5
General Information
Check the burner flames for:
1. Good adjustment
2. Stable, soft and blue
3. Not curling, floating, or lifting off.
Burner
Air Requirements
WARNING
To avoid death, personal injury or property damage,
enough fresh air for proper combustion and
ventilation of flue gases must be provided to this
furnace. Most homes require outside air to be
supplied into the furnace area.
Improved construction and additional insulation in homes
have reduced the heat loss and made these homes
much tighter around doors and windows so that air
infiltration is minimal. This creates a problem to supply
ventilation and/or combustion air for gas fired or other
fuel burning appliances. Any use of appliances that pull
air out of the house (clothes dryers, exhaust fans,
fireplaces, water heaters, non-direct vent furnaces, etc.)
increases this problem and appliances could be starving
for air.
If fuel-burning appliances are starved for air, the flue
gases which these appliances produce as they operate
may not vent outdoors properly, but remain in the home
instead. These flue gases may include carbon monoxide.
WARNING
Death or personal injury from asphyxiation can result
from exposure to carbon monoxide.
Carbon monoxide or “CO” is a colorless and odorless gas
produced when fuel is not burned completely or when the
flame does not receive sufficient oxygen.
Be aware of these air starvation signals which
indicate conditions that may result in carbon monox-
ide or that carbon monoxide may be present:
1. Headaches-Nausea-Dizziness, Flu-Like Symptoms.
2. Excessive humidity-heavily frosted windows or a
moist “clammy” feeling in the home.
3. Smoke from a fireplace will not draw up the chimney.
4. Flue gases that will not draw up the appliance vent
pipe.
Combustion Air
The air for combustion and ventilation can typically be ob-
tained from the surrounding unconfined space or lou-
vered closet door. Observe the following precautions
concerning air availability:
• When a furnace is installed in a closet and the
closet door is louvered, DO NOT OBSTRUCT
LOUVERS. Louvers must be open and clear to
provide combustion air to the furnace.
• When a furnace is installed in a confined space
within a home and the air for combustion and venti-
lation enters the space through ducts from the out-
side, be sure to routinely check the entering and
outlet (grilled) openings to verify that they are al-
ways clear and clean.
• Do not partition off a small area around the furnace
utilizing a non louvered door. This could obstruct
the combustion air from reaching the furnace.
• The combustion and ventilation air must never
come from a corrosive atmosphere.
Indoor Humidity
Relative humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air
relative to the amount the air can hold at the same
temperature. Example: At 40% relative humidity, the air
could hold 2 1/2 times as much moisture (2.5 x 40 =
100%) before becoming saturated.
The colder the air; the less moisture it can hold. As air is
warmed, its ability to hold moisture is increased.
Example:
A winter day, outdoor temperature 10°F, and
relative humidity of 70%. If that air enters a home and is
warmed to 72°F the relative humidity will drop to 6%
(very dry) if no more moisture is added.
