Furnace help!? Any Furnace techs on Beyond?

I bought a condo last year and it has a unit furnace of Frigidare brand name? Anyways it is a 3 story loft condo with the furnace on its basement level along with a cheap NOMA electronic thermostat. The problem I am finding with it seems to be "short cycling"? It seems to kick on and off every 15 minutes for a few minutes which adds up to alot of run time throughout the day. As much as 4.5-5.0 hours a day when -20 outside. I have it set to 21 celcius when I am home and 19 when I am not. Is it normal to run this often? I think the insulation of the unit is substandard and also has lots of windows. The basement level always seems to be colder where the Tstat is. Any suggestions? Can a furnace be tuned up?

When was the last time you replaced the furnace filter? I actually recently had a similar problem where I purchased a new high quality 3m filter. After about 2-3 weeks the filter collected so many little particles that it wasn't letting enough fresh air into the furnace. Therefore, we would have a similar problem where the blower motor would continuously run trying to cool itself down.

I switched back to a cheaper filter and haven't had any problems since.

Worth a look at least... new filters are only about $2

Spend $13-$20 on a GOOD filter.
If you can see through the filter, dont buy it.

This is a decent troublshooting guide:
http://homerepair.about.com/od/heati...n_trblsh_4.htm

Check the Flame sensor also.
http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4924695...nsor-work.html

Clean all the carbon buildup off of it.

This is for the Thermocouple:

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Originally posted by Alterac
Spend $13-$20 on a GOOD filter.
If you can see through the filter, dont buy it.

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I did buy a good filter, I think it was $18 or so. Then our furnace stopped working properly after 2 weeks or so using it. The furnace guy basically said it was "too good" and wasn't allowing enough airflow, which was therefore causing problems.

It doesn't really make sense to me at all... I thought buying the expensive filter would be better, but honestly, we changed back to a cheap filter, didn't touch anything else and has been working fine since.

Thanks foe replies guys... I have a expensive 3M that needs replacement here as I havent replaced that since last year... I will look into the links that were provided also...


Thanks!

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Originally posted by project240



I did buy a good filter, I think it was $18 or so. Then our furnace stopped working properly after 2 weeks or so using it. The furnace guy basically said it was "too good" and wasn't allowing enough airflow, which was therefore causing problems.

It doesn't really make sense to me at all... I thought buying the expensive filter would be better, but honestly, we changed back to a cheap filter, didn't touch anything else and has been working fine since.

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Yea, that doesnt make sense to me either. With the good filters you need to change them every 3 months, otherwise they will get too clogged.

also, try switching to farenheit

My furnace guy said by the cheapest filter exactly for the same reason, to much airflow restriction.

Replace that filter, 99% of the time short cycling is caused by a dirty filter or some sort of restriction. If you must use the 3M filter don't touch the purple one, stick with the blue or red one as they don't restrict airflow as much but they must be replaced often. Better yet get a proper 5" media filter installed, those 1" things are to restrictive.

Frigidaire furnaces are made by Nordyne, have not seen many of these in Calgary as they typically don't last very long with our longer heating season. They are more suited to warm climates where the unit is not used as much. Check with your user manual as I'm pretty sure most of these units don't use sealed bearing on the blower motor and require regular maintenance.

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Originally posted by legendboy
also, try switching to Fahrenheit

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What difference would that make?
The only reason I can think of the quick cycling is the thermstat is too close to a heat source...either a vent or even an exhaust pipe.
when the furnace kicks in, before its heated up the rest of the house it heats up the air right around the 'stat, thereby turning it off. I'd move your thermostat to an area where you spend most of your time (ie: main level) and in an area away from any vents. Hallway is usually good.
Save yourself some money and drop your temp down to around 16 when you're away. Better yet buy a programmable 'stat. You can get them for around $25.00

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Originally posted by C_Dave45


What difference would that make?
The only reason I can think of the quick cycling is the thermstat is too close to a heat source...either a vent or even an exhaust pipe.
when the furnace kicks in, before its heated up the rest of the house it heats up the air right around the 'stat, thereby turning it off. I'd move your thermostat to an area where you spend most of your time (ie: main level) and in an area away from any vents. Hallway is usually good.
Save yourself some money and drop your temp down to around 16 when you're away. Better yet buy a programmable 'stat. You can get them for around $25.00

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Fahrenheit provides higher resolution and therefore will control the temperature more accurately. Furnaces are rated for a specific temperature rise across the heat exchanger. If you put in a restrictive, high efficiency filter then the rise will become too high and your blower motor speed will need to be increased. Most blower motors are multi-speed these days and have one of the lower speeds selected for heating mode, normally.

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Originally posted by Darell_n


Fahrenheit provides higher resolution and therefore will control the temperature more accurately. Furnaces are rated for a specific temperature rise across the heat exchanger. If you put in a restrictive, high efficiency filter then the rise will become too high and your blower motor speed will need to be increased. Most blower motors are multi-speed these days and have one of the lower speeds selected for heating mode, normally.

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the difference, as a result of the higher resolution, is minimal...and by your logic, a furnace would turn off and on QUICKER, because it would sense the temp change quicker (in smaller amounts). 1 F is equal to roughly .5 C

The air filter causes...sure that would make a difference....but F or C will make no difference how quick the furnace will cycle.