| Subject | Date Asked |
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| Damper Actuator | 10/13/2009 |
Q: The Effikal damper actuator on the flue pipe to my Weil Mclain Boiler will open the damper when ...
A: It sounds like its just a simple fix. After you cleaned the contacts it seemed to work better? ...
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| Oil Furnace | 10/12/2009 |
Q: My oil burner/boiler (baseboard hot water heat and household hot water) is about 50 years old and ...
A: A 50 year old boiler can actually be more efficient than some new ones. Don't take that word for ...
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| Furnace Swap? | 10/11/2009 |
Q: Hey Adam, I have an older York oil fired hot air furnace (approx. 10-15 yrs old) with a central air ...
A: You can change just the burner/furnace portion and leave the air handler. Keep the oil furnace ...
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| Air duct cleaning | 10/10/2009 |
Q: Could I clan my air ducts myself, that is, what equipment would I need, etc.
A: Vaccuum cleaner, brush, muscles. Use quick evaporating cleansers that won't leave residue. Don't ...
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| Cold Air Return in Living Room | 10/10/2009 |
Q: I would like to place a gas fireplace over my cold air return in my living room. Is this not ...
A: Do you mean one of those freestanding fireplace things? They're often advertised as being made by ...
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| low clearance oil furnace exhaust | 10/10/2009 |
Q: I have a MacClainWeil furnace in my crawl space basement. The exhaust pipe (singel wall) is at ...
A: Unfortunately there is little you can do other than install what he wants. These guys are such a ...
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| Replace heat exhanger or get new unit | 10/7/2009 |
Q: I recently had a tech in to do a yearly maintenence and cleaning service. He uncovered a cracked ...
A: The only way to know if the heat exchanger is cracked is with a smoke test. If he only looked at the ...
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| Kitchen heat source | 10/6/2009 |
Q: We have forced hot water in our older home. We are doing renovations in our kitchen and our ...
A: Yea this all sounds about right. The book I have says it will vary with climate and other need but 8 ...
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| Electric vs Gas Heating | 10/6/2009 |
Q: Is is cheaper the heat a 2000 sq. ft home in Toronto Canada with a forced air electric furnace and ...
A: Right now nat gas would be cheaper and you'll freeze your whatevers off if you use a heat pump in ...
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| Kitchen heat source | 10/5/2009 |
Q: We have forced hot water in our older home. We are doing renovations in our kitchen and our ...
A: This is actually a pretty in depth question. There another expert on here who knows a heck of a lot ...
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| goodman furnace not working | 10/3/2009 |
Q: I have a goodman furnce that isn't working. I turned off power and tried starting again. It does ...
A: I'll be glad to help but first I need to know what type if burner you have. Please fund any labels ...
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| oil furnace not firing | 10/2/2009 |
Q: oil furnace fires only when assembly is outside (not mounted) of the burner. i vacuumed the exhaust ...
A: now I know why this sounded familiar..I recognize this from another post.. From the sound of your ...
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| disturbing smell from furnace | 10/1/2009 |
Q: Ever since last winter there has been a very noticible odor outside when my Miller kerosene furnace ...
A: The answer is simple...that's not kerosene. It's No. 2 fuel oil. The fuel oil is dyed red to prevent ...
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| oil furnace not firing | 10/1/2009 |
Q: oil furnace fires only when assembly is outside (not mounted) of the burner. i vacuumed the exhaust ...
A: The furnace and heat exchangers have little, if anything to do with the burner. I need the burner ...
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| oil furnace goes boom upon ignition | 9/30/2009 |
Q: I have what I'm guessing is an old furnace I moved in 7 years ago and don't know how long it had ...
A: We call this a "hiccup" and it can be a sign of big problems. Get your furnace cleaned and tuned by ...
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| nozzle size | 9/30/2009 |
Q: I have a williamson temp o matic furnace model R164-12-2 and am trying to get the correct nozzle.The ...
A: Honestly- you didn't have it tuned in 3 years and you still haven't had it tuned. He did a "wipe & ...
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| nozzle size | 9/30/2009 |
Q: I have a williamson temp o matic furnace model R164-12-2 and am trying to get the correct nozzle.The ...
