Oil Fired Furnace with Coal and Wood

I have to say, I love what I do. I came across this heater the other day and I haven’t seen one of these in awhile, In this picture is a Oil fired hot air furnace with a wood or coal back up heat. Althought I did find a few problems with the equipment. The combustion chamber for the oil side was pulling away.

The Vent pipe for the heater was not properly pitched. You generally want to see a 1/4inch of rise per foot. Also the pipe was not completely entering the chimney and the entry point was not properly sealed, As this could allow spillage of carbon monixide. This is a safety hazard.

The combustion chamber is made out of steel and lining the firebox in most cases is fire brick. The fire brick is what keeps the fire contained and prevents the cabinet from damage. In this case the fire brick is cracked, This is a safety concern. Imagine what could happen with continuous expansion and conrtaction of the material, It will become brittle and fall apart allowing the flame to damage the outer casing of the furnace. This could be a fire hazard.

The wood and coal side of the furnace has two doors one allows access to the fire box, This is were you put your wood or coal to burn. The other door is below the upper door. This is a cleanout for the ash and or soot. The ash will fall in to a tray that allows for easy cleaning. Both doors have a gasketing material that keeps the door sealed tight. The gasket material is applied with a high temperature adhesive that with stands 2000F. In this case the gasket material needs to be replaced for two resaons first it does not completely cover the door and second the material is worn. This could allow the flame to roll out or even spillage of carbon monixide.

Althought this is an older furnace and there were a few issues that can be easliy corrected the furnace was working fine. As with all of are inspections we evaluate the equipment from top to bottom. We always recommend that the equipment no matter what type of fuel it is burning be serviced atleast once a year to ensure that these things do not go unnoticed, As with anything if you can catch it early enough it will be less expansive to repair and maintain. Plus it will extend the life of the equipment, burn more efficiently and save you money.

When you find your dream home, make sure that you get a thorough home inspection from the Most trusted Delaware Home Inspector, Ted Hinderer of Quality Home Inspections, he serves New Castle, Kent and Sussex Counties. Call us today at 302-893-1364 for a thorough home inspection. We won’t let you buy the money pit.

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