hausdok

Hi Chad, I just spent some time looking through Douglas' book for that and can't find it. I could have sworn I saw it in there though, so I'll look again later. Doesn't matter though. It is wrong....period. Equipment grounding conductors are supposed to be spliced with or terminate at a device approved for that purpose. The screws on those clamps are not. It's probably a case where the electrician was too lazy to add a ground bus in the panel or the existing one was full and he didn't want to add another. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Jimmy, I don't know about the Right Reverend, but here's what hizonner Sir Douglas of Hansen says about splices in panels. This is taken from Page 4.24 of Electrical Inspection of Existing Dwellings - Panelboard Wiring: This is taken from page 5.16 - Splices: ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

D'ohh! OT - OF!! M.

Hi Donald, 1 year old home? Did it have Square D AFCI breakers? See the new headline on the home page. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

According to an announcement on their website, Square D Corporation is voluntarily recalling arc-fault circuit interrupter type breakers manufactured between March and September of 2004. Square D's test indicate that the arc detection capability of the affected breakers may become inoperable due to the failure of an internal component. Consequently, the circuit breaker will not properly detect or interrupt a high resistance low current arcing fault. For more details go to the Square D site.

Hi Bruce, I'm not a southern boy, but I probably spend more hours a year in crawlspaces then most people spend with their kids. Your presenter is correct if he is speaking about areas with high humidity. Humid/hotter exterior air is always going to move toward cooler/drier areas such as crawlspaces. Once it enters the crawl, it may cool quickly to its dewpoint and condense out all over everything - insulation, joists, sub-floor, pipes, vapor barrier, posts, beams, etc.. This can and does promote rot and is conducive to insect infestation. Joe L. talks about this stuff on his site at http://www.buildingscience.com. However, if he is saying this works everywhere I think he's got his head tucked up his butt, because the only way it can work everywhere is if one has an absolutely dry crawl and perfectly sealed crawl and the crawl is made part of the conditioned space of the house. That's a tall order and the skills needed to achieve that are usually far beyond those that the 16-year old on the job site has when he's sent into the crawl to lay the barrier. Over the past two years, Jeff Tooley has written about two or three articles about sealing crawlspaces and how to install really good vapor barriers. You'll find them online at The Journal of Light Construction Online (http://www.jlconline.com/cgi-bin/jlconline.storefront). You should check them out. Here in Washington State, I occasionally find crawls that have not been vented. Here, unless they are either covered with a slab or a very carefully detailed vapor barrier, they have problems caused by trapped moisture. So far, the ones with concrete floors that are vented into the house and made part of the conditioned space have been the best - albeit dusty - and the others with vapor barriers all had issues stemming from moisture, because the installer couldn't figure out how to install the barrier properly (and probably didn't try). ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Chad, Thanks, I appreciate the info. OT - OF!!! M.

Thanks Chris and Tom. I've added both of those. I've just modified the list to include both Canadian and US associations. I'm a little embarrassed that I left the Canadian associations off the list, because this site was built by a Canadian firm after all and my Dad comes from Canada. Anyway, I'd appreciate it if those of you in Canada could help me garner a complete current list of all HI organizations presently operating in Canada. Next, does anyone know what's up with PAABI? I tested all of the links this morning and that's the only one that didn't work. I then did a google search for them and every single link to them from any of Google's results is toast. If anyone else sees an association missing from the list, please let me know so I can add it. So Chris, What's the deal with FIHI? Who started it and when. I visited their site, but there isn't much history explained there. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Steven, Done. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi Chad, I spent some time this morning looking through my references and couldn't find anything about York serial numbers, so I was glad when Jim had the answer for you. I agree with Jim, you need to take off the flame shields (or puff shields as I've also heard them referred to) when you look at these. I usually find the cracks right at the corner of the faceplate behind the shield right in the middle of that area you photographed. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Chad, The State water heater was manufactured in September of 1996. I'll see what I can find on the York. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi All, Spotted this in JLC Update and thought it might stimulate some discussion here. JLC Article On Stray Voltage OT - OF!!! M.

