A furnace is usually a background player for your home, keeping you warm across the cold winter months. It frequently doesn’t get noticed until something goes wrong.
One root cause may be that your furnace has a cracked heat exchanger. It can be a safety risk, so it’s critical to know the symptoms of a cracked heat exchanger and what to do if you suspect that may be 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 moves through the system. It generally handles this via coils or tubes that heat the air while functioning as a barrier to keep the gasses created in the combustion chamber, called flue gasses, from leaking out into your home.
Is a Cracked Heat Exchanger Dangerous?
Given its important role, it shouldn't come as a surprise that a broken heat exchanger can pose a risk. Cracks in the heat exchanger can enable dangerous gasses – including carbon monoxide, which can be lethal – to be distributed throughout your home.
For this reason, never use your furnace if you think it has a cracked heat exchanger, as this could make the whole household sick. Reach out to an HVAC professional immediately if you think your heater has a cracked heat exchanger that needs repair.
Four Symptoms of a Cracked Heat Exchanger:
- Furnace shuts off: Cracks in the heat exchanger may cause your furnace to shut off.
- Odd Smells: If the air leaving your furnace has a powerful chemical smell, it could be evidence gas is slipping through cracks in your heat exchanger. These gasses, which can smell like formaldehyde, are a major warning sign.
- Carbon monoxide alarm is triggered or you feel symptoms of poisoning: If a cracked heat exchanger is relieving carbon monoxide into your home, your carbon monoxide alarm should go off or household members could struggle with signs of carbon monoxide poisoning. Complications include headaches, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting or feeling sleepy. If an alarm goes off or you feel unwell, get out of the home as soon as you can and then call for help.
- Soot: If you spot black sooty accumulating near the exterior of your furnace, it’s more evidence something could be seriously wrong.
What You Should Do if the Furnace Heat Exchanger is Cracked
If you suspect your furnace has a cracked heat exchanger, contact a pro experienced in furnace installation Dresden as soon as possible so they can examine your system and, if needed, perform a furnace heat exchanger replacement. Costs will differ depending on the situation, but estimates often hover around $1,000 to $3,000.
Estimates aside, the good news is that heat exchangers are regularly covered by the warranty. It's a good idea to review the warranty paperwork on your furnace, as while the warranty may not cover the entire cost of repairs, it can significantly shrink your bill.
How to Avoid a Cracked Heat Exchanger in Your Home
One of the most convenient ways to avoid problems in your furnace overall is via routine furnace maintenance. Furnaces provide the best possible return on investment when they work efficiently. Contacting a certified professional to examine your furnace for old parts, dirty filters and other common problems can help you avoid getting a big bill later on.
It’s also a good idea to take a look at your furnace filters every few months – it’s ideal some filters be swapped out every 90 days or sooner if they are dirty or grimy. While the filters are not part of the heat exchanger itself, the strain of drawing air through a clogged filter makes your entire furnace work more vigorously to accomplish its job. And the harder your furnace works, the more deterioration pieces like the heat exchanger will sustain.