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Re: exploded manifold
Looks like an early Combi- Cor which had an internal heat exchanger. Most likely the heat exchanger has failed allowing house pressure to the radiant manifold.
Re: How some pros install and professionals accept
For the sake of the conversation, we are talking about Professional Engineers (PE) or degreed engineers who are either working for a PE or for a manufacturer, yes?
Train Engineers generally are not very knowledgeable about heating and maintenance guys who have been given the "Engineer" title by some HR person are an insult to the profession.
I do think that redirecting engineers is an art form. Phone calls and trying to explain it verbally almost never works unless you have a positive relationship, to begin with. Your frustration is difficult to mask and they usually get defensive.
I like to do a very clear markup of the plans explaining the concerns and suggesting alternatives. It is important to keep it 100% factual and positive. Clearly state what you are concerned about and why. On the pipe sizing in this example, you would point out that although the design will work, you are concerned that you will get a callback because of noisy pipes. You could also point out the pipe velocities and your experience with pipe erosion.
I usually give them a phone call heads up before sending the markup, I reinforce that I would like to have them read my comments and then would like to set up a time to discuss. Again say nothing confrontational.
Most of the time, when they are faced with just the facts, in writing, they will sign off on the changes. Nobody likes to accept that they made a mistake, especially engineers. If they are faced with the choice of an easy path to correct the mistake with no blame assigned or potentially be called out with "I told you so" and potentially a bill for the changes, I have found they will usually take the easier path.
If you can manage the conversation so the fix seems like their idea, you get extra points.
Train Engineers generally are not very knowledgeable about heating and maintenance guys who have been given the "Engineer" title by some HR person are an insult to the profession.
I do think that redirecting engineers is an art form. Phone calls and trying to explain it verbally almost never works unless you have a positive relationship, to begin with. Your frustration is difficult to mask and they usually get defensive.
I like to do a very clear markup of the plans explaining the concerns and suggesting alternatives. It is important to keep it 100% factual and positive. Clearly state what you are concerned about and why. On the pipe sizing in this example, you would point out that although the design will work, you are concerned that you will get a callback because of noisy pipes. You could also point out the pipe velocities and your experience with pipe erosion.
I usually give them a phone call heads up before sending the markup, I reinforce that I would like to have them read my comments and then would like to set up a time to discuss. Again say nothing confrontational.
Most of the time, when they are faced with just the facts, in writing, they will sign off on the changes. Nobody likes to accept that they made a mistake, especially engineers. If they are faced with the choice of an easy path to correct the mistake with no blame assigned or potentially be called out with "I told you so" and potentially a bill for the changes, I have found they will usually take the easier path.
If you can manage the conversation so the fix seems like their idea, you get extra points.
Re: Am I Over Staffed ? Or Under staffed ?
Everyone has their natural “ceiling” for amount of employees and profitability. I suspect many companies your size make small to no profit. The high rollers have large companies and high profit, to them I tip my hat 🎩 , must be cool to pull in a 7 digit.
I got to 10 employees (no profit) then reeled it back to 5 (profit)
Start chopping the stuff that make little to no money, you know what calls they are. Bigger companies run every call, small companies need to pick and choose
I got to 10 employees (no profit) then reeled it back to 5 (profit)
Start chopping the stuff that make little to no money, you know what calls they are. Bigger companies run every call, small companies need to pick and choose
Re: Need advice on recent work done by boiler service company
1-NEVER remove a safety device.
2- That pressure relief is for your domestic hot water, not the boiler side.
3-Valve above the pressure relief, the packing nut needs to be tightened (brass nut behind the blue handle) snug it up
4- The air vent above the tank is leaking and should be replaced.
5- No reason to not properly fix the damper, it is holding your heat inside.
6- Time to find a new tech/company
7- NEVER remove a safety device, technically the system should not be on without it, it's that important. Was that his permanent fix if so, fire them.
8- Hard to see but I hope the boilers pressure relief is on top of the boiler, and should at minimum be checked if not replaced.
9- Yes they are jerking you around.
D
2- That pressure relief is for your domestic hot water, not the boiler side.
3-Valve above the pressure relief, the packing nut needs to be tightened (brass nut behind the blue handle) snug it up
4- The air vent above the tank is leaking and should be replaced.
5- No reason to not properly fix the damper, it is holding your heat inside.
6- Time to find a new tech/company
7- NEVER remove a safety device, technically the system should not be on without it, it's that important. Was that his permanent fix if so, fire them.
8- Hard to see but I hope the boilers pressure relief is on top of the boiler, and should at minimum be checked if not replaced.
