Gas Furnace out on a Sunday

Spokane, WA · Member since 2013 · 57 posts · 7 votes

Just got a call from my tenant saying the gas furnace isn't working. If I can't get a repairman out there today (it's Sunday) and they have to go a whole day without heat, what do you do? Tell them to suck it up or stay someplace else for the night?

I'm sure there are a ton of people that have been in this situation before and I would love to hear how you navigate this issue.

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Steve Babiak

Real Estate Investor · Audubon, PA · Member since 2009 · 13k+ posts · 8k+ votes

12y

First you have to understand how your heating system works; that may or may not be within your skill set, but that's where you start.

With gas heat, there has to be some sort if ignition. If it has a pilot for ignition, then you can check whether re-lighting the pilot gets it going. The pilot fuel supply/flame size might have to be turned up. The pilot might not stay lit - usually due to a failed thermocouple (a replacement thermocouple is about $10 at the big box hardware stores and it is easy DIY). If electronic ignition, then you have the possibility of a failed glow bar. Circuit breakers and the emergency switch sometimes end up in the off position (also possible for systems with a pilot flame). Sometimes the failure has nothing to do with any components within the heating system itself; I had a failure caused by an empty plastic grocery bag getting sucked into the opening on the air intake on a furnace on a windy day - no air for combustion causes unit to not fire up. And then the newer electronic systems might have trouble-shooting indicator lights that help to diagnose the problem.

Understanding how it works and some simple trouble-shooting techniques will help you determine whether the outage will be just a few hours or a few days; if not short you would then work with the tenant to see whether they need some electric space heaters or not (some already have their own).

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Jon Klaus
Developer · Garland, TX · Member since 2008 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
12y
Offer to get them a space heater now.
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Bryan L.
Residential Real Estate Agent · Cookeville, TN · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 948 votes
12y
First, see if you can find out what the problem is. In the gas furnace that I used to have in my home, about once every two years the ceramic igniter would burn out. I could light it manually (I finally got to the point of buying a back-up igniter to keep for replacement). Of course, you probably don't want the tenants to do this, but you could light it manually and let the house heat up to 75 or so and hold some heat until Monday. Seems like mine used to also do something weird when it got really cold, but I can't remember the details. I seem to remember having to do some type of manual reset on it.
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Ahmed Porter
Contractor · washington, Washington D.C. · Member since 2011 · 204 posts · 64 votes
12y
I know it not the most Ethical thing to do but I go by home depot or lower and get three electrical heaters take them out of the box my self real neat and put them in and plug them up for temp problem call to get the heat fix, some time may end up being on Tuesday if it a part not in stock after they finish I place it back nice and neat in the box as I got it and take it back to Lowes or home depo. The client happy and I am happy I saved 175 but I am supper frugal when it come to business don't jude me.
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Chris K.Pro Member
Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 655 votes
12y
I'd definitely get them some space heaters just to get the house warm. I would keep them though cause you're going to have another furnace go up and it's good to have them on hand to loan out.

I'm betting its something simple to fix like a thermocouple or an igniter. It's not too hard to fix yourself but shouldn't cost too much to have a company fix it either.
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Steve Babiak
Real Estate Investor · Audubon, PA · Member since 2009 · 13k+ posts · 8k+ votes
12y
First you have to understand how your heating system works; that may or may not be within your skill set, but that's where you start.

With gas heat, there has to be some sort if ignition. If it has a pilot for ignition, then you can check whether re-lighting the pilot gets it going. The pilot fuel supply/flame size might have to be turned up. The pilot might not stay lit - usually due to a failed thermocouple (a replacement thermocouple is about $10 at the big box hardware stores and it is easy DIY). If electronic ignition, then you have the possibility of a failed glow bar. Circuit breakers and the emergency switch sometimes end up in the off position (also possible for systems with a pilot flame). Sometimes the failure has nothing to do with any components within the heating system itself; I had a failure caused by an empty plastic grocery bag getting sucked into the opening on the air intake on a furnace on a windy day - no air for combustion causes unit to not fire up. And then the newer electronic systems might have trouble-shooting indicator lights that help to diagnose the problem.

Understanding how it works and some simple trouble-shooting techniques will help you determine whether the outage will be just a few hours or a few days; if not short you would then work with the tenant to see whether they need some electric space heaters or not (some already have their own).
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Pam R.
Investor · Delaware, OH · Member since 2013 · 224 posts · 64 votes
12y
Yes, space heaters. ASAP. You need to help mitigate the problem.

