What Are the Effects of Heating With an Old Natural Gas Heater?

Exhaust Leaks

• Exhaust leaks occur when the gas heater burns the gas and sends the fumes up into an old vent. These vents lead either to a chimney or to its own personal venting system that brings it outside. But when the vents grow old, they can warp or grow loose, creating leaks. These leaks are very dangerous; the fumes of natural gas are difficult to smell and include gases like carbon monoxide.

Gas Line Leaks

• The gas line is where the natural gas enters the house and moves through to the igniter. In older furnaces, these gas lines can also develop leaks. The leaks can create a possibility for combustion and explosions which create fires. Fortunately, gas leaks are easier to detect than gas fume leaks because the gas has a distinct chemical or methane smell.

Pilot Light Problems

• The pilot light is the section of the gas heater that stays constantly lit so that it can light the gas that heats the air (or water). The pilot light develops problems as the heater ages: the light goes out more often, and the thermocouple, which detects when the light is on so that gas to the pilot light remains lit, can start to fail, causing the pilot light to remain permanently out.

Scale

• Scale is a symptom of hard water. In water heating applications, minerals precipitate out of hard water when exposed to heat and attach to the metal in the tank and nearby pipes, which forms layers of scale that block pipes and create annoying noise.