Finding a Crack in the Heat Exchanger During a Home Inspection

Enjoy this 10-minute video with InterNACHI's Ben Gromicko as he takes apart a gas-fired furnace to find a crack in the heat exchanger, and, thereby, demonstrates how impossible it is for home inspectors to visually inspect that component.

[@LorenKyleDiedrich]

I definitely want this guy fixing my heater lol

[@BenGromicko]

Okay. Will do. All homes should be inspected by an InterNACHI certified home inspector at www.nachi.org/certified-inspectors. Thanks for commenting. - Ben.

[@stevemar8593]

Outstanding video, showing the various parts of the furnace with a detailed explanation, Many thanks.

[@BenGromicko]

Glad you liked it!

[@dustinjohnson7191]

The only thing that would make this video better is if Ben tripped over the draft inducer and the furnace fell on him and Ben was like "well, from this angle I can see a cracked heat exchanger" like nothing happened and he didn't just fall down

[@BenGromicko]

Yes. Next time.

[@BenGromicko]

I love this home inspection training video about cracks in heat exchangers.

[@not_listening2792]

If a HVAC technician ever says I have a cracked heat exchanger, I will insist they watch this video of the proper way to inspect a heat exchanger :>

[@NoneFB]

This is EXACTLY what I would do in front of the realtor and buyers.

[@BenGromicko]

Nice.

[@fatthumbs2020]

Hahahaha this is the highlight of my day. No gloves...and hammers and persuasion hahaha love it

[@BenGromicko]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@johnvitz310]

Did he do a c o test ? how did he detected there was a crack without taking it apart.

[@CL-ty6wp]

@@johnvitz310 Alot of homeowners get taken this way. Told their kids could die in their sleep if they dont buy a new furnace. If you have a cracked exchanger you will get rollout or flame distortion when blower kicks on.

[@shirleyshepardson778]

I loved this video - It's awesome one portion that I have been studying in real life. Great job!

[@BenGromicko]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@jesabell9172]

Fantastic video. Here is every single aspect of the medium efficiency Furnace you just studied in 3D.

[@BenGromicko]

Thank you!

[@badjuju4594]

I laughed until I cried ...several times. My favorite video in the course so far. The term "persuasion" will forever be associated with a hammer moving forward. Thank you son of Odin. 🤣🤣🤣

[@BenGromicko]

It was so fun.

[@jlaw7005]

This was the best.

[@BenGromicko]

It was fun.

[@captinbeyond]

Good explanation and informative.

[@BenGromicko]

Glad it was helpful!

[@badjohnnyrook]

Repair person showed me pictures of heat exch crack he took with probe camera. Hopefully pictures were of my furnace he was inspecting??. I have removed heat exch and separated sections from the replaced 12 yr old furnace that I kept. Have similar wavy type heat exch that has the large dark spots you say indicate overheating. Am unable to spot cracks on outside sections. Repair person photos showed what would be an obvious large crack. Could he have taken photos of inside the heat exch itself where flame shoots and how could I find a crack in that location? Can flashing light or putting water inside exch be used to find cracks that are not visible on the outside of the exch?

[@BenGromicko]

Thanks for commenting, Johnny.

[@davejoseph5615]

I would take the bare heat exchanger to the shop that told you it had a crack and ask them to show you the crack.

[@seshachary5580]

very educative. Thank you regards

[@BenGromicko]

Glad you liked it!

[@saza7777]

You said 'this is the draft inducer fan we've got some like insulation material for a nice airtight seal'.. That look like 'thin glass wool'.. Do you know where can I buy thin glass wool.. I need that because I want to install that between each part for protecting part from heat.

[@BenGromicko]

I don't know where to buy that material.

[@bobboscarato1313]

You'll need new gaskets or seals. Get a new furnace! lol

[@geraldstubbe5884]

I used a ten dollar tube of automotive gasket goop. High heat of course

[@CHIBA280CRV]

Very informative video sir thank you. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@BenGromicko]

Glad it was helpful!

[@scottrichard6579]

This is the funniest thing I’ve seen today.

[@BenGromicko]

Glad to hear it. We'll keep making more. What should we take apart next?

[@scottrichard6579]

@@BenGromicko a car battery

[@BenGromicko]

@@scottrichard6579 Ouch. A messy thing that would be. But that has little to do with home inspections, yeah?

[@geraldstubbe5884]

How do you find a crack like that, so deep in the bowels of the furnace?

