If you’ve spent at least a year with your heating system keeping you warm through a tough Pittsburgh winter, you will have a good notion of the sounds to expect from it. However, if you start hearing unusual sounds that you haven’t experienced before, you may wonder if this is a signal to call for professional repairs.
The answer: “almost certainly.” Odd sounds are one of the ways that heaters communicate developing malfunctions that could lead to a full breakdown. If you can’t account for what’s causing the strange noise, you should call a repair contractor right away to determine the reason and find out what to do about it.
Boehmer Heating & Cooling has emergency operators standing by 24/7 to answer your service calls. Don’t hesitate with heating repair in Pittsburgh, PA: you don’t want to end up in the cold because of a busted heater.
Some common noises that indicate repair needs:
Rumbling boiler: If your boiler tanks starts to rumble, it likely means that the water inside is overheating. There are a number of reasons for this—rust, limescale, sediment at the bottom of the tank—but it needs to be fixed before leaks spring up throughout the pipes. The rumbling could also indicate a mixing of cold and hot water, and that means leaks around the input valve.
Clanking: This can occur in furnaces or heat pumps, and often means that a blower fan motor belt has come loose and is striking against other components. If this continues, the loose fan belt can cause serious damage to other mechanisms in the cabinet.
Rumbling and booming: You might hear this from a gas-powered furnace or boiler, and it is often a sign of a buildup of dirt along the burner where the gas jets ignite. A burner that gets too dirty will no longer be able to draw sufficient oxygen to light the jets. A technician can remove the burner and clean it.
Groaning and squealing: If you hear this from the cabinet of a furnace or a heat pump, the cause is probably motor bearings that are dirty or wearing down. If this continues, the motor will burn out, so have a professional replace the bearings.
Loud clicking at heat pump start-up: You probably have a failing start capacitor, the device responsible for delivering the electric charge that drives the motors in the heat pump. A technician can replace this for you.
Leave repairs to professionals
Modern heating systems are designed for durability and reliability—and they are also highly complex devices that require years of training to properly handle. Leave the repairs to professionals, especially if you have a gas-powered heater.
Boehmer Heating & Cooling can take care of all your needs for heating repair in Pittsburgh, PA. Since 1933, we have helped the city stay warm all through the winter.