John Kogel

Don't do it. Call the gas supplier and tell them it's an emergency, and the baby's gonna die if they don't fill the tank. The big tank will quite often have a big pressure regulator and a high pressure line to the house. Then there may be another regulator at the appliance to drop the pressure to the proper level. You could end up doing damage or causing a leak, and still no heat. I recall pumping propane from a large tank to a small one with a hand pump, but that is a specialized item you don't have. When I had a camper trailer, I sometimes filled my spare tank half full with another full tank. These were the days before easy 20 lb tank exchanges. With the two tanks on a T, tilting the full tank upside down and opening both valves allows the LP to flow into the empty until the pressures equalized. This bad practice destroyed the seals on my good tank, because slag from welding rolled out and got lodged in the valve. Also, as Jim rightfully points out, the new tanks have a safety valve that won't allow you to pour the propane.

Well, I guess I've got to stop buying the cheap-ass on-sale vinegar from the remainder bin. Bain's Xtra Strenth Coil Cleaner. It should be hitting the shelves down your way in a month or two. []Kentucky Koil Kleaner. Look for the jug with the triple X. (3 K's crossed out) []

I've tried to burn that stuff - no way, at least not the samples I've taken. I just call it shredded wood insulation. There'd be no reason to add asbestos. It is a fireproofed wood product.

Mark, that was not an inspection, it was an autopsy. Good luck to you and your clients in 2012.

If your meter is spinning the way you describe it, it is possible that the auxiliary electric heat is coming on. Check to see if the heat pump is sized correctly for your square footage. It's a new unit, so it should be able to keep you warm without the help of the furnace at the mild temperatures we're getting right now. Do you have a big open stairway that is funneling the warm air back upstairs?

No. Not in an air conditioning circuit. First of all, the motor *is* providing the overcurrent protection to the wire. Second, if the "accepted rule" you're talking about is 240.4, it contains an exception for air conditioning equipment. (240.4(G)). This section refers you to article 440 for sizing conductors for air conditioning equipment. But there's no need for that in most case. It's really easy. You just use the numbers on the data plate. Third, if you installed a 15-amp breaker on this circuit, it would tend to trip whenever the compressor fired up. You'd end up with a breaker tripping all the time and you wouldn't gain any safety. If you want a larger margin of safety use a larger wire, not a smaller breaker. That will also meet the manufacturer's requirements, and reduce voltage drop. But it's not necessary for a safe installation unless there are other considerations such as high ambient temperature, etc. The original question is flawed and the subsequent discussion runs off into the ozone. For the purposes of a home inspector inspecting the wiring to an air conditioner, this is simple enough. Look at the data plate and, just for the AC circuit, set aside the rote rules you've learned about breaker sizing. OK, thanks, Jim, Marc and all.I should say we rarely come across simple AC units here. It's our climate. We open windows for a bit of cool air. No bugs, no polluting industries. No hot sun, either. We use heat pumps a fair amount, but they have the highest initial cost of all, so they are typically found in the higher end houses. I have not come across under-sized wiring to a heat pump, but I have learned from this thread, thanks.

I'm inclined to agree with you, John. Minimum ampacity may be 14.4 amps, but what is the max? As Marc says, maybe 2 or 3 times that at every startup. If the compressor seizes up, the breaker won't trip until the current reaches 25 amps or more. Running a #14 gauge feeder inside a wall and feeding it with a 25 amp breaker would be asking for trouble, IMO. In the event of a rotor lockup or compressor seize, the automatic over-current protection built into the compressor might well activate and remove the motor from the circuit before the branch circuit breaker trips. That's by design. It's how it's intended to work. I've known this to happen much more often than a breaker trip in my 20 years in residential/light commercial HVAC. The manufacturer calculations that yielded the specified min ampacity value are designed to prevent the development of excessive temperatures in the branch circuit wiring in the event of a compressor seize or bearing lockup. Marc Thanks, Marc. Nevertheless, the circuit breaker ought to be sized to the wire size, not the expected load. At least that is the accepted rule, AFAIK. So a #14 gauge feeder would require a 15 amp breaker in the panel. The 15 Amp breaker exceeds the minimum of 14.4 amps, so it meets the manufacturer's requirement and it protects the wire. There is plenty of discussion on this subject here. http://hvac-talk.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=174066

I'm inclined to agree with you, John. Minimum ampacity may be 14.4 amps, but what is the max? As Marc says, maybe 2 or 3 times that at every startup. If the compressor seizes up, the breaker won't trip until the current reaches 25 amps or more. Running a #14 gauge feeder inside a wall and feeding it with a 25 amp breaker would be asking for trouble, IMO. Simply put, the label does not say to use a #14 supply cable. Does it? [?] Interestingly, the Canadian (CEC) rule, here for static heating loads, such as electric baseboard heating, allows us to use a wire gauge one size smaller than the standard. This is the new rule, and only applies to non-fluctuating loads.

