Stephen D. Gazo

Hi Jim, Thank you for the trick. I am all over the province with school and some idiot hired me, bloody advertising,,, I will most definetly try that. Especially since I am not a fan of eucaylptus so I will no doubt smell it, and find it.lol I am doing my plumbing course now and have yet to see how to pressure test the system. I would imagine that it only tells you that it holds pressure, or doesn't. And use your tip to locate the leak. Will send you a PM when I have this sorted..... Thank you very much for your time and assistance. Steve

Bump

Man I hope not....any other ideas that dont involve ripping it apart. I am not that naive to think that this will be a cheap and easy fix. After all I have been through with this house nothing surprises me anymore. I have already repaired lots of this house and plumming is my next area under the microscope. Since I heard a gurgle or a blub, is there a one way check valve that may be swinging somewhere? Looking back at the pic, does its geometry work. Someone wrote about the leg being shorter than the arm after the trap...?? thanx for helping Steve

Happy Victoria Day Weekend. Okay, I went up on the roof and checked the smelly stacks, to verify if the house is vented. Yep its vented and it doesnt smell at all! I sat beside the stack in question and had my wife first flush the toilet. I heard the flush and listened to it drain. She then turned on the sink and I heard it drain, but I also heard glubs. I checked the other stack and it was okay, no glubs (also no toilet on that one) Do the glubs mean that its burping somehow and each glub is a nice sewar rose coming up the sink...It still smells at that sink, but at least I know it isnt vented to the wall. Any ideas Steve

My house got hit by lightning a bunch of times. Blew everything electrical. It started at the water main shut off in the front lawn, then found the Bell and Cable wires and from there into the house. Sorry no pics, this was back in the day when a computer was for geeks. 1996 Thankfully the insurance company was down the street when it hit. The insurance adjuster left work to follow the fire trucks (only out of curiosity). I was on tour in Yugoslavia so I got some strange phone calls coming from the other side of the pond. I think it was just under 25k to replace everything and a bit more for paint and dry wall.

lol thanks, not dainty in the least, will take a breath of the smelly stack. Its better than my idea. doing course homework today (plumbing) so will get back to you with my find. Steve

Hi Kurt, I have a submersible pump like you mentioned. Can you expand on your 'when the point was last pulled' thank you Steve

Thanx guys, Okay, I wasnt here when the "stacks' were installed. Yes I see three of them on the roof. they were not there when the house closed, because the idiot at town office only mentioned it to them afterwards. The town insp apparently saw that they were going to use AAV's, which as mentioned is not allowed around here. How long would it take to install a vent were no vent existed? They ripped out some walls and claimed to push the stack up inside the wall, okay, but how did they get passed the top plate and into the attic and outside. I will try dropping in an ice cube and listen.

while I was trying to load this I went around the house to all the drains, they are all the same. If it is not the trap, which I am now thinking its a vent issue. In the back of the photo, thats the vent pipe going into the wall. They installed the vents after we were in the house a month, and after my wife got out of the hospital, yeah those gases will make you sick. My contractor was removed from service and I had him removed as my builder from Tarion Warranty. I called several plumbers, they want nothing to do with my house, as they know who built it. Small town logic....any ideas on how to confirm if those vents go farther than my wall???? aaarghhh

okay, lets see if this works Click to Enlarge 30.33 KB

I am not sure why I cant see the pic. Is there something I missed, a little help,,, thank you Steve

Good morning, The pic is my main floor bathroom. My wife is complaining of sewer smell when the water runs. Its important to note that no plumber was used during the building of this house. I am still fighting Tarion and well thats another story. So, is this trap big enough to do its job. I read that I need a 2" trap? Click to Enlarge .JPG].JPG] 30.33 KB Click to Enlarge .JPG] 30.33 KB

Hi Bill, You say it didnt work, did all that wiring not even make its way to a panel? Just seems like a lot of work, to not have it work. Steve

To support my stance on oil recovery, I direct you to the Robinair website for the model 34700Z. I have not used that particular model but it also removes oil. The 34700Z is equipped with automatic oil drain. During the recovery process the air conditioning system oil is collected and drained into a bottle built into the unit. Robinair AC machines are also great for recharging your air conditioning system.

Hey guys, When I related the vacuum pump to pulling in the oil and other contaminates from the system, I should have added that the compressor simply cannot give it up. But the lines will have residue that is pulled by vacuum during evacuation. Most of our compressors have a drain and fill port. Never saw a dipstick on one, we used cable ties and dipped it in through the fill port. As for welding or soldering up a contained system, never. That sounds more like a house unit or a fridge. All the units I worked on where either vehicle mounted, in a medium box, in a sea container (field hospitals) driven by the engine or electical motors. I too have been off the floor for a bit, so, mea culpa's to all. I will be more specific in my posts. mongo

Hey Marc, they use a smaller machine than mine. The RMS recovers everything in the system, including all the oil. Deep vacuum, as stated, creates a deep vacuum inside (approx 30in mercury), the reason for this is to lower the boiling point of the fluid. The oil boils off and is collected in the machine. Some of the machines that the AC guys use will not recover the oil, they are for installs only. My background is Military and Industrial Cooling and Heating (amongst other mech trades), all portable but large systems. When we have to break it down the RMS machine comes out, Pressure Testing, Evacuating, Recovery, Deep Vac and Charge System and replace the oil all in one.

