You wake up to a snow storm and now your furnace isn’t working, and you do not know what to do.  If you have a 90% efficiency furnace and above, you may have snow blocking the pipes that allow for an intake and outtake of air.  These pipes are  white PVC, and you will be able to find them on the side of your house.

If you are not sure if you have a 90% efficiency furnace and above, check to see if you have those pipes.  If you do, then you have a 90% and above efficiency furnace.  If there is snow blocking these pipes, the furnace will not work.   Try cleaning out your pipes and see if your furnace starts to work again. 

Be careful when shoveling or snow blowing all that snow, that you do not mistakenly block those pipes, and make sure you keep your pipes clear to avoid any problems now or in the future.

If a problem still exists after clearing these pipes, call Flame and they can help to find what the problem is and figure out a solution!

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Brr! Your furnace won’t turn on, and it is very inconvenient to be walking around your home wrapped in a blanket all the time.  Here are couple of places or things you may want to check if your home isn’t heating up, though you want it to!

1.  Check the Thermostat-is that on and working properly?  See if you can find the wires that connect it to the furnace, do they seem ok?
2. If you furnace has a pilot light-is it lit?  If not, light it!  There should be some instructions around your furnace on how to do that.
3. Check your electrical panel-make sure the breaker for your furnace is on!
4. Make sure that you have enough power flowing to your furnace

If none of these are the problems or if you cannot figure out how to check some of these things, call Flame Furnace.  Their electricians and technicians will be more than happy to come help you out and figure out how to get your furnace working fast!  Also, feel free to call or post a comment on the blogs if you just have a simple question dealing with your furnace etc…

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Everybody likes to hear that something is on sale or being sold at a discounted price.  Who doesn’t like to save money?  When checking out the Flame website, make sure to check the “specials” section.  These specials could help you especially as the Holiday season rolls around. Read the rest of this entry »

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Dear Customer:
There’s a chill in the air, and it’s inside your home! Can’t believe you need a furnace! Buying a new furnace is something that you may do only once or twice in your lifetime, and, based on over sixty years of selling, servicing, and installation experience, Flame heating, cooling and electric has developed a 7-step checklist that makes purchase of your new furnace relatively stress free and easy.

1. Choose a qualified contractor. Ask your Chamber of Commerce, friends, or family, for a referral. Look for a contractor that has been in business, is licensed and insured and has trained NATE certified technicians to install different types and brands of equipment.
2. Call your City Hall and speak with your building inspector. Furnace installations require permits to be filed with the city for both heating and electric, (electric is because most furnaces today require a grounded current from your panel and sometimes increasing the current size to 20 amps) and inspections by the building inspector upon completion. Check to see if there have been any problems with the contractor.
3. Set up an appointment with the contractor. Make sure the contractor comes to your home at your convenience, and you have the name of the person visiting. Check their Certificates of Insurance and State and City licenses. Find out if they have a showroom and visit it. Ask for references. Ask to visit sites where they have made an installation similar to yours.
4. Get a type written estimate. Talk to the contractor about your home, any special comfort needs, and how long you plan to stay in the home. Make sure they perform a heat gain/loss using an accurate infiltration number. This information will help the contractor propose the best furnace and associated equipment solutions for you. Have the contractor list exactly what is covered by the estimate-new equipment installed, old equipment removed, warranties and time frame.
5. Explore payment options. Your contractor should offer options-cash, check, Visa and MasterCard, or 100% financing with terms. Often contractors ask for a down payment to schedule the job and secure the equipment.
6. Schedule installation. Make sure it is convenient for you, confirm the time frame, and ask for the names of the installation technicians. Check identification when the technicians arrive. When they are finished, good technicians should explain to you how the system works. They should also provide literature, maintenance instructions, and phone numbers on your furnace.
7. Consider a maintenance plan. Annual maintenance of your furnace saves energy and prolongs the life of your equipment. Good contractors offer these plans and the savings in your utility bill covers the cost of the plan.

Just follow this checklist and your new furnace purchase should be easy. Still have questions? Want more information? Feel free to call the Furnace Doctor at Flame Heating, Cooling and Electrical toll free at 1-888-234-2340, or visit our website at www.flamefurnace.com. Better yet, visit our showroom, join us for a cup of tea, and meet the people who will drive that chill from your home!

We are also Kopke Heating of Riverview, MF Downs Engineering of Birmingham, and TriMaster of Mt. Clemens.

Very Truly Yours,
Gary Marowske

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Sometimes a cold shower is just what you want.  However, most of the time, that is exactly what you do not want.  Here are some possibly reasons why your hot water heating isn’t hot enough or is not working.

