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Noelle · Nov 5, 2005, 11:00 AM

Had a home inspection to sell my house. Home inspector said my furnace isn't lighting properly. I'm unaware of a problem -- things seem to be working fine.
Ran into another home inspector who said that to properly test a furnace, outside temp should be lower than 65 and the first inspector should have known that. (inspection was Fri, temp was above 65.) Does any of this make sense? :confused:

labman · Nov 5, 2005, 12:00 PM

There are systems with an outside temperature sensor and I guess they could be set not to work if the outside temperature was too warm. Don't think some of the old folk that chill easily would be happy with such a system.

Have you needed the system this fall? If so, and it worked, I don't see a problem. If it set all summer, and hasn't been used this fall, the igniter or something could have failed. Try cranking the thermostat up and see if it comes on.

As far as I know, the furnace should always come on in heat mode with the thermostat set above room temperature. You might talk to the inspector or better yet, his supervisor. Bring up the point of them paying for it if you bring out a HVAC tech and he doesn't find a problem. With the potential sale, just verifying it yourself that it works is not enough.

caibuadday · Nov 5, 2005, 01:40 PM

Originally Posted by Noelle

Had a home inspection to sell my house. Home inspector said my furnace isn't lighting properly. I'm unaware of a problem -- things seem to be working fine.
Ran into another home inspector who said that to properly test a furnace, outside temp should be lower than 65 and the first inspector should have known that. (inspection was Fri, temp was above 65.) Does any of this make sense? :confused:

doesn't matter what the outside air temp is... a REAL home inspecor should be able turn on the furnace... (fake temp with hair dryer)

gordnz1 · Nov 8, 2005, 11:18 AM

By definition a home inspector has to know a little about everything. Most probably have some things they excel at and others they do not know nearly enough about. I would ask him to show you how he came to his conclusion. A simple tune up from an hvac contractor should suffice. They will come out and clean and oil the system and check it out to make sure it is operating properly. I would imagine this should trump any home inspector and at the least give you some leverage. I am sure you can find a reputable contractor for under $150.00. Not a bad price if that is the only sticking point for the presumed buyer.

labman · Nov 8, 2005, 06:03 PM

If I came out to look at a toasty warm house the inspector said the furnace didn't work, I might discount any other problems the inspector found. It is possible that to see if the furnace is really throwing enough heat, it needs to be below 65 degrees.