If the unit is being removed 'properly', the RMS machine is attached and is programed to recover. During recovery all of the oil is also sucked out as well, mostly. It wont clean out the dryer so replace that and accumulator, depending on set up. Once all the changeover is complete a 'deep vacuum' (30 inches) for 30 minutes is required to clean out the system. Deep vacuum gets pretty much everything out except metal filings. Recharge with new R and PAG. Hope that the old parts (evap, txv,et al) continue to hold. Personaly, I would change my sytem complete, but thats me. Yes, a large part of the effiency ratings of the newer units is due to the variable speed fans. Also, the newer units will be using R-410a. It can be difficult to thoroughly clean the old coil to remove all traces of the R-22 oil, which isn't the least bit compatible with R-410a. - Jim Katen, Oregon

You gotta get give some better pics...The only true way to know is sending it to a lab. Do not disturb it. are there any concerns with that old Knob and Tube shown...

My mom had the washing machine in the basement beside the drain, she kept it primed. My last house had the AC and Air Exchanger draining into it. Or when it drys out and you smell the yummyness emmiting from the basement, you get the water jug and top it up. Maybe the coolness keeps it from evaporating as well. I am on sceptic now and the drain goes into the big O tub and then pumped away...no smell on that one. Wow, I'm shocked. Even 100-year old houses around here have them (never still in working order, of course). For those of you who've never seen them, how do your floor drain traps keep from drying out? OK, I can see why Marc might never have seen one; in LA they probably don't have basements or floor drains. But in NY & Ontario?

Bird and squirrel private entrance.

Congrats to Mike and Yung. You guys are doing something right. Steve

No Marc, I googled it as well. I only read a little bit but am certain I have never seen or heard of it...until

All kidding aside, you guys make it sound pretty common. Is it in older homes, after owner made up-grades or this just happens over time...I ask because I never heard of it before, curious and curiouser....

Hey all, lost 12-15 pounds still fluctuating. I dont mind. My cool pants fit and a few other articles of clothing as well. Just to chime in on Diet v Workout. Both of those words need to be defined in greater detail. So here is different look at it. Many of you eat what you want and never look into a gym or jogging path. Yet, remain at whatever wieght and fitness level your at. Nice. You may have several things going for you; great metabolism; naturaly active and the best one, your job. My last job I was a soldier, very active and very fit. I could and did eat everything. Well as promotions go you eventually hit a desk and you start to grow your ass out a bit. Sedate, no movement beyond the phone and the printer. Get home and get you tired of listening to your sweat roll down your neck. Gotta get active to create heat, warm up the bodies core. Must burn the calories. My point: Workout = Activity: create horespower, which can be measured as Calories burned. Your job and daily level of activity has much to do with 'working-out'. If your job and life has pretty much stopped you from being active your going to naturally build a bigger bum,,,, calories are accumulative, they add up on your hips and chins. If you feed on Big Macs, which are over 600 calories each and dont do 600 calories of activity, your going to pay extra at the Airport, eventualy. Walk or run the dog 20-30 min Beg the missus for some 15-20 Jumping rope 5min Canoing Golf,,,no cart carry your clubs (I do) Steps not elevators These add up.................. Diet is the second scarriest word in a mans lexicon, right behind shopping. Its only a word. I prefer to call it what realy is. EATING. I have been pretty good at eating, almost 47 years. Started off a little slow, needed some help in the beginning (thanx Mom). But after awhile I got the hang of it and am eating all by myself. Thought I was doing okay until I discovered that some of what I was eating, didnt agree with me (peanuts, lactose). So I had to figure out what I could eat and what I should try and avoid. Its eating, three to 6 times a day, but what are we eating. If you watch the movie Supersize me, over half way thru his experiment the doctor told him to stop or it could kill him, that was 15 days of eating fast food and no activity,,,,,hhhhmmmm GIGO:garbage in; garbage out To sum up. You need both. Its how you get both. We all get there in different ways. You guys that are still banging nails are probably fit and trim, you eat to feed the machine. As you slow down your activity, you gotta be more selective with what your feeding the machine. Because as many of us have found out, getting rid if that extra 10 20 pounds is brutal.. Good luck with your weight lose regime..... Steve

Okay, that B vent is way to close to the gable end siding, should be higher and at least 6' away. The shut off for the fuel is located in a dangerous location for emergency shut-offs. Having the H20 installed in the clothes closet is a no no for fresh air, its going to starve and then venting will most likey come back inside. No sign of CO detector in there and that shirt needs ironing,badly. No doubt there is more, please enlighten me, havnt touched gas since 1985 when it was new....