Bain

I realize you're right, but it's used all the time here--in basements, slabs, crawlspaces. It's so pervasive I never call it a defect.

You've just described every gas range I've ever seen, even the big-ass Vikings that cost a gazillion bucks. Are there others with some sort of a safety feature I'm not familiar with?

Wicked helpful, Billy Bob. Thanks.

Said underbelly was exposed for only the briefest of instants. Beware, for now I have flipped back over and the public's visage is limited to only my prick-ly side. If you're reeaally looking for fodder, read my last FB status-update from a week or so ago . . . .

Well, actually yes, but it looks like my attempt has failed. I hate it when that happens. I'm kidding, clearly. Your explanation was quite helpful and it makes me understand what's going on phase-wise a little better. Thank you.

Actually, it's quite accurate. There's only one phase. Think of it as an oscillating wave. It has two poles. Three-phase systems actually have three separate phases. They can have many different wire configurations entering the service, not just three. There are some two-phase systems, but you're unlikely to every run into one. They were used, I believe, on railroads and a few large manufacturing facilities. - Jim Katen, Oregon As always, your superior understanding of this stuff is more than a little humbling. I don't quite get it, but I promise to perform some research.

I checked out a commercial building today that had a three-phase incoming electrical service. No big deals. Nothing out of the ordinary. But a question occurred to me . . . Three-phase electrical services have three hot SE cables coming into the house, hence its name. But the residential stuff we normally see has two hot SE cables servicing the house. So . . . drum roll . . . why is it called single phase? Why not double phase? It is what it is, to invoke a current--pun intended--cliche, but "single phase" seems like a misnomer.

When the neoprene flashing boot fails and a seller is too cheap to replace it. I've seen pretty much every kind of stick-um stuff in the universe used to seal cracks in boots.

Do these photos from yesterday help any, Mike? The lintel can't fail if it doesn't exist. 'Course the soldiers above the window didn't fare too well. The entire course of brick could be moved--very carefully, so Joe Homeowner didn't arrive home and find part of his house in the front yard--by hand. Click to Enlarge 46.5 KB Click to Enlarge 38.54 KB

Ugh . . . . Thanks? Screw you? I don't know what to say now that you've relighted my IR fire. I'm busting your chops, of course. Wicked cool photos.

So Erby shows up at the house next door to the one I'm working inside this morning. We catch up a little, but where do we ultimately find ourselves? Inside the house . . . where I'm showing him my Fenix and OLight. There were lamps on inside the house, so Erby says, "Let's go to the garage where it's dark." We do, and I demonstrate the difference in the beams and explain which is best for what. We were almost like a couple of kids who'd found a father's cache of Playboy magazines. And that's okay . . . 'cause, after all, we're inspector dudes . . . . .

I read an interview with Stephen King once, and he explained how horror is much more sympathetic than comedy. When the chick's inside the house, and the bad dude is lurking somewhere outside, ready to pounce, one worries for her . . . fears for her. But one certainly doesn't laugh and think, "Oh, boy. This gal's about to suffer all kinds of nasty before she reaches room temperature. That's hilarious." But the notion of someone slipping on a banana peel and perhaps cracking their head open? Or Moe jabbing his fingers into Curly's eye sockets? We laugh at that stuff. I'm not really sure why . . . Having said that, though, sorry for the rough trip, Jim. I'm sure there must have been a point where you were thinking, "Sh*t, I hope the ambulance gets here in a hurry." Sorry it happened . . .

What's the battery life like? An hour and a half when set to 700 lumens; something ridiculous like seven or eight hours when set to 120 lumens. I still use the Fenix TK11 most of the time 'cause the battery life is a couple of hours when left on the 225 lumens setting , but the Olight is wicked cool in attics, cellars and crawlspaces. On a side note, I seem to remember Jim K. dissing Kurt's "fancy schmancy little flashlight" in the not-too-distant past, but now Jim's lauding the arrival of the LED age. Does this mean he finally tossed out his D-cell Ray-O-Vac?

