This is the go to guy if you want to expand your hvac understanding. His videos and answers to questions have helped me confidently fix several systems that could have put me in the poor house if I wasn't successful. Thanks GFM.
Most educated HVAC tech i have ever learned from .i am also a hvac tech and you can never know enough .guys make sure when watching repair videos that the person who is showing you is actually doing it the right way .if your on this Channel then its the proper way ...grayfurnaceman your awesome keep on with your videos.
Gary! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. I never had a need to repair an oil furnace until........ then I did! I watched one of your videos from over 6 years ago and it saved my bacon. I was either going to give up on the project completely or break down and call someone and hope that they were competent! Got everything working and it's all thanks to you!
I learned how to repair furnaces from Mr Gary “oil furnace repair” videos I’m very appreciative for his wisdom and very very very in depth knowledge sharing.
I have been servicing electronic and electro-mechanical equipment for over 50 years. In that time I have found that starting with the simplest faults like lack of power, blown fuse, is the unit even plugged in, which I have run into quite a few times even after another tech has looked at the job, I can solve 98% of the issues I encounter. I am a bit slower than other techs but my success rate is higher with less callbacks.
Very true video. Always start with the first item in the sequence of operation and progressively test each component thereforth. Its often that many cant see the forest through the trees. Also if the guy before you checked something...that doesnt mean its functioning correctly. I get a lot of really good input from all your videos. As a gasfitter sometimes i have issues diagnosing oil burning appliances and I recently had a real puzzling scenario with a used indirect fired oil construction heater I bought. Your video on beckett clean cut solenoids and danfoss pumps was really beneficial to troubleshooting the issue. Really appreciate your knowledge and expertise
Thank you for sharing your knowledge over the years and your unchanging methodical common sense approach in applying the knowledge and experiences gained over the years.....you are the man...You are the Gray furnace man......Thanks and God Bless
I did an F3 text search for "siz" on the page of your videos and noticed that there doesn't seem to be any about proper equipment sizing, IE Manual J so it's a possible topic idea. I just wanted to comment that we have now had a few heating days since I replaced my oversized 4 burner furnace with the 2 burner model, and it is so much better. It is now more comfortable and almost silent because of the lower air velocity. I replaced the GMH95 with a DMS9 but transferred over the wiring harness, 2 stage gas valve, and pseudo 2 stage IFC board so now the DMS is effectively converted to a GMH. I have heard elsewhere that some customers are spooked by the idea of the smaller 2 burner models and would love to hear your experiences. Also if this is why a 1 burner model doesn't even exist from most manufacturers. Keep cranking out the great content.
Thanks for sharing your expereinced way if doing. It is similar to what they taught us at school, Sequence of operation, but with extra infos to check all the obvious possible problems first. Excited and impatient to get a job.
Good sound advice. Thank you. The times you try and be clever and skip being methodical and change an expensive part only to find the fault is still there and it turns out to be something simple....doesn’t half make you look a fool.
Sequence of operation is key.Knowing what it is doing or not doing relative to how it is supposed to perform is important.It is generally a three step procedure: 1) Diagnosis, 2)Isolation,3)Correction.That is define,locate ,and fix the problem. And knowing how to read schematics and experience of how components operate (Theory of operation) go a long way too.
Robert, you could not have said it better. Sequence of operation was drilled into my head at Linn State Technical College 38 years ago and it's still true today.
Great advice ! So true ! I've had this happen to me. I just take my time so I don't miss things . Had a unit low on refrigerant so I charged it to specifications and found out it also had a restricted metering device. If I would have just charged and left then I would have missed it
I am having an issue with my pulse furnace g14. My purge blower is running while it is up to temperature set on the thermostat. Then times out and restarts again and again. It does this constantly. The furnace heats the house fine but the only time the purge blower stops is when it times out for a few seconds a restarts.
