The furnace went out this weekend. (No problem. Only 15 below zero... Fahrenheit, mind you... with winds howling over 30 miles per hour.) Turns out the intake pipe (that leads outside) was clogged. The technician lifted the pipe out of the socket where it connects to the furnace and moved it aside an inch or so, allowing the furnace to suck in air from the room instead. He assured me the furnace can operate just fine on room air until temperatures warm up outside (i.e. spring, which is weeks away) and the pipe clears, at which point I can reconnect it. My question: Is he right? Is room air just fine for my furnace? If so, then why was it designed to use outside air in the first place?
I'm also wondering why they put the exhaust pipe right next to the intake pipe, since it was probably steam from the exhaust pipe that clogged the intake pipe. Geez, the intake pipe must be sucking in exhaust all the time! That can't be good! Seems like they should be separated as much as possible...
RW