Best Of
Re: "Yelp"/ angi list for contractors.
I heard of a crane operator that did not get paid for his work on the foundation of a building. The crane he uses was a very old one and looked like it was very old. That crane had a 60 foot boom and just so happened to be resting in a place that blocked all the entrances to the project. No other contractors were able to access the site to continue the work. When the job foreman told the crane operator the move the crane, he told them the the crane was inoperable and the mechanic will not come out to fix the crane unless he was paid up front. I'm sorry but I just don't have enough money to pay him until I get paid from one of my other job where where I'm using my smaller crane. I will have the money next Friday. So I guess we are stuck until I can get some money. Do you think you can pay me? I will take your payment to the bank right away so I can call the repair mechanic.
The check was there within the hour and it was cashed promptly. When he was paid in full, miraculously the crane started up with no problem and the job site was open for business to the other contractors.
I heard of a chimney contractor that installed a very expensive chimney and kept asking for his payment while the rest of the home was built around it. Eventually the home was finished and sold. The first winter the family tried to use the fireplace chimney only to find that it did not draft properly and loads of smoke poured into the living room. Of course the new homeowner called the builder and wanted the chimney to work. The builder took a mirror and looked up the chimney and saw light of day at the top. So the builder called the chimney contractor and told him the his chimney did not work. The mason said that his chimneys only work when they are paid for. When you make the payment in full for my work, I will go out and fix the problem. He got his payment in full, took it to the contractor's bank and cashed it that day. Once he had cash in hand, he went to the home with a defective chimney and used a heavy lead ball on a rope to smash the piece of glass that was cemented into it about half way down the chimney. You can see thru the glass to check for a blockage but smoke can't go past the glass. If you are working with someone new and you do not have access to the credit bureau, then you need to make your work just enough defective to fool the deadbeat customer, but easy enough to solve once they pay you.
A properly placed resistor can trip a circuit breaker after enough operating time has lapsed. A light sensing switch can also be positioned to cause intermittent failure of an electric circuit when the sun is in that perfect position. Only you can fix it because if you hide it well enough, the problem won't be there when someone else tries to fix it. Eventually you will get the call to solve the problem and you can collect for your services, then remove the hidden problem.
Re: Mystery tool
Leave it to the guy on the west coast to solve a Boston issue. Good job @Larry Weingarten
Re: Draft
Since 'draft' is technically the pressure differential btw the flue gases and the CAZ due to reduced flue gas density from the heat, we use that as an indirect measure of mass flow. We say a venting system 'has a good draft' when in actuality, we mean it is flowing about 0.8 meters per second according to ASHRAE. That means at that pressure differential we get a certain velocity, which, when it encounters flow restrictions, reduces the actual flow compared to a short, straight, smooth conduit, we interpret that as 'draft'.
A sig. or smoke source can only demonstrate a draft hood is just as stupid as those who think it serves a safety function. It is a separation of noxious flue gases from the one dedicated exhaust conduit with no instructions, directions or legal requirements for those gases to find their way into said conduit. Air and flue gases are stupid and will go where a pressure gradient forces them and there is a pathway for movement.
If we take CAZ air and suck it up a stack, that makes room for more stuff, such as the byproducts of combustion. Those get entrained with the CAZ air, now referred to as 'combustion air', combined with some extra CAZ air that was standing around not doing anything or paying attention and it all heads for the exit. However, some dope put a hallway at the room exit with big, wide-open doors but crosses his fingers everyone will instinctively know, without signs, to know which way to go and no penalty for cheating and taking the side short cuts.
If we allow just the flue gases to exhaust, some will hang out along the walls like punk kids at school and damage the walls. However, if we dump a lot more people moving briskly down the hall, everyone tends to move along and there isn't as much graffiti or damage to the walls of the hallway.
It helps to refer to it as 'draft pressure' and 'mass flow' of flue gases as two entirely distinct, separate concepts.