First, I would disconnect the W wire at the terminal board. If the purge blower stops, you have a thermostat problem. If it does not, you may have a stuck relay in the ignition control. GFM
GM gary / this year replaced pressure switch put ii a transformer out of panic had a rusty fuse socket we believe may have been the isse cleaned and running got up this am houses at 63 turned on off a few time got a code couldn't retrieve it then it began to run did note that the pressure connectors and the transformers holder nts were not tight .they where retightening where would you begin to recheck unit lennox down draft GHR26Q3-75 thanks james
Methodical is best and while slow at the start, things get faster as your mind and eyes get trained. And those you can "guess" using probabilities, they are brain training for when you hit a hard problem. Not to mention the guess may only be one problem on a system with several and lead to callbacks.
Hi Gary, thank you for your videos. i’m actually an electrician (25 years) and troubleshooting IS my thing. i also enjoy fixing devices at a component level (which is much harder now with integrated circuits and our disposable culture) my furnace is not working currently and now i have the basic working knowledge to get the heat back on! I have some questions for you regarding gas combination valves that your other video didn’t cover. the on/off selector on the valve slides left/right but also pushes in. since my evcon dgat056bdd has electrical ignition and a 24vac which allows the gas to flow. does pushing down the on/off selector manually start the flow of gas? i’m getting no errors flashing on the status light, when the furnace gets its call for heat, the furnace get to the point where the igniter glows and my multimeter registers 25.2vac at the combination valve and occasionally the furnace ignites, but recently it has not lit in days, i’m thinking it’s a old igniter which is not drawing the required amperage to allow the flow of gas or the combination valve is bad and not opening when it receives the voltage from the control board is there a way i can test the combination valve? should I press the red on/off selector?
The ignitor may not be heating as hot as it should. If there are bright spots in the ignitor, it may be broken. You can try a resistance test. Most run about 150 ohms. Also I would check amp draw of the gas valve when there is a call for heat. No amp draw, no effective power to the gas valve. The on-off switch is just there to shut down gas flow. It is not a bypass. GFM
thank you gary! i wish i lived near you, i’d love to apprentice with you. I have been doing component level repairs on pro audio equipment (mixing consoles, microphones, amplifiers) for a couple of decades. i’d love to learn HVAC and appliance repairs, but there is next to zero information out there and having watched other peoples videos on electrical troubleshooting and how to’s i don’t know which information on HVAC is as flawed as the electrical videos. you break everything down into very small pieces and having the specs such as what resistance an igniter should be is priceless. THANK YOU!!
Flowchart the logic of and follow the circuit. Check each feature until you find an issue. Continue until all issues are addressed and fixed. Not rocket surgery !!!
@@AdamShaiken my..... indeed a talented and much sophisticated fellow are you. Pleasentries from the depths of my concrete and steel natural habitat that I dearly love and enjoy. For your accomplishments shall once and forever be it, as high as the mountain tops of the grand ole Swiss Alps. To you I propose a lifetime full is prosperity and gay laughter. All that may at once agree, I invite you to cheer your finest beverage! Dilly dilly!!
I don’t know where to start? 1st of all every year I have to replace the igniter at least the beginning of the season and towards the end, never falls. I did find the straight rod igniter lasted longer then the OEM. (Snyder General GUG1990) filter gets replaced monthly. Well this year it something else. I’m not getting nothing just a click noise on the thermostat. I have replaced that a couple days ago thinking that might be the problem still nothing?
Yes I cleaned the rod and no not in laundry room. Underneath my house in the craw space but I can stand up somewhat. Which my garage is on the other side of. I clean the furnace yearly since I have to replace the igniter in November and February each year, except one year I bought a straight hot rod igniter that lasted several years. It stopped working last winter but I been using my natural gas wall heater at this point along with other electric heats for the rooms I’m mainly in.
@@grayfurnaceman I’m a new apprentice, I’m getting a good handle on things but find the wiring and electrical the hardest! Any tips to help me understand easier?
