"--The manual talks about upflow, upflow installed horizontally, and downflow. Can someone please give me a simple explanation so I can understand what I have and which part of the manual applies?"

- Upflow = direction of air flow is from bottom to top of furnace.
- Downflow = direction of air flow is from top to bottom of furnace.
- Installed horizontally = furnace is installed sideways.

"--Assuming I have an upflow furnace, I just can't find the two latches on the blower door where the filter supposedly it. (Sheesh--what's a blower door?)"

- Should be esy to find the latches and filter. A blower door is an access door to the blower fan in the furnace.

"I do have an electronic air cleaner that sits on top of the furnace. And someone told me that that's the only filter I have. Could that be true?"

- Possibly, but I think you should also have a 1-inch standard filter somewhere in that air handler. The info in the link below says the furnace comes with a washable filter.

Here is a link that might be useful: XL80 info

Thanks for your reply garyg.

The photo on the page that you linked is an upflow, according to the manual. Mine looks the same except the "grated" part is on the bottom, which makes me think my furnace is a downflow--which also explains why I can't find the latches.

The upflow has a washable filter. Not clear about the downflow except this is what the manual says about its location:

"Downflow/Horizontal furnaces use 2 standard size permanent type air filters which may be located remote to the furnace or in the return air duct. Check with your dealer for the location of your filters."

Do I really have to call the dealer?!?!

Meg:

The grated section is the furnace itself, the other section is the air handler with the blower fan.

Is this furnace in the attic? If it is, your filter(s) may be located in a return duct vent so the filter is easily accessible to the homeowner (most homeowners don't go into the attic to change filters). The return duct openings can be located on every floor. They will be the ducts that suck air in. You'll have to check all of the return air vents to see if the filter is located in the return as noted in the manual.

Best to you.

Thanks garyg,

Our furnace is in the garage. I think the answer is that the main filter is in the electronic air cleaner which I've only recently discovered has not been on.

This whole thing is a mess and I guess I just have to bite the bullet and call the installer/dealer. Hopefully I haven't done any damage.

I've checked the returns and I don't see a filter in either of them.

Thanks again for your help!

meg

You should ask your installing dealer to show you the maintenance/cleaning procedures of your EAC and the frequency of these procedures. These EACs can be problematic and not work effectively unless these procedures are religiously followed. Dealer should also provide all homeowner literature on your system both furnace,EAC, condenser, and thermostat.

Good LucK1

tigerdunes,

I'm embarrassed to say that this whole thing is a mess because we've been in the house several months now and we really haven't done anything. I don't even think the EAC was on, let alone working effectively. (In our old house we had an oil burning furnace and there were no filters or homeowner maintenance issues.)

I have the manuals and have read them, or have tried to figure it out. So the next step is to try to clean the EAC filter myself, then call the dealer/installer.

Thanks for your response.

Thanks Tigerdunes,

It's the Honeywell F300.

I have the manual. It looks like there's a pre-filter, a post-filter (optional?), and the cell (which can be cleaned at a car wash or in the dishwasher, but I don't think I'll be doing that. Fear of bending wires.)

I'm going to need a ladder to get to the thing. And there is no clear illustration of how to expose the filters and cells. I'm going to go to their site later.

Thanks again for being so patient. (Our last home had an oil burning furnace. There were no filters and no maintenance required other than having someone come out to clean it. I'm getting a lesson in home ownership.)

Garyg and tigerdunes,

I spoke to the dealer/installer today and he was great about everything. He's coming over tomorrow to show me what needs to be done and to check out our system. Apparently all the filters are in the Electronic Air Cleaner--not hidden somewhere in our house. Also, the EAC was probably on, it just wasn't lit up when I happened to check it. The light only goes on when there is air passing through.

Hopefully we'll get a clean bill of health tomorrow. Thanks again for your help.

Good job, Meg.

I would be thinking of additional questions to ask the installer while you have him there. Any questions on your thermostat, air conditioner, etc?

Best to you.

Thanks for the reminder Gary. I'll definitely be thinking of questions.

I would like to know why we have only one zone, and why we have a furnace that works at only 80% efficiency. I guess the answer is that I am to blame for not looking into these things when we purchased this spec house. You would think that the builder would have jumped at the chance to point out these things so that we would upgrade.