Central Gas Furnace

[Stmar]

Going through my pre-season checks. Heil gas furnace, central heat/AC. Sounds fine when flame is burning but when it goes into shut down, combustion motor running to expel fumes, it sounds like a helicopter. Must be some kind of vibration. Furnace is hard to access so I wanted to get some idea of what to look for before I squeeze in there and start taking things apart. First thought was the combustion motor but then why would it not make the noise all the time and not just on shut down? Have run blower motor in AC and summer fan mode and no issues with it.
Thanks for any input.

 

[skeets]

I dont know how yours is built but I know on my boiler sometimes the vent will make noise like that when the fan is running,,, seems a little tap on the vent pipe with my hand stops the noise,, just a thought

 

[Holleyman]

I don't know if yours is a squirrel cage fan but they do plug with dust and crap. A blow off with compressed air or removing and washing helps quite a bit.

 

[Stmar]

The blower fan is a squirrel cage but when I use my summer fan or AC there is no problem, the squirrel cage runs in these situations. I will definitely check it though, I am going to try and check everything when I get motivation to crawl in there, it is in the attic and close quarters for 6'1", 220#.

Skeets, I sure hope it is just something lose and will bang on the duct to see if that has any effect. By the way how are you doing? I have not been online for a while and knew you had an issue. Hope you are well and I still want to see those Arabian War Horses.

 

[johnjk]

Is this one of those high efficiency units? I've gotten leaves sucked in and they make a ton of noise on the outside of the combustion chamber. In the event they flip around and block off some of the input, the furnace will shut down.

Take a bit of 1/4 inch screen, cut it to the diameter just a tad larger than that input pipe and press fit it in. No more leaves being sucked in

 

[skeets]

I hope its just that simple,,,lol
this is the ranch facebook page the first picture the big gray is Roger the kids stud and the chestnut is his son. These horses are so damned smart its almost scary ,, lol I really liked my Arab mare almost as much as my beagles!

https://www.facebook.com/AyaRanch

Me Im doing one step one day, hopping the Docs will reattach everything next month, Im thinking that will pretty much muck up deer season, and if it snows,,, well what do I care I aint goin no place anyway,,

 

[Stmar]

I hope its just that simple,,,lol
this is the ranch facebook page the first picture the big gray is Roger the kids stud and the chestnut is his son. These horses are so damned smart its almost scary ,, lol I really liked my Arab mare almost as much as my beagles!

https://www.facebook.com/AyaRanch

Me Im doing one step one day, hopping the Docs will reattach everything next month, Im thinking that will pretty much muck up deer season, and if it snows,,, well what do I care I aint goin no place anyway,,

The chestnut reminds me of my Quarter horse, he had Jet Deck Thoroughbred blood so Arabian way way back I assume. Nice looking Arabs, the dad is what I would call a HORSE.
Hope all goes well and sorry you will have to take a break from deer season.

 

[Stmar]

Is this one of those high efficiency units? I've gotten leaves sucked in and they make a ton of noise on the outside of the combustion chamber. In the event they flip around and block off some of the input, the furnace will shut down.

Take a bit of 1/4 inch screen, cut it to the diameter just a tad larger than that input pipe and press fit it in. No more leaves being sucked in

It is an older furnace, 80% about 20 years old. I will definitely check out the intake and exhaust pipes. No leaves around here to worry about but some kind of nest, insect or bird, would be a possibility.

 

[sagor]

Going through my pre-season checks. Heil gas furnace, central heat/AC. Sounds fine when flame is burning but when it goes into shut down, combustion motor running to expel fumes, it sounds like a helicopter. Must be some kind of vibration. Furnace is hard to access so I wanted to get some idea of what to look for before I squeeze in there and start taking things apart. First thought was the combustion motor but then why would it not make the noise all the time and not just on shut down? Have run blower motor in AC and summer fan mode and no issues with it.
Thanks for any input.

For a high efficiency gas furnace (or Propane furnace), there are two blowers. One is called the "inducer", which sucks in the outside air into the firing chamber and expels the exhaust gases, then your main blower to distribute the heat thru the house. I had to replace my inducer this past year, it was starting to vibrate (bearings??) You need a professional to do this, as they have to test for gas leakage after replacement. My vibration noise was only on startup, not on shutdown or while running. Your inducer may be different...
The inducer only runs when there is a call for heat. It runs for about 30-45 seconds before ignition, and runs for about 2-3 minutes after fuel cutoff to expel any gases. It does not run at any other time.
If you have vibration or noise when your put the fan on only, then the main blower is faulty. Usually you can replace those yourself, if you have the skills to do so (no gases present in the house air movement, hopefully...)