The Ultra-Stinger produces 295 lumens, and like Jim said, it's a t'ing of the past. Ummm, I own four of them if anyone's interested in purchasing antiquated flashlights . . . .

I've said it here before, but for those who are looking for a handful of super-bright light, the OLight M-30 sprays out 700 lumens for $140.00. I have one and love it. http://www.batteryjunction.com/olight-m30-triton.html

Did they say how the techs washed out the lines? R-11 was used all the time for cleaning up after a burn etc... but that was one of the first refrigerants to go due to CFCs. What matters, in the end, is what the manufacture mandates and not what a tech improvises. Exactly, and why would some dipsquat risk damaging a new condenser by not following the manufacturer's requisites? Not to mention that said dipsquat will be able to charge his customer for parts and labor associated with installing the new refrigerant lines and increase the per-job profit. It'll be interesting to see how well R410 works in the real world. The stuff is under so much more pressure than R22, the simple act of removing old-style gauges can release enough refrigerant into the air that the condenser winds up being undercharged.

Well, but it's not always wrong. It looks like the reduction in your photo is from 3/4" to 5/8", which is sometimes necessary due to the refrigerant line lengths and/or the elevation differential between the condenser and the evaporator coil. I'm including a link that should prove helpful and explain things much more succinctly than I could. Check out page three, specifically "Line Sizing." Oftentimes, but of course not always, altering the refrigerant-line size is a sign of competence and responsibility, rather than the opposite http://www.colemanac.com/PDFFiles/247077-UAD-H-0209.pdf

One should glob on a bunch of polyurethane caulk, but never use silicone. Correct? Pleeeaaase tell me I win.

The green patina originates--typically--from the copper suction line, the same way it forms on a leaking plumbing pipe. As for the salts, look on the front of the evaporator coil. The white trails were caused by dripping water.

The snowfall in my area has been the heaviest since sometime back in the 1970s. I didn't measure, but the turtle vent was maybe a couple of feet away from the ridge. The house was +/-50 years old, so various owners have added insulation as they saw fit. Ventilaton was primarily provided by big gable louvers in the eaves. Brad, cool diagram. The rest of the insulation was dry, but I have no clue about how much snow was in the attic after the huge dumping that took place this past Monday.

. . . snow in an attic. The roof was okay. All I could think of is that we've had so much snow and wind lately, the stuff made its way in through the turtle vent directly above it. Click to Enlarge 40.42 KB

Well, but look at the anhydrous salts beneath the liquid line and the verdigris around the condensate drain. My bet is that there's missing insulation on the suction line above the liquid line, and that's where the water's coming from. Three minutes and two bits . . . if you don't have to buy a whole roll of Armaflex. I write this up on about 80% of the systems I see.

Hilarious. A few months ago, I was looking at a house, and one of my competitors--who arrived after I did and left before I did--was checking out another house across the street and down a few doors. I was outside at some point, and saw the buyers and their big-hair Betty realtor-chick arrive. And yep, an extension ladder was fully extended on the front of the two-story house. The guy working across the street weighs about three hundred pounds and I remember thinking to myself that if he scaled that ladder during his hour-and-a-half inspection, I'd kiss his ass on Main Street and give him an hour to draw a crowd. Style over substance. Gotta love it.

Thing is, like all contentious subjects, there are reasonable arguments for both sides of the global warming issue. Read Superfreakonomics. According to the author, belches and flatulence generated by cows is one of the largest sources of supposed damage to the ozone layer. But what are we gonna do? Slaughter the cattle and become vegetarians? Are the author's sources even correct? I don't know, and I don't have time to research the researchers and determine whether their data is legit or poppycock. This thread is a perfect example of how volatile a scientific discussion can become when emotions, religion, and politics are sprinkled into the stew. I do know this . . . if I ever find myself in a rumble, I'd love to have Terry McCann by my side. That guy has pluck.

So what does everyone think about cap-and-trade and health care reform? Ummm, not really . . .