Derek ColeGM, Simmons One Hour Heating & Air · AI HVAC Answers

Causes of a Cracked Heat Exchanger | HVAC Tips

2 Jan 2021 · 2 min

Watch on YouTube

1:32

In this video Derek Cole explains why heat exchangers crack and how the cause varies by HVAC brand. He notes that manufacturers use different materials—aluminum, steel, or aluminized metal—which affect how the exchanger is formed and where weak spots develop. Carrier, Goodman, and Trane each have distinct construction methods, leading to different crack patterns. Goodman’s heat exchangers are highlighted for reinforcing the curved sections of the tubes, which are typically the weakest points, and this reinforcement underpins their lifetime warranty. The fundamental mechanism behind cracking is thermal expansion and contraction: repeated heating and cooling stress the metal until it eventually fails. Cole advises regular maintenance to inspect for early signs of cracking, preventing larger problems.

Chapters

Depending on the brand you have depends on if you have aluminum, steel, or just kind of aluminized metal. So depending on what you have depends on how it's formed and depends on where cracks set. So a Carrier will crack differently than a Goodman or a Trane because they're made differently. Now what the Goodman product does is it actually Uh, reinforces the weak side. So you see their heat exchanger actually goes like this, like a tube, but they reinforce all the curves because what happens is every time you curve, that metal gets weak, is a weak spot. So usually what you see cracks or failures in, or anything were to rust or crack, would be in those weak spots, which would be the curves the edges because it's not reinforced. That's one of the reasons why Goodman gives a lifetime warranty on their heat exchanger for a gas furnace is because it doesn't fail because it has this reinforced edge on each of the weak spots. So as it gets hot, of course it expands. As it's cool, it contracts. So you get enough of this going on, eventually it's going to get weak enough to crack. So it's always a good idea to have a maintenance done just to check all this out to make sure you're not in that spot where there is a crack and you could be having a problem.