Kyle Kubs

You can cut off the power to the main lugs to work on that area safely (without cutting the lines at the weather head) I'm not going to say how. Those that know, know. Those that don't shouldn't be messin around with that. As I often tell my clients when they talk about doing electrical work themselves... Really smart people know when to keep their hands in their pockets.

If the burning is only near the connection, that almost always means that the connection is or was loose. If the same electrician wired both units at the same time, it isnt' unusual for him to have made the same error. - Jim Katen, Oregon Agreed. (As if Katen needs my support) - Note that all three main lugs have the screws heads stripped out. There was an amateur afoot, or a careless pro.

Shows how much you know... The soap left over on the laundry detergent bottle would cause the caulk to let go in under six months. Thats why real professionals use Soda bottles [^] If there is any soda residue it just self etches to the cast iron and when you use a clear one you can even see it working!

Was it for potable water or heating system? That stuff has a really horrific expansion ratio. No surprise the fittings fail. I've talked two contractors into switching to a different product so far. There is information available on the web, just keep wading through the google swamp. Or just do what Chad suggests.

I say this mirthfully: I never considered fiddling with a water heater to be part of an my job. The customers can -- and should -- get a handyman if they need somebody to wrench on something. I'm just there to write something like, "The water heater is functional." Maybe it's just me, but I see a bright line between inspecting/describing and messing with stuff. Apparently you never have seen an electric water heater. No wrenches involved in removing the access covers. Four little philips head machine screws, it's really not that hard, but honestly if you don't feel confident in your abilities in this area, I would encourage you, tell your client they need to pay a handyman to come in and remove these covers for you (there's important stuff to see in there). I happen to have a philips head screwdriver and lots of other tools used in building houses. Many of them were once my fathers or my grandfathers and I'm quite certain that I can remove four little screws and turn up a thermostat without causing a national crisis or unfathomable legal liability.id="black"> I hardly ever saw an electric water heater.id="blue"> 1) Well since the question was about electric water heaters, why exactly did you feel the need to answer??? 2) I find this an odd statement for someone who spends so much time correcting everyone else's grammar.id="black"> Call me quirky, but I left all that to the man-on-fire stickers, warning labels, owner's manual, etc. For some odd reason, my customers never expected me to show them how to work their water heater. That's a demonstration. I was inspecting (an eyes only job).id="blue"> I'm speechless.id="black"> With gas, it's turn on the dishwasher, go to the water heater and listen for the whoosh.id="blue"> And again, he was asking about ELECTRIC water heaters - They don't go "whoosh" Mr & Mrs. Client. The water heater went whoosh, it's functional. - My god.id="black"> Interesting. In 5000 HI jobs, nobody ever complained about an unsatisfactory shower, and nobody ever seemed to hold a grudge. I guess I made 'em understand that they were in charge of their own showers and the outcome of those showers.id="blue"> Sounds like a great business ethic.id="black"> [blue]The whole WH inspection takes about one minute with gasid="blue"> And Elvis has left the building...... Um, once again, we were talking about electric water heaters here. You know, wires, not pipes.id="black"> [blue]But don't go by me,id="blue"> Oh, worry not, I won't. Jamison, Don't let this dissuade you from asking questions and trying to better your methods for your clients. We don't get like this often.id="black">

At first glance it sounds like a crock. But then there is the way you worded it... "a subpanel with a 3 wire feed" - A "sub"panel drawing power through another panel can only have a 3 wire feed if it is located in another building separate from the building with the primary panel AND there is no metallic path between them (metal fencing, other cables, water pipes, gas lines, telephone...) and in that case only, where there is a (3) wire feed the Neutrals & grounds would be bonded. If he really was speaking to you in that way I would question whether or not it was really any official at all and not just another holier than thou pissed off electrician. To answer question #2 - IMHO - the line is a decision based on multiple facts. But I think it was someone else on this board who once phrased it... "Safety doesn't give a dam when a code was established". Sorry I didn't put a Shakespearian poetry in my writing, I'm just a dumb home inspector.

