The most comon way to detect a crack in a heat exchanger is with a visual inspection, removal of the burner assembly and the use of a mirror and flash light. Or a smoke bomb test. A special little smoke bomb is placed in the burner area with the burners OFF. The blower is runnig and you light the smoke bomb, the smoke will draft up the flue vent or if a crack or rust hole is present then the smoke will get sucked into the air stream and come out of the duct work. Other than that using a carbon monoxide detector to see what the CO levels of the furnace are and comparing them to the supply air of the furnace to verify that there is no CO present in the air stream. The best and most accurate way is to contact a local Heating and Air Conditioning specialist or your local gas company should come out and perform a CO test on the furnace. Good Luck and God BLess
The heat exchanger in a furnace is the primary component in a furnace. That said, their are circuit boards, motors and other components that can also fail regardless of the age of the heat exchanger. In my opinion, if you can afford to replace the furnace, you would be much better off. The cost of the heat exchanger with labor is probably not too much less than replacing the entire furnace.
Yes
there are two type of heat exchanger in absorption refrigeration, first is liquid heat exchanger and other is gas heat exchanger.both heat exchanger function is same, to transfer heat (hot medium to cold medium) without violate second newton law of thermodynamics. liquids heat exchanger is between boiler and absorber vessel mean while gas heat exchanger between evaporator and absorber.
Heat exchangers are not indentical to furnaces. However, they do serve a similar purpose. Both heat exchangers and furnaces serve important individual purposes. They also aee ulilitzed for different devices.
The duty of a heat exchanger can be defined in an easy way as "The amount of heat exchanged from a fluid at a higher temperature to the fluid at lower temperature in unit time by a heat exchanger is called its duty"
The heat exchanger is the metal wall or tubing that is heated up when the burners are ignited. The inside of the heat exchanger allows the toxic flue gases produced from the burners to exhaust out through the furnace flue. The outside of the heat exchanger is where the cold air passes over, becomes warmed, and is blown throughout the ductwork of the home. The heat exchanger is the only wall separating the toxic flue gases from the supply air. If a crack develops in the heat exchanger, there is a potential for carbon monoxide gas to leak over to the supply side and be blown throughout your rooms. Carbon monoxide gas is odorless. The human senses will not detect its presence. Ron Ferrara- DHR Mechanical Services, Inc.
The heat exchanger in a furnace is the primary component in a furnace. That said, their are circuit boards, motors and other components that can also fail regardless of the age of the heat exchanger. In my opinion, if you can afford to replace the furnace, you would be much better off. The cost of the heat exchanger with labor is probably not too much less than replacing the entire furnace.
air handler
Yes
Is the furnace a hydroponic system? If it is you only need to get a heat exchanger (As you don't want the water to your heater flowing through the furnace) and plumb it as another zone in your house. If not you need to find a device for heating water that fits your furnace. and plumb the heat exchanger to that. I believe an heat exchanger is required by code in either case.
Yes,It depends if it is gas fired or electric.
Your really are better off replacing the whole unit, there was a reason for the heat exchanger to have cracked or malfunction, ether for age or or a mechanical anomaly , you may have not addressed, as of yet.
There are specific values for heat rise across a furnace heat exchanger given in all installation/operation manuals for all furnaces. As long as these limits are adhered to by the installer the heat exchanger will not overheat. I know this does not answer the question but there is no one blanket answer for all furnaces. Basically the more airflow through the furnace, the lower the HX temp and to determine when the airflow is correct a heat rise test is done and the airflow is set to the mid point of that specification.
I have never heard of a way to do this without changing the whole furnace. Propane furnaces are usually thin steal walled heat exchangers with many burners. Oil Furnaces have a large burner chamber and then a small heat exchanger above it. If there is a way, you will need to change the heat exchanger and all electrical components. It may be cheaper in the end to just change the whole furnace.
The heat exchanger is very important to the operation of your boiler or furnace system within your home. This is the part that takes the heat and disperses it into the air or water for distribution of your home. If your current heat exchanger is not performing correctly, here is a simple guide to help you install a new one on your boiler or furnace unit. Step 1. When you are planning on installing a new heat exchanger, the first thing that you should consider is safety. Working with boilers and furnaces can be extremely dangerous. Little accidents, such as punctured hoses or disconnecting the wrong pipes that carry steam could cause you to get seriously burned. You should also wear protective work gloves because there is the potential of getting cut on sharp edges that may be present. Power to these appliances should be turned off at the main electrical circuit breaker. Since the furnace will be turned off, you should do this type of project in warmer weather conditions. Give these appliances enough time to cool down before proceeding. Step 2. If you are replacing an existing heat exchanger, you will first need to remove the old one. This is located behind a panel on your boiler or furnace appliance. Remove the panels located on the front of your furnace or boiler with a screwdriver. These panels can be extremely sharp and cause you injuries. To identify the heat exchanger, you will be looking for pipes and tubing coming off of what looks to be a bulky metal panel. You will need to write down where each of the pipes, clamps, hoses, or other part that is connected to the heat exchanger goes for easier re-connection. If it is possible to get a camera in there, you can also take a picture of the heat exchanger and its connections for future referencing. Remove all of the fittings that connect to the heat exchanger so that it can be removed from the furnace. Step 3. Reconnecting your new heat exchanger is very simple if you took good notes on the connection placements or took pictures of the old heat exchanger set up. If your heat exchanger kit has new fitting that need to be installed, you can replace the old ones with the new fittings. If the set up and fitting are the same, you can just replace the hoses, clamps, pipes and other hardware on your new heat exchanger. You will need to let your furnace sit for a few hours before you can replace the panels and turn the power back on to the furnace.
Yes, you can melt the heat exchanger and start a fire that way
there are two type of heat exchanger in absorption refrigeration, first is liquid heat exchanger and other is gas heat exchanger.both heat exchanger function is same, to transfer heat (hot medium to cold medium) without violate second newton law of thermodynamics. liquids heat exchanger is between boiler and absorber vessel mean while gas heat exchanger between evaporator and absorber.