Gas Furnace Check-Up & Analysis

The Recker and Boerger gas furnace check-up is more about safety and efficiency than just blowing the dust out of a furnace. We use state-of-the art test instruments to test and tune your gas furnace for maximum efficiency and safety.

What we do on a gas furnace clean and check: We start with the basics.

• Pull and clean the burners to make sure that both gas and air flow freely to the combustion chamber.
• Brush clean the primary heat exchanger – if needed - and visually inspect it for its integrity.
• Oil all motors as required.
• Inspect the blower to make sure it is clean and working freely.
• Check all electrical connections.
• Check for gas leaks in and around the furnace.
• Flush the furnace drain.
• Check your air cleaner and humidifier for operation. If any filters, medias, pads or repairs are needed we will quote a price.
• Visually inspect your water heater.

After we have completed the above listed checks we start the furnace and begin the tune up. We use a combustion analyzer to monitor the by-products of combustion in the flue pipe and tune your gas furnace accordingly.

• We start with carbon monoxide. Gas furnaces should not emit CO. CO is what comes out of cars and it is deadly in small quantities inside the home. We check the air stream as well as the flue, for CO--if it is present, we need to figure out why and how to get rid of it!
• Next we check for carbon dioxide. Gas furnaces emit large quantities of carbon dioxide – just like people do – when we exhale. We want your furnace to exhaust a certain amount of CO2 for normal operation.
• Flue temperature is our next check. Your flue operates in a temperature range determined by the manufacturer. If it’s too hot you are wasting energy – too cold and we can have safety issues.
• Gas pressure. We use a manometer to check the gas pressure as it enters the burners. This is critical for efficiency and safety. We adjust the pressure to manufacturer’s specifications.
• Voltages and amperage. We use a digital clamp on ammeter to make sure all motors and components are using the correct amount of power as they cycle. A voltmeter is used to monitor system voltage as the system cycles to assure proper power input.
• Blower performance is monitored and adjusted using a magnahelic. This test instrument measures pressure drop – loss of air flow - as the blower moves air from the return air duct, through the furnace and A-coil and out to the duct system. We adjust the air flow as needed to meet manufactures specifications based on the size of your home and duct system.

Efficiency: After all cleaning and adjustments have been made our Combustion Analyzer will produce a computer print out of your system efficiency. Efficiency ranges from 60% to 96% depending on the model in the home. Efficiency shows us how the gas is being used. If your furnace is 80% efficient - for every 100,000 btu’s that is inputted - 20,000 go out the flue as waste and 80,000 btu’s are used to heat your home. We will show you exactly what your percentage of efficiency is.

The gas furnace is now safe and efficient – our work is done. Don’t let anyone clean your gas furnace without a Combustion Analyzer--without this tool it is impossible to determine proper and safe system operation.

Regular Price: $149.95

Oil Furnace cleaning, check up and analysis

Oil furnaces must be cleaned every year – this is a must! A poorly maintained oil furnace can be dangerous and will cause damage to the furnace, your home and possibly you. If your oil furnace has been neglected our technician will prepare an estimate to clean your furnace before he begins. For regular maintenance Recker and Boerger will use state of the art test instruments to test and tune your oil furnace for maximum efficiency and safety.

Here is what we do, starting with the basics.

• Remove the flue pipe from the furnace and check for soot in the pipe as well as at the chimney. Draft is very important and a clogged chimney will not allow the furnace to function properly.
• Next we pull the cleaning port and vacuum out the heat exchanger.
• We replace the oil nozzle and filter to maintain good oil flow.
• Reset the electrodes to recommended tolerances.
• Lubricate any motors that require oil.
• Inspect the blower motor and wheel – if they are dirty we will give you a price to pull and clean them. Air flow is important and a dirty blower will not allow the system to work properly.

The work listed above is dirty, time consuming work but it is critical for oil furnaces. After we have everything cleaned we start the system and the real work begins.

• We fire up the furnace and test and tune it.
• First we check voltages and amperage. We use a digital clamp on ammeter to make sure all motors and components are using the correct amount of power as they cycle. A voltmeter is used to monitor system voltage as the system cycles to assure proper power input.
• Using a digital combustion analyzer we check and adjust the following:
  • Over fire draft – we adjust the air through the burner for a clean burn.
  • Stack temperature – we want to make sure we have enough heat in the flue but not too much.
  • We check for carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and oxygen. These numbers will tell us how the burner is performing.
  • We check the temperature rise across the heat exchanger. To high and it over heats, to low and it condenses – it has to be within manufacturer specs.
• We take all this information and determine the efficiency of your oil furnace. We will show you what percentage of your oil is being used to heat your home and what percentage is being lost as waste up the chimney! Think of miles per gallon in a car.
• Lastly, we clean up the work area.

The oil furnace is now safe and efficient – our work is done. Don’t let anyone clean your oil furnace without a Combustion Analyzer--without this tool it is impossible to determine proper and safe system operation.

Regular price: $250.00

Air Conditioner Check-Up & Analysis

The Recker and Boerger central air conditioner clean and check is more about performance and efficiency than just blowing the dust and leaves out of your outdoor unit. We use state-of-the-art test instruments to test and tune your air conditioner for maximum efficiency and safety.

What we do on an air conditioner clean and check: We start with the basics.

