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On the professional level, Chinese plumbing products are a joke. They are so bad, many inspectors in these parts will turn down a fitting with "CHINA" cast into it. My institutional customers would rebid the job if I gave them Chinese materials on a job. Our USGov contracts would cancel us.

Chinese radiator vents? Ever see one crack and explode? It's on YouTube.

Chinese tools? They'll hurt you. Not one in our boxes,our trucks or our shop. Ever see the web site that illustrates the injuries from Harbor Freight exploding iron castings and saw blades?

Have I said I think Chinese castings and machining are inferior? The stuff is garbage. I and my men wouldn't wear their leather gloves; probably get a rash or hives.

I found one building in a condo community where there were 2 water heaters and 2 furnaces that were direct vented.  All within a 3 foot section of an outdoor wall that has landscaping that had grown up in front of the venting.  The architect designed it that way to hide those awful looking pipes.  My customer has a direct vent DHW that the thermocouple interrupt switch was butchered by someone that had no clue.  They determined that the thermocouple interrupt was the reason for the failure and got some wire cutters and solder and rigged the wiring at the gas valve.  “Fixed it good” 

I got there just in time to use my soot vac to remove all the carbon from the flue and burner area.  (It is not called soot on a gas heater.Ask any gas company employee)  I determined that at least one of the four exhaust vents was swapped with the intake pipe.   I was able to get the gas valve to operate properly with a new thermocouple and pilot interrupt switch.  And gave the customer the price for redirecting the venting properly and extending all 4 of the exhaust vents an additional 18” from the wall, and painting them green to blend in with the shrubbery.  The price for the work was discounted 20% if they purchased a service and maintenance agreement.  A month later when the $14.95 payment for the service agreement showed up on the credit card statement, I got a call from the Lawyer son to cancel the auto-pay.  The Lawyer cancelled the needed repairs and that was the end or it.  I guess they are still having flame failure problems with the water heater.  Good thing that the “know it all” lawyer stepped in before Mom got the problems solved.    

Mom might have has a trouble free water heater if he didn't intervene

With Mod Cons and Tankless Water heaters, the shortest exhaust route o the outside overules all else. Mad Dog

I received this message this morning from someone who got help from this site:

• 

  mustela  12:27AM

  it’s 20°f. It’s 10pm. I spent the day at the hospital 2 hrs away w my 85 yr old mom in the ER. I get home and it’s 50° inside and dropping.

  I try a couple things w the boiler that worked the last time. Nuthin. Called two different 24 hr service companies. No one returns my call. I google some more.

  I find a brief message you posted in Nov ‘23 in response to a guy having problem similar to mine. Check the condensate trap for blockage.

  I don’t even know how or why this would affect the pressure switch (and I found the manual pdf so I have a lot of reading to do!) but IT WORKED.

  Thank you thank you thank you!!! 
Two hrs later no one’s returned my calls (yeah I bet it’s that kind of night) but that’s OK cuz we’re good!

  Did I say Thank You?