[Sym]

Last month the gas was turned off for the pipe hook up to dryer so my heating system was off also. Now I need to reignite the old heating system called "Montgomery Ward 700 Gas Heating System" . How?

[parttime]

Hi Sym and welcome, that's an old unit. Can you post pictures and maybe I can help.

[ma0641]

Those are pretty old basic heaters. I will be generic rather than specific. Rotate the knob on the gas valve to "pilot ". Push the knob down and put a match in front of the pilot orifice until it lights. Hold the button down for 20 seconds and release. If pilot stays on, rotate same knob to ON. Set thermostat.

[rdtsc]

Little late, but better than never right?

1. Flip the power switch off to the furnace (there should be one on it or nearby.)
2. Pop the orange cover off by tapping it with your palm from the bottom. Careful, sharp edges.
3. The two circular "vents" are the burner assembly. On the top of it, is a rectangular, silver metal plate. You slide this up about 1/2" inch and it should come off.
4. Rotate the gas control knob to "pilot." It may be rather stiff; be kind to it, it's very old.
5. Follow the little curved silver tube into the burner area. That is the pilot light. The flame goes in two directions: back (away from you) and to the left, both about 2".
6. Light a match or long-handled lighter, and stick it next to this area.
7. Push down the gas control knob and it should light. HOLD IT in this position for approximately 1 minute.

[diabase]

I have a Montgomery Ward 700 gas furnace from Aug. 1981 (serial no:... F3381... ), which is on its last leg. It stopped working recently, which is how I discovered this post. On my model, there is no pilot light setting, and in fact, the instructions say NOT to manually light the pilot light. The pilot light fires up automatically each time the thermostat calls for heat. What I discovered (by way of a knowledgeable furnace guy at Elkhorn HVAC) is that I have a loose wire that feeds from the Honeywell 'power box' (which sits on top of the gas in-feed box, which is obvious because it is connected to the black pipe coming from the wall) to the pilot light. The connection is a single orange wire of larger diameter with a bulbous boot, very similar to a spark plug wire (and, I guess, that is the same function--to produce a spark). With the furnace turned on (i.e. I have a 'master switch' that turns on and off the whole unit), and the safety button depressed like normal (i.e. the switch that must be depressed after you change the air filter), I can hear a hiss of gas, and if I jiggle that wire, there is a metallic buzz, the pilot light fires up, then within 2 seconds, the bank of blue flame ignites, and then within 20-30 sec, the fan motor starts to push hot air through the house. I will consider replacing that wire this summer when I am not using the furnace. I also may be buying a new furnace soon, but I will limp this one along as long as a I can. Thirty-five years ain't bad...