@@bobtaylor4573 Ahh, wiring and electrical, the hill that stops us all. First, you must learn how to read diagrams. When the wiring ends at an electronic control board, you must understand how the board works. About the only simple tips I have. GFM
But a clog is only a symptom. I attempted to clear a line and I had to remove a piece of pvc pipe that had four elbows is less than four feet. I cut them out and my vacuum cleared the clog right away.
A trained NUCLEAR BOMB maintenance technician here: TOP THREE TROUBLESHOOTING STEPS: 1ST- Troubleshooting ANYthing, ALWAYS work from, 'A KNOWN GOOD REFERENCE. Meaning, know 1st, exactly HOW the system is SUPPOSED to operate! READ THE MANUAL! 2ND - Troubleshooting turns YOU into a flying BUG, in sight of, a BUG LIGHT. That's right! A backyard flying insect attracting beautiful BUG LIGHT. But, it's beauty LIES and it wants to KILL YOU! The 'light' is YOUR natural tendency to, "JUMP to FALSE CONCLUSIONS". If the BUG, wants to live, it needs to remember: "LOOK away from the light!" Instead, 'TEST! DON'T GUESS! Repeat it, like a MANTRA, over and over again: On/In your car, TEST!, DON'T GUESS! Trying a new move on your wife or lover, TEST!, DON'T GUESS! Adding an new kind of spice to a huge pot of already good soup, TEST!, DON'T GUESS! EMT stops chest compressions on YOU and declares YOU DEAD: TEST!, DON'T GUESS! 3RD - No testing tools should EVER be used UNTIL all your God given testing tools have been employed and deployed first. EYES, EARS, NOSE, TOUCH: Do a VISUAL INSPECTION. Do LISTEN to it. Do SMELL it. Do TOUCH it SAFELY. (Hmmm, just like dating!!!) Then, and only then, pick up the man-made tools, but only, if you have to. BUT! Hopefully, all you'll need, are your God given tools!!! ENJOY!!! You're Welcome, Brett Yenzer U.S. Air Force Veteran
my neighbor is having issues with his heat pump what is happening is it will run in cooling mode but not in heat mode and it worked ok last year what would cause that to happen
@@randytorboli if outside fan doesnt work when heating and cooling it's the fan or its stuck in defrost. If it's not fan it's either going into defrost and getting stuck or it's the compressor reversing valve getting stuck.
All jokes aside.... This is one of the best channels with good old fashion experience that solves very good situations👍
Amen
Thanks for the support.
GFM
You got that right.
This is the go to guy if you want to expand your hvac understanding. His videos and answers to questions have helped me confidently fix several systems that could have put me in the poor house if I wasn't successful. Thanks GFM.
Glad I just stumbled upon him.
Most educated HVAC tech i have ever learned from .i am also a hvac tech and you can never know enough .guys make sure when watching repair videos that the person who is showing you is actually doing it the right way .if your on this Channel then its the proper way ...grayfurnaceman your awesome keep on with your videos.
Thanks for the support.
GFM
Gary! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. I never had a need to repair an oil furnace until........ then I did! I watched one of your videos from over 6 years ago and it saved my bacon. I was either going to give up on the project completely or break down and call someone and hope that they were competent! Got everything working and it's all thanks to you!
Happy new year.
GFM
Truly appreciate and value your lessons. Thank you!
Welcome
GFM
I learned how to repair furnaces from Mr Gary “oil furnace repair” videos I’m very appreciative for his wisdom and very very very in depth knowledge sharing.
Thanks for the support.
GFM
I have been servicing electronic and electro-mechanical equipment for over 50 years. In that time I have found that starting with the simplest faults like lack of power, blown fuse, is the unit even plugged in, which I have run into quite a few times even after another tech has looked at the job, I can solve 98% of the issues I encounter. I am a bit slower than other techs but my success rate is higher with less callbacks.
