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Model number?

If you can measure the current of the HSI, it would tell you if it's getting a bit weaker. It's very accurate when you have a baseline. You should write it down if you do change it.

The ignitor can be cheap enough. Same with the capacitor for the blower motor if it has one.

However, if it starts up without fuss every time, I wouldn't worry too much. You can record a video and post it to YouTube then link it here. It will let us listen to the startup, and maybe hear anything going on.

 

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I see 331930-751 for the ignitor. It's not so cheap. While your at it, replace or clean the flame sensor, which is cheap. LH680534

PS. Carrier owns Payne.

 

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I looked up photos of the 331930-751, my ignitor does not look like that. This is what my ignitor looks like, and the spare I got was made by Robertshaw and it was actually a little less than $20.

I cleaned the burners, flame sensor, and vaccumed all the dust out of the furnace about a year and a half ago, so I'm good there.

View attachment 679756

Maybe sometime converted it, or the carrier portal is wrong. It happens.

 

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Is it no longer a thing for people to have their neighbor check the house while away?
If I ever have to go away for an extended period I always let my next door neighbor know and she will check on the house and call me if anything happens. And if it's winter I would leave the number for a heating company.
Worst case you have to pay a bill for a repair that you could've done yourself, but it's better than letting the house freeze

If you have a neighbour that you're friendly with, close enough to make that viable. Some people live in some remote places.

 

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Yeah I know this, and that's why I was hesitant to replace it. But I would argue that at over 9 years old (probably significantly more) my old igniter was probably quickly approaching the right side of that curve, and that's why I did want to replace it.

Don't worry, ignitors are consumable. They are common to wear out and be replaced and you were easily into that territory. It's working, you did a good job.

 

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Also just one other thing, I was able to find what I think is the resistance spec of this igniter at room temperature. Seems like it is supposed to be between 40 and 100 ohms.

The new igniter is 62.9 ohms. The old one I took out is 108 ohms. So yeah despite feeling a little leery about replacing a part just before I leave home, I don't trust that old one based on the resistance.

You'd benefit from getting a cheap clamp on multimeter. $30-50 range. There are some that are cat III rated at that price range. You'll want to measure the current at startup and write it down. It'll also be really useful for troubleshooting other parts in the future. No rush on it.

 

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I speak from experience here: The best thing you can do if you have to leave a residence for days or weeks, is to set up electric space heaters all over the house, maybe four of them. Set their thermostats to come on if the temp falls below 50. Then set your house furnace to 60 F. If your house furnace fails for ANY reason, the house temperature will gradually fall to 50 F, causing the space heaters to pick up the slack and prevent your house and plumbing from freezing.

You can monitor your house temps remotely in a variety of ways. It is no longer important to monitor temps continuously, because this system is fail-safe. It's sufficient to check the temps once or twice a week.

Since most space heaters just have a rotary dial temperature setting without numbers, I calibrate them in my garage near 50 F and tape or ink a mark on the knob that corresponds to 50 F.

Consumer portable electric space heaters are not rated for unattended use. It voids their warranty and can lead to insurance issues. At least all of the models I've looks at say so.

 

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Yeah I think from a purely technical standpoint it's kind of a good idea to leave a space heater "on" but at a very low temperature setting so the intent is that it won't ever actually run except in an emergency. And I did think about that.

But, from a practical standpoint, leaving a space heater plugged in and "on" in any way when I'm leaving the house for weeks to maybe months? Naw, that doesn't sound good.

Yea, your plan is safer. Drain the water, including toilet reservoirs, and maybe pour a bit of RV antifreeze in the bowls. If it's really cold where you live, you could run some pipe trace heating on the water line up to the shutoff, and insulate it. Freezing the mainline underground is still a possibility when you're not using it, but there isn't much you can do about that.