We perform special tests for these problems and offer specific recommendations for. A cracked heat exchanger is pretty serious, as far as safety for your home goes. Checking for cracked heat exchangers a smoke bomb test a smoke generator is placed in the heat exchanger. Inspection and test plan for shell and tube heat exchanger.
With proprietary red dyepenetrant saturating the plate surface, and white developer solution covering the reverse side, wcr is capable of detecting even miniscule imperfections. Heat exchanger leak test, plate heat exchanger crack. Watch for the following specific signs pointing to cracks in your heat exchanger. We are familiar with the article heat exchanger applications in chemical industry. In the video above the furnace techs says the oxygen reading could rise as high as. That you can test for carbon monoxide at the register if there is a crack in the heat exchanger. Its like the doctor that finds cancer it might not be good news, but it. However, many companies have discovered that this type of heat exchanger is sensitive to metal fatigue. Our heat exchanger and pasteuriser testing service is the perfect solution for routine examination and crack testing of plate and tubular heat exchangers.
Chart industries pioneered the use of bahx for cryogenic gas processing in the 1950s and weve produced over,000 units since. Other than this, there really isnt anything else that can definitively give you an answer. Dec 02, 2015 proper diagnosis of a failed or cracked heat exchanger. Broken and leaking heat exchangers are responsible for about 1,500 deaths per year in the united states, and many more people are poisoned by exposure to toxic gasses that go unfiltered by defective heat exchangers. Fire up a welder, and use the liquid metal to form a gluelike line around the edge of your sheet metal. Combustion check to confirm cracked heat exchanger youtube. This is a total waste of time in most cases because the blower motor of a residential furnace is positive and the combustion side of the heat exchanger is a negative, the much more powerful. The wintergreen test oil of wintergreen is sprayed into the combustion chamber. A cracked heat exchanger might allow products of combustion to enter the air stream. Dec 22, 2010 if you have a cracked heat exchanger you should also be noticing more moisture in the house, with marked increase in moisture condensing on the cold surfaces like windows. A combustion analyzer gives us co and oxygen readings. The flame generates enough co lack of oxygen, excess fuel, high temperature.
How to check a heat exchanger for a leak diy furnace. There are older, traditional ways for finding cracked heat exchangers, such as smoke bomb methods, which contractors have relied on for years. The wintergreen test oil of wintergreen is sprayed into the combustion chamber with the blower operating, then see if the smell is present at the supply. Plateandshell heat exchangers have become very popular over the last decades thanks to their high thermal efficiency, compact size and ability to withstand high pressures. One of the oldest ways to check for heat exchanger cracks is to simply observe the flame when the blower starts. The prevailing viewpoint is that any hole or or heat exchanger crack can and. Jan, 2020 a heat exchanger acts as a collection station for combustible gas and allows the gas to make the air reach a boiling hot temperature. If your heat exchanger has cracks, these cracks cause your furnace to perform inefficiently. Signs and symptoms of a cracked gas furnace heat exchanger. A platetype heat exchanger made of type 316 stainless steel was placed into service at a fertilizer plant, but recently, more than one third of the heat exchanger plates developed leaks. Diagnosis of a heat exchanger crack typically starts with a no heat service call. Our method and specialist use of helium gas ensures that production downtime is minimal, whilst ensuring your audit requirements are met. Residential gas furnace heat exchanger testing douglas dewerth, p.
However, using a combustion analyzer to test for cracks in a heat exchanger offers some distinct advantages. Heat exchanger leak test, plate heat exchanger crack testing. If a properly conducted heat exchanger test shows a cracked heat exchanger, the repair person is to red tag and shut off the furnace as this will result in death of occupants. The extra air will cause the oxygen reading to change notably. The heat exchanger is a key part of the furnace and is responsible for the actual heating of air. Charts brazed aluminum heat exchangers also known as a plate fin heat exchanger and cold boxes are at the heart of low temperature natural gas, air separation and petrochemical processes worldwide. Oct 14, 2005 by doing this, i know the heat exchanger is hot and the metal has expanded, plus this verifies the high limit is working. If theres a crack in this component, the gases being burned off, such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrous oxide, could leak into your home, causing illness or, in extreme cases, death. Co is produced as a result of incomplete combustion. We use it to check co levels given in parts per million, or ppm and determine for sure whether theres a crack in.
Normally the service technician will call the problem to your attention, put a warning label on the furnace, and turn the furnace off at the switch on the side of the furnace for your safety and to reduce heating companys. Heat exchanger testing by accutest international ltd. Mar 11, 20 our recommendation on finding a crack in a heat exchanger will always be to replace the heat exchanger or the furnace it is in because your familys health and safety is far too important to make guesses and assumptions about how dangerous this crack may or may not be. He assured us that if there was a crack to be found, they were happy to go out of their way to find it, and thats what a furnace certification was. Once you are ready to begin the repair itself, put on your safety glasses and gloves. If the heat exchanger is cracked, the meter will show us. It describes most of the available tests and has images of some of the testing tools and methods of how to check for a cracked heat exchanger. Will a cracked heat exchanger leak carbon monoxide. Simple furnace heat exchanger test hvac learning solutions. Find them too often, and your company could get a rep for using scare tactics. All traditional methods are volume dependent and the larger the heat exchanger, the less sensitive the test will be.
