detector started to sound. He quickly turned off the heat and then had to fan the area around the smoke detector to get it to stop the alarm. There was no sign of smoke or smell, but then again he had acted quickly to turn everything off. Oviously there is a problem and he is calling someone in the AM, but do you think it is serious? He stayed awake for a good 2 hours to make sure nothing was happening. Or is this just normal when you first turn it on each year?
Yes it could be serious, No it is not normal. Probably the fan motor, but let the repair guy check it out.
Yes, it's normal. Setting off smoke detectors make me think the furnace is really dirty. Just have him schedule a cleaning. Safe, but not wise to leave it.
Hopefully something like a oily substance got coated on the heat exchanger and caused some smoke. Lat us know what the tech findings was.
I suspect nothing is wrong. Very fine dust gets past the filter and settles on the elements or the outside of the the heat exchanger. It's not unusual for the smoke detector to go off the first time heat is turned on. If he has already used it this year he definitely has a problem.
