Crown Group Ohio

Don’t Delay Calling for Heating Repair (Even in March)

March 8th, 2021

The weather can shift rapidly in March and April and, of course, rain is always a possibility. But once the calendar turns over to March, we find that people are far more reluctant to call for heating repair in Akron, OH when their heater is exhibiting any symptoms less dire than a full shutdown. If they’re still getting some heat, it’s easy for them to figure they can “ride out” the rest of the season and worry about getting the repairs done “sometime later.”

You probably know when “sometime later” will be. It will be when the heater actually breaks down. Procrastination is never good when it comes to a valuable part of your house, and especially not with your heater. To avoid unnecessary delays, explore what can I do to fix my heater when it’s not working? for quick troubleshooting tips.

Below are the reasons to always promptly arrange for professional repairs for your heater.

Safety

You probably use a natural gas-powered furnace to heat your home, since the majority of residential buildings rely on this type of heating system. Gas furnaces can pose safety hazards if they are neglected: ignoring a seemingly small problem can lead to carbon monoxide leaks in the house or combustion dangers. Even electric furnaces have potential safety issues if signs of malfunctions are ignored. Learn why a damaged heat exchanger is such a big deal and why you should address safety issues immediately.

Avoid emergency breakdowns

You don’t want to get caught during one of those cold days in March and April (you know they’re coming!) with a heating system that won’t work at all. This is a big risk you take when you allow a heating system that’s showing signs of trouble to continue to run.

Stop bigger or more repairs

The stress put on a heating system when it’s not working correctly will cause the initial problem to start to worsen. This can lead to a breakdown, but even if it doesn’t get that far, it will be a more expensive problem to correct because of a delay. And one repair issue can create others in a chain reaction—something that can happen in any complicated piece of equipment. Either way, you’ll pay more for the repair when you finally get it taken care of than if you had acted earlier. For examples of less common issues, review uncommon furnace repairs you might run into.

Keeps operating costs down

The same stress on the heating system that creates breakdowns and additional repairs will also force the heater to work harder. And that means it will cost more to run. You don’t want to see your heating bills for March and April take a drastic upswing, not when it’s easy to avoid by simply calling for repairs at the first sign of trouble.

Lengthens system life

Allowing a heater to grind away with a malfunction can subtract from its service life, much the same way a car engine is at risk of needing to be replaced if its needs are neglected. Replacing a heater years before its time is expensive, and timely repairs are one of the best ways (along with regular maintenance) to ensure your heater lives up to or beyond its estimated service life.

There’s no need to delay these repairs when you can call us 24/7 for the service you need. We’ll take care of everything.

Call Crown Group Ohio for heating repairs any time of the day or night.

Why You Must Change the Furnace Filter Regularly

February 22nd, 2021

Your furnace has a dedicated filter, which is usually located in a slot on the site of the furnace’s cabinet where the return air duct connects to the blower. You can easily remove the filter from its slot and replace it. In fact, you need to do this on a regular basis during times when the furnace runs routinely.

People are often confused about the purpose of this filter. They assume that the filter does the job of helping to clean a home’s air. Although it does remove particles that come through the return air ducts, this doesn’t have a major impact on the indoor air quality; for true IAQ improvement, a home needs special dedicated filters. What the furnace filter does is protect the interior of the furnace and the air handler from dust and debris. Learn why annual furnace maintenance is also essential for a long-lasting system. It takes from one to three months for enough material to build up in the filter to the point that it needs to be changed for a clean one.

Be Cautious of This Major Furnace Problem

February 8th, 2021

It’s important for us in the heating and air conditioning business to reassure customers that their furnaces are not super dangerous. Gas furnaces would never be permitted in homes—let alone millions of homes across the country—if their operation commonly posed a threat to people.

But it’s important for us to let customers know there are ways a furnace, especially an older one or one that hasn’t gotten regular maintenance, can pose hazards. Keeping up with maintenance can lower the chance of problems like this occurring down to almost nothing, but a bit of knowledge also goes a long way. To understand when it’s time for a new furnace, explore the 50% rule for repair vs. replacement.

