Williams wall furnace

[49er]

We have a propane fueled top vent furnace that out of the blue yesterday morning started making a quite loud pop every time the burner shuts down. It does this if the burner has only been on for a few seconds or for over an hour. I replaced the gas valve a couple of years ago because the original valve was sticking open on shutdown. Other than the pop, the furnace is operating normally.

We've had Williams and prior to that Coleman wall furnaces in our house for 50 years and this is the first time we've ever had this popping noise. Does anyone have any suggestions of things we could check that might be causing this?

Thanks

 

[Lennox65]

We have a propane fueled top vent furnace that out of the blue yesterday morning started making a quite loud pop every time the burner shuts down. It does this if the burner has only been on for a few seconds or for over an hour. I replaced the gas valve a couple of years ago because the original valve was sticking open on shutdown. Other than the pop, the furnace is operating normally.

We've had Williams and prior to that Coleman wall furnaces in our house for 50 years and this is the first time we've ever had this popping noise. Does anyone have any suggestions of things we could check that might be causing this?

Thanks

That is called "Extinction pop". It happens when unburned propane is ignited in the burner after shutdown. I am not familiar with your furnace, but in direct vent fireplaces it is usually caused by improper air/fuel mix.

"Extinction pop is a little different from flashback, but sometimes the two symptoms occurs on the same gas burner.
* Extinction pop most often occurs on propane appliances. The primary cause is reduced gas velocity. The lower velocity causes a lower flame speed atop the burner allowing the flame to drop back inside the burner as the valve shuts down.The rich fuel then expands back to a combustible mixture and the hot burner reignites than small amount of trapped gas. It is not a safety issue.
In a new appliance this can be caused by too low a gas pressure, or excessive primary air, rectify by correct adjustments. But in an older appliance, it is often due to enlargement of burner ports over time, requiring the burner be replaced.
* Flashback generally occurs on a cold burner, when the gas pressure is out of specification required to obtain the correct velocity to propel the gas upward from the burner at the instant of ignition. Thus the gas/air mix in the burner is ignited and the force blows the incoming gas back to the orifice and the flame burns at the air shutter accompanied by a fluttering undersized flame atop the burner, a yellow flame at the air shutter and a loud fluttering noise. The poor combustion also produces a strong aldehyde odor.
If this occurs often, this is generally solved by bringing the gas pressure and air shutter setting into specifications, it is important to address, because burning at the orifice will fill the burner with soot and can cause safety issues to develop. However, if only an occasional occurrence, there is an issue with cold air pressure I the vent of a heating appliance that occasionally causes extreme pressure on the burner which is overcome as the exhaust draft is established."

 

[49er]

Thanks for the reply and detailed explanation Lennox65. It's good to know that it's not a safety issue.

There are no air adjustments to be made on this furnace and I checked the gas pressures and they are fine. 13" at the tank regulator and 10.5" at the burner manifold.

Our furnace is 15 years old so it sounds like worn burners might be the most likely cause. I will order a couple to have on hand but most likely won't change them out till summer unless the extinction pop gets worse. The entire burner and valve assembly needs to be removed as a unit to replace the burners and I'm a bit nervous to do that in the middle of winter.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[49er]

Bringing this thread to a close, I replaced the burners yesterday morning and the extinction pop is completely gone. I've attached a couple of pictures of the new and old burners for reference.

Thanks a bunch again Lennox65, I would not have known the burners could be the problem without the information you provided.