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Safety Dance posted:Speaking of this, the house I grew up in had a fan in the attic that, when turned on, made a hell of a lot of noise and moved a shitload of air. It was great when the temperature was nice outside -- we'd open the windows and turn it on. My parents called it the "attic fan". Is "whole house fan" the proper name for that kind of thing? I grew up in a house built in 1909 that had a whole house fan, and we just called it the "attic fan". It was massive too, at least 4 feet in diameter, and was belt driven. All of the upstairs bedrooms and bathrooms had transom windows that allowed airflow through the rooms and to the fan with the doors closed. Worked great for the HVAC as well, since the upstairs return was right next to the attic fan vent. 
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Mar 4, 2016 19:53
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In my moms house her dad installed a literal airplane propeller as a diy attic fan. She said is worked well but I can't imagine they had any attic insulation. Fe: circa 1950s
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Mar 4, 2016 20:30
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XmasGiftFromWife posted:In my moms house her dad installed a literal airplane propeller as a diy attic fan. She said is worked well but I can't imagine they had any attic insulation. Is your mom's name Dorothy? 
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Mar 4, 2016 20:37
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The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > Creative Convention > DIY & Hobbies > Crappy Construction Tales: 400 BTUs of Air Conditioning, And As Many Posts About It
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Mar 5, 2016 03:25
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High Lord Elbow posted:If you have allergies, this is an awful idea. You're basically creating a "whole house filter" for tremendous volumes of outside air. That presumes the outside air is worse than what's inside which isn't always the case. Turning on the attic fan after a good rainstorm knocked all the pollen out of the air made everyone breath easier when I was growing up.
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Mar 5, 2016 03:56
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Eh, there's better ways of cooling off the house if you really want fresh air inside. They do make filtered make up air type units you can install in your house to get free cooling. Get fresh air with none of the crap! Of course, when I build my house I'm getting one of those electrostatic filters, and a commercial grade UV setup in my air handler. I already have the commercial grade UV light setup, and let me tell you, that makes a huge difference in air quality.
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Mar 5, 2016 04:18
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Honestly, a good breeze is all I need most of the time. That and an icepack on the back of my neck, and I can go quite comfortably through the night. AC is nice when i'm just coming in from outside though. Going back again to my very tentative and exploratory tiny house ideas, I think all I'd need for AC is one of those nifty things: http://www.icybreeze.com/ or hack together a smaller http://kooleraire.com/ and well planned insulation and dehumidification. But I'm sure i'm wrong and will suffer mightily.
Suspect Bucket fucked around with this message at 04:36 on Mar 5, 2016 |
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Mar 5, 2016 04:34
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That's basically just a fan blowing over a cooler full of ice, you know? Not really a long-term prospect. If you're not someplace very humid, you'd probably be better off with a swamp cooler, or just a smallish portable AC unit.
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Mar 5, 2016 05:33
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Yeah those things are pretty garbage for any real cooling application. If you're serious about building a tiny house, for any real humidity control/cooling your best bet would be to look into a ductless minisplit, if you don't want to go full central air. Minisplits are great for those applications, as they have a few different modes, and unlike window shakers they can actually be serviced and don't get all moldy and gross.
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Mar 5, 2016 05:41
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We had a similar setup in our server room back when I was network tech at a distributor. Most were taped over with a note saying "Don't touch!" above them. Not sure why it was wired that way but that's what they did. I was afraid to touch some of the switches. It also had a bucket to catch roof leaks sitting on a really sketchy shelf and a hole in the floor that drained into a 4 foot high crawlspace where the water heater was and the cabling went. This crawlspace was in between the first and second floors behind a steel door. Very strange. I wish I had a picture. It was a classic server room with a "Magic - More Magic" switch and wiring that worked but made no sense so you just had to let it be lest you face the wrath of the networking gods.
