Original message
| hunterclark07
 |  "Excessive Blue Dust Eminating from Plenum"
, posted Sat 15 Mar 00:50  
I have a Lennox Pulse Furnace that was installed in 1982. I moved into this house over a year ago and ever since have been having problems with an excessive amount of blue/gray dust throughout the house. My wife and 10 month old son actually have blue fibers come out when they blow or wipe their nose. We confirmed that this dust was coming out of the registers. As a result we had our ducts cleaned. This didn't help. I realized that the guy who cleaned the ducts did not clean the heat exchanger or plenum. When I removed the cover to inspect the heat exchanger I noticed that the inside of the plenum was coated with what appeared to be a mat of gray fiberglass insulation. The insulation was quite tattered and there were numerous pieces of loose insulation. I suspect this is the source of the problem. I called my local Lennox Dealer and was told that this material is a sound deading material and is likely made of fiberglass. Does this sound correct? Why would fiberglass sound deadening material or insulation be installed on the inside of the plenum? Isn't the idea to provide clean air, rather than air contaminated with fine fiberglass particles? What do I do? I'm worried about my young son and wife as they have exhibited strange respiratory/allergy-like symptoms over the last year? Is this fiberglass sound deadening material likely the source of our problem? Can I just remove it from inside the plenum? After removal should I have a more responsible company clean my ducts again, making sure they clean the entire system (ie, plenum, heat exchanger, blower, cold air return ducts, hot air ducts, etc)? If the fiberglass sound deadening material isn't to blame, any other ideas as to what might be causing this blue/gray dust? If my furnace was installed in 1982, its unlikely that this is asbestos, correct?
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Replies:
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| yuri
| "Re(1):Excessive Blue Dust Eminating from Plen" , posted Sat 15 Mar 09:22:
I have sold/worked on Pulses since 1982. I would replace that furnace and the plenum/bonnet and possibly the return air duct where it attaches to the furnace (it may be insulated too). Yes it is there for sound deadening and those units are not meant to last forever nor the insulation. There is no asbestos and in those days allergies/air issues were not as important (or so it seemed). It should be pressure tested for a cracked heat exchanger. Some of the parts are getting difficult to get and 25 yrs is the expected lifetime for any furnace. The Lennox G51, G61 and G61MPV are very good replacements for it. Get a large MERV 10 box filter and run the fan continuously with the new furnace and it should clean the particles out. The ducts need thorough cleaning again. Check this link:
http://www.lennox.com/products/overview.asp?model=HC10
Lennox makes a variety of excellent filter systems. Check Lennox.com
Yuri
[this message was edited by yuri on Sat 15 Mar 09:29] |
| | hunterclark07
| "Re(2):Excessive Blue Dust Eminating from Plen" , posted Sat 15 Mar 12:13
Thanks very much for the advice. I appreciate your expertise. Sounds like a new furnace may be in order anyway. We do already have a Merv 11 filter installed, but none of this blue dust appears to collect there. That's one reason I suspected the problem was somewhere downstream the filter. This lead me to inpect the plenum and in turn discover the insulation on the inside of the ducts. Is this "sound deadening insulation" made of fiberglass? If not, what is it made out of? I know there are much more effective soundproofing materials than fiberglass? Maybe not back in the early 80's?
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| | yuri
| "Re(3):Excessive Blue Dust Eminating from Plen" , posted Sat 15 Mar 14:06
It depends on what the contractor chose to use. I always use a commercial black covered board type insulation which is used in commercial ventilation and lasts a long time. They may have used a cheaper, who knows what type. It is NOT good to breath in any fibers of any material so I would get rid of it ASAP. You may want to check with different duct cleaning companies to see who uses a HEPA filtration system and can do an almost asbestos removal type of thorough job. You don't want any lingering fibers in the ductwork. May cost a bit more but your families health is worth it. The G61MPV is an excellent furnace and is coming down in price now that the new G71 space age modulating unit is out.
Yuri
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