And voila woulda been easier to spell.

Me, too. I didn't go to HI jobs to work on things. I went to report on the condition of things just as they were when I found them. WJid="blue"> Would that tell you if one of the heating elements/thermostats is not working? About half of the water heaters I look at are electric. I always; Remove both access covers, Look at the wiring/terminals and condition of the exposed portion of the heating elements, check for leaks, corrosion, burned insulation... Note the temperature settings and show the client how & where to adjust the temperature if they wish, Turn up the temp. on the lower element until I here the click from the thermostat that tells me it's engaged, then listen, (if just turning the temperature up isn't enough (temp was already maxed out) you may have to run hot water for a few minutes) in 99.9% of the cases I can hear the sizzling sound of the element heating up the water, Then, as the lower is heating, turn up the temp on the upper and listen that the lower shuts down and power goes to the upper, Whahlah, Both elements and their thermostats are working, Turn them both down and run the hot water till it sets off the lower element, a few to five minutes at best and now I know the dip tube is installed and intact. Whole shebang takes about 10-15 minutes... I call this working for my money. Few things aggravate people like a dissatisfying shower first thing in the am... they take it personal and hold a grudge. Make sure the water heater is working. If your lower element wasn't coming on it could be that the dip tube was broken off or not installed at all and the cold water is being deposited at the top of the tank activating the upper element. Home warranty idiot probably wouldn't have figured that out.

Interesting. Are these fairly common? This is the first I've ever seen. Sounds like something that would be used to compensate for.. an undersized evaporator coil??? It's an older Goodman unit (1994) - The house did have a single main return that looked a bit undersized and then all the room doors were tight to the carpet...

Les, In instances where the material tested as non Asbestos, what material/materials was it?

From a Cir. 1920's American Radiator Co. catalog I have... Image Insert: 187.53 KB Image Insert: 186.75 KB What the pictures show is what I grew (sp?) up with and am used to seeing around here, a canvas wrap. Yours I'm sure is just a local incarnation, different manufacturer. If this doesn't help, take a pinch between your cheek and gum and see if it tastes like Asbestos[^] For Liability reasons. I am kidding... No, really, I am.

This, switch/sensor/whatchamacallit, was clipped onto the cold refrigerant line of the A/C condenser on yesterdays house. This is a first for me, never seen one before. It kind of looks like a thermostatic switch to me. It was wired into the unit, I don't know what it was wired to. Anybody familiar with this? What is it for? Why would it be in use on this particular unit? What does it mean that it is there? Image Insert: 163.04 KB Image Insert: 145.84 KB

Properly configured (there's always a catch isn't there...) it should only shut down the air handler/blower and have no effect on the compressor. If they are present I will always test them to be sure they function as they should, just as I would make sure a secondary drain is correctly installed and problem free. I have found them several times no working properly and even not actually attached to anything. Normally, it will shut down power to the air handler and restore power as soon as it is returned to the closed position.

Doesn't look like a huge big deal but may come in handy for some of you to know about. LP Building Products (Louisiana-Pacific) has issued a Product Advisory for decking products, including railing and accessories, sold from its Meridian, Idaho plant after January 1, 2005 Some of the product can prematurely deteriorate and break, posing a risk of injury. Deck owners should check decks for safety and arrange for an inspection. Homeowners are asked to stay off decks with deterioration. Products Subject to Advisory WeatherBest® decking and railing, sold nationwide at building products dealers after January 1, 2005 Veranda and ABTCo decking and railing, sold at The Home Depot after January 1, 2005 in the western U.S. - AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY, and TX (El Paso markets) Weatherbest and Veranda products produced after November 2007 by the new owner are not included in the advisory.id="blue"> The web site actually has a video detailing some of the failures. http://www.deckingnotice.com/ They want everyone with this stuff to register with them and state they will even pay for needed deck inspections. Could be some work in it for some of you in the affected States, get set up to do deck inspections for them - To contact by phone dial 1-888-325-1184 Download Attachment: map.jpg 148.97 KB

