Terence McCann

I'd be tempted to do the whole inspection on video and give the client the cd however I believe ASHI prevents this (would be considered a walk and talk. no written report). I have a 60X optical zoom on our Sony camcorder and it would be ideal for this type of thing. Not much bigger than a high end camera as well.

Anyone use a camcorder on your inspection?

Should email Mike Rowe for "Dirty Jobs".

I saw a roof like that once however it was back in my experimental days as a youth.

A heat pump is an air conditioner (condensing unit) with a fancy valve. I'm happy just to see a pad under them.

Yes. It's a bogus installation. If you sent those pictures to any manufacture you would have all the backing you need. Or.... ask the installing contractor to provide proof that this type of installation is approved.

Do you wear glasses for vision or safety glasses on the job Mike?

Let's see - I have room right after Chinese drywall.

If you're presenting this to a group of Realtors I would impress upon them the importance of taking care of their client. The onus is on the buyers agent to make sure the house is in "lived in condition" when it is time for the home inspection. I do not de-winterize a home and I do not discount my rate for a home that isn't ready. I'm not in business to subsidize the laziness of others.

I'm not sure Bill. Some of the older schools use to run in a vacuum but I don't remember anything special about them.

That's a great looking boiler room - I mean it. Looks like someone really took pride on the installation. Was this residential? Has a very commercial/industrial look about it. Kurt's right as far as the piping goes. With that kind of wrap (insulation) it would most likely be a steam installation however it could have been converted to hot water at some point in it's life. As others have said a dead giveaway would be a sight glass with the water riding around half a glass. As far as finding low pressure systems on only residential that isn't true. When I worked with the Cleveland School Board we had a lot of systems that were only 5# heating four story brick school buildings. With steam you really don't need a lot of high pressure to heat. High pressure comes into play in hositals, power plants, industrial... A low pressure steam application is typically 30# and below.

Not very.

Ain't that the truth. Typically on a Friday at 4:45PM when it is raining.

Jim, what is the model number of your Ideal tester? Will it show numerous faults IE. False Ground and Reverse Polarity?

Back in the late 80's I first starting seeing these cameras however they were being used in large office buildings to check for hot spots in the electrical system. Not sure but they might be effective for shooting steam traps to see if their blowing by. Have you ever looked into branching out with your services? If so what have you found?

Is that 3/4 copper on the discharge? I have a hard time telling sizes from a picture.

In this case unfortunately not, for they had just replaced the roof. I have run into several case's now where I have only found the leak because of using the IR camera. In another recent case I had a roof with torn rubber seals around some of the plumbing vent flashings. I looked in the attic and didn't see obvious drip paterns in the insulation and the P-vents were not readily accessible without getting on my belly in 14" thick loose fill straddling trusses. When I was scanning the master bedroom bathroom I came accross this: Click to Enlarge 34.06 KB Chris, Oregon Few more questions Chris: IR does nothing but show different temperatures correct? With regards to the pic, the bathroom exhaust fan is right there, any chance that moisture was coming from the exhaust of the fan and showing up there? If the air conditioning is running on a warm day will you pickup cold areas that are attributed to the duck work? I see one in my future but I can't justify the price yet unless... In the trades we use to bill for using a Freon recovery machine if we had to repair the a/c system. We always tacked on 15.00 to every invoice to try and recoup the cost of items like WD40, rags, oil, etc. There was never a problem with doing this with the customer (all commercial or industrial though). I bring this up because I'm wondering how to charge for this instrument. I can't see myself saying "I think there may be a leak here and I have a tool in my truck that can tell for sure. If you'd like me to use it it will cost you 100.00." One of the problems is I look at this tool as nothing more than a high end moisture detector and I can't see charging for this service. It would be comparable to a mechanic charging for using a screwdriver. "I can repair that car for you but it will involve taking a screw out. There is a 10.00 screwdriver fee, would you like me to proceed?" The customer will understand the screw part. This discussion has been around the block a few times. Anyone here charge?

Are clay liners sufficient? I think you mean to watch out for an unlined(bricks only, no clay liner)chimney. It this correct? No, I'm referring to a standard chimney with a terracotta (clay) liner. The main problem with the old terracotta lined chimneys is that they were designed for furnaces that had a hotter leaving flue gas temperature, it would leave the chimney in a vapor state. Remember that these furnaces were 60% efficient at best. Now with the higher efficiency furnace they squeeze a lot more heat out of the unit so the leaving flue gas temperature is much lower. End result is flue gas condensing inside the chimney instead of leaving the chimney in a vapor form. Flue gas, when condensed into to liquid, is corrosive. Whenever I see a new furnace that has an induced draft fan I always note the presence, or lack thereof, a flue liner (stainless) in an older home.

One thing to remember too John, with this type furnace, if it was installed in an older home, as a replacement, typically the chimney needs to be lined. If these appliances are installed in a small closet be mindful of the combustion air requirements. Just a heads up.

That product is now referred to as "Green". One man's trash.....

Chris: Are all those areas active leaks or just temperature differences due to the home being at 45 degrees at the beginning of the inspection? Is it possible that the framing members just warm up slower than drywall? Last question, if in fact all those areas are wet did you cross check with your moisture meter? Findings? I lied, one more question, do you present this to the buyer and inform them that they have active leaks in all these areas? Not having been through IR training I'm out of my comfort zone.

Yup.

A lot of commercial systems are ceiling mounted fan coils with chilled/hot water coils. A lot of apartments have floor mounted fan coils with chilled/hot water coils in the rooms. There is nothing wrong with a hot water coil for heat. A constant 140 degree coil may seem cold in the dead of winter as apposed to a boiler that is putting out 200 degree water though. No worse than a heat pump for sure.

Not in this neck of the woods.

A leak that would cause a dramatic spike in propane use also holds true. Things would be pretty dank in the old home front. Also a boiler that takes on continuous makeup water is one step away from a cracked heat exchanger. All the sediment drops to the bottom of the heat exchanger and acts like insulation between the flame and the water. The end result is that the heat exchanger overheats and cracks. If indeed it's abnormally high propane use I'd put money on a leak - most likely outdoors. As they say in the city "propane shore is stinky".