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HEATING SYSTEMS
BLUERAY Recall
BOILERS, HEATING
  BOILER CONTROLS & SWITCHES
  BOILER LEAKS CORROSION STAINS
  BOILER NOISE SMOKE ODORS
  BOILER OPERATING PROBLEMS
  BOILER OPERATION DETAILS
  BOILER PARTS LIST
CARBON MONOXIDE/DIOXIDE
CARBON MONOXIDE WARNING
CHIMNEY INSPECTIONS
CHIMNEYS & Flues - Asbestos Transite Pipe
DUCT INSULATION - Asbestos Paper
DUCTS - Asbestos Transite Pipe
DUST FROM HVAC?
FURNACES
  DUCT SYSTEM DEFECTS
  FAN LIMIT SWITCH
  FURNACE CONTROLS & SWITCHES
  FURNACE OPERATION DETAILS
  HEAT EXCHANGER LEAKS
  STACK RELAY SWITCHES
GAS PIPING, VALVES, CONTROLS
HEAT LOSS INDICATORS
HEATING COST SAVINGS
HEATING LOSS DIAGNOSIS-BOILERS
HEATING LOSS DIAGNOSIS-FURNACES
HEATING OIL CLOUD WAX GEL POINT
HEATING OIL SLUDGE
HEATING SYSTEM INSPECTION GUIDE
INSULATION
NO HEAT - BOILER / FURNACE DIAGNOSIS
OIL BURNER NOISE SMOKE ODORS
OIL FUEL TYPES & CHARACTERISTICS
OIL TANK LEAKS
OIL TANK SLUDGE
OIL TANKS, BURIED
PLASTIC HEATER VENT
RADIANT HEAT Floor Mistakes to Avoid
Safety Recalls
  BLUERAY Recall
  CHIMNEYS & Flues - Asbestos Transite
  Goodman HTPV RECALL
  Lennox WARNING
  Weil McLain RECALL
SAFETY DURING HEATING INSPECTION
STEAM HEATING SYSTEMS
  Cad Cell Relay Switch Flame Sensors
  Mixing Valves
  Relief Valves - TP Valves
  Sight Glass, Steam Boiler
  Pressure Switch, Steam Boiler
  Spill Switches
  Stack Relay Switch
  Steam Vents
  LOW WATER CUTOFF CONTROLS
  WATER FEEDER VALVES
TANKLESS COILS
THERMAL TRACKING
THERMOSTATS
Transite Pipe Chimneys & Flues
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Photograph of  a modern oil-fired heating boiler

Heating Problem Diagnosis: Heating System Inspection, Repair, Maintenance
HeatAPedia ©

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  • How to inspect a heating system
  • Gas piping hazards, repairs
  • Carbon monoxide hazards
  • Furnace and boiler hazards, recalls
  • Oil tanks, how to find, inspect, test, remove
  • Chimney and vent safety, product recalls, inspection
  • How to save on heating costs
  • Home inspection heating system report language
Our site offers impartial, unbiased advice without conflicts of interest. We will block advertisements which we discover or readers inform us are associated with bad business practices, false-advertising, or junk science. Our contact info is at inspect-ny.com/appointment.htm.

This website answers most questions about all types of heating systems and gives important inspection, safety, and repair advice. The heating system articles provided at this website explain how to inspect and detect defects and hazards on heating systems, boilers, furnaces, and other equipment. Methods for saving on heating cost and on improving heating safety are included. Heating safety hazards such as carbon monoxide gas leaks, unsafe furnaces, furnace and boiler recalls are addressed. Potentially very costly environmental hazards such as leaky oil tanks are explained in depth. Other environmental and indoor air quality topics affected by residential and light commercial heating systems are explored. Criticism and content suggestions are invited from heating service technicians, home inspectors, and home owners. © Copyright 2008 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use the links at page left to navigate this document or to go to Other Website Topics. Green links at left show where you are in our document & website.

Heating System Inspection Methods, Diagnosis, Safety, Repairs

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How to Inspect Heating Systems

Heating System Inspection & Diagnosis Detailed Articles

Critical Defects

Critical defects which an inspector should not fail to detect when examining any building component or system are defects which form an immediate, significant safety hazard or defects which are quite likely to involve significant repair or replacement cost, and which involve components or systems which are necessary to occupy and use the building. Methods for detection and diagnosis of these defects are discussed in this document and in its references. Suggestions for inclusion or exclusion of items in this list are invited - see the link "Contact Us".

Because the heating system inspection and related topics discussed here cover a rather broad range, I have not attempted (yet) to list specific critical defects on this summary page. However any inspection of the condition of heating equipment in buildings must include careful attention to:

  • Life Safety Hazards such as evidence of unsafe chimneys, missing or damaged safety devices (relief valves, emergency shutoffs), and visual evidence of dangerous overheating or leaks. Responsibly conducted, an inspection of a gas-fired furnace, for example, might discover that the furnace has been exposed to severe rust-producing conditions which risk an unsafe heat exchanger and a carbon monoxide hazard which could be fatal to building occupants. Even though the heat exchanger may not be visible, the contextual clues around the furnace, if they are visually obvious, should be translated into a level of concern by the inspector, and where appropriate, translated into a recommendation for action. This does not mean "failing" every furnace to be on the "safe side", it means responsible inspecting and reporting.
  • Costly defects such as evidence of a heating system at or near the end of its life of safe, reliable operation, or evidence of a buried oil tank which is likely to be old and for which there is no record of leak testing, should be reported.

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GO TO MOLD TEST KITS: This expert-recommended mold test kit is cheap and yet top performing *IF* you use a competent analysis laboratory!Use this simple, economical mold test kit by following our instructions on how to collect and mail mold samples to our lab

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04/08/2008 - 02/26/07 - www.inspect-ny.com/heat/heating.htm - © 2008 Copyright Daniel Friedman All Rights Reserved