A: I found this: http://www.williamson-thermoflo.com/pdf_files/new/thbtlbd.pdf If I'm looking at the ...
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| Air Conditioning pump freezing up | 9/29/2009 |
Q: What sir do you do when your pump freezes up and no air blows through the house despite the fan ...
A: I'm a semi-sane, overworked father of a rampaging toddler and it's currently 2 hours past my bedtime ...
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| Hot Water Heat Boiler | 9/29/2009 |
Q: I have a 3 year old, Lennox GWB9-IH, High-efficiency, gas-fired, hot water heat boiler. Bassebord ...
A: Do you have a tankless coil with a hot water storage tank for your domestic hot water? I've heard ...
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| broken heat exchanger | 9/29/2009 |
Q: We have a 30 plus year old Rheem Package Unit with electic air and gas heat. Our HVAC person tells ...
A: Sure, I'll help you out. My e-mail address is adamshive@hotmail.com. First, have the tech show you ...
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| Midwest Heat Pump | 9/29/2009 |
Q: I've heard a lot of negative things on heat pumps in the mid west. I live in Topeka, KS and am fully ...
A: I live in PA so this is what a lot of people have. It works fine. Heat pumps alone won't help you ...
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| new frurnace plus ac | 9/28/2009 |
Q: I am in the process of buying a new high efficiency gas furnace. The manufacturer is offering a ...
A: Why are you buying a new gas furnace? Is the old one completely out of service or are you only ...
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| HeatPumpHumidity | 9/28/2009 |
Q: Our ac was working great until a company came over to do a yearly maintenance. They claimed it ...
A: Id written a response two days ago but it somehow was lost (probably because I type in my iPhone ...
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| Return vent | 9/27/2009 |
Q: I have a bonus room/bedroom above my garage in a 3yr old 3700 sq ft home in Northern NV. The temp in ...
A: Ok I think I get it now. I had to read your question a good five times until it hit me. What ...
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| Return vent | 9/26/2009 |
Q: I have a bonus room/bedroom above my garage in a 3yr old 3700 sq ft home in Northern NV. The temp in ...
A: The thing that catches my eye is the registre right next to the thermostat. If the cool return air ...
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| Furnace not operating properly | 9/23/2009 |
Q: The furnace in my mobile home is about 9 years old. I just had it cleaned and the nozzle replaced ...
A: I'd replace it. There could be a little piece of crap stuck in the threads behind the bleeder so it ...
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| heating | 9/23/2009 |
Q: We have a 3 storey 100 yr old row house that uses oil and would like to change it to electric heat. ...
A: This is what you want: http://www.homeenergy.org/archive/hem.dis.anl.gov/eehem/96/960509.html ...
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| heating | 9/23/2009 |
Q: We have a 3 storey 100 yr old row house that uses oil and would like to change it to electric heat. ...
A: This is what you want: http://www.homeenergy.org/archive/hem.dis.anl.gov/eehem/96/960509.html ...
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| Rheem Condensing Unit | 9/23/2009 |
Q: My father has a 13 year old Rheem AC system. The compressor is almost shot. He has been quoted ...
A: Probably, but I can't really get more specific than that. It's at least worth a try. As long as you ...
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| heating | 9/23/2009 |
Q: We have a 3 storey 100 yr old row house that uses oil and would like to change it to electric heat. ...
A: Plug in portable heaters as the main source of heat are terribly inefficient an terribly hazardous. ...
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| Furnace not operating properly | 9/22/2009 |
Q: The furnace in my mobile home is about 9 years old. I just had it cleaned and the nozzle replaced ...
A: They only way the bleeder can leak is if it's not tightened enough. Make sure you really get it ...
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| Furnace not operating properly | 9/21/2009 |
Q: The furnace in my mobile home is about 9 years old. I just had it cleaned and the nozzle replaced ...
A: You've got a leak somewhere in the oil line. But in mobile homes, leaks can simply cause loss of ...
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| Domestic 2400 fridge | 9/21/2009 |
Q: I have a domestic 2400 that has been setting for awhile. It will not work on 12v or gas, I have a ...
A: Unfortunately, my friend said that it's shot. Right when I mentioned the gurgling, he said it's ...
