Cohortskates

Rely on qualified repair and service to keep your furnace in shape. All furnaces, especially the oil-fired variety, need annual end-of- summer inspections. Burners need cleaning, oil nozzles need replacement, and often the electrodes and ignition device need cleaning and adjustment. None of these are jobs for the weekend handyman. You can locate qualified furnace technicians through your mobile home park operator, your fuel supplier, a list of authorized technicians in your Owner’s Warranty package, or the telephone directory.
You need a competent gas technician to convert your natural gas system to Ip gas or vice versa. He can also see problems developing and correct them before your furnace fails. Schedule yearly furnace inspections into your budget; they may save you large repair bills and inconvenience later.
You also want dependable service fast when heating emergencies occur. For example, anytime you smell burnt oil or gas, you need a technician. Combustion should be odorless. Turn off the furnace. Open your windows. Call your repairman immediately. He’s more likely to respond quickly or at odd hours if you’re a known customer.

What do you do when you turn up the thermostat and nothing happens in the furnace? First go to your fuse box and reset the circuit breaker. Go back to the thermostat. Turn it all the way down for 30 seconds, and then set it somewhere above the room temperature. If the furnace still does not switch on, service the thermostat, seeking dirt and loose wires.
If you don’t find a fault in the thermostat, look for loose wires at the furnace. Reset any circuit breakers in the furnace compartment. Examine fuses, if there are any. Replace blown ones with new fuses of the same amperage.
When you have plenty of fuel, and you know electric power is on, yet the furnace won’t operate, call a technician.

Thermostats play a big role in heating and cooling efficiency. They suffer most from getting dirty. Wires do come off of terminals. Sometimes a thermostat needs replacing. A thermostat is a sensitive item of equipment. Some have maintenance warnings. Pay attention.
Don’t tamper with calibration. But you can become familiar with the thermostat’s workings. Remove the cover and look at the mechanism. You’ll find some with coil springs for calibration; others have transistors. Some models have terminals on the front panel only; others have them on front and back.
Dirt and lint—even hair—in the mechanism brings on thermostat malfunction. Clean the coil-type with a thin piece of paper. Work in and around the coil gently, to avoid bending it out of calibration. With your breath only (no compressed air), lightly blow dust from non- spring types. Do not use a vacuum cleaner or a blowing appliance such as a hair dryer.
Loose wires prevent a thermostat from working properly. Turn off the circuit (at the breaker) that powers the furnace and the thermostat. Remove the cover, Inspect the screw terminals that hold wires. Even if they appear tight, tug on the wires gently with your fingers or push with your screwdriver. Tighten any loose wires. Watch out for loose copper strands that may touch something they shouldn’t. Stranded wires must be twisted tight before being fastened under the terminal screws.
Remove the thermostat from the wall and look for loose wires behind it. Do this gently. You don’t want to fish loose wires out of the wall. If cleaning and tightening do not remedy an ailing thermostat, you need a furnace technician.