# Williams wall furnace whistling noise



## Guest (Jul 2, 2004)

boy!, after 6 months and 260 views, nobody has offered a possibile solution. I must really have a unique problem. Of course it doesnt matter now, it's summer. But come next winter i'll be cussing and scratching my head!.


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## Guest (Jul 7, 2004)

This sounds like a Gas Problem. I believe that the New Gas Company May have the Pressure Set higher coming out of the Tank. This would cause the Very cold Metal heat exchanger to resonate while heating up . The greater the temperature difference the louder it would sound. Try turning the Pressure down. For most propane Furnaces it should be 11 inches of water coloumn.


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## Guest (Jul 10, 2004)

Does it have the proper size burner orfices in it? Pressure regulator checked? Is the draft of cold air coming in strong enough to act as a "whistle" as it comes across sheetmetal edges (like blowing across the edge of a sheet of paper)?


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## Guest (Nov 28, 2004)

Sounds like a propane pressure problem. I wish i could help more than that but i dont work on propane units. Ive seen this in natural gas when line is restricted some. The whistling u hear is from the propane being forced to fast.
Like when u turn on a facet just a little and it makes noise.


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## Chandler (Jan 14, 2005)

You must have either a gas supply problem or an air supply problem. Check for a plugged orifice, insufficient air supply or improper gas pressures.


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## kingfarouk (Feb 28, 2005)

If you haven't found a solution yet here's an idea for your problem. Being the fact that you said the whistling stops after the cabin heats up, this leads me to believe that it's the burner. Vanguard had the same problem with their wall mounted blue flame heaters. In sounds like the ports (holes) in the burner aren't drilled properly. That could be from manufacturing, being old, being plugged up, etc. Once the burner is heated metal expands and hence the holes open more and whistling stops. Best solution would be to replace the burner. Hope this helps.


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## rabadger (Feb 24, 2005)

When it makes the noise check to see if you have a sooting problem. Regulators on outdoor LP tanks can freeze and cause strainge things to happen. Does the heating guy show up when you open the cabin and is he there when you first turn up the thermostat? If he were to have the pressure guage in place then you turn up the stat he could check to see what the pressure is doing when the sound stops. If you have ever used a gas grille in the winter the sound is actually coming from the tank and regualtor. Once the pressure comes up in the tank you will get a better pressure drop across the regulator and the regulator diaphram will start working again. You need the LP tank guy and the furnace guy their at the same time before you turn down the stat. Find out what regulator is on the tank and call the regulator mfg so they can explain it. In Indiana most furnace people will not touch the LP tank regulator.


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## Guest (Mar 31, 2006)

*I know what you mean...*

... I live in CA. Just last week my William heater made a hissing/whistling noise for the 1st time. For the next two days, I noticed when I put the thermostat at 70, the heater would keep going to 85 degrees - way to hot! I called the gas co. to come and check - all is OK. So by process of elimination it has to be the thermostat. Check out your thermostat! Best to you.


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## #CARRIERMAN (Oct 18, 2006)

Hi diyer mi

Your request was the one that inticed me to join. Hope you get this because the solution is simple. Most wall furnaces due to ease were installed with a flex gas line. No one seems to undertand the gas value. What is causing your whistle is the gas line is too small, just bump it one size. You shoud be fine then.

Rusty


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## lauriemariee (Nov 21, 2006)

*i hear the whistling too!*

so, about a month or so ago, around the time we turned the heat on (at the time, i didnt make this connection) i started hearing a faint whistling noise everywhere in the house, kind of like an old squeaky swing set and it is so very consistent. every few seconds and it does it again. anyways, i mentioned it to my mom the other day... and she thought i was crazy, she couldnt hear it and neither could my sister. i also complained about the noise to my friends.. everyone thought i sounded crazy  anyways, last night i was in the basement doing some laundry and i noticed the noise was especially loud down there. today, i was helping my brother change some flourescent bulbs in the basement and i told him to stop and listen. he heard it too!! anyways, it was coming from where the furnace is. our furnace is about 35 years old believe it or not, and still is great *KNOCK ON WOOD* anyways, today i was going out to walk my dog and i heard the whistling VERY loud outside. i walked over by the gas meter and it was coming from that area!! mystery solved! i told my mom and now she believes me. hah. anyways, i googled the whistilng to see if it's a bad thing and i found this site.. just thought i'd share my experience. i still don't know if it's a bad thing.


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## keithv (Oct 23, 2007)

diyer_mi said:


> I've tried a couple of other forums but havent been able to come up with any ideas. I found this forum and hopefully someone here can lend some insight.................... This is tricky, I'll try to explain as best I can. I have a Williams wall furnace in my northern MI cabin. I leave it on 55' when we leave and it always operates fine. It is mounted in an exterior wall immediately next to an entry door. The flue goes directly up thru the roof. When we arrive during the winter and the cold air enters the room where it is mounted, the furnace will kick on and then start a loud whistling, like a train whistle, extremely loud. I'm not kidding when I say loud, it's actually ear piercing. I've had 2 different licensed contractors out to look at it but they cannot figure it out. After the cabin heats up it doesn't make the noise anymore. It's only when the air it's intaking is cold. The furnace never made the noise for the first 5 years. Yes, I've cleaned it thouroughly and checked all connections. The hvac contractors put meters and test equipment on it too. I have one key factor. It started after I switched propane companies and they installed a new pig a few years ago outside. You cannot get a human to answer the phone at Williams and it is very frustrating. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated...thanks in advance..Joe


You have a defective burner. I have sold Williams wall funaces since the 70's and they have used 3 different ones on their "Forsaire" furnaces. For years they used a cast iron burner and in the 80's started using a "stamped steel" burner. This burner on propane made an unbelievable roaring sound on propane only, it was fine on natural gas furnaces. After 2-3 years of trying to figure it out they went back to the cast iron burner on LPG. They have used a stainless steel burner for the last 10 years or so. I cannot figure out why the burner didn't whistle from day one, most of them did and there was no solution other than to change the burner.


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