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| air conditioning problem | 9/20/2009 |
Q: i had my carrier air conditioner cleaned by nicor almost a month ago, today i turned on the air, and ...
A: If you smell smoke then you may want to call the fire dept to do a simple non-emergency inspection. ...
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| Trane A/C | 9/19/2009 |
Q: I am the president of an association that has a large trane a/c system less than 10 years old. We ...
A: This should be a relatively simple diagnosis. What measure of time occurs between the shutdown and ...
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| Domestic 2400 fridge | 9/19/2009 |
Q: I have a domestic 2400 that has been setting for awhile. It will not work on 12v or gas, I have a ...
A: Is this in an Airstream RV? My friend is a Certified Master RV Technician and owns Lehigh Valley RV. ...
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| Fresh air to furnace room for oil burner | 9/18/2009 |
Q: We have a utility room with a rheem classic oil burner and an electric water heater. The door is ...
A: What I would recommmend is a test and adjustment of efficiency from a reputable source after ...
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| using Automotive R134a in Refrigerator | 9/18/2009 |
Q: An appliance company confirmed that we need to add refrigerant to a GE refrigerator compressor as it ...
A: I'm not a certified A/C-R tech, so I can't say for certain. Buuuut...based on what I know about ...
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| TXV valve | 9/18/2009 |
Q: Last week I had an an aging non-functioning split heat pump replaced with a 16 SEER Goodman unit. ...
A: I don't have enough experience to tell you whether or not it can be installed inside the unit. If I ...
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| Fan | 9/18/2009 |
Q: I am confused! I have been told that running the fan on automatic is fine and vice-versa. Will it ...
A: Running it on auto is fine and running it on fan is fine too. It doesn't put any additional stress ...
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| Fresh air to furnace room for oil burner | 9/17/2009 |
Q: We have a utility room with a rheem classic oil burner and an electric water heater. The door is ...
A: Using a fresh air inlet vent is a wise choice for any oil burner. I've got a major project due today ...
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| air sound | 9/16/2009 |
Q: what causes the air sound ,sounds like a trucks air brakes , when my a/c shuts off ? Payne sn ...
A: Sorry about the wait, I had a huge project this week that consumed all my time. Of course when I ...
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| air sound | 9/16/2009 |
Q: what causes the air sound ,sounds like a trucks air brakes , when my a/c shuts off ? Payne sn ...
A: Could be one of several things or a combination. Without being there to witness it I'll just have to ...
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| AC Drain | 9/16/2009 |
Q: We have a unit in our attic that has two drain pipes, one goes into the tray which then runs along ...
A: This isn't right at all. He removed the line which is supposed to drain the condensate pan into the ...
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| AC Drain | 9/15/2009 |
Q: We have a unit in our attic that has two drain pipes, one goes into the tray which then runs along ...
A: I'm a little confused about what exactly went on here but I'll ask a few questions and together ...
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| Locating Permanent AC Filter | 9/15/2009 |
Q: Adam, I tried to replace or clean the permanent filter for the furnace/AC unit. But I am not sure ...
A: Could be in one of two places. Theory: The filter should be the first thing the air travels through ...
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| A/C Difficult Shutting Off | 9/14/2009 |
Q: Our A/C unit outside shuts off once the house is cool, but the inside portion has to try several ...
A: Haha, I notice cat hair more often than others because I'm extremely allergic to it so I've got a ...
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| A/C Difficult Shutting Off | 9/14/2009 |
Q: Our A/C unit outside shuts off once the house is cool, but the inside portion has to try several ...
A: I'm not the greatest on A/C systems, my area of expertise is oil heating- but, that doesn't mean I ...
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| AC | 9/14/2009 |
Q: after running my air for an several hours the airflow stops coming from my vents. my compressor & ...
A: To put it simply- yes. Though without seeing the system I can't be certain. Do you notice ice on any ...
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| American Standard Freedom 80 Single Stage | 9/13/2009 |
Q: The blower blows air and does not burn gas to provide heat. There are 4 red leds blinking . I turned ...
A: I can't find any literature on this model, so I'm sorry if I'm going to be a little vague. I do ...
