I am a heating technician and I got a waste of time call the other day.
The homeowner was scared to use the heating system because the exhaust pipe was cracked.
The homeowner didn’t want the fumes from the heating system to blow into the home. That is a fantastic thought since the exhaust, fumes and carbon monoxide are not good for a person to breathe in. The piping being cracked could lead to more dangerous and high priced furnace repairs; Just as I was thinking how smart the homeowner was, I saw the issue. The homeowner thought it had something to do with the chimney. I looked at the chimney and okay, that was broken a bit. I could still see the exhaust pipe coming up from the damaged chimney plus it appeared to be just fine though, but I had to do an inspection to double check this idea. I checked the airflow of the heating system plus I did a tune up to make sure there wasn’t any monoxide getting into the house. As a citywide Heating, Ventilation, plus air conditioner technician, I also gave her a free carbon monoxide detector for the house. If there is a concern with a gas heating system, 1 of the combustion by-products is carbon monoxide. Usually the by-products are contained, but the homeowner was concerned that I thought a carbon monoxide detector would help to put her mind at peace, but everything was okay though. There was no issue with the exhaust pipe or the heating device. The chimney just had a small tear in the side of it.