Thread: Oil furnace in crawl space

Hi everyone,

It's the first time I see an Oil furnace in a crawl space and I wonder if there's something specific that I should check out on this installation. It gets pretty humid in some crawl space where I'm from (Montreal), so shouldn't the duck be insulated to avoid condensation ?

What if there's an oil leak, the home owner will rarely if ever go down there… Even though he should replace regularly his filter.

What would be your suggestions if there's any ?

Thank you for your help

Why would you expect condensation to form on the heat duct?

Condensation can easily occur in a crawlspace as evidenced in the photo during summer months. Have seen it on several furnaces located in old stone rubble crawlspaces, dirt floor can become very damp.

Secondly, the oil line should not be in contact with soil or any concrete, it should be orange plastic coating on fuel lines.

Also the supply manifold is a disaster, appears to have been done without any concern to good practice.

An oil burning furnace shoulld have the burner nozzle changed, and if it is an older furnace, have it changed once a year.

They are getting a cheap house that needs a lot of work, so they should plan to spend an additional $150 a year on servicing that old monster in the crawlspace. Other than that, just keep an eye on it, and get a CO alarm.

Thank you guys for your fast help…it's really appreciated !

In my area, oil lines are usually buried in the ground from the tank to the house.