I was really nervous recently when I went to check the boiler system, then I was already planning to call the local heating and cooling contractor for an official tune-up, however for some reason I wanted to check things out personally first.
I was stunned when I observed a crack in the HVAC duct that came from the boiler and connected to the chimney.
In my mind, that meant that there was a carbon monoxide leak! I not only called the heating and cooling contractor and arranged for a boiler tune-up, I also ran to the store to get some duct sealant. I got some fiberglass tape as well to see about sealing the ducts extra well, making sure there were no leaks. I also picked up a carbon monoxide detector to install in the basement since there was no detector down there. When I set up the carbon monoxide detector, there were no beeps indicating a carbon monoxide leak, although I realized that was because the boiler wasn’t turned on! I didn’t want to have any carbon monoxide at all, so I just sealed the ducts legitimately well and let the duct sealant set, and soon after that, the heating and cooling professional arrived, and he saw how I sealed the HVAC duct and said I did a great job. He said there were no signs of a leak and when we fired up the boiler, there was no leaking then either. He did a great job handling the tune-up, had all the inner components cleaned out and observed there were no problems with the heat exchanger. The emergency shut off works great and there are no problems, so I’m ready to go for the winter!
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