• We clean your condenser (the outside unit) using a non-toxic coil cleaner to make sure dust and dirt don’t slow the air as it passes through the coils.
• We clean the drain from your evaporator (the inside A-coil) to make sure that water flows freely.
• Oil all motors as required.
• Inspect the blower on your air handler or furnace to make sure it is clean and working freely.
• Check all electrical connections.
• We visually check for refrigerant leaks at visible braze connections.
• Check your air cleaner and humidifier for operation. If any filters, medias, pads or repairs are needed we will quote a price.
• Visually inspect your water heater.

After we have completed the above listed checks we start the air conditioner and begin the tune up. We use a digital compound gauge, digital thermometer, digital manometer, digital sling psychrometer, amp meter and voltmeter to monitor the system operation as we test and tune.

• We start with air flow. This test instrument measures pressure drop – loss of air flow - as the blower moves air from the return air duct, through the furnace or air handler and A-coil and out to the duct system. We adjust the air flow as needed to meet manufactures specifications based on the size of your home and duct system. Proper air flow is crucial for system performance and longevity--your system will not work properly with out proper air flow.
• Next we check the pressures. We use digital compound gauges to verify that your Freon level is accurate. Freon must be at the proper pressure, again, for performance and longevity.
• Once we have the pressure of the blower and the Freon pressures we take temperature readings.
• We measure the temperature change of the air across you’re A-coil. This temperature drop is called your dry bulb delta T – the amount of cooling we are pushing into your house. This number is anywhere from 12 to 21 degrees depending on weather conditions. In heating, this is the temperature rise, or the amount of heating being transported to your home.
• We also measure the wet bulb delta T – the amount of MOISTURE – your system is removing from the air. We use the digital sling psychrometer for this test. This measurement is critical as moisture removal is essential for comfort.
• Clamp on temperature probes tell us the temperature of the refrigerant in the tubing that transports the refrigerant from your outside unit to your evaporator inside. Temperature and pressure is what air conditioners are all about.
• We use a digital clamp-on ammeter to make sure all electric heaters, motors and components are using the correct amount of power as they cycle.

Efficiency: After all cleaning and adjustments have been made we break out the calculator. Its time for the math we never thought we would use in the “real world”. Using two simple formulas we will determine the amount of heat we are taking out of the air and cold air we are adding to your house – known as sensible cooling – and how much moisture we are removing – known as latent cooling. We will convert these numbers to BTU’s, add them together, and we now know how much cooling your system is producing.

Your tune up is complete and you are ready for the season ahead.

Regular Price: $149.95

Heat Pump Check-Up & Analysis

The Recker and Boerger central heat pump clean and check is more about performance and efficiency than just blowing the dust and leaves out of your outdoor unit. We use state-of-the-art test instruments to test and tune your heat pump for maximum efficiency and safety.

What we do on a heat pump clean and check: We start with the basics.

• We clean your condenser (the outside unit) using a non-toxic coil cleaner to make sure dust and dirt don’t slow the air as it passes through the coils.
• We clean the drain from your evaporator (the inside A-coil) to make sure that water flows freely.
• Oil all motors as required.
• Inspect the blower on your air handler (electric furnace) to make sure it is clean and working freely.
• Check all electrical connections.
• We visually check for refrigerant leaks at visible braze connections.
• Check your air cleaner and humidifier for operation. If any filters, medias, pads or repairs are needed we will quote a price.
• Visually inspect your water heater.

After we have completed the above listed checks we start the heat pump and begin the tune up. We use a digital compound gauge, digital thermometer, digital manometer, digital sling psychrometer, amp meter and voltmeter to monitor the system operation as we test and tune.

• We start with air flow. This test instrument measures pressure drop – loss of air flow - as the blower moves air from the return air duct, through the air handler and A-coil and out to the duct system. We adjust the air flow as needed to meet manufactures specifications based on the size of your home and duct system. Proper air flow is crucial for system performance and longevity--your system will not work properly with out proper air flow.
• Next we check the pressures. We use digital compound gauges to verify that your Freon level is accurate. Freon must be at the proper pressure, again, for performance and longevity.
• Once we have the pressure of the blower and the Freon pressures we take temperature readings.
• We measure the temperature change of the air across you’re A-coil. In cooling, this temperature drop is called your dry bulb delta T – the amount of cooling we are pushing into your house. This number is anywhere from 12 to 21 degrees depending on weather conditions. In heating, this is the temperature rise, or the amount of heating being transported to your home.
• In cooling, we also measure the wet bulb delta T – the amount of MOISTURE – your system is removing from the air. We use the digital sling psychrometer for this test. This measurement is critical as moisture removal is essential for comfort.
• Clamp on temperature probes tell us the temperature of the refrigerant in the tubing that transports the refrigerant from your outside unit to your evaporator inside. Temperature and pressure is what heat pumps are all about.
• Next is defrost. We will force your heat pump to freeze, simulating defrost in order to check the defrost board, sensor and timer.
• Emergency heat is next. We put your system into emergency heat mode to make sure you have electric back up heat if you were to have a heat pump failure.
• We use a digital clamp-on ammeter to make sure all electric heaters, motors and components are using the correct amount of power as they cycle.

Efficiency: After all cleaning and adjustments have been made we break out the calculator. Its time for the math we never thought we would use in the “real world”. Using two simple formulas we will determine the amount of heat we are taking out of the air and cold air we are adding to your house – known as sensible cooling – and how much moisture we are removing – known as latent cooling. We will convert these numbers to BTU’s, add them together, and we now know how much cooling your system is producing. (This can only be performed in cooling season.)

Your tune up is complete and you are ready for the season ahead.

Regular Price: $149.95