Very true video. Always start with the first item in the sequence of operation and progressively test each component thereforth. Its often that many cant see the forest through the trees. Also if the guy before you checked something...that doesnt mean its functioning correctly. I get a lot of really good input from all your videos. As a gasfitter sometimes i have issues diagnosing oil burning appliances and I recently had a real puzzling scenario with a used indirect fired oil construction heater I bought. Your video on beckett clean cut solenoids and danfoss pumps was really beneficial to troubleshooting the issue. Really appreciate your knowledge and expertise
Glad I could help.
GFM
Love your videos I learned a lot thanks so much. You are my hero keep up the great work.
Welcome
GFM
Thank you for sharing your knowledge over the years and your unchanging methodical common sense approach in applying the knowledge and experiences gained over the years.....you are the man...You are the Gray furnace man......Thanks and God Bless
Thanks for the support.
GFM
I did an F3 text search for "siz" on the page of your videos and noticed that there doesn't seem to be any about proper equipment sizing, IE Manual J so it's a possible topic idea.
I just wanted to comment that we have now had a few heating days since I replaced my oversized 4 burner furnace with the 2 burner model, and it is so much better. It is now more comfortable and almost silent because of the lower air velocity. I replaced the GMH95 with a DMS9 but transferred over the wiring harness, 2 stage gas valve, and pseudo 2 stage IFC board so now the DMS is effectively converted to a GMH.
I have heard elsewhere that some customers are spooked by the idea of the smaller 2 burner models and would love to hear your experiences. Also if this is why a 1 burner model doesn't even exist from most manufacturers.
Keep cranking out the great content.
Thanks for sharing your expereinced way if doing. It is similar to what they taught us at school, Sequence of operation, but with extra infos to check all the obvious possible problems first. Excited and impatient to get a job.
Wish you well. Its a great career.
GFM
Thank you Mr. Gray for sharing your wealth of knowledge! You are so correct about being methodical in troubleshooting.. Very Best Regards!
Welcome
GFM
Good sound advice. Thank you.
The times you try and be clever and skip being methodical and change an expensive part only to find the fault is still there and it turns out to be something simple....doesn’t half make you look a fool.
Welcome
GFM
Sequence of operation is key.Knowing what it is doing or not doing relative to how it is supposed to perform is important.It is generally a three step procedure: 1) Diagnosis, 2)Isolation,3)Correction.That is define,locate ,and fix the problem. And knowing how to read schematics and experience of how components operate (Theory of operation) go a long way too.
Agreed.
GFM
Robert, you could not have said it better. Sequence of operation was drilled into my head at Linn State Technical College 38 years ago and it's still true today.
Great advice ! So true ! I've had this happen to me. I just take my time so I don't miss things . Had a unit low on refrigerant so I charged it to specifications and found out it also had a restricted metering device. If I would have just charged and left then I would have missed it
Mr gray THANK you for all you good video they help a lot you the best THANK you.
Welcome
GFM
you helped me today thank you
Thank u sir for your wisdom.
Fantastic advice.. thank you
Welcome
GFM
Love your channel GFM!!!!
Your so good. If ever, you can explain thermosthat for heat pump, I mean the installer set up. That would be awsome.
I will see what I can do.
GFM
Thanks for support king a legend in deed 💁👑
Welcome
GFM
I love you grey furnace man!
Thanks for the support.
GFM
I am having an issue with my pulse furnace g14. My purge blower is running while it is up to temperature set on the thermostat. Then times out and restarts again and again. It does this constantly. The furnace heats the house fine but the only time the purge blower stops is when it times out for a few seconds a restarts.
First, I would disconnect the W wire at the terminal board. If the purge blower stops, you have a thermostat problem. If it does not, you may have a stuck relay in the ignition control.
