Winter is in full swing, and chances are your heating system is working hard to keep your home toasty. But during the busy holidays, you may have forgotten to service your furnace. It's not too late. Having your furnace checked now will ensure it runs safely and efficiently the rest of the chilly season.

You can take care of some furnace maintenance yourself. But most jobs, including an annual tune-up, are best left to specialists trained to service furnaces. A professional inspection should cover all the parts of your furnace--not only the unit itself, but ductwork and registers too. The following tasks are normally included in the service call.

* Oiling the blower axle on an older, belt-driven furnace. Today's blowers have direct-drive motors that don't need to be lubricated because they have sealed bearings.

* Cleaning soot out of the burner and heat exchanger. Residue buildup reduces your furnace's efficiency.

* Inspecting the blower blades.

* Setting the flow of gas, and adjusting the flame's size and color.

* Changing the fuel filter in an oil-fired system.

* Checking the heat exchanger for cracks. The furnace may have to be taken apart to do this correctly.

* Checking a heat pump's compressor, fan, and refrigerant pressure.

* Cleaning a heat pump's indoor and outdoor coils.

* Making sure the ductwork is well sealed, preventing air leaks.

Your ductwork should also be free of dust buildup. Although cleaning ducts isn't necessary every year, this will keep dust and other allergens from blowing into your home. Duct vacuuming is available through duct cleaning companies and some heating specialists. Look in your phone book under "Furnaces--Cleaning" for this service in your area.

Now it's your turn. A little work throughout the season will keep your furnace in check. Regularly vacuum around the furnace, especially near the burner compartment, to prevent a buildup of dust and lint. Also replace or clean the furnace filter--in most cases, once a month. Exactly how often, however, depends on your filter type and whether your furnace runs continuously. And if you have an in-duct humidifier, clean its reservoir with white vinegar and regularly treat the water with chlorine tablets to control mildew.

Regular Maintenance is required to keep your Manufactures Warranty.

How Will Your Air Conditioning Perform This Summer?

Poor maintenance is a primary reason for many air conditioning breakdowns. This is especially true prior to starting up air conditioning units for the first time in the cooling season and during heavy use in the hotter months. Here are nine maintenance tips for smaller hermetically sealed units that you can use to help avoid costly breakdowns.

2. Crankcase Heater

A critical control for most rooftop and pad-mounted units is the crankcase heater, usually a strap-on heater strip attached to the hermetic motor-compressor unit. At the beginning of the cooling season, before starting a unit, the crankcase heater must be energized. Verify this with a clamp-on ammeter. The crankcase heater should be energized for at least eight hours before running the compressor and should be left energized for the rest of the season.

These are the outside fins or coils, and they should be cleaned at least twice per year; once before start-up, and once before peak cooling demand (typically in July).

The motor-compressor starter should be inspected prior to start-up. The contacts are a common cause of problems and should be inspected and replaced on a scheduled basis. At the same time, terminal connections should be checked and tightened.

Most systems have moisture filters and indicators. Once the compressor is up and running, check the color indicator. If moisture is present have your service technician take appropriate steps to clean, dry and repair the system.

If your system has ever needed a refrigerant charge because it was low on refrigerant, it is very likely you'll need a recharge sometime again, unless all leaks were identified and repaired.

Check for leaks if conditions warrant, not only for operational reasons, but to protect the environment.

These are the inside coils/fins. These heat transfer surfaces need to be clean and air flow unobstructed. Change air filters regularly and keep a log to document the work.

"Line disturbances" are often cited as the cause of air conditioning equipment losses. Improve your level of protection by installing surge protection, a programmable thermostat and phase protection. See the full-text of this article and previous Locomotive articles for more information about electrical protection.

Make regular visual checks of equipment. Pay attention to patterns of noise, vibration, speed, temperature and pressure. Any change in normal operating characteristics is a warning. Call a service technician and correct the problem at once.

These suggestions are intended to complement the equipment manufacturers' recommendations, not replace them.  Check air conditioning equipment prior to start-up and continue regular maintenance to help keep your equipment running longer and more efficiently.