The On-Again, Off-Again Heating Problem

The other day we got a call from a homeowner who said, “My burner is going on and off, on and off, and yet I’m not getting enough heat. What’s going on?”

Let me tell you what I told him. While it’s true that gas systems tend to have short cycles between Off and On, if the cycles seem shorter than usual and you are not getting enough heat, this may be the symptom of a problem.

For example, dirty filters may be blocking the air flow, causing the short cycles and lack of heat.  You can examine your filters, and if they are very dirty, you can try replacing them. This may fix the problem.

Or it could be that a fan belt is loose so that the fan does not turn fast enough to remove heat from the furnace; as a result the furnace overheats and shuts off. Then, when the furnace cools down, the burner comes on again for a short period until it overheats again. Your home won’t heat up enough between cycles. If this is problem, then the fan belt will need to be replaced.

(By the way, if you’re not getting any heat but you can hear the fan motor running, it could be that you have a worn or broken fan motor belt. Replacements for your fan belt should be available at your local hardware store and you can replace this yourself, or call ClearView plumbing and heating company to do it for you.)

If changing the filter and the fan belt doesn’t fix the problem, just call ClearView plumbing and heating and we can check your heating system out.

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