A sounding carbon monoxide alarm comes before any tune-up
If a carbon monoxide alarm goes off, get everyone outside, then call the gas utility's emergency line or 911 from outside the house. Do not open the furnace cabinet or try to reset anything. A tune-up is for a system that is running; an alarm, a smell of gas or a furnace that keeps locking out needs furnace repair first.
While we are on the subject: the Ontario Fire Code requires a working carbon monoxide alarm next to each sleeping area in any home with a fuel-burning appliance, a fireplace or an attached garage. That covers nearly every house in town with a gas furnace. Press the test button when you change the clocks, and replace alarms that have passed the date printed on the back.
The signs that a system is due for a visit
Most systems give a few hints before they quit. On the furnace side, watch for short cycling, where it fires for a minute and shuts off, a burner flame that looks lazy or yellow instead of crisp blue, water pooling under a high-efficiency furnace, a gurgling drain, or a blower that runs louder than it used to. Rooms that never quite warm up, or a gas bill that creeps up from one winter to the next with no change in how you live, point the same way.
On the cooling side, ice on the copper line at the outdoor unit, a damp ceiling or floor near the indoor coil, warm air from the vents on a humid July afternoon, or a breaker that trips when the compressor starts all deserve a look. Some of these turn out to be a dirty filter. Some are early warnings of a failing part, and air conditioner repair is cheaper when it is caught before the coil or the compressor goes.
Newer homes on Spring Creek Rd. need their drains and vents watched
The new subdivision at South Grimsby Rd. 5 and Spring Creek Rd., the Marz Subdivision and the houses going up on the Master Community Plan lands are built tight, with high-efficiency condensing furnaces that vent through two plastic pipes in the side wall. These furnaces make water as they run. When the condensate line sags, clogs with sludge or freezes where it runs near a cold wall, the furnace shuts itself off, usually on the coldest night of the week.
A tune-up on one of these homes spends real time on that water: we clear and flush the trap and line, check the slope, and look at where it drains. Outside, we check that the intake and exhaust pipes are clear, properly spaced and high enough above the ground that a snowbank or a drift off the roof will not cover them. Tight houses also depend on their ventilation running properly, so we look at whether the air in the house is moving the way it should. Our guide on side-wall vents, snow and carbon monoxide explains what to keep an eye on between visits.
Station Meadows and the village core need a closer look inside the cabinet
In an established subdivision like Station Meadows, the original furnace and central air are now reaching the end of their service life. That is when heat exchangers start to crack, blower motors run hot and older air-conditioner coils develop slow leaks. A tune-up there is partly a health check: we inspect the heat exchanger, measure how the blower is drawing, and look at the coil for oil stains and corrosion. A cracked heat exchanger can let combustion gases into the air the furnace moves through the house, so it is the one finding we will not leave running.
The older houses along Griffin Street, St. Catharines Street, Canborough Street and Station Street were first heated with wood or coal and converted to oil and then gas. Many still have oversized converted furnaces, old chimneys and ductwork wrapped in old insulation. We check that the chimney is drafting properly for what is connected to it and tell you plainly if a liner is needed. If the honest answer is that the furnace is near the end, we will say so and point you to furnace installation and replacement rather than selling another round of repairs.
Book the furnace before November and the air conditioner in spring
Environment Canada's Hamilton forecast page lists a normal early-November high of 8°C and a low of 0°C, so furnaces around here are already running most nights by late autumn. September and October are the right time for the heating tune-up: if a part needs ordering, there is time for it to arrive before the first hard frost.
Central air is best checked in April or May, before the first humid stretch, when a slow refrigerant leak or a weak capacitor is an inconvenience rather than an emergency. Many households book both at once with a spring and fall visit, and that also keeps the paperwork in one place.
How a tune-up keeps the warranty valid and the bills down
Many manufacturer warranties on furnaces and air conditioners ask for proof of regular professional maintenance, and a missing service record can make a claim harder down the road. Check the warranty booklet that came with your equipment, and keep the service record we leave you with it.
On the visit itself we ask how the system has been behaving, then work through it: filter, burners, flame sensor, igniter, safety switches, gas pressure, venting, condensate drain, blower and electrical connections on the furnace; coil, drain, electrical parts and refrigerant performance on the air conditioner. Work is performed by TSSA-certified gas technicians, to the CSA B149.1 installation code, on the gas side. For refrigeration and air conditioning: Work is performed by 313A refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics.
If we find something that needs a part, you get a written price and decide before anything is fitted. A clean burner, a clear drain and a correctly adjusted furnace simply use less gas to heat the same house. To book, use the quote form or contact us.