If they get a motel for the night, are you planning on paying for it?
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Dawn AnastasiPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2013 · 6k+ posts · 4k+ votes
12y
Keep in mind too that even if a furnace goes out, the house isn't going to drop down to zero immediately. There is some residual heat left in the house.
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Joel OwensBusiness Member
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Real Estate Broker · Canton, GA · Member since 2010 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes
12y
I guess it depends on the area you live in with the Weather pattern. Here in GA you have winter maybe 3 or 4 months a year so the heater component sits and the A/C is used much more.

The really old systems will have the pilot light as mentioned. I remember those as a kid ( 39 now). Most of the ones I see now are the self-igniting with the ceramic starters. They heat up and glow and then ignition happens. Sometimes I have found the fan motor for whatever reason doesn't spin fast enough and gets stuck. I was able to get it unstuck and spinning again before.

The ignitors can be easy to replace if you know what you are doing ( if not sure call a professional !)

As far as big box stores my experience is they DO NOT carry these parts. Maybe it's because I am in GA and some year round winter states they have it but Home Depot and Lowe's did not carry any parts like this. I had to go to a specialty supply store where the trades go to get the part. Of course this was about 5 years ago when the heater on my own house went out. It happened on a Saturday and Monday was a Holiday so I had to wait until Tuesday for the part. I endured it because a heating person on weekend emergency will charge a gazillion dollars and I knew I could fix it myself. The ceramic ignitor was only about 14 bucks with tax. We had a gas fireplace so used that for heat to get by in the living room.
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Brandon TurnerPro Member
Investor · Maui, HI · Member since 2009 · 13k+ posts · 3k+ votes
12y
Also - most hvac companies have emergency service. It'll be a bit more spendy, but it might be worth it. I'd look online or in the yellow pages for one that has 24 hour emergency service. The big companies should. Good luck! On a side note - why does this stuff ALWAYS happen on a weekend? 95% of my plumbing or hvac problems happen on the weekend. Ugh!
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Colleen F.Pro Member
Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
12y
Having just had the furnace company out 3 times... I can say yes you should be able to get them out on a weekend and at midnight but you will pay for it. It is best to have a relationship and have them set up as servicing the property ahead of time. If it is a new property use that sticker on the furnace to find out who has serviced before. First go over and try to restart/troubleshoot yourself even if you just get heat out of it a little longer it will help. This is not in place of calling the repair company but in addition to it. Have a guy come out during business hours if possible even if you can already restart it. If you know why it went out that it is one thing but if you don't know what went wrong you can be sure it will happen again on the weekend or at night and since you don't want anything to be unsafe it is worth having them check it out.

For after hours calls make sure they are coming... and keep calling back. One of the reasons I was at the property until 2 am is because the answering service said at 10 pm " he will get to you next " and meant he will call you next. When he didn't get us on the phone due to the terrible cell reception he didn't come out until I called back.

The temperature only dropped to 60 so I did not run and get electric heaters. My time was better spent being there for the furnace guy and I was able to reset the furnace twice to extend the warmth. You have to be careful on this because resetting multiple times isn't safe (i.e. don't just keep pushing the button. We are on oil and in the end they replaced the controller and on last call a cad cell which is apparently a tiny but important part... good luck.
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Brian Mathews
Contractor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2013 · 767 posts · 389 votes
12y
Try and call a few companies. Somebody will most likely go out. If they don't. Go to the store and buy 2 space heaters and leave with tenant. When heater fixed, go and retrieve the heaters and keep them in your house for the next time it happens, you won't have to buy more.
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Geoff S.
Contractor · Chebeague Island, ME · Member since 2013 · 68 posts · 14 votes
12y
Keep in mind there is a difference between Natural Gas and LPG. You didn't mention how the fuel is supplied.
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Glenn McCrorey
Investor · Cedar Rapids, IA · Member since 2013 · 494 posts · 407 votes
12y
I would got take a look at it if you can. I one that had been turned off at the switch by the furnace accidentally. I would look at the filter to see if it has been changed and if they have spares. If the blower motor burns up because they aren't changing the filter, I would charge them for the repair. Google your furnace model and see what you can find out about trouble shooting. Some furnaces have error codes you might be able to decipher.
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Jason Munck
OP
Spokane, WA · Member since 2013 · 57 posts · 7 votes
12y
Wow! thanks for all the responses. Great advice all!

The furnace is natural gas. I went over and inspected it. The electric ignition works with no problem. I can see it lighting the gas through the grate. It's the blower, the fan isn't spinning. I can reach in and turn the fan blades by hand and it feels pretty rough. The axle might just need some oil (this furnace was old when we bought the place nine years ago). Hopefully that's all it is and the whole blower motor isn't dead.

