Hey Gary UK, NKA Gary USA (ME)

Mark Eatherton1

Tell us American contractors what you think of our technology compared to the good ol' UK technology.

Are we more advanced as them? Are we less advanced as them?

Give us your impressions my friend. Interested in hearing your professional opinion as it pertains to our industrial differences.

ME

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Gary Usa_2

uk and usa systems

hiya ME sorry i didn't reply sooner how are you my friend well here goes hopefully won;t get sent down the bagel shop and buy for everyone if i say something wrong ,lololo.

I have been here in this wondeful country for 6 months seeing all different systems controls etc.some to which i think are very good and some not so good.

where do i start,the beggining i suppose,these are i think is the down side of american systems,

large cast iron boilers opposed to uk low water content boilers,but dependent on the application

no test points on gas meters to just be able to hook up a tester have to install one,uk meters have them already their ready to be used at any time.

metal oil tanks inside a building,not allowed in uk due to fumes and fire hazard,use plastic ones and have to be installed outside away from any building ,alot of them are twin walled and as kerosine doesn;t freeze until it reaches -70 have no problem with freezing,

alot of twin pipe oil line systems instead of tiger loops.

fire safety only have a firomatic which i feel is no good,in the uk we use a sensor which is far more accurate than the firomatic.

always using cast iron boilers opposed to our far smaller wall hung boilers.

alot of very old systems with boilers that consume fuel like a cadillac.

steel pipes used for gas instead of us using copper pipe for homes.

everything buried in the wall,so if anything goes wrong have to disturb the wall to gain access.

right here goes and this is all in favour for the usa heating and plumbing.

far better controls ie. taco outdoor resets alot more zoning done.

radiant heating which i am really impressed with,

baseboard a very nice concept heats a room up nicely and neat and tidy.

seem to have a lot more room than uk with relation to getting to the boiler etc.

customers seem to care more about keeping their system more up to date than the uk

sevice in supply houses alot better,they seem to help alot more with finding what you need and will order what you need.

quality with american boiler seem to be very good.

burderius boilers are a very nice boiler
slant fin ,burnham are too.

unions and gas taps fitted inside the boiler casing which i personally don;t like seeing.

the use of different materials seem to be a lot better here.

better working environment pay better bosses better people here in the usa.

nicer to work in usa homes

far impoved insulation here with a higher u value.

easier to work in a timber home than a brick one.

everything in one place like controls boiler water heater etc,in the uk these are scattered all over the place.

better advances in pipework systems,ie, primary secondary,injection snow melt etc.

as a final conclusion i think with the american tradesman they seem to care a lot more ,about a true passion for their job,can ask anyone advice and will always wish to help another person within the industry like a huge family.

if say some of the smaller boilers came into the usa and used with american controls would have one hell of a great system then would be far far ahead of any other country.

as a final word as an overall impression the usa is ahead of the uk in a lot of things as i have mentioned and only a few things that maybe i would like to see come into the usa.

quality is superb in the usa and very proud to but american.i am now living in the usa and will support america throughout my life.with great respect and honour for this wonderful countryit will be a proud day for me to become an american citizan to which i am striving for next.now where did i leave them beers

take care

all the best

gary usa

all the best

gary usa

Mike Kraft

Interesting stuff.

I like this sitiuation.......of cross teching:)An interesting view is the one of the dinasauor systems that are consuming mass quanaties of fuel.Since Europeans pay upwards of 30% more than the US, over there it's pretty much a no brainer.As Americans though we tend to become a bit more esthetic with our finances.So this means the boilers become a permanent fixture in the cellars.

It seems that many of the companies who service these monsters have a very great pride on giving them mouth to burner resuscitation!It would be interesting to see how much is spent on these old boilers and furnaces for service,parts and fuel and then compare that $ to a well designed replacement.But many many techs have a stubborn pride and ultimately make Mr and Mrs Jones feel that getting rid of the system would not be in their best intrest.I mean no harm or insult to the service tech but this is my opinion.

The fuel tank outside thing.......hmmmmm I understand your concerns Gary and also appreciate a double containment tank over a steel tank.I guess growing up here #2 fuel oil tanks in cellars are pretty common and for quite sometime.Not many catasrophic accidents have I seen.I do reckognize the occasional fuel spill and this is usually neglect or accidental.

Your observation of gas piping........IMO steel piping is the safest and best.Copper for a gas conduit is not my pick.

Wall hung boilers..........now thats something I like.I havent installed any for quite some years but this technology is starting to happen.

And man!!!Piping on the outside of the walls!!!!!!That would be great:)But I dont think you'll see it here.

Nice to see you taking notes Gary.And good question ME.

cheese

Unknown

Very interesting observations

Boy do I agree with you about having a test point at the gas meter we used to have tapped elbows on some installations and meter bars with a test plug but they have disappeared from site.

I prefer steel for gas lines but have slowly been being swayed by CSST (Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing).

You seem to be adjusting well to the good old USA. I have visited London several times and love the history of it all but would not want to live there.

Some TACO stuff is on the way to you and also I threw in a manual I sell on Multi-zone panels for Free. Hope it all helps. I will look forward to getting you to come to Rhode Island to my classes. I get a lot of guys from Long Island. A lot of good sight seeing here in NEW England. You have seen old England now see NEW England.

Gary Usa_2

usa and the uk

many thanks for all the kind help that you have given me in striving towards being a top mechanic as you guys i feel i am slowly getting their bit by bit.

I went to a call the other day where they had no heat in the den shouldn't be to difficult i thought,well when i arrived their went to the basement where the boiler must have been in excess of 40 years old,well it was all hot so i knew the boiler was ok,their were 3 zones only one wasn;t working .the one for the den,pump wasn;t running .so checked the thermostat very old one,cleaned the contacts then went back to the relay box,the relay was pulled in,tested across live and neutral had 120 volts,no live on number 3 which was the switched live,linked it out to test the pump it ran so knew the relay box was faulty replaced it with a taco unit wired it all up live and neutral in and switched live for the pump and the thermostat across t and t.switched it on and worked a charm i know it sounds trival but felt very proud of myself not knowing the controls over here but thought hang on a minutes i do some as i have just done this.and all thanks to you guys who have helped me along the way.

hopefully them nice little wall hung boilers will be here soon to save all our tender sore bodies lololo

take care and thanks so much as always for the support and help over the years can't belive it i have been coming here for nearly 4 years now.

and don;t forget if i can ever help anyone you know i am always here

all the best

gary usa