• The first thing you want to check with a gas hot water heater is the pilot light.  If that is out, you will not be receiving any hot water in your home.  This is a fairly easy problem to fix, simply re-light it!  If you are unsure how to do this, find the manufacturer’s instructions.  They should be able to explain how to.
• Another problem for not having enough hot water in your home, is that your heater may not be the correct size for your home.  Your home should use about 75% of the water that the hot water heater holds.  Unfortunately this problem is not as easy to solve.  You could call a place like Flame Furnace and have a new hot water heater properly sized for your home.
•  Also, though a lower temperature on your hot water heater saves money and energy, it could be too low.  If the temperature is too low the hot water in your home will not heat up as much as you want.  Try turning up the temperature just a little bit.
• The dip tube is what brings the cold water to the bottom of the tank so it can be heated up.  If the dip tube is broken, hot and cold water can be mixing together which makes your already heated water not as cold.  You can try replacing the dip tube, or getting a new hot water heater to fix this problem.

The next time your shower is not as warm as you want it to be, you may want to look into these possible sources of the problem!

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The beginnings of Fall mean that you no longer have to crank up your air conditioner and you do not have to worry about your furnace yet.  Therefore, furnaces and air conditioners are the last things on your mind.  However, this is one of the best times to invest in a new air conditioner or furnace. 

Why?  Because since it is not the middle of July or below freezing in December many people do not think about a heating or cooling unit since it is not necessary.  This means that seasons such as the beginnings of Fall are slow for many heating and cooling companies. Prices may be lower since the businesses will not be as busy.  

Also, it is possible you will be able to pick a more convenient time for an installation since the days will not be as booked.  Finally, a peace of mind can come from having your new furnace installed and ready to go before the chill of winter swoops in.  

When thinking of buying a new unit you should think about when to buy it and remember slower seasons such as the end of  Summer/beginning of Fall, it could save you some money.  Even if you are not immediately thinking that it is time to buy a new furnace or air conditioner since it is still working for now, this time of year is a good time to consider whether or not you will need one soon.

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Summer is beginning to end.  This means going back to school, fall leaves, sweaters and scarves, football, Halloween and apple orchards.  What you may not think of is, a furnace inspection.  Soon the temperatures will be dropping and turning on your furnace will be a necessity.  However, if it has not been inspected in a while problems can occur.

It is a good idea to have your furnace (and air conditioner) inspected once a year.  It does not matter when the inspection occurs, though it is recommended to be done in late summer/early fall to make sure everything is set for when it starts to get cold.  Furnace inspections include but are not limited to: checking for carbon monoxide, making sure the blower is operating correctly, cleaning air filters, cleaning motor and fan etc..  You can feel free to ask your HVAC specialist exactly what he is going to do.

It is smart to book a furnace inspection while it is unecessary to use a furnace instead of waiting until it breaks down in freezing cold weather.  So when you think of fall and going back to school, also keep your furnace in mind (even if it isn’t as fun or exciting as an apple orchard or haunted house).

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If you ever have problems or concerns with a leaking water heater, furnace, or air conditioner, you may want to read up on this water sensor article from The Air Conditiong, Heating & Refrideration News.

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Carrier Class Action Lawsuit Information

If you own or owned a Carrier, Bryant, Payne, or Day & Night high efficiency gas furnace made after January 1, 1989, you could get benefits from a class action settlement.

From the official court website:

The Court will hold a hearing on April 22, 2008 to decide whether to approve the settlement. Those included in the class action, together called a “Class,” have legal rights and options, such as submitting a claim form to ask for a payment, excluding themselves from the settlement, objecting to it, or asking to speak at the hearing. The deadline for exclusions and objections is March 21, 2008. You may fill out and submit a Claim Form online or mail it postmarked no later than August 1, 2008 to the address on the form. Click here to see a list of models that are included in the settlement.

Click the links on the official website to obtain a Claim Form or read the Court–ordered Notices, and other materials including a list of the furnace models that are included in the settlement, the Settlement Agreement, and the Preliminary Approval Order.

Is you furnace on this list? Not sure? Call or email us and we can check for you. If you would prefer, we can come out at no charge and verify if you are eligible. If your furnace is on the list, we can schedule a service technician for $49.99 to come out and check the heat exchanger on your furnace to be sure that it is safe to operate. If your furnace does have a defective heat exchanger we can send a comfort consultant out to go over your options – replace the heat exchanger or install a new furnace. There is a credit from the manufacturer for up to $1,050.00 towards the replacement of your heat exchanger or the installation of a new furnace.

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Since we are in the middle of the dog days of summer, better known as August, you certainly are not running your furnace. It is the time of year when a cool run through the yard sprinkler feels better than a long hot shower. Nevertheless I thought I would take this time to talk to you about the latest in indoor air quality products available from Broan – Nutone.

Broan-Nutone recently introduced a unit they call the “Guardian Plus Air Systems”, offering you a combination of in home indoor air quality and air ventilation. This system offers technological advantages you can’t get in other home systems. Part of the uniqueness is that it is independent of your existing furnace. This unit is a combination of a HEPA air filtration unit, fresh air intake and heat recovery. It takes air cleaning above and beyond what normal electronic and media type filters provide. Read the rest of this entry »

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