Rob Amaral

FTR, I've found around 140 deg F in attics around Boston in summer..

Basic circuit theory.... a complete loop... ... We have to think of basic circuit theory in regards to the distribution system, the house, etc... You probably learn this stuff in Cub Scouts.. (I did).

I tell folks to follow the mfgr's instructions and to get a threaded/gasketed cap because the valve may leak once you open it..

Probably capillary action Kurt... Weatherhead is not as high as it should be. Capillary action can do some interesting things... I would have recommended that the meter box be opened and evaluated (if the tamper seal was intact). If it was not intact, (the tamper seal), I would have pulled the meter cover off...

Jim's right (of course!). You need to 'bond' the grounding electrode conductor (AKA the 'ground wire') to the metal water pipes so that any stray juice to the metal pipes will trip-off a breaker, even if the 'service' to just inside the foundation is plastic.... File under 'bonding'...

Good job Kurt... If the steam supply pipes were uninsulated, you'd tell them to re-insulate them. If there was no Hartford return, you'd point that out.. (I found two in the past 5 days that did not have the return...both were from the 1990's... ) I use a 'this is a teakettle' talk and emphasize the importance of taking care of the LWCO (flushable type) and the checking of the probe type. I take a photo of the boiler (standing back) and mark the gauge glass optimal water level area, the manual fill valve, the LWCO, etc.. We deal with steam boilers very regularly in the Boston area. We also deal with some cool 'indirect' steam systems in the City. (Steam generated at central 'plants' sent to indirect systems that heat hydronic systems or 'coil units' in tall buildings).

The ones I've found ('growers' had moved out) were attic operations. One guy had caused a massive mildew/mold problem due to the operation and it lead to an entire new roof structure and mildew remediation...

Bad casting, self-sealed leak. Replace it.

I've seen most of the 'laths' used in New England here in the Boston area (oldest house I was given the opportunity to check-out was built in 1636). That looks like my house (1958/rocklath) and I see it all the time. Mine even came with a weak finish-coat (Hooray!)

That first photo with the cat looks like self-sealed leaks at those fittings... Leaks can start out microscopic and eventually seal themselves.

We have those up here in MA. I call them metal chases...

Junk any of those "grab the heat from the exhaust' gizmos... "Very 70's"... They can screw up your chimney flue, chimney top and your heating equipment from exhaust condensate dripping back...

Jack.. I hear ye.. I miss the phone booths... there were so many cool ones in the old days...usually in old train stations or restaurants... Have an ice-cold New Years! (I think it was 5 today with the wind...)

Looks like 'paint'... ?

I've looked at a ton of them around Boston. They are built like Sherman tanks.. (OK....Abrams tanks...!) Now that I think of it, the old phrase 'Built Like Sherman Tank' is I guess.. 'dead'.. !

Amen ! Feels great, doesn't it?

They do look like fuel oil tank vents... I'd be asking them to find out there are 'any underground fuel tanks' on this property (before purchasing it).

You don't want to take anything out of the exhaust if you can help it. Lower exhaust temp = more chance vapors in the exhaust can condense and 'drip back'... which is why direct-vent appliances tend to have to have expensive heat exchangers..

I'm guessing that furnace could be somewhere between 1959-1964? or so? I see brand-new oil-fired furnaces that have the exhaust-vent running through the return just like that today. Brand-new. It has always struck me as not a great idea, because you're robbing the exhaust of heat which could possibly adversely affect the quality of the draft. Then what happens if the vent gets rusted-through or compromised with a bad weld? (I always check for that with a mirror, but I've yet to see a problem.. yet..). Some of these lowboys were used because of the location of the fuel source and the chimney (I guess..) and the duct work in general. I've never seen a gas-fired unit with the 'draft hood' outside nearby the blower-end like that (yet). I'd say that the blower door should be kept tightly-closed (maybe even taped) to prevent negative pressure from affecting that draft. How was the 'draft' when the unit was running (with the blower-door closed?). I'd have put my mirror around the base of that draft hood during burner+blower operation.. If you had given us the age of the house and a stand-back shot...it may have helped...

Looks like 'tannin' staining from ice-dam leaks to me...

Good luck down there and meeting with local inspectors/competitors is always a good thing... You always pick up some new idea or info that is useful to the profession..

I think of it as getting 100A 'from more sources than a single phase'... (from more points on the 'rotating machine')... i.e., tapping similar current, but more 'lines' coming in from the device creating the juice.. (the 'rotating machine'). Electrical stuff gets me dizzy too sometimes.. The rotating machine is the usual source of juice (so far anyway) and that is a turbine somewhere..moved either by steam or water power.. I just say it's a '100A three phase service'.... this is actually has more oomph than single phase... kind of a like 3-man bicycle or something...

Look like infra-red movement sensors to me... The dangling box looks like a Verizon-type FIOS box... ?

On another note, has anybody have the dope on those 'gutter guard' brand gutters? There are not many up here but when I do see them, they do seem to be performing well... My concern is pollen build-up that will skank them up eventually. No 'end cleanouts'.. Anybody?

Google "Freddie King" and watch the many videos of him live. Freddie was just one awesome performer (singer and player). He is the guy Clapton emulated and you can sort of hear that rambling toughness in Clapton's playing. I saw Freddie King twice in a small venue here in Boston in the late 1970's and he was just simply awesome. The guy was huge and was a great player, singer, smiler.. A lot of kids today have no idea who he was..