 

[Stmar]

Sometimes you wonder. Vibration seems to have been caused by spare parts left on top of the furnace by the service tech. Cleared off the furnace now all is right with the world. Glad I did not call before I investigated, furnace is in an awkward place and is a hassle to access.

 

[D2Cat]

Check to be sure the transformer (usually located near the gas valve) is not loose enough to vibrate some.

 

[SidecarFlip]

I have a Bryant plus 90 and the draft inducer motor s going south slowly and sounds like a bucket of bolts. Gonna replace it myself when it expires. Have a new one in the shop. I replace ignitors regularly too, Amazon has the least expensive, I buy a couple at a time.

The furnace is backup only. We heat with bio-mass.

 

[RCW]

The furnace is backup only. We heat with bio-mass.

Bio-mass....wood, or other?
Curious as I do wood pellets; 5 ton, and oil HWB as backup.
13 gallons of oil last season, so wood does most of it in upstate New York.
Don’t see him much lately, but “Tooljunkie” here was working on making his own wood pellets.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Daren Todd]

Sometimes you wonder. Vibration seems to have been caused by spare parts left on top of the furnace by the service tech. Cleared off the furnace now all is right with the world. Glad I did not call before I investigated, furnace is in an awkward place and is a hassle to access.

I thought the motor in my fridge was going out. Darn thing developed this irritating rattle every time it kicked on. One night it got really bad. And it woke me up. Irritated about being woken up after putting in a double at work which included a 500 mile drive, I went to investigate. Started listening to it really close and followed the sound.

My wife had been given some wine glasses to go with a couple bottles of wine she had been given on a different holiday. And not really having a spot for them, she put them on top of the fridge. In a tight clump. The wine bottles bottoms weren't quite flat and would start rocking back and forth causing the glasses to rattle

Separated them and all was peacefully quiet

 

[Donystoy]

I have a Bryant plus 90 and the draft inducer motor s going south slowly and sounds like a bucket of bolts. Gonna replace it myself when it expires. Have a new one in the shop. I replace ignitors regularly too, Amazon has the least expensive, I buy a couple at a time.

The furnace is backup only. We heat with bio-mass.

My last furnace was a Bryant high efficient. I had to replace the inducer impeller a couple of times due to vibration. The steel hub in the center of the blade was not stainless and would corrode from the acidic moisture in the exhaust. This corrosion would distort the plastic impeller and cause vibration. I would remove the impeller and corroded hub with a Dremel tool. Took some time but saved me from replacing the entire assembly. I retired from the HVAC industry.

 

[SidecarFlip]

It's a good furnace, just noisy right now. I have one in my rental property too and it's never gotten noisy but both eat ignitors regularly.

I'll keep your observations in mind when I pull the inducer. Ive reas that the inducer is a poor design.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Bio-mass....wood, or other?
Curious as I do wood pellets; 5 ton, and oil HWB as backup.
13 gallons of oil last season, so wood does most of it in upstate New York.
Don***8217;t see him much lately, but ***8220;Tooljunkie***8221; here was working on making his own wood pellets.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Wood pellets. 5 ton here as well but my pellet prices are better than yours (I think). I get them direct from the mill (Fiber Byproducts in White Pigeon, Michigan. I looked at a biomass extruder myself for turning forage (hay and straw) into pellets, I'm in the commercial forage business but the upfront cost was too much for value received. Besides, I have enough to do as it is. Just ask my wife...lol

I have an older USSC Hearth Focus multifuel stove in the greatroom. Has worked fine for many years with minimal upkeep. A new motor here and there and that is about it. I mix corn and pellets 50-50. I have 2 1000 bushel grain tanks by the barn so I get shelled corn delivered, I use the corn as cattle feed and burn it too.

Guess I could do wood, have plenty available but pellets and corn are much easier.

With my ongoing cancer issues and chemo, I don't really feel like cleaning and loading the stove so I;m running the central furnace this winter instead.

 

[comforthill]

I see this is an old post but, just wondering if you got it fixed. What is the model and serial number of it.I used to sell HVAC and HEIL was our main product line. I know in some of the older 80% furnaces the combuston blower fan would fracture and break off. If it is a plastic combustion blower there were some replacement fans available. If it is a metal housing one you would need to replace the whole combustion blower. If you look the model number up on line it will help in finding replacement parts. If you local dealer ( I know you are in a rural area ) can't get one you can get one off line. I used to live in Kemmerer, WY. in the 80s. Great state. Good luck. Roger