Neal Lewis

Brand new steam boiler has a welded steel bulb installed directly in the riser off the top of the boiler. What is the purpose of this thing?? Download Attachment: IMG_4368.JPG 398.92 KB

Off topic question about the 4/0. Why is it pronounced four ought??

I wouldn't pay thirty bucks for that thing! I don't think it would make a good shuriken.?

Chad, Comparing the two charts, I would say that the net capacity is 129K for the 4 section boiler; may not be oversized. Did you happen to overfill the boiler above the area of the rust and watch for leaking?

I did measure the CO from my electric oven during the cleaning cycle a couple of years ago just to prove it wasn't an urban myth. The CO did get up to about 150 and the oven was kinda dirty. I don't have a bird, but the dog, cats, guineau pigs and fish survived the cleaning cycle...

I found that the Windows local.live is better for close-ups, but the Google Earth has a much better effect for panning in/out from one location to the next.

Crack, It reduces the amount of cable and the labor to install it. Called a multiwire circuit. For instance, one 12/3 cable can be run for two circuits instead of installing two separate 12/2 cables. The handle tie actually is not required except when the two circuits are run to the same duplex outlet.

Guys, The boilers are in a wide open basement; no problem with combustion air. The draft hood spill switch did not shut the boiler down. There was an opening into the base of the chimney which showed that the flue was clear at the bottom. The adjacent water heater and boiler did not have any drafting problems or soot buildup. I believe that the section passages are now blocked with soot, causing the extreme flame rollout, but something was causing the excessive soot production to begin with.

Here is a pic of a gas boiler that is only a couple of years old. This thing must have been producing soot from day one. The burner flames were solid orange and rolling out the front. The system was obviously not professionally installed. The adjacent boiler was clean as a whistle, but was half the BTU's. I know there might be a combination of reasons, but is this caused by insufficient gas pressure? BTW, there was heavy soot deposits in the first floor apartment.The boiler was running continuously and didn't respond to the thermostat. The apartment temp was regulated by opening the windows. The occupant had suffered from a stroke more recently. Download Attachment: boiler 004.jpg 62.47 KB

The vent pipe sizing table for the Lennox G26 Cat IV furnace says for a 3" exhaust the maximum lenght is 130 feet, straight run with no elbows. 90 degree elbow is equivalent to 5 feet; 45 is 2 1/2 feet.

Mike, I was there for the first time inspecting for a relocation company. I guess the owner gave up on the gas company to fix the problem and called a HVAC contractor. The owner had kept the HX and other parts on hand some some reason, even though the furnace was replaced last year. He said he was glad he kept them; he could use the old inducer fan to replace the cracked, defective one. Maybe he wanted to save some money. The house was only 5800 square feet! Go figure.

Attached are pics of a Rheem Imperial Drum 90 furnace heat exchanger. This unit is from the 90's and from what I hear there have many problems with this heat exchanger. The unit is sealed and there isn't even a glimpse of the HX. Obviously, the drum was overheated big time. The furnace had been replaced by a HVAC contractor last year after the owner had repeatedly had the unit "repaired" by the local gas company under their warranty program "Worry Free", which BTW doesn't cover the HX. The gas tech replaced circuit boards many times because the furnace shut down. They never even dissasembled the unit the to check under the hood! The owner's elderly mother died of other causes before this was replaced, but had some strange, undiagnosed bloating. The caretaker had collapsed in the house, but it was attributed to dieting! The owner did have CO detectors. BTW, the Rheem Criterion? 80% furnace in the attic had the characteristic cracked plastic inducer fan housing and the flue was disconnected from the inducer housing because the flange was broken off. The hot surface igniter had just been replaced, and the furnace had just been given the AOK! I'm not sure what my point is, but the owner was thankful and now even more peeved at the furnace guys. Download Attachment: Morristown 001.jpg 36.28 KB Download Attachment: Morristown 002.jpg 42.32 KB Download Attachment: Morristown 003.jpg 30.74 KB

"propriatary sherif-goslin modified locking type" Anybody else, including me, need an explanation on this?

Anyone else feeling slightly less proficient than they were this morning? That goes without saying, but I would be interested to know what a Reserve Study is.

I would say there are too many breakers in the panel box.

Ron, I had one the other day that was caulked and recessed into the drywall. The spackle is a lot easier to deal with. It took me about 15-20 minutes just to get the cover off without tearing the drywall paper. Realtor and buyer said they never saw an inspector spend so much time as I did on the panel box. I think they meant to say they appreciated how careful and thorough I was...

Les, What is the purpose of purging the system. I have never witnessed that sequence of operation before.

I guess I'm too busy looking through skylights, especially the ones in the bathrooms.

Darren, I've only seen a handful and they were on new construction, not replacement systems. One of those houses was out your way; I inspected it twice. I also saw one where the power venter was used for oil but only rated for gas, according to manual left on the furnace. You may have seen this same type of device to modify a venting system when replacing the Plexvent/Ultravent stuff.

Field Controls and Tjerlund are manufacturers of aftermarket conversion power venters for oil fired equipment. I don't know if the heating system installation manual would either allow it disallow it. The discoloration of the siding, I have no idea about.

Kevin, Just in case you're looking to sell your business, USI and Rob A. can help you with that, too.[]

The name on the plastic inducer housing is Windjammer. Most I've seen are in Rheem/Ruud units

Was there anything specific that the sweep put in writing that was a problem or a hazard? Did you talk to the sweep directly on behalf of the owner? If the con job was that bad, I would have stepped in, but it may not have been appropriate in this case. Of course this type of ripoff isn't with sweeps only; would he have tried the same BS if the husband was there?

I test 'em the same way as Mike. I also let the buyer know not to put it in the dishwasher, as the label recommends. I could see one of those wires breaking when setting the element into the dishwasher.

I would use some glue boards to check for activity and wait until the Spring to close it back up. I once had an infestation of Carp ants that avoided my treatment of the perimeter foundation by finding the telephone pole at the street and marching across the service drop to get to the nest in the house!