GFM
GM gary / this year replaced pressure switch put ii a transformer out of panic had a rusty fuse socket we believe may have been the isse cleaned and running got up this am houses at 63 turned on off a few time got a code couldn't retrieve it then it began to run did note that the pressure connectors and the transformers holder nts were not tight .they where retightening where would you begin to recheck unit lennox down draft GHR26Q3-75 thanks james
Methodical is best and while slow at the start, things get faster as your mind and eyes get trained. And those you can "guess" using probabilities, they are brain training for when you hit a hard problem. Not to mention the guess may only be one problem on a system with several and lead to callbacks.
Hi Gary, thank you for your videos. i’m actually an electrician (25 years) and troubleshooting IS my thing. i also enjoy fixing devices at a component level (which is much harder now with integrated circuits and our disposable culture) my furnace is not working currently and now i have the basic working knowledge to get the heat back on! I have some questions for you regarding gas combination valves that your other video didn’t cover. the on/off selector on the valve slides left/right but also pushes in. since my evcon dgat056bdd has electrical ignition and a 24vac which allows the gas to flow. does pushing down the on/off selector manually start the flow of gas? i’m getting no errors flashing on the status light, when the furnace gets its call for heat, the furnace get to the point where the igniter glows and my multimeter registers 25.2vac at the combination valve and occasionally the furnace ignites, but recently it has not lit in days, i’m thinking it’s a old igniter which is not drawing the required amperage to allow the flow of gas or the combination valve is bad and not opening when it receives the voltage from the control board is there a way i can test the combination valve? should I press the red on/off selector?
The ignitor may not be heating as hot as it should. If there are bright spots in the ignitor, it may be broken. You can try a resistance test. Most run about 150 ohms. Also I would check amp draw of the gas valve when there is a call for heat. No amp draw, no effective power to the gas valve. The on-off switch is just there to shut down gas flow. It is not a bypass.
GFM
thank you gary! i wish i lived near you, i’d love to apprentice with you. I have been doing component level repairs on pro audio equipment (mixing consoles, microphones, amplifiers) for a couple of decades. i’d love to learn HVAC and appliance repairs, but there is next to zero information out there and having watched other peoples videos on electrical troubleshooting and how to’s i don’t know which information on HVAC is as flawed as the electrical videos. you break everything down into very small pieces and having the specs such as what resistance an igniter should be is priceless. THANK YOU!!
the igniter reads 99.8ohms
Thank you much
You are very welcome
GFM
Flowchart the logic of and follow the circuit. Check each feature until you find an issue. Continue until all issues are addressed and fixed. Not rocket surgery !!!
Rocket surgery?? LOL
@@armandom.5299 Rocket science and neurosurgery are personal passions of mine !!!
@@AdamShaiken my..... indeed a talented and much sophisticated fellow are you. Pleasentries from the depths of my concrete and steel natural habitat that I dearly love and enjoy. For your accomplishments shall once and forever be it, as high as the mountain tops of the grand ole Swiss Alps. To you I propose a lifetime full is prosperity and gay laughter. All that may at once agree, I invite you to cheer your finest beverage! Dilly dilly!!
@@armandom.5299 Peaced !, to you and yours brother...
I don’t know where to start? 1st of all every year I have to replace the igniter at least the beginning of the season and towards the end, never falls. I did find the straight rod igniter lasted longer then the OEM. (Snyder General GUG1990) filter gets replaced monthly. Well this year it something else. I’m not getting nothing just a click noise on the thermostat. I have replaced that a couple days ago thinking that might be the problem still nothing?
First, on the flame rod, is the furnace installed in a laundry room? Have you cleaned the rod?
For your latest failure. Power to the furnace?
GFM
Yes I cleaned the rod and no not in laundry room. Underneath my house in the craw space but I can stand up somewhat. Which my garage is on the other side of. I clean the furnace yearly since I have to replace the igniter in November and February each year, except one year I bought a straight hot rod igniter that lasted several years. It stopped working last winter but I been using my natural gas wall heater at this point along with other electric heats for the rooms I’m mainly in.