Hi Donald, I don't know if this will help. It is from an 8-year old edition of Wiring Simplified by H.P. Richter and W.C. Schwan and is based on the 1996 NEC. From Chapter 14 - Wiring of Heavy Appliances, Page 116. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Atlanta/Sept. 29,2004 – Maintaining that its residential ventilation standard sets a higher standard for indoor air quality, ASHRAE has proposed that it be included in the International Residential Code (IRC). This is the first time that the standard, published in December 2003, has been proposed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) for inclusion in a model code. ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.2, Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality in Low-Rise Residential Buildings, is the only nationally recognized indoor air quality standard developed solely for residences. ASHRAE has proposed to the International Code Council (ICC) that Standard 62.2 be an alternate compliance path for the ventilation provisions of Sections R303.1 (lighting, ventilation, and heating) and M1506.1 (toilet room and bathroom ventilation) of the IRC. “ASHRAE believes that ASHRAE 62.2 provides a higher standard for ventilation and indoor air quality than the current requirements of the International Residential Code,â€

Can you name all of the issues in this picture?(Click on the photo for a larger view) If so, click 'Answer Here' below and post your response.The answers will be uncloaked next week.Many thanks to Bill Kibbel for this photo.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 30, 2004 Release #04-229 CPSC, Goodman Company, L.P. Announce Recall of Amana, Trane, and American Standard Brand Package Terminal Air Conditioners/Heat Pumps WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announces the following recall in voluntary cooperation with the firm below. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. Name of product: Package Terminal Air Conditioner/Heat Pump (PTAC) Units: About 875,000 Manufacturer: Goodman Company, L.P., of Houston, Texas Hazard: Fire hazard resulting from this chain of events: filter becomes clogged due to lack of maintenance, severely restricting airflow and resulting in elevated internal temperature; this may cause two safety switches to stop working during the product's expected life; if the blower wheel then stops when the product is operated in the heating mode, a fire hazard can develop. Incidents/Injuries: Goodman received 29 confirmed reports of units overheating, including eight instances where the PTAC ignited and, in some cases, caused minor property damage. No injuries have been reported. Description: These PTACs are owned mainly by commercial and institutional organizations and are used in the lodging industry, apartments, hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities, schools, and government buildings. A small number of the recalled units are owned by individual homeowners. The PTACs are beige in color and are intended for through-the-wall installation. Goodman manufactured all of the recalled units, which were sold under the Amana, Trane, and American Standard brand names. Goodman and Trane/American Standard are separate, unrelated entities. The recalled PTACs consist of Amana brand units manufactured from January 1996 through March 2003, and Trane and American Standard brand units manufactured from January 1996 through August 2002, that use electric heaters rated at 3.5 kilowatts (kW) or greater. Brand Name: Amana Serial and Model Numbers: Serial numbers begin with 96, 97, 98, 99, 00, 01, 02, 0301, 0302, or 0303 Model numbers begin with: PTH073A35; PTH074A35; PTH093A35; PTH093A50; PTH094A35; PTH094A50; PTH123A35; PTH123A50; PTH124A35; PTH124A50; PTH153A35; PTH153A50; PTH154A35; PTH154A50; PTC073A35; PTC074A35; PTC093A35; PTC093A50; PTC094A35; PTC094A50; PTC123A35; PTC123A50; PTC124A35; PTC124A50; PTC153A35; PTC153A50; PTC154A35; PTC154A50 Brand Name: Trane and American Standard Serial and Model Numbers: Serial numbers begin with A96, A97, A98, A99, A00, A01, A02 Model numbers begin with: PTHC0701G; PTHC0702G; PTHC0901G; PTHC0901J; PTHC0902G; PTHC0902J; PTHC1201G; PTHC1201J; PTHC1202G; PTHC1202J; PTHC1501G; PTHC1501J; PTHC1502G; PTHC1502J; PTEC0701G; PTEC0702G; PTEC0901G; PTEC0901J; PTEC0902G; PTEC0902J; PTEC1201G; PTEC1201J; PTEC1202G; PTEC1202J; PTEC1501G; PTEC1501J; PTEC1502G; PTEC1502J The serial and model numbers are below the operating controls under the front cover assembly. To check the serial and model numbers, remove the front cover by pulling it from the bottom straight out until the clips release, then lifting it up. For some units, it is first necessary to remove two ¼" screws (in the filter compartment) that secure the front cover. Sold to: Amana, Trane, and American Standard representatives sold the PTACs to hotels/motels, hospitals, assisted living facilities, schools, and apartment complexes. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning distributors and resellers sold the units to commercial customers and, in some cases, homeowners. The recalled units were sold throughout the U.S. and parts of Canada between January 1996 and March 2003. Manufactured in: U.S.A. Remedy: Free thermal safety limit switch. Commercial and institutional owners will install the replacement switch themselves. Individual homeowners can get a free repair. Contact the Goodman Hotline to receive the free replacement thermal safety switch. Inspect and clean the air conditioner/heat pump filters immediately to remove any imminent hazard. Continue to clean these filters every 30 days in accordance with manufacturer's recommendations which can be found at www.regcen.com/PTAC Owner Contact: Call the Goodman Hotline at (800) 729-6122 between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. CT Monday through Friday. Owners can submit a PTAC Recall Information Form at Goodman's Web site www.regcen.com/PTAC To view this recall online, use the following link: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml04/04229.html Goodman's Hotline: (800) 729-6122 CPSC Consumer Hotline: (800) 638-2772 CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908 Goodman Media Contact: (713) 861-2500 x439 Trane Media Contact: (732) 980-6048

