Is there any problem with a gas furnace being shut down over the winter?

If a gas furnace has been unused (turned off and no gas coming to it) for an entire winter season - is there any damage being done to it? It is a 2 year old unit that had no problem - just not being used. The unit is on a slab in a dirt floor basement - there is no heat source there except for a gas water heater so it is overall very cold and damp. Thanks in advance for any response

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    'The' Jake ? Long time, no talk. Howzit ?
    As long as it's non-condensing, should be no problem. Will need a good cleaning / check-out. Nothing quite like the smell of dead fried mouse carcass in the morning !
    Check especially burners, fire box, vent fan / vent duct for unexpected suprises before fire-up. Also airflow, safeties, temp rise, etc, of course.
    If occupied space - expect some smoke / smell on first fireup from dust. Warn occupants.
    If condensing - check condensate trap & line for freeze cracks.
    

On Feb 18, 11:24 am, .p.jm.@see_my_sig_for_address.com wrote:
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Thanks - I am not the Jake you know - I am new to the group and just created that ID. But doing GREAT! Thanks for the great advice and help. Hate to show my ignorance but how do I know if it is condensing or not.

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    If you have to ask .......
    What you need is to have a good knowledgable HVAC tech check it out. As to how to find a **GOOD** one ? I leave you to your own devices, there is no magic answer to that. Do not call your fuel supplier- their 'techs' are actually 'salesmen', selling new equipment. Look for a dealer of whatever brand it is, that does NOT also sell fuel. Do not hire anyone named Jesus - he does good salvation work, but sucks at furnace inspections.
    But if someone comes in and says 'You need a new unit' - he's very likely **MAYBE** full of shit. Try another company. You MAY, or may NOT, need a new unit. For that kind of money, get at least two, maybe THREE, opinions. Pay for each of them, of course. Well worth it. Do NOT use anyone that advertises or offers 'free checkout / startup' etc - they're just looking to get a salesman in your door. No LEGIT company offers 'free inspections', they can't stay in busines doing HONEST inspections for free.
    Inspection should require no more than their standard 'minimum service charge', whatever it may be. If they recommend repairs - you're on your own. Small dollar shit that they can show you - probably OK. Big dollar shit that they say 'Well, you can't see it, but the heat exchanger is cracked' or some shit - be WERY cautious !!
    Expect a charge of maybe $ 50 - 100 $, which should include travel & 1/2 hour at the unit, which is plenty of time to inspect it right, and discuss any problems foudn and show them to you / your son.
    Of course, if the first guy says 'You need a new unit because', and he can SHOW YOU the fire box rotted out and falling apart, etc, that's legit. If he has a list of 'terminal problems' that 'you can't see it, but ....' - throw his ass out.

And if you don't have a CO2 detector ( and smoke detectors ) - GET ONE ( or more ) !!!!

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CO?? or CO2??

wrote:
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    Hey - global warming, dude ;-)

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If its a condensing furnace it will be vented with PVC instead of metal.

Jake wrote:
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Hi, Dampness can cause rusting. If house is too cold, damage can occur on plumbing or structure. I don't know how cold it gets there. Where I am it gets down as low as -30F. Not having minimal heat in the house during winter is a big No, No.

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Thx much - House is occupied - My son and his wife live there - he is in construction and out of work for a couple months (self employed so no unemployment) and needs what money he can scrape up to feed the family - I have been making the house payments - he is using a woodstove to heat the house and surprisingly it is doing the job quite (except for morning when it might be 58inside when it is teens outside - house is normally high 60's) Thx again

As another poster wrote, cold and damp is a concern. Would be good idea to run it once or twice if possible.
Perhaps you can use the "fan on" setting to at least run the blower now and again. Help keep the humidity from rusting out the furnace.
Now, if it was seriously dry, I'd say no worries. But, humid is a concern.

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How in the fuck will running the fan lower the humidity?
Tip: Try and get you money back from the "Close Cover Before Striking" HVAC school.

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    PFM.
    He sent in his copy of the little puppy face drawing, and got rejected :-)

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Lol! I've been coming here off and on for well over a decade and the mormun hasn't gotten even a BIT brighter.

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    I really think he just enjoys the punishment. Kind of a Mormon version of Opus Dei or something.

HVAC wrote:
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His entertainment quotient is invaluable. May he never stop posting.
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Have you gotten any politer?

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f*ck off moron

wrote:
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    IOW, 'yes, he has' :-)
    That's one of the NICER thigns that's been said to Stormy over the years here :-)

I dare say you're about 0.0001% politer than last week. Good job! Here's a gold star for today.....