In that spirit, we’re going to look at a major furnace problem that can put your household in jeopardy: a cracked heat exchanger.

“Water Hammer”: The Weird Knocking Sound from Your Pipes

January 25th, 2021

We would wager that 90% of the time someone believes their house is haunted because of strange noises coming from the walls, the problem is actually with the plumbing. Old or faulty plumbing can sometimes make weird or startling sounds. The most common of these noises is known as water hammer, a fearsome sounding name but appropriate because it sounds like a hammer striking against the pipe metal.

What is it, and should you be concerned about it?

Why Your House Has Cold Spots When the Heater Is On

January 11th, 2021

It’s not supposed to go like this. You know it’s not. You have a central heating system for your house so you can warm up all the rooms at the same time. But now when your heating system comes on, there are rooms that aren’t getting warm enough. Some may feel like iceboxes. Yet other rooms are fine.

There are always going to be some irregularities between room temperatures in a house, but what you’re experiencing now is uneven heating coming from the HVAC system. That is a major warning that something is amiss. Be cautious of other significant furnace issues.

That’s what we’re about to investigate. For solid answers, you’ll need to call on our professional HVAC technicians. We’ll find out what’s wrong and get it fixed.

Why Do Pipes Sometimes Burst in Winter?

December 28th, 2020

If you’ve been a homeowner in a cold climate for at least a few winters, you probably already know about the dangers of burst pipes. When the temperatures drop below freezing, the threat level for burst pipes begins to rise.

We’re familiar with this phenomenon since we’ve handled plumbing in Tallmadge, OH since 1963. We’ve seen our fair share of burst pipes, and so we can tell you about why this happens, as well as what you can do about it and how to avoid it.

Watch for These Signs Your Furnace Is Failing

December 14th, 2020

Here’s something you don’t want to happen this winter: a furnace that abruptly ceases to work. Nobody wants to be trapped in a cold house, desperately trying to arrange for the furnace service in Akron, OH to warm it back up. We have 24-hour emergency repairs to help whenever you encounter a furnace failure, but we know you’d rather avoid this sort of trouble in the first place if possible.

The good news is that furnaces rarely fail without giving off some early warnings. If you know what to look for, you can get our technicians in early to repair the furnace (or, in cases of extremely aged furnaces, replace it) at a more convenient time. Below is a list of the more common warnings that you have a furnace heading for trouble.

Does Your House Need Repiping?

November 30th, 2020

Repiping a house is one of the biggest plumbing jobs you may ever need to schedule. But if it’s necessary, it’s also one of the most helpful and important jobs you can have done. Repiping can be done on a smaller scale, but in this post we’re looking at the question of the whole-house repiping, when our expert plumbers remove the outdated pipes from your home and replace them with upgraded material. This will give your whole house a new lease on life and prevent numerous potential future problems with your plumbing in Akron, OH.

So, the big question: Does your home need whole-house repiping?

Outdated Piping Material

To answer this question, you need to know a bit about the types of piping material that may be in your home, depending on its age.

For many decades, the most common metals used for plumbing (in residential and commercial buildings) were lead, cast iron, and galvanized steel. In some cases, clay pipes were used for sewer lines. Although both cast iron and galvanized steel are tough and durable metals, they have drawbacks of eventually succumbing to corrosion after about fifty years. Galvanized steel, which is steel covered with a zinc solution, can also create harmful chemicals in the water because of that zinc solution. Lead pipes are now well-known for creating drinking water hazards that can especially harm young children.

If your house was constructed before 1970, you almost certainly have some of these materials in the plumbing system—and in fact they may make up the entire plumbing system if it was built before 1950. We recommend having plumbers examine the house to check if you have outdated metals that are starting to decay and corrode.

Newer homes may also have problems with a plastic called polybutylene. This gray plastic was used throughout the 1970s and ‘80s as a cheaper substitute for copper but was banned from use in 1996 because it was encountered multiple ruptures. It was installed in over 10 million homes, so if your house was built before 1996 it may have polybutylene pipes.

