How Jake prevents rollout, protects the heat exchanger, and keeps older home installs safe and code-strong.
80,000 BTU 80% AFUE Upflow/Horizontal Single Stage Goodman Gas Furnace - GR9S800803BN
🏚️ 1. Why Flame Rollout Happens More in Older Homes
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Older homes have… character.
Jake calls it:
“Personality that tries to burn your eyebrows off if you’re not paying attention.”
Flame rollout occurs when flames push out of the burner compartment instead of being cleanly drawn through the heat exchanger.
This is not normal—ever.
And older homes create the perfect environment for surprise rollout because of:
✔️ Return air leakage
Basements often pull:
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Cat hair
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Dryer lint
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Sawdust
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Cobwebs
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Mold flakes
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Construction debris
Right into the blower.
These clog the secondary heat exchanger, restricting airflow.
✔️ Undersized or blocked returns
Many older homes still rely on:
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One tiny hallway return
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Leaky wall cavity returns
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Missing return trunks
Low return volume = negative pressure = flame disturbance.
✔️ Chimney draft issues
Common in older structures:
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Oversized masonry flues
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Cold chimneys
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No liner
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Sluggish draft
This causes backdrafting, which disturbs burner flame alignment.
✔️ Hidden combustion air restrictions
Laundry rooms and back utility rooms often “borrow air” from:
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Tight doors
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Insulated basements
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Kitchen remodels
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Weatherstripping
Restricted combustion air = flame lift + rollout.
Jake has seen perfectly installed furnaces roll flames simply because a homeowner replaced a basement door with a tight-seal slab.
So he built a shield-first method to stop rollout before start-up.
🛡️ 2. Jake’s Shield-First Philosophy
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Before gas, wiring, or thermostat connections…
Jake installs flame rollout protection and heat shielding first.
Why?
“By the time you smell rollout, you’re already late.”
Jake’s shield-first workflow ensures:
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Proper burner isolation
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Clean flame path
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Zero heat exchanger bypass
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No rollout surprises at first fire
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Coded and safe combustion air pathway
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Proof-safe readings with rollout switches
This is critical when dealing with older homes that can unpredictably:
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Leak air
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Restrict air
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Backdraft
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Dump dust into the furnace
🧰 3. Tools Jake Uses for Rollout Prevention
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Jake always brings:
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Combustion analyzer
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Mini magnetic level
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High-temp rollout shield
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Sheet metal snips
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Smoke pen / draft stick
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Inspection camera
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Torch/detection kit
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Tape measure
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High-temp furnace gasket tape
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Combustion air intake gauge
Anything older than 1970 gets the “heavy inspection.”
🛡️ Jake’s Shield-First Approach (Step-by-Step)
🔍 4. Step 1 — Inspect the Heat Exchanger Before Anything Else
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Jake’s rule:
“Always inspect the heat exchanger before you even open the gas valve.”
Older homes often have furnaces previously sitting in:
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Damp basements
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Soot-heavy environments
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Carpenter ant nesting areas
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Rodent-infested storage rooms
Jake checks for:
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Soot streaks
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Rust flakes
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Heavy scaling
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Cracks
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Debris buildup
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Failed welds
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Melt marks on adjacent sheet metal
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Burn marks around rollout switch
If anything smells like “burnt popcorn mixed with metal,” he knows there’s a scorching history.
He vacuums the heat exchanger thoroughly before installation.
🌀 5. Step 2 — Verify Combustion Air Volume (Older Homes Often Starve Furnaces)
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Jake uses the 50 cubic feet per 1000 BTU rule.
For an 80,000 BTU furnace (e.g., GR9S800803BN), the combustion area needs:
✔️ 4,000 cubic feet of available air
That’s a full basement or properly vented utility room.
Older homes often fail because:
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Doors shut too tightly
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Dryer steals air
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Kitchen hood backdrafts
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Attic insulation reduced natural infiltration
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Louver vents painted shut
Jake checks by:
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Opening/closing the door
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Testing with a smoke pen
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Listening for flame pitch changes
If air starves the flame, rollout becomes likely.
Official guidance references:
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Energy.gov combustion air basics: https://www.energy.gov
🔥 6. Step 3 — Install Heat Shields Before the Furnace Fires Once
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Here’s Jake’s signature move.
He installs:
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A sheet-metal rollout heat shield around the burner area
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High-temp gasket tape around burner box edges
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A reflective shield on nearby wood framing
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A small flame barrier above the burner compartment if clearances are tight
Jake places shields BEFORE the maiden ignition so:
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Any unexpected flame movement is contained
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Heat doesn’t escape into framing
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Rollout switches sense properly
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No scorched drywall surprises
Jake says:
“Heat shields are cheap. Surprise rollout is expensive.”
