Bartels Heating & Cooling Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Heating System Maintenance’

How a Clogged Filter Can Damage Your Furnace

Monday, February 14th, 2022

man-with-filterThe most common nugget of wisdom we impart to our customers to help them help their furnaces is to regularly change the furnace filter. This filter is usually located on the HVAC cabinet at the point where the return air ducts connect to where the blower is located. The filter does the job of blocking debris coming through the return air ducts so it won’t enter the cabinet and contaminant the furnace, blower, and other parts of the HVAC system. This filter isn’t self-cleaning, and after one to three months the congestion in the filter will start to cause problems and even lead to damage to the furnace. 

We want you to have a healthy and reliable furnace. We’re always ready to assist with heating repair in Cincinnati, OH when you need it, but we know you’d much rather not have to call us in the first place. Regularly changing the furnace filter goes a long way toward preventing needless furnace problems. To help you better grasp why changing the filter is so important, we’ll list how a clogged filter can damage a furnace.

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3 Ways Your Gas Furnace May Become Unsafe

Monday, January 17th, 2022

furnaceWe want to start this blog with an assurance: gas furnaces are not inherently dangerous appliances. They’re found in millions of homes across the country, dutifully keeping families warm. Provided they receive regular maintenance and professional repairs as necessary, they can run at high degrees of safety throughout their service lives.

Still, burning natural gas does carry risks, such as exposure to toxic gases like carbon monoxide and the hazard of explosions and fires. We’re going to examine some of the ways your gas furnace may develop safety problems to help you better understand how to prevent them. Our technicians are ready to assist you whenever you need furnace repair in Mason, OH, or if you need to replace an older furnace that’s no longer safe.

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The Flame Sensor: The Rundown on a Key Furnace Part

Monday, October 11th, 2021

natural-gas-burners-flame-furnaceDuring fall, we stress the importance of our customers having maintenance for their gas furnaces. Maintenance takes care of many important steps to ensure the best performance from a furnace, but the most important benefit of maintenance is ensuring a furnace works safely. 

Gas furnaces aren’t inherently dangerous unless they suffer from neglect. Furnace manufacturers design their products with several vital safety measures, and during maintenance, our technicians carefully check each of them. One of the key safety features in a gas furnace is the flame sensor. Today we’ll give you the basics of what you need to know about this essential part of your furnace and how it protects you.

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It Isn’t Too Early to Think About HVAC Maintenance for Winter

Monday, August 16th, 2021

dont-forget-post-itAs we’re writing this post, the temperature outside in West Chester is 82°F. Prime summer weather. Nobody wants to think about their home’s heating system at a time like this. The idea of turning on a furnace during a balmy summer day seems crazy. 

But we’re not asking you to turn on your furnace right now, only give some consideration to when you will need to have it turn on. This is the middle of August, and the official start of fall is a bit more than a month away. Fall is when we recommend our customers arrange for winter-prep HVAC maintenance. It’s not too early to start planning, since the best time to catch our technicians for this service is during the fall lull. 

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March Report Card: Grade Your Heater’s Performance

Monday, March 1st, 2021

thumbs-upMarch doesn’t mean we’re through with cold weather. But it’s when winter officially ends and we start the build toward summer. Now is a good time to think about how your heater performed during the winter so you’ll have an idea if you need to make any updates, repairs, or even a full replacement for it during the spring or summer. 

We’ll go with a grading system you’re familiar with—school report card grades! Consider how well your heater worked over the past winter. Take into account your comfort, how often you needed to run the heater, if it required any repairs, its age, and your sense of its reliability. Give it a grade from “A” to “F” and look at our handy guide below:

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Boiler Life Expectancy: What You Need to Know

Monday, February 15th, 2021

condensing-gas-boilerWhen you have a heating or cooling system installed in your home, you’d like to think it’s the last one you’ll ever need to purchase. Perhaps it will run forever and you’ll only need to have it repaired on occasion.

This isn’t reality, of course, and you know it. One day you’ll have to replace the boiler that warms your home through the winter. But how long can you expect that boiler to run efficiently and effectively?

We can help answer this question and give you some perspective on when a boiler replacement is the best option.

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Ways to Help Keep Your Gas Furnace Running Safely

Monday, January 4th, 2021

natural-gas-furnace-burnerNatural gas furnaces are in millions of homes around the country—that should be enough to tell you that, as long as a furnace is properly cared for, it isn’t an automatic danger for a household. The modern gas furnace has safety features and is designed to run within strict parameters for protecting a home. 

Of course, it’s possible for a furnace to malfunction or run into issues that can create hazards from gas leaks or combustion. Prevention is the best tool you have to keep your furnace running safely through the winter. In this post, we have some important safety tips to use for the safest possible season with your gas furnace. 

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What a Clogged Filter Can Do to Your Furnace

Monday, December 23rd, 2019

pleated-air-filterThe air filter on the HVAC cabinet of your home has a vital job to do—and it isn’t connected to the quality of the air circulating through the house. People often have this misunderstanding: they hear the word filter an imagine the mesh of the filter trapping unhealthy particles in it. You can have HVAC technicians install special indoor air quality filters into the ductwork to remove contaminants from the house—but the one already in place isn’t doing that job.

So what is the filter for? It protects the furnace and air conditioner inside the HVAC cabinet from the dust, lint, and other debris that comes through the return air ducts. After one to three months, the filter will collect enough debris that it must be replaced with a clean one. It’s easy to forget to do this, but we strongly urge you to set reminders for yourself about it. If you leave a clogged filter in place this winter, it can have negative effects on your furnace and lead to furnace repair in Lebanon, OH.

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It’s December, But Not Too Late to Tune-Up Your Heating System!

Monday, December 9th, 2019

couple-in-pajamas-winterDecember is Winter. The actual season doesn’t officially start until the solstice on 20–21, but winter weather doesn’t run on a strict calendar anyway.

However, just because December has arrived doesn’t mean you missed the window to schedule annual maintenance for your heating system. Your furnace, boiler, or other heater hasn’t put in the main portion of its job yet, and it needs to have a full inspection and tune-up from professionals before then. Although it’s simpler to have the job done in early fall, it’s much better to have it done a bit later than to skip it altogether.

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