Terence McCann

There are typically steam traps present when there is a condensate return pump present: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_trap Steam traps that are blowing by (not shutting down and allowing steam to pass) make a steam system very inefficient and costly to operate. You can check traps with IR, Ultrasonic or there use to be a type of crayon that you would use on the condensate leaving side of the trap - mark the leaving pipe from the trap & if it melted that trap was blowing by. Checking traps is certainly outside the scope but informing the clients about these would be beneficial. I worked for the Cleveland School System back in the 70's and every school building I was stationed at had a steam system. Cleaning out the breaching of a coal fired boiler was always fun [:-yuck]

What is this unit used for? Is the unit built by a standard manufacture or is it something you've put together? How long did the compressor last that locked up? Did you ever come to conclusion as to why it locked up? When you replaced this compressor why did you install a suction line dryer (reason to install a suction line dryer is typically to clean up a system after a motor burn - what your second compressor failed with). Something trashed the first compressor which sounds like a superheat problem. You either took a slug of liquid which broke the compressor or perhaps low superheat contributed to diluting the oil causing a lack of proper lubrication which lead to the compressor failing. Also could be operating in a low outdoor ambient without proper low ambient controls for head pressure. The is not enough information to even hazard a guess why the second one burned out. What were: Suction Pressure Head Pressure Superheat Sub-cooling Voltage reading Amperage reading when you started up the new compressor?

The Realtor said it shouldn't drop below 60°??? While it's not out of the realm of possibility that the Realtor worked in the trades prior to becoming a Realtor I highly doubt it. I would have asked how they arrived at that theory just to have a little fun. Were they saying that the supply temperature shouldn't drop below 60° if the return air is 65° or that you shouldn't run the system below 60° outdoor temperature? I love talking heads. There has been a standard that you shouldn't run the ac below 65°. The reason for this being that the refrigerant and oil can blend together and when the compressor starts it will pump out the liquid refrigerant and as we all know you can not compress a liquid - something will break like valves or a crankshaft. While this is very true the standard of 65° outdoor temperature is off. I start ac systems down to 50° outside. Condensing units (the outside unit) have a crankcase heater that keeps the compressor warm thereby keeping the refrigerant in a vapor state and separated from the compressor oil. Most new units have a scroll compressor that is very forgiving for pumping small amounts of liquid. The only time I wouldn't start the unit is if the electrical power has been shut off - no power no crankcase heater. Now if the Realtor was referring to evaporator delta T (temperature difference across the evap coil) implying that that there will only be a 5° delta T across the coil that's just plain silly. It is true that the a/c will not run its best with low outdoor and indoor ambient conditions however you will see more than a 5° delta T for sure. When it is cool inside and outside I start the unit to make sure it will run, I feel the suction line to make sure it is getting cold and I rarely take supply air temperatures. I explain the reason for this in my report. If I were to check delta T I would expect anywhere from 10 and up. To understand why the ac doesn't run as well in cold outdoor/indoor temperatures is a whole separate discussion (needs proper head pressure which correlates to a full column of liquid among other things). In the end I think it's another case of a talking head just repeating what they heard somewhere before.

Not sure why but now when I come to this site, using My Favorites, I have to click the screen refresh to get anything to come through - if I don't I just get a white screen. Vista and IE 8

When the valve needs to open due to an over temp/pressure situation that pin, that the handle is attached to, will rise. If the copper pipe is blocking it from doing so then it is a safety issue and should be corrected ASAP.

Looks like an American-Standard to me.

I don't inspect them either John but the stuff inside is all pretty basic. You have an hour meter that clocks the run time of the pump (probably used to schedule maintenance) it also has a off-manual-auto switch for the pump operation, below it is a terminal block, to the right, the orange device is a timed relay (I would imagine used for miniumn on time for the pump once it starts to prevent short cycling - (semi wag), to the right of that is the pump contactor (used to start and stop the pump), below it looks like a light or horn that goes through the bottom of the cabinet to siginal a problem with the system and above the contactor is stuff you already know.

Gary - what's your avatar? Looks like Edison.

Oh Chad..... Wow, never seen anything like that and I've been in some strange basements.

Sorry - just my sense of humor. Click.

Completed the AT?

No, not with out a last name attached. Ex-wife? Child support? To many parking tickets?

Yes - your real name = credibility. Would be a good idea to start using it here if you want to be treated with any respect.

That was a bit below the belt. I've been around the block a few times but still haven't seen everything there is in regards to HVAC/R/P. Take the high road and be a mentor - it's not hard to do and very rewarding.

I liked the old way better. Looks like a lot of wasted real estate on my screen. Is this for viewing on a BlackBerry?

Rustic charm at it's best. Brand new addition with a lovely bay winodw just waiting for you to make it your own. Move in condition!

Wow - very odd. They cap the vent when their doing a pressure test but I've never seen that before.

The black and white tile schemes are from the 30's (at least up here).

I guess it's a matter of degree. I always show folks how to deal with their steam boiler, change a furnace filter, humdifier, etc. That's necessary, can't live without it information. Telling folks to change their locks seems intrusive. That's just me...... Hey Kurt... The reason I tell them to change the locks is you never know how many copies of keys are out there - the neighbor has one to keep an eye on the home should the owner be on vacation, the owners sister etc. I've had quite a few people say "that's a good idea, I would have never thought of that". However I'm not going to put that stuff in the report anymore as the few always ruin it for the many. I like the idea Chris had about driving it to my web site. Gives me a good excuse to update it anyway - been a few years since I gave it a face lift. Thanks all.

This has happened to me three times now so I'm at a crossroads. In my report I always recommend things that are not a defect but would be a good idea to do IE. Change all the locks on the doors, replace a hot water tank (that is still OK but over 12 years old) - leaf guard system on a 2 story home situated in a wooded lot etc. The latest one was my client wanted the seller to replace all the locks on the doors because the home inspector said so. At this point my thoughts are to mention the items verbally but not to put it into writing and just keep the actual report for pressing issues. Anyone else every run into this?

Same here - that's why I said cold climates. I doubt this would show up as a problem in the warm climates...

A great tool to have: http://www.bookmarki.com/Trane_Ductulat ... neduct.htm Used it all the time when I was in the trades. This looks interesting: http://unicosystem.com/Portals/0/Videos ... 20(2009-05).pdf I was just using Google to try and find some "how to" web sites regarding using the Trane Ductulator for those that have never used one.

Did the doors operate?

For those of you in the cold climates: when there is a new 95% furnace installed and the only thing left venting in the old chimney is the hot water tank how many recommend that the flue should now be lined?

The user's manual and the installation manual contain conflicting information. I'd tend to trust the installation manual with regard to this particular issue. As for combustion air issues, I've yet to see a garage in my area that didn't provide adequate combustion air. I don't know about other regions, but around here, we have large overhead doors on our garages with gaps large enough to throw a cat through. Installing combustion air vents in a garage here would be like installing vents in a screen door. - Jim Katen, Oregon On an older home maybe but with new construction their pretty tight (in this neck of the woods).