Furnace Noises to Be Aware Of

The days are getting cooler, and homeowners are starting to get their heating systems prepared for the heating season. As you get ready to use your heater for another year, you need to keep an eye out for problems with the system. Furnaces, for example, tend to exhibit a number of different noises when they are having issues. Read on for a list of some warning noises that you need to know about.

Booming
If you hear a loud booming sound coming from your ducts after turning on your furnace, it might be an indication of a problem. In rare circumstances, a booming noise can be caused by sheet metal ducts expanding and contracting. Far more likely, however, is a carbon buildup on the burner assembly. Carbon molecules are a combustion byproduct of natural gas. When your furnace burns natural gas, some carbon molecules can settle on the burner assembly. If the assembly isn’t cleaned often enough, the carbon buildup can cause one or more of the jets to ignite later than they should. The booming sound is created by the slow jet finally igniting, burning through all of the excess gas in the process.

Short Cycling
If your furnace sounds like it’s turning itself on and off every few minutes, it may be short cycling. Short cycling is caused by a problem with the air flow in the furnace. If there isn’t enough air flow, the heat becomes trapped in the furnace and the system overheats. After shutting down as a safety measure, the system will restart and overheat again unless the root cause is dealt with. This puts the system under a lot of stress, and can cause a breakdown if not addressed.

If your furnace is having problems, call SPS Mechanical Inc. We serve all of West Deptford, NJ.