John Kogel

Yes, if the fan doesn't vent the room, that hatch will. []

New England accent. Mah-bel Tanks, Chad. [:-graduat Denny, like you , I have only one ball, but it's a brass one. [] I don't use it much, especially since I read on here it is an unprofessional piece of equipment. My wife bought shelves at Ikea, never mind the sarcastic comment. What I got was the nifty level. Now I have that in my pouch with my brass ball. For professional appearances and for checking floors, I have the 4 footer out in the truck. Click to Enlarge 14.2 KB

You say propane is not very common in your area. You say the fireplace was installed and used by the previous occupants. Any signs of an amateur installation? If not, it is likely a NG unit with blockage somewhere.

That's easy. Horns are on cows. Ya can't shoot them. Deer have antlers. Go ahead. Antlers fall off, horns don't. Jim, I know that was a joke, because you knew the answer, maybe forgot you knew. Know the difference between a simpleton and a rocket scientist? Nice find, Denny, and a good pic.

you got no response because you typed that with no capitals or breaks hard to read. A new control box would be high on my list, after checking for shorts or loose connections.

Copper oxide if I had to guess, which I do. But why corrosion, I can't say. Maybe some corrosive materials stored under the house.

I'll bet the green one is sweating harder than the black one. I'll bet the black one is a hot line. i'll bet it's a damp crawl too. []

That thing will go just fine with a modern V-6 and a 5-speed stick. Why add weight to the nose with a bunch of gas-guzzling cylinders?

It is a conditioned crawlspace, Bob. There are three adjustable heat registers and no vents to the outdoors. I agree there are better products for insulating the perimeter. I do sort of a duck-walk with my feet flat on the floor, works for me. But my client will need to crawl in hands and knees to change the filter.

I think it's the wrap around windsheild, gives it more of a Tbird look, but he's kept the nose and grilles of what we called the Low-boy. Very nice.

Some of y'all have seen these before, but it was new to me. Luckily, I found the spec sheets and did a quick study. The Rinnai demand water heater supplies both domestic hot water and the 75,000 BTU/hr hydronic furnace, which is simply a heat exchanger and a blower fan. The RU98i water heater has a max output of 199,000 BTU/hr and that would be a whole lot of hot water. I ran the thermostat up and the house warmed up 2 degrees in about 15 minutes. It's a one storey bungalow, about 1600 sq ft. Anyway, it works well. Crawlspace is ok but needs some strips of carpet to finish it up, eh? [] Click to Enlarge 51.75 KB Click to Enlarge 49.33 KB Click to Enlarge 49.32 KB Click to Enlarge 43.25 KB

Thanks, Welly, for starting this thread. [] A meet somewhere between Illinois and the Eastern seaboard? Maybe some of us could attend by Skype? Topic of discussion is let me see if I got it, "What is a home inspector?" I like the concept.

Yeah I was going to say Jim needs to be more careful about keeping his reports confidential. []

The vacuum breaker is what would make it possible for a water heater to drain itself dry. Without the vacuum breaker, the water could never leave the tank unless someone opened a faucet or other fixture to let air in. I know this because I live on a hill, 100-feet above my water meter. Our water co-op is a rather loosely maintained affair and we lose all water pressure a few times a year. When this happens, everything is just fine unless I open a faucet. In that case, the faucet sucks air and water starts to drain out of the hot water tank. Close the faucet, and it stops draining. The vacuum breaker is supposed to break the suction on the cold line at the top of the tank. Sounds like you need one. [] Except you'd get 100 feet of air in your line every time.How about a check valve down by the meter? That's OK, I hate working on plumbing too. The standard here for new homes is for a check valve and an expansion tank. And they still put the vacuum relief valve in. I think the check valve makes an expansion device necessary. But I'm no plumber.