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| American Standard Freedom 80 Single Stage | 9/13/2009 |
Q: The blower blows air and does not burn gas to provide heat. There are 4 red leds blinking . I turned ...
A: Alrighty- swing and a miss! One strike on Adam. What model is the furnace? Are there any model ...
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| ac ductwork replacement | 9/13/2009 |
Q: We are buying a 30 yr. old house in FL. My son has dust allergies. We think it may be a good idea to ...
A: As a fellow allergy sufferer this question intrigues me. I'd have to say just have the ducts ...
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| sndshot2@aol.com | 9/12/2009 |
Q: what are a soft/hard start kits?
A: Soft start relies on overall available household power to start the unit. Think of this as starting ...
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| airconditioner | 9/12/2009 |
Q: i have water or condinsation running out of funace into basement floor the drain line doesnt seem ...
A: This is difficult to answer without more information. We'll need to identify several steps in the ...
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| coil replacement and price | 9/11/2009 |
Q: Can the coil be repaired or it need to be replaced?( very little coil leak) How much would the coil ...
A: This is a bit out of my range, however I think I can still at least answer your question. I mainly ...
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| nfcx 4800 c1 | 9/11/2009 |
Q: Our air conditioner doesn't work at the office. we have an International comfort model air handler ...
A: This was a tough one! I really had to dig deep but I think I can answer your question. I believe ...
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| Progammable Thermostat | 9/10/2009 |
Q: I have a Heil heat pump and would like to install a programmable thermostat. Can you give me a ...
A: That model is relatively new. Is this a new house and you want to upgrade that one? Totaline offers ...
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| A/C - furnace drip pan full | 9/10/2009 |
Q: I have an outdoor AC with a Goodman furnace in the attic. last night the AC and thermostat shut off. ...
A: Ok, I'm home now and have been able to fully digest your question. I'm going to steer away from the ...
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| A/C - furnace drip pan full | 9/10/2009 |
Q: I have an outdoor AC with a Goodman furnace in the attic. last night the AC and thermostat shut off. ...
A: I'm on the road right now so only have a few min but I'm thinking that the ac could be low on ...
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| Air Condition | 9/9/2009 |
Q: I was wondering, is it away to run the air condition without the motherboard?
A: For safety's sake and without seeing your system in person- I say no. Feel free to ask some of the ...
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| "Wear and Tear" | 9/8/2009 |
Q: What things are considered "normal" "wear and tear" as related to HVAC units? Also, related to that ...
A: This is a very broad area as each manufacturer has different specs. My personal view is: It's an air ...
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| HVAC has power but fan &heat not working | 9/7/2009 |
Q: We came home yesterday we noticed our AC not turning on. I checked it has power to the AC and ...
A: Welcome to the world of the hvac tech! Of the many roles they may play, this one is the detective. ...
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| York A/C 7 yrs. old | 9/7/2009 |
Q: My A/C has worked fin for 7 yrs. no problems. until this year, it stopped working. the service man ...
A: Do you think it started just moments after the repairperson left? I've forgotten my jumpers on ...
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| cooling capacity of air con | 9/7/2009 |
Q: How much air con cooling BTU is necessary for one square meter area of normal situation?
A: Table Y ( Using Metric system of measurement ) Function / Purpose Of Room Factor (F) in Btu/Hr per ...
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| air cond. leak | 9/6/2009 |
Q: We recently finished our basement and noticed a large pool of water near our furnace. We called the ...
A: Without seeing your basement I can't say for certain where the pipe would be, however I can describe ...
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| a/c blower | 9/4/2009 |
Q: The air conditioning unit comes on outside, the fan is turning. I had ice on the hose outside and ...
A: My area of expertise is oil burners and when it comes to AC I have an outside source handle the ...
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| warm air furnaces | 9/3/2009 |
Q: Adam, What is your take on a 98 ondensing oil furnace .one company claims that figure.Peerless has ...
A: Sorry for the long response time- I was stuck in the hospital with a crazy reaction to antibiotics ...
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| warm air furnaces | 9/2/2009 |
Q: Adam, What is your take on a 98 ondensing oil furnace .one company claims that figure.Peerless has ...
A: Condensing units are picking up steam and we will see many more improvements and variations of these ...
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