Draft hoods suck figuratively but not literally. You would have to apply smoke 360 degrees around a typical draft hood to ensure a lack of spillage. Some spill switches recommend doing this test to determine at what point on the compass you mount the switch. One problem is, you need it at one point normally then another when the adjacent clothes dryer kicks in or the furnace with the leaky return ducts fires up. Or, replace it with a barometric damper that focuses a backdraft directly towards one spill switch and you have a modicum of safety enhancement.
Re: Steam-one boiler or two, and, Atmospheric vs Gun
Gary....you're assuming the last guy did any math. Mad Dog
Re: "Yelp"/ angi list for contractors.
My boss and I went back to the shop one day patting each other on the back and talking in the office because we had sold the largest job we ever had at that time.
The owner after hearing all this chatter for 20 min or so came in and said. "the biggest job in the world doesn't mean crap until we get paid". "I want to know who is paying the bill and when there going to pay"
And he was right.
It's more important to know who your working for.
And as smart as he was in business even that owner got taken a couple of times.
We had a customer I won't name but they are/were one of the largest handgun MFGs. I am in Western, Ma so you can figure it out.
We had done work for them for 35 years or more including selling them tons of fuel oil.
They had a new 'assistant" in the purchasing dept. I bid a job there and he was told to get 3 prices. I was the low bidder. He called me and told me to order the equipment. He said the PO would be coming in a couple of weeks. This job was 150k which was a big job for us 45 years ago. Time went on , No PO another week, no PO.
I was scared I would get fired if I screwed up this account which was worth a lot to our company. I went to my boss and explained it. I had called the PA 3 times to get the PO and he was stalling me. He said "don't order the equipment , something is wrong". I said but "this is a big account" he said 'what are you going to do when you order the equipment with no PO and you find out this guy (the PA) gets fired"
And he was right.
We didn't get the job he was waiting for a kickback before he issued the PO. I was to young and naive to realize what he wanted. He did get fired a year later when they found out what he was doing.
There are dirty people everywhere. Develop your senses. When something seems to good …it is. When something seems wrong…it is,
Some people live their whole lives and get off suing people. Stay away from them.
Re: Single Pipe Steam Boiler Replacement & Piping (Unusual header?) Advice for Amateur
So I have a solution for you to use in order to get proper estimates for your new boiler
On the left of the yellow line is what might have been there and why there is a capped off horizontal pipe on the header. On the right of the yellow line is an illustration of a replacement boiler with a drop header using both 2" risers from a boiler that has about 170,000 BTU Input with about 445 SqFt Net Steam Rating
The drop header will offer enough room to connect all 4 risers from the basement ceiling to the header with proper drainage to avoid noisy operation and promote proper condensate drainage to the equalizer.
Take note that the old original water line may have been about 20" higher on the original coal fired boiler that was there before your current boiler. The fact that there was so much wrong with the existing system when your first moved in tells us that the installer of that boiler may not have read TLAOS, and may be a contributing factor in the folks you purchased that home from to move out in the first place.
You now have a chance to make that system eve better!!!
Crown Boiler has a nice diagram with pipe sizes for your installer to use when designing your new system This diagram shows only one main riser. your installer will need to modify in order ot accommodate the 4 risers you have.
An off-topic waste of your time (but amusing)....
So lately, I've been watching some videos by the Middle Aged Dad Jam Band - just a bunch of folks - led by David Wain - jamming in David's garage. Anyway, somehow the YouTubes algorithm pointed me toward this - a video by David Wain (with some of his now famous friends as kids) from 1992. It's about a kid from a plumbing family/school who wants to be an electrician. If you've got 20 minutes to kill, give it a watch. I suspect that some of the terminology isn't correct, but I pictured some of you in High School…
Have a good Memorial Day weekend!
Re: Single Pipe Steam Boiler Replacement & Piping (Unusual header?) Advice for Amateur
Suggest you get @Mad Dog_2 to consult. PM him
Re: Boiler Header Manifold
As long as there is not too much Chinesezium in the welding rod used.