I gave up on the free AVG and Avast after they both let me down. The techys don't upgrade the free stuff often enough, IMO. Since I started paying Norton, I've had no infections, knock on particle board. The virus was more of a scare than a reality. That is, according to the popup I saw, no computers were actually infected. Correct me somebody, if I'm wrong.

Looks like the guy was losing his shirt on that job. []

I suggest focusing (ha, I made a pun) on ebay. You can get perfectly good used older models for a fraction of what you'd pay for a new one. Ebay for high end cameras, sure.Or you can buy the Nikon Coolpix or similar for about $90. Get the ones that take AA's, and buy 2 pairs of rechargeables, total cost $100. I have dropped one 15 feet onto a concrete patio and it survived. I leave it in the smiley face setting (portrait) and use the cord to upload, never touching the memory card. That works for me and I take a ton of pics.

Learn to what, keep your mouth shut, maybe? [] I'm never wrong, so I've just quit insisting I'm right all the time. Jim, welcome and thanks for the feedback. It's a fast changing world out there and we need to keep up with it if possible.

I have seen similar rads used for hot water systems. Maybe the tenants on the 1st floor have their heat cranked. Maybe you don't like warm stuffy rooms.

When I see that white powder mold, it usually just on the surface of the wood, as if it is growing with the help of surface moisture. Usually the wood underneath is fine if it is given a chance to dry out. I put these fern pics up a while ago. This stuff was literally climbing the walls, but hiding from the light behind the baseboard trim. Nasty. It draws moisture out of the wood. The wood goes chunky, and falls apart. Click to Enlarge 64.86 KB Click to Enlarge 71.68 KB

I don't wish to start a p--ing match here.HVAC is different. They specify a maximum fuse rating for the equipment. Yes, an electrician should do the install of the electrical to the AC or heat pump. I posted a source, Home Depot. Lowes. OK, you would need to pay the retail price of $16 and add your markup. http://www.lowes.com/pd_13321-296-HOM22 ... facetInfo= Your local wholesaler could order them in if the demand was there. JMO. A real home inspector does not miss the junk you mentioned in your rant. No doubt, there are some flaky characters out there that give us a bad rep. But I think you might be saying the 30 amp breaker is a non-issue and a waste of your time? Is that right?

Someone that installs AC for a living should have a box of 25 amp breakers in the truck, I would think. Anyone can order one here, and the price is right, under $16. http://www.homedepot.com/buy/electrical ... 70768.html I understand the logic behind installing a 30 amp breaker. And electricians will say it is there to protect the wire, not the appliance. But I would still call it out as a fault. The manufacturer wants 25 max.

Oy

Not to put too fine a point on it, but those aren't dormers on the front of the home -- they are gables. Unless terminology is different in Canada, that is. Dormers sit on the roof. You're right. West of the Ottawa River, dormers sit on the roof, just like yours do.East of there, 'dormer' means 'to sleep'. Sleepin rooms up there on the roof there, eh? I guess I should have called them 'gabled bumpouts'. They're too short to be wings.

I suspect an electrical contractor had old stock to get rid of. I was happy to see the copper wiring, though. Maybe the building is a bit older than they want to admit? []

It's amazing how nonchalant people can be about stuff like this. In the entry way of a 1970 condo unit, when I loosened the black tape, the 40 amp fuse block popped loose. I suppose it could have been fixed with a pair of pliers, but I called for an electrician to do the repair, or replace. I told the clients to install a couple of spare fuses in those empty sockets for safety. Click to Enlarge 37.89 KB Click to Enlarge 29.76?KB Those spring clips are hot (energized). Click to Enlarge 69.45?KB Looks pretty clean for the age, though. Lots of nice copper.

This dimmer was in my junk box. It has a circuit with a capacitor, because when I try to measure resistance with a DMM, I see a capacitor charging up. Can't get a good read. The metal plate was 11 deg C when I plugged in the 700 Watt load. After 10 minutes or so at about 50% dim, it has heated up to 13 deg C. The heater was up to 37 deg C. My shop in the garage is a frigid 10 deg C today. My take is there is minimal energy lost here, relatively modern dimmer design. The dimmer is rated for 500 W max. It seems to be handling 700 Watts, but this is a strictly controlled lab test, eh? [] Click to Enlarge 47.56?KB C --- F 10 --- 50 11 --- 52 13 --- 55 37 --- 99

Thanks, men. Since John mentioned heat, I made an assumption [:-wiltel] that he was talking old school dimmers. The newer sliding control dimmers I'm sure are a wiser choice, both for efficiency and safety.

Looking at the pics, the overhang is equal on all the gables. I think Dumass needed to correct the gable wall to match the brick veneered dormers, but didn't care to do it properly.

I don't dim lights to save energy, but then, my house doesn't have dimmers. And didn't we used to dim lights to increase the energy? [] Yes, the rotary dimmer switch is just a big resistive coil with a copper brush that picks up the feed to the light. As you dim the light, you increase the resistance, but the fixture is still drawing whatever, 5 or 6 40 watt bulbs on a chandelier. Better to turn 3 bulbs off. Or use them to heat the house. That is the direction to head for, capturing the heat from the lights.

I would call for more sunshine. []