Do you have an older furnace that you've been deferring maintenance on? It's okay! Life can often be hectic, and your home's HVAC equipment can easily fall by the wayside. Unfortunately, deferring maintenance for too long can have serious consequences. A poorly maintained furnace will run inefficiently, and it may heat your home poorly or even suffer from premature failures.

Fortunately, there's good news. Even a poorly maintained older furnace may have many more years of life left, so an expensive replacement may not yet be right over the horizon. However, getting on top of your maintenance now will give you the best chance of extending your heating system's life. If you want to keep your old furnace going, you may need these three tune-up procedures.

1. Burner Disassembly and Cleaning 

The burner assembly on a natural gas furnace is a surprisingly simple component, although it has numerous critically important features. A typical furnace burner assembly includes multiple individual burners linked together with small channels between them. The burners allow air and fuel to mix, and the channels allow the flame to "spread" between burners without requiring separate igniters.

Perfectly efficient burners in a perfectly clean environment should never require cleaning, but no one's home is perfect. Over time, your burners can accumulate dust and soot, reducing their efficiency or clogging those critical channels between burners. A thorough disassembly and cleaning performed by a trained technician can help provide your old furnace with a big boost.

2. Igniter Cleaning

Your igniter is another component in your furnace that requires periodic cleaning to help tune up your heating system. Typical modern furnaces use hot surface igniters. These simple devices get hot enough to ignite the air and fuel mixture in your furnace, providing heat for your home. Since igniters face the full brunt of your furnace flame, they can become fairly dirty.

A dirty igniter may struggle to start your furnace or even fail altogether. However, these components are also incredibly fragile. While replacing an igniter isn't expensive, cleaning yours can extend its life and prevent your furnace from failing to start. If you have an older gas furnace, igniter cleaning is a necessary tune-up procedure.

3. Combustion Analysis and Gas Pressure Adjustment

The best way to determine the safety and efficiency of your furnace is through a combustion analysis. A combustion analysis examines the gases escaping through your exhaust flue and uses this information to determine the overall efficiency of your furnace. A furnace that is inefficiently operating will cost you more money and may also produce more harmful gases, such as carbon monoxide.

This analysis can allow your technician to determine if your gas valve requires adjustment. A combustion analysis can sometimes uncover more severe problems with your furnace, such as a cracked heat exchanger. While this procedure is far more technical and complex than cleaning a component, you shouldn't ignore it if you want to keep your old furnace operating safely and cheaply.

To learn more, contact a heating contractor today.