[@BenGromicko]

It's fun to be a home inspector.

[@jonmoore3964]

Well Mam I could put the unit back together but you really should replace it.

[@BenGromicko]

Ha. Love it.

[@edt.5118]

Does this crack produce any CO2? If the heater is monitored for CO2 and nothing is detected, does that mean the crack is not a problem? If the burner flames don't show any abnormalities, does that mean there is no crack? Like someone already commented, how can that crack have been diagnosed? How are manufacturers allowed to continue to sell these designs?

[@BenGromicko]

The crack does not produce CO2. The crack is an opening between the exhaust gases from combustion and the interior air flow through the ductwork.

[@tuvoca825]

Thanks. Glad I don't have to do that with every inspection.... :P

[@BenGromicko]

Ha. Right.

[@robertshriver8392]

Can you fix a heat exchanger?

[@BenGromicko]

No.

[@JA-vy1gp]

Yes by installing a new furnace

[@chumleye1112]

@@JA-vy1gp Yep no problem, just work another year to pay it off or another loan.

[@jeffreywhitlatch1409]

Is this a destructional video?

[@BenGromicko]

Yes. It's one of the best ways to learn. Take stuff apart. So much fun.

[@bobboscarato1313]

It looks that way!

[@Marc_Wolfe]

10:20 "Had to"

[@BenGromicko]

Yep.

[@kennixox262]

Another reason to use a heat pump.

[@BenGromicko]

Ha. It was so much fun tearing that apart.

[@saza7777]

If heat exchanger has a crack or several crack, What is problems?.. Maybe bad gas(carbon monoxide) can spread all over the inside house through vents.. That would be not healthy to person.. and sometimes can die.. Is that right??.. (I am not sure).. and Maybe house can be exploded??? (because gas leaking)

[@BenGromicko]

Carbon monoxide poisoning. Yes.

[@CL-ty6wp]

@@BenGromicko Was under the impression that natural gas gives off no CO.

[@scottrichard6579]

@@CL-ty6wp Any appliance that burns fuel can give off CO. Gas ovens, generators, gas fireplaces, wood fireplaces, etc.

[@scottrichard6579]

@@CL-ty6wp there are some novices that will tell you that a furnace with a draft inducer can’t give off CO cause that draft inducer is creating a negative pressure in the heat exchanger. That’s bogus. If the heat exchanger is cracked it’s no longer a sealed unit. Look up videos of flame rollout.

[@CL-ty6wp]

@@scottrichard6579 only with incomplete combustion aka lack of oxygen, nat gas will produce carbon monoxide. I understand how draft works.. lol

[@Marc_Wolfe]

4:50 You call stuff like that... a manifold...

[@BenGromicko]

Sure.

[@phuonglam8192]

😄

[@BenGromicko]

It's fun.

[@CL-ty6wp]

designed to fail, big surprise. Didnt have this problem on oil furnaces. Lots of homes running 50+ y.o. oil furnaces.

[@BenGromicko]

Great point!

[@Jason-wc3fh]

They require maintenance and will soot up. Efficiency is no good and the cost of oil is through the roof. In the end, those wonderful 50+ year old oil furnaces cost the owner a fortune every season.

[@vidalmartinez4710]

I would never have this person come near my home.

[@BenGromicko]

Ha. You got it. Same here.

[@tuvoca825]

I assume this was an inspector trolling you since I got that you were dissecting the patient to show us the disease, not reviving them before it gets laid to rest. I am guessing HVAC technicians scope the inside, but it's better not to mess with it since it is so easy to miss that and is such a high risk evaluation we don't have to do. I would leave that one to the HVAC people if I don't have their training and experience. The best experts know their professional limits and stay in their lane when it comes to any "extra" advice that will cause liability. If you are trained for it, you have to charge for it so you come out ahead on your liability insurance and work and other hassles as well. Never work for free. Never go beyond your scope without up-charging. If you have to do that, it's because they don't value what you are already doing, for some reason. I have talked to real estate agents who cheapen what inspectors do, to try to get a deal or because they don't really understand the value. Those types see us as a surrogate target to divert liability to them. Buyers and sellers both really need to be educated so you aren't seen as the fainting goat in the relationship but as a partner working towards a win-win for the integrity of the homebuying/selling process.

[@bobboscarato1313]

Neither would I!

[@JZX834L]

At least its in an easy place to welder up and put it back into use for another 50 years.

[@BenGromicko]

Yeah, right. Ha.