The Newer Materials

If your home does need repiping, what materials will our plumbers use to make the upgrades? Copper is the metal most commonly used today for plumbing. It’s lightweight and corrosion-resistant (although not corrosion-proof; some types of corrosion still affect it). It’s also difficult for bacteria to grow inside copper pipes because copper creates a biostatic atmosphere.

Plastic pipes are used extensively in indoor plumbing for both hot and cold water lines. The two most commonly used plastic pipes are CPVC (chlorinated polyvinyl chloride) and PEX (cross-linked polyethylene). PEX is flexible and can be used in tight positions, while CPVC is highly resistant to temperature changes and safe for drinking water. Plumbers will often have different preferences for the type of plastic they use for specific jobs, but you can trust that our plumbers will always see you have the best quality new pipes.

Talk to our plumbers today if you think you may need repiping for your home. We’ll help you make the right choice for your home’s future.

Schedule your plumbing services with Crown Group Ohio. Comfort Experts since 1963.

Is It Time to Replace That Heater Rather Than Keep Repairing It?

November 16th, 2020

As the winter weather draws closer and temperatures drop, it’s time to give some thought to your home’s heating system. If you have concerns about it getting through the winter without needing a repair, then it might be time to leave repairs to the side and instead replace the system. We know this is a big step and requires a larger investment. But it may be the best step to take for your long-term comfort, finances, and even health.

What Can I Do to Fix My Heater When It’s Not Working?

November 2nd, 2020

When the weather cools down, at first it’s a relief. October can be one of the most pleasant months of the year, and not just because of the Halloween season. But then cooling turns to cold, relief changes to concern. This is when you’ll turn on your home heating system to banish those concerns.

But what’s this…? Your heater isn’t working? Okay, now you’re back to concern. What can you do about a heater that either isn’t delivering the warmth you expect or which isn’t working at all? You have several options, but we’ll start with the best:

Call us for heating repair in Cuyahoga Falls, OH.

This isn’t your only option, because in some cases a “failed” heater is a simple error, something that’s been overlooked. We recommend you make a few basic checks on the heater to ensure that the problem isn’t one you can correct with a simple adjustment. However, when you’re finished with these troubleshooting steps, schedule repair services. Don’t try to go further and use tools to attempt to fix the furnace on your own. You can’t—not only do you lack the training and tools to even accurately diagnose what’s wrong with the heater, but you may also put your family at risk. It’s not safe for amateurs to work on central heating systems.

The Basic Troubleshooting Steps

Check the furnace switch: If you have a furnace (gas or electric) for heating, see if the furnace’s switch is still turned to “OFF.” This is a dedicated circuit for the furnace used to shut down the system for the summer, and it also trips in case of safety problems. You’ll find this switch located near the furnace cabinet, often on the wall. Change the setting to “ON,” which is a step people often overlook when they turn on their heating for the first time at the end of the year.
Change thermostat settings: Another step people sometimes overlook is changing the programmable settings on the thermostat for the weather change. Double-check that your thermostat isn’t still treating the house like it’s summer, and also see if anyone in your household fiddled around with the settings to try to adjust the temperature. (Kids sometimes play around with the buttons!)
Reset tripped breakers: Any type of heating system, even a gas furnace, relies on electrical power to some extent. A circuit overload can trip a breaker in the electrical panel and cause the heater to fail to turn on. See if any breaker in the electrical panel has tripped (this is where you’ll appreciate having labeled the circuits). Reset a tripped breaker for the heating system if you find one. However, don’t continue to reset the breaker if the problem persists, because this means you have a more serious problem that needs professional attention.
Change a dirty air filter: We recommend changing the HVAC filter at the start of each season so the heater/AC gets clean airflow. A clogged filter can cause a furnace to overheat and trip the limit switch to shut it down. It will also cause a heat pump to struggle to provide heat. Put in a fresh filter to see if this makes a difference—and you should do this as a maintenance measure no matter what.

Call on Crown Group Ohio 24 hours a day, 7 days a week when you need your heater put back to work. Comfort Experts Since 1963!