Hi Chris, Down in your neighborhood lots of folks have irrigation systems for their lawns, don't they? Aren't they equipped with a kind of aerator device that lets air into the system? If that is the case, is it possible that there could be some kind of cross connection there? Don't really know, I'm just swagging a WAG here. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Many thanks to those who participated. Now that I've turned off moderation you can see each others' responses, and I've plastered Kurt's pretty mug in the member's spotlight for you all to swoon over. Okay, some of you promised to send me gobs of photos, so we could keep this feature humming. However, so far, nobody's followed through. Come on guys and gals, I know you all find some interesting and challenging stuff out there. Let's let the others have a crack at figuring it out. E-mail me those photos! ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi All, We all know water heater T & P valves need to be installed per the rules, but examples of what can happen when the rules are ignored aren't seen that often. This article was aimed at the Facility Manager/Building Engineer profession, but there is some useful information here for home inspectors as well. Boiler & Natural Gas Safety Article in ESOnline ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi, You could check out our sponsor's software, Inspect Express. I use it and it works great for me. The demo costs you nothing and is fully functional - not dummied down - so you'll get a good feel for how it works. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi Steven, It might be pigmented shellac. That is used around here sometimes to cover stubborn stains or mildew. They may be attempting to cover a mildew issue. Then again, the owner might be telling the truth. A few years ago, some snake oil salesmen were going around selling paint that has microscopically sized ceramic beads in the emulsion that is supposed to slow down heat transfer through the roof plane, thus reducing solar gain in the day and heat loss at night. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hi All, Got a Lexmark, Dell or IBM laser printer? If so, you should check out this recall.[:-magnify CPSC Laser Printer Recall ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Yeah, I'm seeing wood rot. Those framing members that "look" still healthy are probably full of incipient rot. All it needs is some wintertime moisture condensing on the underside of that deck and it'll begin to propagate again. Won't be long before it begins to cave again. OT - OF!!! M.

Hi Brian, If it is a gas log set with a regulator and peizo ignitor for the pilot, I give my client a lesson in how to lite it and use the various controls. We have gas fireplaces in about half the houses we do here. Lots of times there is one in the living room and another in the family room. Every once in a while they'll have them in the master bedroom as well. If it is an ordinary gas log lighter without a regulator and nothing more than a shut-off valve, I won't attempt to light it, 'cuz I like my eyebrows too. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike

Hey! Don't forget the American Master Sergeant! ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike