Best Of
Re: Boiler Sizing
The person before you did their job very wrong, don't second guess yourself based on that.
Size to the system EDR. What boiler is currently there is 100% irrelevant.
KC_Jones
Re: "Yelp"/ angi list for contractors.
I must say, it may be an anomoly, but the contractors I use on my homes that dont ask for a down payment tend to deliver the best work. The ones that ask for a down payment tend to be the most difficult to work with.
I just had my 35 year old hvac system replaced in December. They couldnt start the ac part until it was warmer. I went ahead and paid in full and they returned on a hot day in April to start up the ac. The system does the job quickly and quietly.
Paying on time brings homeowners good karma.
SlamDunk
Re: Old fridge
Sometimes I use an icecube tray with lid and hot water.
Sometimes I use a ziplock bag full of hot water.
I've never propped a door open, not once so I have no idea where you're getting that from. It's full of food that I don't want getting warm.
Even my 1933 has the defrost option. I'm just too impatient to use it so I use the method I mentioned above twice a year.
ChrisJ
Re: Mixed freon
If it's fixed and no longer leaking I would recover the charge, replace the filter drier, evacuate and recharge it with R407C or whatever R22 replacement refrigerant is compatible with the oil in the system. I don't think you need to flush the system with anything besides the nitrogen that's used for pressure testing. R22 would be ideal if you happen to have it but you can probably use R407C, R22D or something else.
Re: Old fridge
On any 1930s and up GE you turn the knob to defrost and go to bed. When you wake up you dump the tray of ice and water into the sink.
It keeps running to maintain temperature but it raises the turn on point above freezing so the frost falls off.
How much time and energy are you going to factor in for that? It's zero energy.....
Regardless,
The efficiency of the refrigeration equipment hasn't changed. The insulation of the cabinet hasn't improved.
And like I said, even the much later ones that do use a lot of power, it's not enough to justify replacing it.
ChrisJ
Re: "Yelp"/ angi list for contractors.
Yes i have to Agree that these people that do not pay for services renderd should be tagged as "Dead beats" in order to make other contractors aware of this …However as some have mentioned above the situation can result in charges of slander or defamation..
Re: "Yelp"/ angi list for contractors.
I’m semi curious, these dead beat people- what % of the time are you dealing with them face to face? I have a tendency to ramp up more up front when all my feelings aren’t lining up. And our payment terms are “upon completion, same day please. A paid invoice will be emailed to you the following business day”
I feel like this- if you expect to be paid immediately and you have conveyed that sentiment, good things happen. If they dodge your communication efforts with payment, you bolt.
We recently did a dinky $900 job. Vernal quote ( I hate writing paper for tiny jobs). The communication wasn’t stellar. The guy stops by our office a week later and we confirm the price I told him when I was at his house. I ask him “can we get a check when we are done?”. He gives me a blank look. It was semi awkward (not for me, I almost enjoy asking for money). The son jumps in a few days later. The son is a fellow small business owner, bigger than my little operation. Even the son isn’t following my lead for how the payment situation works. I’m like “wow “ I need to drop a hammer or something. I email the son stating: “please drop off a check for $900 and we will be there within 5 days to do the job. About 4 hours later the father walks in with a check.
We all have things we excel at and things we blow at. I sure wish I was excellent at everything. My son helped me in the office a few summers ago. My son tried the tools in previous summers, not super good. His management skills were 100 times better than mine. It was humbling. I suspect some of us trades dudes aren’t super good with tracking down money and avoiding pitfalls. My son now has a big boy job with his own office at a well known software company in the Boston burbs.
For years- I never bothered asking for money as a deposit. Then one day I had an epiphany- a Duh moment. The deposit is simply a buy in. At times I ignore my rule but the payments are 💯 %. (Now that I type that…… ). If I had to order high dollar or special order stuff then of course my attitude would shift a little.
But getting the final payment is where we survive.
I’m a small time landlord as well. Batting 1000, haven’t yet lost one months rent (obviously turnover there are gaps in income). I’m just $3000 out on lawyers fees; I had to ask someone to pack their stuff a couple years ago. Oh- and I think I paid $2500 in a cash for keys situation (toddler was driving the tenants below a little nutty). I’d say $5500 is a victory (landlording for 15 years. 10 units).
Edit - I did not mean to indicate we don’t have some old receivables. But it’s so low, it’s a blip.
GW
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: Draft
Juvenile Delinquent and graffiti on the walls… what an awesome analogy Spoken like a true teacher!
That will draw a picture in your minds eye!