At any rate I'm not up for taking apart the motor so I'm calling in a professional. I found one that charges a flat rate for a Sunday visit. It's definitely more for the service but the forecast says the high is 30 degrees today and it's going down to the teens tonight so the extra charge is worth it to me.

thanks again everyone! I'll let you know if there are any significant developments.
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Jason Munck
OP
Spokane, WA · Member since 2013 · 57 posts · 7 votes
12y
@Glenn McCrorey Those are all great points. I checked most of those things. The tenant said she changed the filter last week. On other occasions I have seen that she will buy 5 filters at a time and keep them near the furnace so I believe she is good about changing the filters.
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Steve Babiak
Real Estate Investor · Audubon, PA · Member since 2009 · 13k+ posts · 8k+ votes
12y
Gas furnaces have some "kill" mechanisms - kill switches on doors, and if the draft inducer motor fails for example. Blower motor failure probably will cause a "kill" too.
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Mike Webb
Real Estate Investor · Hagerstown, MD · Member since 2013 · 276 posts · 107 votes
12y
Jason Munck I can relate very well. I had the heat pump in my one unit stop working 2 weeks ago. When I purchased the property in August, it came with a home warranty (which I didn't think of much at the time) but I called and they sent someone that day and it cost me $75. Everything seemed to be ok but this morning I got another call. They said they have no heat at all. I took a portable heater over and have the home warranty people coming again today (no service fee this time) to see what's wrong. I'm afraid the unit has reached the end if it's serviceable life but we shall see. Brandon Turner is right, it always happens on the weekend!
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Jason Munck
OP
Spokane, WA · Member since 2013 · 57 posts · 7 votes
12y
Originally posted by @Pam R.:
Yes, space heaters. ASAP. You need to help mitigate the problem.

If they get a motel for the night, are you planning on paying for it?

They have some friends they can stay with if it gets too cold. So hopefully they need a motel. But that was a part of my question. Do you pay for motels when this happens?
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Steve Babiak
Real Estate Investor · Audubon, PA · Member since 2009 · 13k+ posts · 8k+ votes
12y
There is a secondary concern when heat fails, considering first concern is well-being of the tenant. That second concern is well-being of your unit; should temperature in that unit get too cold, risk of pipes freezing becomes a concern.

So if tenant stays elsewhere and is OK with that, you still have to prevent pipe freezing somehow.
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Pam R.
Investor · Delaware, OH · Member since 2013 · 224 posts · 64 votes
12y
@Jason Munck - I haven't had this happen. At a minimum most would reimburse rent for the days they can't stay in the property. So if they had to leave, but could stay with friends, I'd reimburse those days. If they needed a motel, I'd call around for the average rate of a moderately priced motel, and give them that amount. I think it really depends on the reasonableness of your tenant how you need to handle it. I'd do my darndest to keep them in the property, with loaned space heaters.
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David Krulac
Mechanicsburg, PA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
12y
@Jason Munck

I feel your paint, tenant called me last night, SAT gas furnace not working, its a about 18 degrees here. I called HVAC repair, service technician was on job site within 30-45 minutes after call. Fixed problem tenant back to having heat. As a back up i do have a variety of electric space heaters, almost all picked up from tenants or departing owners abandoning in houses, so i have a plan B.
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Craig Montesano
Investor · Northwest, PA · Member since 2013 · 107 posts · 24 votes
12y
just a little nugget about frozen water lines....leave all the faucets on just enough so there is a sloooooow steady drip.

I did this last month....we had closed on a place end of last december. We had well below freezing temps and we had a vacant house. No problems at all.

Hope you get your problem resolved.
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Jason Munck
OP
Spokane, WA · Member since 2013 · 57 posts · 7 votes
12y
Thought I would give everyone an update.

Contacted an HVAC repairman and told them about my unit and situation. Based on my make and model they said there was a 50/50 chance the part would be in their van. Otherwise, would have to wait until Monday to get the part out of their locked office.

Had someone out on Monday and he said the furnace had stopped working because the blower motor died. And he also said the heat exchanger had cracks and I needed a whole new furnace. I wasn't totally surprised. I was actually planning on getting a new furnace in the spring because the system is 22 years old! So on Wednesday I had to drop big bucks and get a new furnace.

Fortunately, the tenant was great throughout all this. She stayed with a friend even though I offered to bring over space heaters and put her in a hotel.

Thanks again everyone for your advice.
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Mike Baker
Contractor · Blackfoot, ID · Member since 2013 · 149 posts · 52 votes
12y
Maybe someone needs to make some basic videos on simple boiler and furnace fixes. I am a service plumber by trade and I work on a lot of heat systems, and I can tell you that most problems are easily solved. Of course when in doubt, always call the professionals.
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Chris K.Pro Member
Investor · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 655 votes
12y
Originally posted by @Jason Munck:
So on Wednesday I had to drop big bucks and get a new furnace.

You mind sharing how much it set you back? Just curious cause I may be replacing soon
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