9- Yes they are jerking you around.
D
Radi-gator (and radi-saurus)
My wife caught me looking at old plumbing porn here so she suggested I post some of our handiwork. When we bought this old farm house it had beat up baseboard hot water heat downstairs (baseboards falling off of walls due to rust, front panels not fitting and exposing fins mashed into an ugly mess) and electric baseboards upstairs. Before we even closed on the property I had run heat loss calcs on most of the rooms and located cast iron hot water radiators off of craigslist that more or less matched each room's need. Within a week I'd completely ripped out the baseboard with glee (and found two places where it had been leaking so badly that it had rotten out the floor down to the sill).
I had the rads sandblasted and repainted them then my wife made some of them fun. The Radi-saurus is in our daughter's room and the Radi-gator is in the living room. The tie-die one is in the TV room and some day I'd like to see it with a Flir camera as I bet the heat gradient will loosely resemble the paint job. The little yellow one (downstairs bath) is my favorite. The others not pictured are either pastel colors that match the rooms (my wife's doing) or are modern European Myson panel rads in a few spaces where I couldn't make a CI unit fit.
There are at least three different brands represented but you can't tell unless you look closely.
I had the rads sandblasted and repainted them then my wife made some of them fun. The Radi-saurus is in our daughter's room and the Radi-gator is in the living room. The tie-die one is in the TV room and some day I'd like to see it with a Flir camera as I bet the heat gradient will loosely resemble the paint job. The little yellow one (downstairs bath) is my favorite. The others not pictured are either pastel colors that match the rooms (my wife's doing) or are modern European Myson panel rads in a few spaces where I couldn't make a CI unit fit.
There are at least three different brands represented but you can't tell unless you look closely.
What did I miss?
Hello, fellow wetheads.
Sorry for ghosting y'all. I went through a real dark time while closing our business a few years back. I've learned a lot about the value of my personal time and professional labor since then. The sound of a phone ringing or email notification at night no longer fills me with a feeling of intense dread.
I'm still in NJ, and available for consulting and light service. If any of my former customers have been trying to reach me (my phone and email were inactive), I'll try to rectify the harm caused by my absence to the best of my ability. I hear that a few folks have taken up the torch around the state and have been doing killer work. I'm happy to see good steam work being done, and looking forward to being active here again.
Sorry for ghosting y'all. I went through a real dark time while closing our business a few years back. I've learned a lot about the value of my personal time and professional labor since then. The sound of a phone ringing or email notification at night no longer fills me with a feeling of intense dread.
I'm still in NJ, and available for consulting and light service. If any of my former customers have been trying to reach me (my phone and email were inactive), I'll try to rectify the harm caused by my absence to the best of my ability. I hear that a few folks have taken up the torch around the state and have been doing killer work. I'm happy to see good steam work being done, and looking forward to being active here again.
Re: NO HEAT CALL
Long time lurker, first time commenter. Seriously. Guys - even I can see that's a squirrel cage fan.
I'm staying right here.
In the last few weeks, I've been lingering around various other heating groups on social media. It was a short lived exercise. I recognized a lot of names that hang out there, but it was the ones I didn't know that really caught my attention. Not all of them, but many.
The level of Monday morning quarterbacking, unneeded accusations of hackery, foul language, and the like really turned me off; and it was very rare to see someone offering constructive criticism. The few times I saw the latter was usually from a Wallie. But the thing that really shocked me was overt racism and the use of racial epithets. I, for the life of me, don't understand how or why that's allowed. And how does any of that help our industry? It makes us look like a bunch of immature knuckleheads who were brought up wrong.
I'm no angel by any stretch but I believe in decorum, respect, and promoting our industry in a professional manner. I appreciate HH more than ever because I had no idea that many of the other sites were like that. Naive, on my part I guess. Thanks for keeping the bar held high. The others could learn a lot by following your lead.
The level of Monday morning quarterbacking, unneeded accusations of hackery, foul language, and the like really turned me off; and it was very rare to see someone offering constructive criticism. The few times I saw the latter was usually from a Wallie. But the thing that really shocked me was overt racism and the use of racial epithets. I, for the life of me, don't understand how or why that's allowed. And how does any of that help our industry? It makes us look like a bunch of immature knuckleheads who were brought up wrong.
I'm no angel by any stretch but I believe in decorum, respect, and promoting our industry in a professional manner. I appreciate HH more than ever because I had no idea that many of the other sites were like that. Naive, on my part I guess. Thanks for keeping the bar held high. The others could learn a lot by following your lead.
