Today I would like to go over the topic of cracked heat exchangers.

A heat exchanger is a piece of equipment that allows efficient transfer of heat between 2 mediums, in our case, air, without allowing them to mix.

In your gas furnace a heat exchangers purpose is to transfer heat from the gas flame into your home without letting any of the exhaust fumes in.

Here is an example
Not only does this prevent smelly fumes from coming into your home, it also protects you and your family from potentially deadly fire risks and carbon monoxide poising.

Carbon Monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas, that is very hard for people to detect. But when people or pets are exposed to this deadly gas, it gets into the bloodstream and bonds with the hemoglobin in our blood, rendering it useless. Hemoglobin is the compound found in blood that carries oxygen to our brain and other vital organs. Here is an excerpt from wikipedia on carbon monoxide. “Symptoms of mild acute poisoning include lightheadedness, confusion, headaches, vertigo, and flu-like effects; larger exposures can lead to significant toxicity of the central nervous system and heart, and even death. Following acute poisoning, long-term sequelae often occur. Carbon monoxide can also have severe effects on the fetus of a pregnant woman. Chronic exposure to low levels of carbon monoxide can lead to depression, confusion, and memory loss”
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