Flooring under furnace
 

I have a newer Bryant gas furnace in my basement. It was installed on a floor which is made up of older thick vinyl tile. When the furnace runs it ends up moving slightly on the floor, causing some of the runs to squeal.

I'd like to slide something under the furnace to keep it from moving. I thought about sliding a piece of carper underneath, but is it ok to have a furnace on carpet?

A cushoned rubber mat would make more since to me to use.
Less likly to move around or mold up.

Move???
 

Causing some of the runs to squeal??? What does that mean???

Is something out of balance? How does a furnace that is tied into ductwork move? (assuming it is tied into ductwork)

You need to fix the problem first, then a rubber mat makes sense.

Yes the furnace is tied into duct work. From what I can tell it vibrates a little when it runs, causing it to slide on the floor. It doesn't move much, but enough to cause a squeak between the cold air return connection and the furnace.

I'm planning on renovating the room within the next year, I'd just like to do something temporary to stop the noise for now. Will putting a piece of carpet with a rubber base under it cause any kind of fire hazard. this is really my only concern at this point.

Grainger should sell rubber pads for this. They are little maybe 2" x 2" pads. Get four and stick 'em in each corner.

This will work as well. Again I just want to ensure this doesn't cause a fire hazard in any way.

Well it's an upflow so the heat is up on top of the furnace and blowing up so I doubt carpet would cause an issue but I still wouldn't use that. Those pads are meant for exactly this reason. Vibration isolation pads (dampers) are their true name.

I will look into those. Thank you for that. Are they very thick? I can't move the furnace up too much because of all the gas pipes and duct so I'm really looking for something as thin as possible

squeek
 

I have seen flexible connectors which attach to your duct work with regular duct drives. They are like the accordion on an old time camera. If the squeaking is coming from the top of the plenum where it joins the main supply duct, this is what you will need. It really sounds like you are getting an unusual amount of vibration though to get squeaking. You may get some relief by injecting clear neutral cure silicone wherever metal is rubbing against metal. Tool it with a spatula, and turn off the furnace till it sets up.

Doc or one of the other pros may be able to tell you where to get the flexible connector.

Sorry
 

Sorry,

I said plenum, didnt notice return, but same thing applies, isolation. BTW if you want really thin rubber, go see a single ply roofer in your area and ask him for a small piece of 60 mil EPDM.

I went to home depot and got some rubber pads that go under furniture. I put two of them under the furnace and it seems to have solved the problem. Way easier than trying to slide a carpet under the entire furnace. Thanks for the tips everyone!