What goes wrong with gas regulators on furnaces or boilers?
Gas pressure too high:: Some technicians have informed us that as the gas valve regulator on some gas furnaces or boilers age over several years, the spring inside the regulator (and determining the regulator output pressure) can weaken. A weakened spring inside of a gas regulator can allow the gas pressure to increase beyond the BTU rating of the heat exchanger. This same condition could occur if the regulator is simply not properly adjusted in the first place. Adjustment of a gas regulator might also be necessary if the gas piping from source (meter or tank) to the appliance is long or is too small in diameter. If the gas regulator delivers gas at too high a pressure the gas flame may be also too big (and too hot), which can accelerate rusting and can warp the heat exchanger at its lower joints causing a “crack” to appear. A cracked heat exchanger on a gas appliance is unsafe. Our correspondent, Charles commented that: After loosing three heat exchangers in two different homes that h