🚫 7. Step 4 — Ensure Rollout Switches Are Correctly Positioned
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Jake manually verifies:
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Rollout switches are touching metal
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They haven’t been bumped during shipping
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They sit in high-heat pathways
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Wires aren’t loose
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The bi-metal disc is fully exposed
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No insulation blocks the switch
In older home installs, wires often snag on old framing.
Jake zip-ties all rollout switch conductors away from:
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Burners
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Panels
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Door pins
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Gas valve
Rollout switches save homes.
Jake treats them with respect.
🧯 8. Step 5 — Check Chimney Draft (Biggest Source of Rollout in Old Homes)
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Older chimneys:
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Are too large for modern furnaces
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Are cold
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Are unlined
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Cause flue gas to spill
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Induce backdrafting
Jake uses:
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Smoke pen
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Draft gauge
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Combustion analyzer
He looks for:
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Smoke not rising steadily
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Smoke being sucked INTO the house
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Flue gas spilling
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Fluctuating flame when the draft hood opens
Jake’s rule:
“If the chimney doesn’t suck before ignition, it definitely won’t suck during ignition.”
If draft is weak, he recommends:
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Chimney liner
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Double-wall vent
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Flue resizing
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Inline draft inducer
🧽 9. Step 6 — Clean the Burner Area (Dust Causes Flame Lift + Rollout)
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Older basements accumulate dust like a neglected attic.
Jake vacuums:
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Burners
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Crossover channels
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Burner ports
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Flame sensor
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Manifold area
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Burner vestibule
He wipes:
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Burner faces
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Burn tubes
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Crossover plates
Dust causes flame to:
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Lift
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Wobble
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Drift into the cabinet
Jake removes dust before lighting, not after a problem shows up.
⚙️ 10. Step 7 — Align the Furnace to Return Air (Critical to Prevent Rollout)
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Air must hit the heat exchanger evenly.
Older homes have crooked, leaning, patched-together return ducts.
Jake checks:
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Blower wheel alignment
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Return boot angle
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Drop center to blower inlet center
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Filter rack seal
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Cabinet to return square alignment
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Transition sealing
If return air hits the heat exchanger unevenly, it creates:
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Negative pressure pockets
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Uneven flame pull
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Flame bending
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Rollout into the burner box
He adjusts alignment until airflow is PERFECT.
🔧 11. Step 8 — First Fire: Jake’s Rollout Detection Ritual
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Jake’s first fire looks like this:
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Thermostat call
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Inducer ignition
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Burners light
Then he crouches at eye-level with:
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His flashlight
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His inspection mirror
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His ear tuned to flame sound
Jake listens for:
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Flame “whoosh”
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Flame hesitation
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Flutter
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Lifting
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Whistling
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Flame bending left or right
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Any spill light from burner box
Jake’s rule:
“Clean flame is blue, tight, and straight. Yellow tips mean trouble. Orange means STOP.”
If the rollout switch trips during test fire → he corrects airflow, draft, or combustion air immediately.
🌡️ 12. Step 9 — Thermal Expansion Check (Hidden Rollout Reveals Itself)
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Jake runs the furnace for 6–10 minutes to allow metal expansion.
This often uncovers:
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Leaks in the burner box
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Cracked heat exchanger ports
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Loose manifold screws
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Burner misalignment
He reinspects flame after warm-up because:
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Flame can change shape
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Draft improves
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Metal shifts
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Rollout risks emerge
Thermal expansion rollout is common in older homes.
Jake catches it before the homeowner ever sees it.
📝 13. Jake’s Rollout Safety Checklist
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Jake signs his rollout checklist only if:
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✔️ Flame is tight, straight, even
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✔️ No flame flicker during blower startup
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✔️ Rollout switches tested and functional
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✔️ Draft pulls consistently
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✔️ Combustion air confirmed
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✔️ Heat shield installed
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✔️ Smoke test passes
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✔️ No soot at burner entry
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✔️ No ignition pops
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✔️ No burner lift
If any single item fails → no sign-off.
Jake is strict about rollout because:
“Rollout starts small. Damage doesn’t.”
📚 14. External Verified Links (Max 6)
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Combustion safety & draft basics (Energy.gov)
https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/furnaces-and-boilers -
ASHRAE combustion and ventilation standards
https://www.ashrae.org
🏁 15. Final Word From Jake
Jake sums it up perfectly:
“Rollout doesn’t happen suddenly. It happens slowly, over years, and shows itself the minute you’re not paying attention.”
With Jake’s Shield-First Method:
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No burnt wiring
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No scorched doors
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No popped rollout switches
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No backdraft surprises
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No unsafe first fires
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No callbacks
Just a clean, safe, quiet upflow install—no matter how old the home is.
Buy this on Amazon at: https://amzn.to/3L2nAfF
In the next topic we will know more about: Return Air Without Restriction: Jake’s Layout Rule That Keeps the GR9S800803BN Breathing Easy in Tight Closets