There is another scenario, where the tank could siphon itself out if a water main broke, or if pressure dropped for any reason like a fire down the street. Then an electric water heater might burn out an element and a gas unit could overheat itself. Anyway, they have been mandatory here forever, except in manufactured homes maybe not. Sure I see water heaters on occasion that never had one installed with no apparent ill effect, but that would be out in the sticks where folks are kind of reckless. Like Oregon. []

Read the tale agin. Sounds like two days and two smoked trannys to me. Dillhole? []

One bed sheet, one large garbage bag. The bed sheet goes over the clothes on the rack. Garbage bag on the floor to catch the fallout. The Telesteps has a velcro strap, so I roll it all up and tuck it in there, fluffies and all. Sometimes, fairly often? I forget to shake the sheet out, so I end up with three kinds of insulation in my bundle, but with a bit of care, none of it hits the floor. Garage hatch? Not much insulation up there. Click to Enlarge 27.26 KB Here's my 20 inch ladder in a 17 inch closet doorway. [] Click to Enlarge 20.42 KB I've got the sheet under the foot of the ladder. That is a no-no on a slippery floor. []

It is a vacuum relief valve, boys. We are required to have them here. The theory is that if water pressure fails, that valve will prevent stinky tank water from siphoning out and entering the potable water supply. I am told this is never going to happen, but the plumbers are obliged to install them anyway. The plastic knob is just a cap. You can spin it all day if you feel so inclined. Chad is just jerkin your chain. [] BTW, it only sucks, whereas a pressure relief valve only blows. []

Yes it is a crack. But it appears to have been ground (with a grinder) and welded?

The Serial Number is probably 1D2-57. The Model Number is too faded to be sure, but it may be 80-2HO (output 80,000 BTU, size 2, Horizontal, Oil). It's before my time at Airco. It certainly is an old machine with what looks like an Aero burner with a cast iron head. With the older pump, it can't be a retention head burner. Even the Rating Plate is ancient. The input is rated at 105,000 BTU with the .75 gph nozzle. The last two numbers of the Serial Number refer to the manufacturing date: 5 is the month, 7 is the year. By 1977, the Rating Plates were a newer design, and the burners the retention head style. In 1957, the furnace should have had rounded corners. So, this must be a 1967 furnace. Even the controls suggest the 1960's rather than '70's. I'm pretty sure that your furnace was built in May of 1967. Thanks you, sir. I had the house dated as a '65 so 1967 it is.

You don't get to "choose" a particular sink - they offer you a stainless sink and then offer you the sizes to choose. I was hoping for other "professionals" to be able to tell me if there was a certain classification for different 80/20 sinks etc. maybe I missed something. From what I am seeing so far - that is not an 80/20 sink but I am not an expert in the industry and was hoping to gain more knowledge. Thanks - your comment was extremely helpful. [:-thumbd] The sink they installed is what some suppliers describe as a 60/40.So in the light of this latest info, theygaveyouachoice and you picked 80/20, it would appear that a mistake was made. There you go. If you have a manufacturer, they would be the best source for a picture of what their 80/20 sink looks like.

When we got our new counter top, we looked at pictures in a pamphlet and my wife chose the one in the first pic. It is a good sink. If you wash dishes by hand, you can fill either the big one or the little one. The one you call 80/20 is not as versatile, IMO. It is unfortunate that you didn't clarify what you wanted. I think the blame should be shared equally if it is a mistake that needs to be corrected.

Hello Howard. This Airco oil furnace is mounted horizontally in the crawlspace. Model 10-2H7, Serial 102-57. Can you tell the year? I know it is old. The age of the furnace can help us establish the age of the house. Click to Enlarge 63.5 KB Click to Enlarge 44.12 KB Click to Enlarge 48.06 KB

Jim as you know, the light fixture needs to be rated for a damp location, not just any surface mount fixture. The CEC sees the light switch as a potential shock hazard, and has had this rule on the books since the 50's. I think they were not concerned with people with wet hands. It was people with wet hands while standing in a tub of water, in those days a metal tub with metal plumbing pipes. So it is the rule here still and we are used to it. Small bathroom, the switches are out in the hall.

It is not allowed in Canada, because Canadians conduct electricity. I don't know why Americans don't. [:0]