When the weather finally gets cool and you go to turn on your furnace to warm up, the last thing you’re probably expecting is a “booming” noise coming from it. If anything, you’d hear the burners ignite and then air whooshing through your vents—not much else, right?
This is an alarming sound to hear. Unfortunately, when it happens, it means your furnace needs professional attention. The good news is, we’re here for the job! Read on to learn more about what a booming furnace means.
Delayed Combustion
That booming noise that caught your attention is the sound of unburned gas that collected in the combustion chamber, suddenly burning up all at one time. That combustion gas from the jets isn’t supposed to build up in the chamber—it’s supposed to ignite right away. So what the booming noise is telling you is that something’s preventing the timely ignition of the gas jets, leading to a sudden ignition of more combustible gas than normal. This isn’t the way a furnace is supposed to operate, and this can lead to potential safety risks.
So, why does delayed ignition happen? It may be due to a problem with the electronic ignition system. That’s right, even gas-powered systems use a little electricity. Standing pilot lights used to be the standard method for furnaces to light the gas from the gas jets, but now electronic ignition systems are the norm. If this igniter isn’t coming on promptly, it allows for a buildup of combustion gas. Furnaces are designed with safety mechanisms if the igniter doesn’t come on at all in order to shut off the gas flow, but you can still experience gas buildup, so immediate repair is necessary.
The other common cause for delayed ignition is dirt and other grime collecting on the burners throughout the years. This is something that we take care of during your heating system maintenance—cleaning the system inside and out. Did you skip furnace maintenance this year? If so, you could be at risk of this problem. Fortunately, all you need to do is call on our team to clean the burners for you if this is the problem.
Always Trust a Pro
You should never attempt a furnace repair on your own. And certainly don’t look to an inexperienced amateur who makes big promises but can’t follow through. Gas-powered heaters are potentially dangerous to work on for any service folk, but at least professionally trained technicians have the education and licensing to do this work safely and effectively.
It may sound like the problem with a buildup on your furnace burners is easy to repair by cleaning it, but these burners must be detached from the furnace first, and this isn’t something you want to allow anyone but a professional to do. Let our pros tackle this job—we’ll do it right the first time.
Contact a professional HVAC contractor in Salt Lake City and see why our customers keep saying, “I Love My Design Comfort!”