How to minimize fatigue problems in plateandshell heat. With hexteq, the size of the heat exchanger is not a factor for this methodology as the sensors are searching for defect size and leakage volume in microlitres. Heat exchangers plate heat exchanger crack detection test. Most furnaces will have a blower delay to get the furnace up to temperature before moving air over the exchanger. If there is a crack it is usually obvious because of the leakage, i am not a pro for furnaces but have cleaned quite a few that the pros said were dangerous with no problems on all but 2 maybe 3 that i could see damage and suggested the land lord should replace the unit, this was a few years back before co monitor alarms were available, if a.
Do you have a cracked heat exchanger in your furnace. If your heat exchanger is most likely the issue, its time to call in a professional. They are used to heat or cool the streams based on the process requirement. Test your knowledge on heat exchangers online quiz. If you or other family members experience continual recurring headaches or flu like symptoms, this could indicate a cracked heat exchanger. May 12, 2000 miss a cracked heat exchanger and you put the homeowners at risk. I then reconnect the blower and cycle the furnace again. Furnace heatexchanger crack signs your furnace has one. Heat exchangers wa have an exceptionally reliable and versatile crack detection service, able to test the largest of plates and deliver the most accurate possible results. This page provides a sample inspection and test plan for shell and tube heat exchanger which is used in the manufacuring process. This contractortalk forum entry is a compilation of a number of heat exchanger tests that can be used to identify a cracked fire box or if a heat exchanger has holes. A cracked heat exchanger allows air from the furnace blower to interfere with the flame causing it to flutter or even roll out. A damaged heat exchanger in a gas furnace is potentially dangerous to a homes occupants and should not be ignored.
We use it to check co levels given in parts per million, or ppm and determine for sure whether theres a crack in your heat exchanger. If the heat exchanger is cracked, the oxygen reading will change a lot when the blower turns on. Over time, the heat exchanger can crack or separate, allowing carbon monoxide to enter the house. Inspect for common heat exchanger leak, crack, or rust points. Its the best way to examine your heat exchanger for cracks. Easytesters heat exchanger testing and crack testing. In some rare cases, it can cause flame impingement when air from the blower enters the heat exchanger. Theres a lot of good info on there, but some of it is misleading and there are a lot of straw man arguments made. Mar 19, 2007 a smoke bomb test a smoke generator is placed in the heat exchanger, then the outside of the heat exchanger is visually accessed to watch for smoke passing through the crack.
Nowadays, checking for a cracked heat exchanger is way more scientific. To determine if you have a cracked heat exchanger, an hvac contractor. If it is your heat exchanger, you cannot run your furnace, even if it. Since cracked heat exchanger symptoms are common, and many homeowners will eventually have to have heat exchanger crack repair, this is a good topic on which to educate yourself. In this white paper, we show that fatigue problems can be. Heat exchanger testers, plate heat exchanger crack testing and spray dryer crack testing equipment. The combustion analyzer also helps us gauge the overall performance of your furnace. Beware of an unethical technician who finds a crack with a camera on a furnace that seems to be running just fine. I check at the closest supply register with a fluke 210. It is important that the heat exchanger is taken care of as hazards can build from a faulty exchanger.
Easytesters heat exchanger testing and crack testing haccp. If a heating contractor finds a cracked heat exchanger and says the furnace needs to be replaced, theyre not pulling a scam unless theyre just outright lying to you about finding a crack. Heat exchanger leak detection plate dyetesting wcr 100% dyetesting is our standard for locating cracks, pinholes, or failures. Will a furnace with a blocked vent cause a flame rollout duration. The salt test a salt solution is sprayed into the combustion chamber. A co detector can indicate a heat exchanger is cracked or perforated only if all of the following conditions occur simultaneously. Would the size of my heat exchanger affect test sensitivity. Dec 12, 2016 heat exchangers are the most common equipment used for heat transfer application. If you have a steel exchanger, then cut down a piece of sheet metal to cover the crack, plus 2 inches all the way around. Enough exhaust gases are emitted from the heat exchanger crack or. The american gas association has even put this in writing they say any visible crack or hole is reason for requiring replacement of the heat exchanger or furnace. Heat exchanger leak detection plate dyetesting wcr. If youre the owner of a furnace, youll find it helpful to be able to answer the following five questions. The test mostoften used to determine if theres a problem with the clamshell or sectional heat exchanger is called a candle test.
Phe cracks can be dangerously costly to your business. Bob not only knows why cracks in heat exchangers sometimes develop, but he also knows what homeowners should do when this problem occurs as well as how regular maintenance can help prevent it in the first place. Located in the center of the furnace, it is where fire, gas and heat connect. The guy leading the class talked about using mirrors, borescopes, smoke bombs, leak seek tests, and basically dismantling a furnace to get a good look at the heat exchanger to check for cracks. If there is you need to begin looking for connection or leakage between the burnerheat exchanger and the air. This trips a safety switch and shuts down the furnace.