im sure most of you have been going natural climate control in these mild September days but cold weather is getting ever closer. So i thought it might be a good idea to remind everyone to change the filter, change the batteries in your thermostat, brush off any debrie from your fan , with power off, and fire off the furnace before snow flies.
Another trick you can do if you dont have money for an expensive transfer switch on the generator is to install a simple plug system on your furnace if its gas. I don't necessarily recommend this for electric furnaces or heat pumps unless you have a strong working knowledge of electricity.
This project takes limited knowledge of electricity, 20 minutes, and about 15$ in parts
Kill all power to your furnace via the breaker ensure everyone knows you have purposefully killed the power.
Find the main power routed to your furnace and cut through all 3 wires and strip the insulation back after you have confirmed no electricity is present.
Install a female plug on the power side coming from your breaker panel and a male plug on the furnace side. Follow the diagram on the plugs. Also make sure your plug is rated in amps and max voltage the same as the breaker.
Plug them back into each other.
In the event of an outage you can now run your furnace via extension cord again rated for the work it will be doing. By unplugging the incoming power to the furnace you insure no back feeding and harming lineman or other workers while you keep you home toasty.
If you are not competent with electrical work do not attempt this!!!!
Another trick you can do if you dont have money for an expensive transfer switch on the generator is to install a simple plug system on your furnace if its gas. I don't necessarily recommend this for electric furnaces or heat pumps unless you have a strong working knowledge of electricity.
This project takes limited knowledge of electricity, 20 minutes, and about 15$ in parts
Kill all power to your furnace via the breaker ensure everyone knows you have purposefully killed the power.
Find the main power routed to your furnace and cut through all 3 wires and strip the insulation back after you have confirmed no electricity is present.
Install a female plug on the power side coming from your breaker panel and a male plug on the furnace side. Follow the diagram on the plugs. Also make sure your plug is rated in amps and max voltage the same as the breaker.
Plug them back into each other.
In the event of an outage you can now run your furnace via extension cord again rated for the work it will be doing. By unplugging the incoming power to the furnace you insure no back feeding and harming lineman or other workers while you keep you home toasty.
If you are not competent with electrical work do not attempt this!!!!