it but I have to explain to my dad on what to look for. Does this sound right?

 

[dullard]

Have you tried just leaving the gas running, and lighting the gas for ~30 seconds? That is, have the gas pilot valve in the startup position for that whole time while keeping a lighter lit (where the gas comes out onto the thermocouple) for that whole time.

Sometimes gas furnaces won't turn on until the thermocouple is quite hot.

And gas furnaces are often mislabeled. Mine has stickers everywhere saying it has an automatic light feature, it doesn't (I have to light it manually like I described above). My gas valve also is open when the pointer is at closed and closed when the pointer is at open. Seems silly for a dangerous device like a gas furnace to be mislabeled, but it is.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Check your fuse panel....I've had problems with mine in the past that turned out to be a breaker/fuse issue.....real simple, but it happens.

If it is something within the gas furnace itself, it could be build-up from not being used for a while and may need the ignitor replaced or cleaned. Usually once it starts, it will burn off whatever is keeping it from lighting. You might want to call a repair guy just to have him check it out and make sure it doesn't happen again for a long while...if it just happened last year, you should probably learn whatever causes it so you'll know how to address it in the future.

 

[woowoo]

Originally posted by: Scarpozzi
You might want to call a repair guy just to have him check it out and make sure it doesn't happen again

Best advice
Make the call......