HVAC

Feature Story Energy efficiency can be improved with combination boiler/hot-water heater The selection of a residential heating system is an investment that the homeowner will have to live with for a very long time. Those who have owned all-electric homes, advertised as an advanced and integrated solution to power and fuel needs, know firsthand how technologies and energy costs can ...

Feature Story There aren’t any ‘magic bullets” when testing electrical componentsBy George Lanthier Figure 1 If you travel the Internet, you will see dozens of postings about component failures and guys going nuts over these failures and the testing of both conventional and solid-state ignition systems. When you cut through all of this stuff you quickly see that what everyone ...

Feature Story In protecting against scalding, the manufacturer and installer must ensure a safe installation By George Lanthier Figure 1 A few years ago, 1998 to be exact, a good friend of mine, Bob Suffredini of Therma Flow/Everhot, and I put a book together on domestic hot water. Although it contains just about everything you would ever want to know ...

Feature Story Radiant heat’s the natural choice for a home installing a daycare center By Chris Kastner A Weil-McLain Ultra oil boiler was selected to provide the power for the daycare center’s radiant-heating system. If you’re planning to open a daycare center in the basement of your new home, it makes perfect sense to provide in-floor heating, especially if it’s ...

Feature Story By George Lanthier Time to do some sizing of multiple-unit fluepipes and wrap this series of articles up. We finished in the last article with the sizing of everything but the common vent pipes and a discussion about the transitions.What about those transitions, and again, there’s a right way and a wrong way. In Figure 1, courtesy of ...

Feature Story By George Lanthier OK, if you remember in the last article we looked at fluepipe design and what it really takes to do it right. Last month we looked at single units, this month it’s multiple units. Keep in mind that I’m continuing to follow the NFPA Standards, NFPA31 and 211, for this subject, and both NFPA and ...

Feature Story By George Lanthier You might look at the title of this article and figure, ‘Oh boy, what’s this now!” Well, as it turns out, I’m learning that fluepipe design is not as easy as some people think it is. In fact, when it comes to the codes and good industry practice, many are doing it very wrong. As ...

A burner with the two-step pump is a lot easier to work on and set up In two previous articles we looked at the setting and adjustment of damper motors and the servicing of the linkage on commercial burners equipped with that type of damper. In this article we will take a closer look at one of the pumps that ...

Feature StoryCarlin, Dynatherm team to bring technician training to the masses Many years ago, this nation was founded by pioneers who traveled across the country and opened new horizons for all of us. Many of the wagons used by these stalwart souls were the venerable Conestoga wagon, a tried and proven product built in Pennsylvania. Last fall, a different type ...

Feature StoryA doctor’s stethoscope may be your most important tool in diagnosing chimney problems By George Lanthier I know I left you hanging last month, but I didn’t want to give the best part away, so finally, my $64,000 solution to the noise problem. Remember my ‘Lanthier’s Laws” article about noises and using a stethoscope? Well, as it turns out, ...