I have a Janitrol furnace that is 10 yrs old. It hasn't put out near the force of air as it used to, and now it cycles out and doesn't bring the temp up to the thermostat temp. I have to turn the thermostat off and back on to get it to run more than once in awhile. It does do better if I take the door off the electronic air cleaner (never use it,only has regular furnace filter in it now). I think that helps it get more air or something,maybe helps it from overheating? Also, the condensation drain does not work properly, and you can hear the water gurgling inside unless you crimp the hose to let the pressure off, and that allows the water to come running out the drain.
I have been told it has probably ruined the heat exchanger. Does that sound right?
Also, I know that Janitrol has a program that lets you get a reduced price on a new furnace (and/or low cost or free installation of the new unit)from them in leiu of the getting the free heat exchanger under warranty, since I think they have changed them to be better.
Any words of wisdom would be appreciated.

At only 10 years old it's a shame to have to replace if not needed ,it does sound like maybe you`re not getting good enough circulation,(maybe consider removing the electronic air cleaner you`re not using,also if you don`t get the condensation drain fixed it could cause some problems, If you need something to be thinking about,contact about 3 different contractors and get some estimates ,compare the prices and make sure they have a good reputation for doing good install work, Slopy installation can kill even the most expensive equipment,, good luck

From your discription it sounds like you may have a dirty evaporator coil, this would cause the short cycling of the furnace and loss of air flow. This can be varified by removing the blower from the furnace and looking through the heat exchanger of the furnace with a flash light at the evaporator coil to see if its dirty, Good luck, Mike

Thanks. I will ask if that has been thought of yet when I hear back from the last guy to check it out. Ive had 3 people look at it so far...

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Originally Posted by Debmc03

I have been told it has probably ruined the heat exchanger. Does that sound right? Any words of wisdom would be appreciated.

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Janitrol? Simply setting the thermostat to "HEAT" will ruin the heat exchanger!:p

KC13, I enjoy your sense of humor, but unfortunately it doesn't resolve my current issue... lol
I see the Bryant emblem on your screen name thing. I assume you are a dealer of those.
I am about 2 hrs east of you here in Ohio, so you know that its about 20 degrees out, and a bit chilly for furnace problems.
If you happen to read my whole post and have any diagnosis or words of wisdom, pass them on to me... Thanks

In these troubled economic times, take advantage of any warranty-related credits the manufacturer offers. I'm not sure what your local market bears, but here a replacement heat exchanger in-warranty will cost the homeowner between $400-$500 in labor costs and manufacturer's warranty handling. For what it's worth comparatively, I replace many Goodman/Janitrol heat exchangers, so it is at least an attractive option to many homeowners.

The gurgling in the condensate drain as well as having to pinch off the drain to get it to drain also indicates a dirty coil, the air will blow out the drain line due to the higher static from a dirty coil and displace the water from the drain line . If you do change your heat exchanger be sure to have the tech check the coil and clean if necessary, Good luck, Mike

Gurgling in drain has nothing to do with airflow(unless the air flow we speak of is exhaust gas) Gurgling in drain of heat exchanger condensate is sepetate from air flow of circulating blower, unless of course you have a bad heat exchanger, causeing blower to effect combustion. And I ramble on. Hope this makes sense.

The drain line on the evaporator coil is normally tee'd into the heat exchanger drain of a 90 % furnace where as an increased static pressure can affect condenser drain, this may be the case if there is not a vent on the evapotrator drain line, if what was suggested ,a bad heat exchanger, it would be tripping off the differential pressure switch.

Some of this is greek to me Im afraid. The furnace is "cycling out" or whatever, seemingly mostly at night when Im not up to turn thermostat off and back on to get it to run again. During the day it seems to kick on and off continually with very little air blowing, and not all that warm to boot. Oh, and its o.k. to ramble on, I do it all the time... lol

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Originally Posted by acetc

The drain line on the evaporator coil is normally tee'd into the heat exchanger drain of a 90 % furnace where as an increased static pressure can affect condenser drain, this may be the case if there is not a vent on the evapotrator drain line, if what was suggested ,a bad heat exchanger, it would be tripping off the differential pressure switch.

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Aha... I'm with you now. But if this is indeed the problem, then condensate line for a-coil was piped incorrectly. (should have a vent, or be tied in whereas blowback wouldn't affect furnace operation).

Asker... have you cleaned flame senser? Simple process. I would think one of the three techs would have done this and also looked a little closer into gurgling in drain. If you do have another tech out, ask them about the gurgling in drain, and see if they can explain why this is happening, and if it is normal for your furnace. If they are telling you it is a bad heat exchanger, there are test to prove this. Carbon monixide test, or even a smoke test. One visual way to tell if heat exchanger is bad... burners come on, now when blower comes on the flame at burners should not change in appearance at all(color or pattern). If when blower comes on(while burners are lit) and flame changes at all, then there is most likely a crack in the heat exchanger( this would mean that house circulating air is mixing with exhaust gas and visa versa). Im a little surprised that they would say you might have a bad heat exchanger, and not determine this as fact before letting you continue to use furnace. If indeed a bad heat exchanger(and I'm not by any means saying that it is) then furnace should be shut down immediately until repaired or replaced. Can be very dangerous(carbon monoxide). I do believe it is time to get yet another tech(different one is possible). Please let us know what they find.

I will ask a tech those questions.
Now the furnace is running constantly, however it is only actually running with flames a tiny bit,kicking to fan,then eventually off, then seconds later back to flame, then repeat,over and over all day. It blinks 3 red flashes.

Three red flashes tell you a diagnostic code. You should be able to find the meaning of these flashes on inside of furnace cover, or with wiring diagram. Please try to locate led status codes and let us know what they say.