Gas and Oil Home Heating Furnaces - Old house: get old furnace inspected?

I just moved in to an old house. The furnace looks (to me) to be an oil to gas conversion. I am not familiar with this type. I would like someone to walk through it with me. Also, I think there might be a problem in that it ocassionally "backfires" (as if the gas was not lighting fast enough.

Should I call the gas company, or a furnace repair place? Do they generally do free inspections (hoping that they will get your repair work), of is this something I have to pay for?

Thanks,

-john

You should have a heating service company look at it for you. Its not safe having delayed ignician nor would it be safe for you, having no knowledge of the system, to reach in and attempt to fix it. Don't bother contacting your gas and electric company. Their job it to sell gas and electricity, its what they do best. Even if they claim to know and do heating for their customers, they actually know very little, will usually put you on a waiting list and if they can find the problem will suggest you call a heating company anyway. So save yourself the wasted time.

I don't entirely agree with the above post. Most Gas companies are very quick to respond to service calls. Remember, you are dealing with gas, an item that is highly volatile. The delayed ignition may be the result of a sticky gas valve, or bad sensor. Either way, your gas companies service people usually have the equipment to fix it immediately.

I would suggest that you have your chimney inspected. Conversion of oil to gas fired furnaces result in moist condensation laden flue gases being released from the unit. This has been known to loosen the years of soot and ash from the oil units and cause the material to drop and clog your flue.

A little safety now is better than a blocked chimney and potential Carbon monoxide poisoning.

Hello,
A delayed ignition is a serious problem,I would have the gas company come out and check it.I live in a small community and it's pretty easy to get them to come out and check it.They may red tag it and advise you not to use it until fixed,thats for your safety.And in my area they don't charge for checking the appliance.