We are almost at the end of the winter, and your furnace must have done a wonderful job heating your home all through the cold season. Now it is time to perform one of the most important maintenance on your heating unit – cleaning your furnace burners. Cleaning your furnace burners is an important furnace maintenance service that will keep your unit in the best working condition. It is a maintenance step that is more appropriate to perform at the beginning of the heating season. However, homeowners who have not done it still have the opportunity to do it now. The error will be to let the winter end without cleaning your furnace burners. It might cause serious problems with your furnace. In the worst case, you will not be able to use your furnace during the following winter. Therefore, if you want to fully profit from your furnace next winter, take care of your unit by learning how to clean furnace burners today.
Before we go into how to clean your furnace’s burners, let’s first identify what a burner is and where you can find it in your furnace. A burner is a cylindrically shaped component of your furnace that you can find inside the burner box of your furnace. It is a metal part that helps the fuel of your furnace mix with air to warm your home. Small homes often count two or three burners, while bigger ones count about 6 burners.
Now that we know where the burner is, let’s get started with the equipment you will need to clean furnace burners –
A Power Drill:
The drill will serve you to access the burners. You will use it to unscrew the burner box to get to the burners. If you do not have a power drill, you can use a wrench instead. It will take longer to unscrew the box, but it will work fine.
A Flexible Drill Bit Extension:
While unscrewing your box, you might find it difficult to reach some screws. A drill extension will help you with screws found in such hard-to-reach places. A brass Brush and Bottle of Compressed Air – The brush and compressed air will help you remove the dirt and debris from your burner.
6 Steps To Clean Your Furnace Burners DIY
- Before you start opening your furnace, the first thing to do is to turn off your unit. This step is the main safety step. You can turn off your furnace by using the power switch on your furnace. If your furnace does not have a power switch, go to your electrical panel and turn down the breaker.
- Once you have turned off your furnace, you will need to remove the access panels that protect your furnace’s components. Some access panels will require that you unscrew them, while others will simply require that you slide them off.
- Once you have removed the access panels, you will have to locate your burners. Different furnaces have burners located in different areas. Most of the time, you will find them in a protected burner box in your furnace. This box is easily recognizable with its metal casing closed with a screwed door. Other furnaces have opened burners. Once you open the furnace, you can see them immediately. They often have a bracket holding them in place connected to the box with screws. Before touching or removing anything, make sure you pay attention to how the burners are fixed in the furnace. It will help you fix things back correctly after you finish cleaning your burners.
- The next step is to remove the burner from the furnace. That is when your power drill or wrench comes in handy. With your tools, remove the screws holding your burners. The task will be easier if you have a burner bracket. On the other hand, if you have a burner box, you will struggle more to remove it. In any case, when removing the burners, take your time and do it carefully.
- After unscrewing the burners or their restraints, remove the burner gently from your furnace. Check if they stand alone or are connected to a sheet before removing them. Once removed, place them on a paper carton, cloth or trash bin for cleaning.
- Then comes the cleaning part. With your brush, scrub the face of each burner. While brushing them, you will notice as they will change in color and texture. Do not forget special parts of the burner, such as the wings. The wings are the burner parts that allow the flame to travel from one burner to the other. Take your time to clean that part, as it is one that often causes your furnace to shut down unexpectedly. Once you have finished, remove the remaining debris or flakes from the burner using your compressed air bottle, and you are done.
Cleaning your furnace’s burners can be a complicated process. Therefore, if you do not feel confident in your ability to perform the maintenance, leave it to a professional. However, if you decide to go on with the maintenance yourself, strictly follow our above guide, especially when removing the burner. On the other hand, if you decide to get help, you can count on HVAC Alliance Experts to provide you with a professional furnace burner cleaning service.
Schedule High-Quality Furnace Maintenance Service With HVAC Alliance Experts
Furnaces are very important and expensive home units that require special attention. Therefore if you want your furnace to last, you should perform yearly maintenance on it. Some of these maintenance, such as furnace burner cleaning, are best performed by expert technicians. That is why we put our qualified and certified HVAC technicians at your disposal. They will take care of all your heating and cooling needs – furnace burner cleaning as well.
You can schedule an appointment with one of our experts any day, from Monday to Sunday. Our team of HVAC technicians is always ready and well-prepared to provide you with the best HVAC maintenance service in your area. So, do not wait anymore. Book a technician today by contacting us at (855) 999-4417 or leaving us a message on our website. Our expert will take proper care of your HVAC system and ensure it works faultlessly.
