A furnace is almost always a background player for your home, ensuring you're warm during the cold winter months. It often doesn’t get noticed until something goes wrong.
One root cause might be that your furnace has a cracked heat exchanger. It can be a safety risk, so it’s critical to familiarize yourself with the signs of a cracked heat exchanger and what you can do if you believe that is the problem.
What Is a Heat Exchanger in a Furnace?
A heat exchanger helps move heat from the combustion chamber inside your furnace to the air that circulates throughout the system. It generally does this using coils or tubes that heat the air while acting as a barrier to keep byproducts produced in the combustion chamber, called flue gasses, from escaping out into your home.
Is a Cracked Heat Exchanger Dangerous?
Because of its key role, it shouldn't come as a surprise that a cracked heat exchanger can be very dangerous. A crack in the heat exchanger can allow dangerous gasses – like carbon monoxide, which can be lethal – to circulate throughout your home.
For this reason, never run your heater if you suspect it has a cracked heat exchanger, as doing so could make the entire household ill. Reach out to an HVAC professional right away if you think your furnace has a cracked heat exchanger that needs to be repaired.
Four Warning Signs of a Cracked Heat Exchanger:
- Furnace switches off: Cracks in the heat exchanger could cause your furnace to shut off.
- Odd Smells: If the air leaving your furnace has a powerful chemical scent, it may be evidence gasses are leaking through cracks in your heat exchanger. These byproducts, which will often smell like formaldehyde, are a major warning sign.
- Carbon monoxide alarm goes off or you feel poisoning symptoms: If a cracked heat exchanger is emitting carbon monoxide in your home, your carbon monoxide alarm should go off or household members may struggle with signs of carbon monoxide poisoning. Side effects include headaches, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting or feeling sleepy. If an alarm goes off or you feel unusually tired, get out of the home as soon as you can and then call for help.
- Soot: If you find black sooty buildup near the exterior of your furnace, it’s more evidence something could be seriously wrong.
What to Do if Your Furnace Heat Exchanger is Cracked
If you believe your furnace has a cracked heat exchanger, call a professional well versed in furnace installation Rockford right away so they can inspect your system and, if required, handle a furnace heat exchanger replacement. Costs often vary depending on the situation, but estimates can roughly suggest $1,000 to $3,000.
However, the good news is that heat exchangers are regularly covered by the warranty. It's a good idea to confirm the warranty paperwork on your furnace, because while the warranty may not cover the entire cost of repairs, it could significantly lower your bill.
How to Avoid a Cracked Heat Exchanger in Your Home
One of the best ways to minimize the risk of problems in your furnace overall is via routine furnace maintenance. Furnaces work the best when they run efficiently. Contacting a skilled professional to examine your furnace for worn-out parts, dirty filters and other likely problems can help you avoid getting a big bill later on.
It’s also beneficial to inspect your furnace filters every few months – it’s recommended some filters be swapped out every 90 days or sooner if they are dirty or grimy. While the filters aren't connected to the heat exchanger itself, the strain of pulling air through a clogged filter makes the entire furnace work more vigorously to complete its job. And the harder your furnace works, the more deterioration components like the heat exchanger will sustain.