Out in the yard yesterday trying to cap off my supply of firewood for the winter, I pulled a log up from a strewn pile, and noticed something that looked exactly like that growing off the end in a small bunch. That end was setting in a damp pile of chainsaw dust and such. Looked like some kind of fungus, so I would tend to agree with Bill. Of course I'm not so fancy as to know the scientific name of the fungus like he does. Show off. Not so sure there are Powder Post Beetle exit holes there... kinda hard to tell from the picture.

Same here. Just two weeks ago some young kids buying the house did exactly that. Which of course means, we're even older than we think.

Given the other States where they are saying that installation is normal to them, I'm not really surprised, but the land of "you can't walk down the street if your not UNION"! I'm totally shocked. The fill pipe fitting here isn't just a cap. The nozzles on the trucks that fill the tank screw and lock on to the fitting so they can't leak, fallout while the driver is napping or spill over. Image Insert: 42.54 KB Image Insert: 46.51 KB Image Insert: 50.38 KB I fantasize often about leaving NJ and then I think about how I would cope with doing inspections in another state where I haven't spent the last 40 years and the trouble I would get into with things not being at all what I've always been used to. If I were to see something like that set up here, it would be cause for concern...

If that is an oil tank, and it could be, the fill and vent pipe is definetely a home handyman job. A normal installation would look like this. Image Insert: 104.92 KB Notice the vent pipe is far from the fill pipe (in the corner near the chimney base) and the easily removable cap for the fill pipe. That second picture looks vaguely like the top of a well casing.

A lighting pigtail to bypass a fuse holder[:-bigeyes - OK - That's a first! AND it has a 30 amp fuse in it... Nice.

I'd say the Multi-Wire Branch Circuit feeding off the split breaker is far more dangerous then the different brands of breakers and plenty of reason to call in an electrician as well as citing unprofessional modifications. Or is one side pulling from the 15 amp and the other from the adjacent 20 amp? Looks like a newer panel, the Bryant breakers of all things couldn't possibly be listed for use in that panel.

Aw come on now. No pouting... If we look back in the archives I probably owe you 2 or 3 more... It wasn't fair anyway, I have a Cutler-Hammer fetish. [:-bigeyes Don't ask.

A good mason can match up almost anything. If you see him about to pour water on plain ready mix and get to work, your doomed. Trick is mixing the mortar yourself using the appropriate sand (type, color & grade) to match the old stuff and if needed just to tweek it a little dye when nobody's lookin. just to make up for the pollution factor. Of course all that is going to cost more which is why it doesn't happen 99% of the time.

Image Insert: 355.43 KB It's basically the same enclosure/bus as the 225 just with a 200 amp main breaker and a stepped down rating. Interesting to note that none of the CH panels allow more circuits then the # of spaces. The BR series you can get 30/40 panels and such but with the CH series a 30 space bus is 30 circuits max. and so on.

Guaranteed there was moss/fungus up there and some bozo thought a pressure washer was a great way to clean it all up. Look in the gutters and you will likely see them full of all the granule that was washed off. I once pulled back some weeds near a foundation/downspout and said to the client "well the roof needs to be replaced" (notice the lack of evaluation) He said "how the hell do you know that by looking at the ground?" - I came up with a heaping handfull of shingle granule and said I saw the pressure washer in the garage as we passed it and I could see the streaking on the roof from the street as I pulled up... "Pufferfish"[:-bigmout Now there's a visual for ya.

Thats not true at all. If there is any smell of any kind it is cause something is wrong, poor installation, defect, neglect/poor maint. With a blind fold on you could not tell my boiler room from my bathroom. Mike, where do you see rust???