Name that dial! (Or, please help me identify this thing.)

[Guest]

So our furnace started acting wonky today, which isn't great during an Idaho January and financially tight (to say the least) times at my house. I'm trying to troubleshoot with the help of google, and noticed this dial above the furnace (gas furnace, in the garage). It's Honeywell and set to "off":

 

 

 

 

As you can see, there are other settings. But we have no idea what it is, or when/if it should be on, or to what setting. 

 

We've lived here 2 years but the house is 10 years old. Yes, we are deficient in some areas as homeowners. Please be nice. :)

[Backroads]

I went downstairs to see if we had one (our house is significantly older) and alas, nothing. Sorry.

[Guest]

Could you get a closer picture?  And could you open the mostly transparent cover on the top portion?

[Guest]

It's up pretty high, but I'll give it a shot.

 

Someone suggested it might be controls to a humidifier. That would be a neat discovery (but probably wouldn't help much with the furnace issue).

[Guest]

If it is a humidifier control, you'd have to also have a water line going to the furnace.  Do you see one?  It is usually a ductile copper line--like 1/4" diameter or so.

Edited January 4, 2016 by Guest

[Just_A_Guy]

I think Carborendum's got it.  This looks awfully familiar:

 

Edited January 5, 2016 by Just_A_Guy

[Guest]

I disagree with that temperature guide.

 

For a dry climate like Utah, you want to increase the humidity as the temperature outside goes down for better heating.  Max 40%  45%.  As you approach warmer months you can lower the humidity for better cooling results.  Min 20%.

 

If you have varying outside conditions, you'll have to adjust accordingly.  A lot of rain outside?  You may want to lower the humidity a bit...

 

Here in Texas, it's humid almost all the time.  So, we just keep it down at 40% all the time.  Yes, I said "down" at 40%.

Edited January 5, 2016 by Guest

[Guest]

Thanks, guys. We found a manual for a humidifier tucked next to the furnace, so you're spot on. So we just turn it on and it will do what it does?

 

I'm wondering if this will help our furnace problem after all. It might be a long shot, but our old home teacher thinks that when it warms up a bit after a cold snap (like what happened today), there is an increase in condensation in some specific place in the furnace (where it lights I think?) which then freezes, and causes the problem we're having. Either coincidentally or not, running a space heater next to the furnace seems to have helped. Or all of the praying and smacking the thing and fiddling with a switch of unknown purpose. Or a combination. At any rate, we're warm for the time being. 

[Guest]

And it's not working again, and not responding to my threats. My mechanically inclined nephew is here trying to figure it out.

[Backroads]

Eowyn will be on the news when her house explodes.

[Guest]

Just don't charge a hoverboard near it.

[kapikui]

What is it doing?

[Guest]

We ended up calling an HVAC guy, who finally figured out the circuit board is bad. We have to replace it. He's a friend and didn't charge us, so I trust that diagnosis.