May 2011
Menno’s
Tech
Minutes
A Monthly Article Being
Provided To Help Out
With Common Household
Appliances
By Menno Hochstedler
Switching A Freezer To A Refrigerator
set number of cycles that manufacturing companies
build into their igniters, but each cycle will shorten
its life some.
So if you have a unit that short-cycles, it may be due
to being over-sized for the job or high-limiting all the
time due to a restriction in the system. Besides causing
more energy to be consumed, it also is shortening the
life of the equipment. For instance, if a furnace were
sized to run continuously on the coldest day, it would
be a perfect size. Constant stopping and starting
will waste energy. Sometimes thermostats have their
anticipators set incorrectly, allowing a shortened cycle
time, that requires an amperage reading to be taken
to make correction. Too much gas pressure to the
appliance can cause too many BTU’s to be created,
then causing a unit’s limits to come into play to protect
the appliance. So anything that creates extra restarts
for a burner that has an igniter as an ignition source,
will cause premature failure.
One last suggestion to ensure the unit has as long
a life as possible, is to keep vibration to a minimum
for any igniters and circuit boards. This applies to
all units, whether a dryer, range, water heater, space
heater, furnace, or anything using an igniter. Keeping
air that goes across the igniter free of contamination
also helps to extend its life.
Phone: 260-463-4901 • Fax 888-439-6528 • The Hometown Treasure
Usually when an igniter ends up failing in just a
short period of time, it raises questions about whether
something is wrong with the quality of the product,
or if something it’s connected to is at fault. Below are
some things to check to see if any of the abnormalities
could be contributing to the shortened life of the
igniter. These abnormalities are not listed in order of
most likely to contribute to a failure, but just as they
came to mind.
Do not handle the igniter improperly, either by
carelessness when installing, or touching the part that
glows when energized. Getting body oils or anything
on the igniter will make it burn hotter than intended at
that location, shortening its life. Installing an incorrect
igniter not made for the furnace or in the wrong part
of the flame pattern stresses the part. When household
voltage is too high, it will cause a shortened life in
an igniter and even in your light bulbs. There is no
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