Yes power is on as well.
@@runin1wild At this point, troubleshooting will have to start. Is there an led lit on the ignition control and is it blinking?
GFM
No light nothing blinking
It seems like that "20% of the time" ends up being my 100% of the time.
I can't recall ever getting a cut-&-dry service call.
Cut and dry. What you mean? Like a simple diagnosis?
Turn on a furnace switch that a visitor turned off. Less than two minutes.
How can I ask you a question about my fireplace that keeps going on and off?
Send to Grayfurnaceman@gmail.com
GFM
Hello I want to know why my furnace runs over night and the next door my fuse blow? Do you have any experience you can share thank you
Oil, gas or electric?
GFM
@@grayfurnaceman I’m a new apprentice, I’m getting a good handle on things but find the wiring and electrical the hardest!
Any tips to help me understand easier?
@@bobtaylor4573 Ahh, wiring and electrical, the hill that stops us all. First, you must learn how to read diagrams. When the wiring ends at an electronic control board, you must understand how the board works. About the only simple tips I have.
GFM
But a clog is only a symptom. I attempted to clear a line and I had to remove a piece of pvc pipe that had four elbows is less than four feet. I cut them out and my vacuum cleared the clog right away.
I was the 100 like. ha ha. Thanks for the video.
Welcome
GFM
I like your video, been watching you long time, where are your location? I am interest.
I am in the northwest.
GFM
@@grayfurnaceman thanks for replying, I am by southwest, Riverside county.
@@grayfurnaceman ohh cool! Me too. OR !
A trained NUCLEAR BOMB maintenance technician here:
TOP THREE TROUBLESHOOTING STEPS:
1ST- Troubleshooting ANYthing, ALWAYS work from, 'A KNOWN GOOD REFERENCE. Meaning, know 1st, exactly HOW the system is SUPPOSED to operate! READ THE MANUAL!
2ND - Troubleshooting turns YOU into a flying BUG, in sight of, a BUG LIGHT. That's right! A backyard flying insect attracting beautiful BUG LIGHT. But, it's beauty LIES and it wants to KILL YOU!
The 'light' is YOUR natural tendency to, "JUMP to FALSE CONCLUSIONS".
If the BUG, wants to live, it needs to remember: "LOOK away from the light!"
Instead, 'TEST! DON'T GUESS!
Repeat it, like a MANTRA, over and over again:
On/In your car, TEST!, DON'T GUESS!
Trying a new move on your wife or lover, TEST!, DON'T GUESS!
Adding an new kind of spice to a huge pot of already good soup, TEST!, DON'T GUESS!
EMT stops chest compressions on YOU and declares YOU DEAD: TEST!, DON'T GUESS!
3RD - No testing tools should EVER be used UNTIL all your God given testing tools have been employed and deployed first. EYES, EARS, NOSE, TOUCH:
Do a VISUAL INSPECTION.
Do LISTEN to it.
Do SMELL it.
Do TOUCH it SAFELY.
(Hmmm, just like dating!!!)
Then, and only then, pick up the man-made tools, but only, if you have to. BUT! Hopefully, all you'll need, are your God given tools!!! ENJOY!!!
You're Welcome,
Brett Yenzer
U.S. Air Force Veteran
Good thoughts!
GFM
152k subs and 200 likes is criminal.
Ok, I will bite. Why?
GFM
my neighbor is having issues with his heat pump what is happening is it will run in cooling mode but not in heat mode and it worked ok last year what would cause that to happen
I would be looking at the reversing valve and its actuation components.
GFM
@@grayfurnaceman ok
Or it could be covered in ice maha
@@jacobjche the outside unit will not turn on like it's supposed to in heat it did work right last year
@@randytorboli if outside fan doesnt work when heating and cooling it's the fan or its stuck in defrost. If it's not fan it's either going into defrost and getting stuck or it's the compressor reversing valve getting stuck.