Hi all, I've had a very strange problem with my furnace lately. It's happened about ten times that when the thermostat clicks and it should start putting out heat again, the furnace does not turn on. When this happens overnight the house temperature drops 15 degrees, or if it is during the day we'll notice it after a couple degree drop. So here is the strange thing -- to get the furnace running again, I walk over to the gas stove and turn on one of the burners, and within 10 seconds I hear the furnace start up.
When this first started happening I tried messing with the thermostat and breaker in addition to turning on the gas stove, but the last several times I've gotten it restarted solely by turning on the stove. The furnace is a '91 Janitrol. Does anyone know if it might have a gas pressure sensor that prevents it from turning on if the gas pressure is too high or low? I was wondering if turning on the stove regulates the pressure so the furnace can start up.
I described this to the gas company and they said it sounded like a furnace problem, and I called an HVAC friend and he did not have any ideas, so I was hoping someone might have ideas or some kind of experience with this. Any thoughts are appreciated!
Kevin