Gas Furnace question

[Jer]

I had the company that installed my furnace come over today as they recommend every two years having it cleaned and next month would be two years. Well they came and did the job I guess the flame rod was caked pretty good in carbon so they cleaned it and had the furnace running. After they left I turned it off. Well its a cold day here so I went to turn it back on and it didn't light the first time? the gas came on but didn't ignite? so I left it for a few seconds and the gas came back on ignited fine. I called him and he told me that's normal that sometimes it wont catch on the first try and that it sometimes could take 3 times to ignite.

I trust them as they are great and my whole family has been using them for close to 30 years. The furnace has a 10 year parts and warranty so if they have to come back it wont cost me anything. its just weird as it has never taken two times for it to ignite. But I guess they know what there talking about.

Two days ago it was 100f and today it struggled to get into the mid 30's

Just curious though, Is it normal for it to sometimes take more then once to ignite?

Thanks

Jeremy

[kurt]

If it happened once, I wouldn't think too much about it. If it was a regular affair, something is wrong.

[Jer]

Thanks Kurt,

I tried it again tonight and again it happen. I should give them a call back then?

[kurt]

yes.

[Jer]

Yeah I think its best to call them. I will call Monday morning. The furnace wont be on all weekend.

[Brandon Whitmore]

Something is definitely wrong if it continues to try to fire multiple times. The flame isn't proving for some reason.

[Jer]

Yeah I'm going to give them a call Monday morning. I tried using the furnace when I just got up here and same thing the gas would fire then stop and restart ( did it twice actually). I guess its good that I have a 10 year parts and labor right? It has to be something different from a flame rod which he cleaned.

I don't know if I should question what I payed for on Friday? I guess he did clean the flame rod and the burners and that is something that is a yearly service they offer outside warranty.

[Tom Raymond]

If you have a 10 year parts warranty the tech should be replacing the flame rod, not cleaning it.

[Hearthman]

There are multiple things that could account for failed ignition not limited to but including gas supply issues, gas valve failure, poor ground, dirty flame rod from improper/ poor combustion issues, etc. To diagnose this issue may require a bit of time and testing. However, a properly operating appliance ignites within 4 seconds per ANSI. The re-trial is a backup designed to get you through until service can correct the root problem. Soot all over a flame rod is a combustion problem. Sure, they may also have a bad igniter/ rod but that alone does not cause soot on a sensing rod. The sooting could be from problems with makeup air, venting, burner condition, alignment or dirt, orifices, gas manifold pressure, breaches in the cabinet or heat exchanger, etc. Get a tech certified in combustion analysis to test, diagnose and correct the issue.