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We are currently renting a house (for almost 2 years now) and just recently the heating system has been having problems. Normally we'd turn the heat up (it is the kind that you turn up to turn on. There is no on or off switch) and it would come on, then when it reached the temperature, turn off. But lately instead of turning off, it will keep running but cool air will be coming out. So basically it is never turning off, just always running, either heat or cool air. I know with being renters the owners can come in and fix it but with schedules and using the garage as storage (that's where the heating system is located), it's a hassle for all of us, and if we can trouble shoot it ourselves, that would help. We did have the gas company out and they said the system is about 30 years old and should be replaced, no real advice other than that. I doubt the owners are going to replace it, at least not right now or without raising us I'm sure. When the cold air comes out it makes the house colder so we are turning up the heat to counter act that, making the bill even higher and we can't afford it. We really need to do something about it now. Does anyone have any idea what's going on and things we can try to troubleshoot it? Again this the kind that doesn't have an on and off switch. Normally when we want to turn it off we just turn it all the way down. It's not turning off when we do that at all now.
It looks just like this:
Hopefully the image shows.
You rent.
You call your landlord- don't muck the water. Any possible damage YOU DO will cost you!
If you get flack from your landlord you can call an HVAC company to repair it and deduct that amount from your rent. You can also remind your landlord that every state has tenant laws- hopefully it doesn't have to go that far.
You rent.
You call your landlord- don't muck the water. Any possible damage YOU DO will cost you!
If you get flack from your landlord you can call an HVAC company to repair it and deduct that amount from your rent. You can also remind your landlord that every state has tenant laws- hopefully it doesn't have to go that far.
Yes that is the plan if a SIMPLE solution won't work. I'm not talking about a full on repair we are doing. I'm talking about it may be as simple as a button we need to push on the actual system that we are unaware of or like turning the heat all the way up 5 times in a row or something weird like that.
We are also trying to not push it with the landlord. We had a bad experience with our last one and a house rental where whenever there was problem, which at the last place there was always something wrong with their house, they either would ignore it and expect us to do it or raise rent, just saying "that's what renting is", and then after 3 years said their family is moving in and we had to move. We ourselves are in a position of having my disabled mother living with us, and finding a rental house with an extra area for another person under a certain price is very hard to find. So we are trying to not push things with the current landlords. Beggars can't be choosers as they say. So we are just wondering if there is a simple thing we are missing. Obviously if there isn't we will contact the landlord, but we're looking at it as a last resort.
I also don't know why they would need to know if we try to do basic troubleshooting...why would we tell them we did that, especially if something did happen to "muck" it up?
If I understand correctly - the heat/AC turn off at the right point but the fan will not stop blowing?
I think you can be confident that there are no solutions to this which will not involve getting deeper into your HVAC system than your landlord would prefer. The simple solution is that you accidentally set your thermostat fan setting to "ON" vs "Auto". But it doesn't sound like your thermostat has that setting. After that you are into a faulty thermostat, fan limit switch, or something else. I'd also say it's not wise to muck around with a gas furnace if you don't know what you are doing. Gas+Fire = Bad.
I don't understand why you would ask the gas company to come out and troubleshoot, but not your landlord? It's certainly not a gas company problem. I get you aren't trying to push things, but a furnace not working is a pretty fundamental problem. And it's going to cause your electric bill to shoot up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by displacedmisplaced
I also don't know why they would need to know if we try to do basic troubleshooting...why would we tell them we did that, especially if something did happen to "muck" it up?
It's called being a responsible adult, and being accountable for damage you cause.
You definitely need to call the landlord. I can't think of a button to push to resolve this issue.
It sounds like maybe an issue with a sensor. It needs to be looked at by a pro.
Why did you call the gas company? When the repair guy comes out, have him give you a tutorial on how to use the thermostat, because "turning it all the way down" is not a good idea.
You definitely need to call the landlord. I can't think of a button to push to resolve this issue.
It sounds like maybe an issue with a sensor. It needs to be looked at by a pro.
Why did you call the gas company? When the repair guy comes out, have him give you a tutorial on how to use the thermostat, because "turning it all the way down" is not a good idea.
It was my mother who called the gas company to make sure that it wasn't our imagination and that it really was running excessively, also to get an opinion for free without getting the landlord involved. I figured we'll just do that before moving forward to cover all our bases.
But what do you mean turning it all the way down is not a good idea? If we don't want anything on, that is the only way to do it. We have lived here for almost 2 years and have done that in the months and days when it is warm. Never had a problem until now and never heard anything different with these kind of thermostats. If there was a specific way to do it, I would like to think the owners would have showed us.
If the thermostat does not have a fan switch (Auto / On), and a Heat / Cool switch, then you might try turning off the unit at the breaker, wait 10 minutes, then turn it back on. It depends on what kind of unit you have.
Without knowing what kind of unit you have, its hard to give guidance on what all to shut off. If you have two units (heat and air conditioner), you need to turn off power at both units. It could be breakers, or fuses.
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