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Mar 5, 2016 05:48
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Safety Dance posted:Speaking of this, the house I grew up in had a fan i[/url]n the attic that, when turned on, made a hell of a lot of noise and moved a shitload of air. It was great when the temperature was nice outside -- we'd open the windows and turn it on. My parents called it the "attic fan". Is "whole house fan" the proper name for that kind of thing? Attic fans are the absolute best thing ever invented, there's nothing better than getting the rush of cool clean nighttime air flowing through the whole house, it's just incredible--I would take that over AC any day. I'm still trying to figure out how to install one in my house. I think people are confusing attic ventilation fans:  with whole house attic fans: 
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Mar 5, 2016 15:09
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Alereon posted:I found that applying heat control window film made an unbelievable difference. I had my south-facing single-pane windows covered with heavy white curtains and it was still unbearably hot in summer, adding reflective heat control film cut the temperature in my bedroom by 10-20F and rendered AC unnecessary on many days. It also made a huge difference in winter, I'm barely using the heater now. Is this stuff removable, or permanent? I'm guessing the latter. I live in an apartment that gets solar blasted during the summer and the idea intrigues me, though not sure if it's worth installing if I will only be here a couple more years at most.
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Mar 5, 2016 17:19
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Buff Skeleton posted:Is this stuff removable, or permanent? I'm guessing the latter. I live in an apartment that gets solar blasted during the summer and the idea intrigues me, though not sure if it's worth installing if I will only be here a couple more years at most. The stuff I've seen uses double sided tape. It's not permanent but it will stay put if you don't mess with it.
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Mar 5, 2016 18:35
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Buff Skeleton posted:Is this stuff removable, or permanent? I'm guessing the latter. I live in an apartment that gets solar blasted during the summer and the idea intrigues me, though not sure if it's worth installing if I will only be here a couple more years at most. Gila Platinum Heat Control Peel And Cling Window Film 36"x6.5ft $32.78 (I got this) Gila Platinum Heat Control Residential Window Film 36"x15ft $36.99 Gila Window Film Application Tool Kit $8.97 (mini squeegee, film cutter, lint-free cloth, cleaning solution) Here's a spec sheet for Gila residential window films, this used to be on their website but they took it down  The Platinum film allows through 30% of the sun's light, this seems like it would be dim, but the human eye's response to light is logarithmic, so to get half the apparent brightness you need only 10% of the light. This means that 30% brightness looks only a bit less bright than 100%. Some people say you shouldn't apply heat control window film to double-pane windows because the heat can damage their seals or even break them, but the research I did indicated this was only an issue for non-reflective and blackout films that produce way more heat. Mostly this seemed to be FUD from window manufacturers and installers trying to convince you to pay way more to upgrade to better windows rather than just applying cheap film to existing or lower-cost windows. I would also note that a reflective film makes it difficult to see from the bright side to the dark side, so people won't be able to see through your windows during the day, but it may also affect your view out at night. They make fancier "double-reflective" films that are more reflective in one direction than the other if this matters to you. If you live in a HOA or condo or something check their policies about what you can put on your windows.Also, aluminum foil works even better since you're reflecting 100% of solar energy (or 100% of heat back in in winter), even if it looks lovely. I foiled over a south-facing utility room window that wasn't visible from off our property and now I can do laundry during the summer without praying for death. Alereon fucked around with this message at 21:38 on Mar 5, 2016 |
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Mar 5, 2016 21:33
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Oh, nice! Thanks for the links. Gonna check this out as it'll be an inferno in Atlanta as usual before long. I actually need some sunlight, as I have a ton of houseplants all over the place. I did a quick search and discovered that window film won't hurt them, and might even help some: http://homerous.com/can-window-tinting-affect-your-indoor-plants/
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Mar 6, 2016 00:07
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Liquid Communism posted:That's basically just a fan blowing over a cooler full of ice, you know? Not really a long-term prospect. If you're not someplace very humid, you'd probably be better off with a swamp cooler, or just a smallish portable AC unit. Actually, the Icybreeze pretty interesting. It pumps ice water from the cooler into a condenser. I've seen them demonstrated, and because the ice stays pretty isolated from the exterior atmosphere, you can get a few pounds of ice to last for two or three days. And you'v got an ice cold drink from the tap. The second one, the KoolerAire, is pretty much just a fan in an ice chest. Swamps are actually a bad place to run a 'swamp' cooler. http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/heating-and-cooling/swamp-cooler.htm You need an arid environment for a swamp cooler to work. It's also why those stupid expensive blue towels they show off on TV don't work in Florida/Louisiana/The Souf. poo poo aint evaporating when the air's too wet to rain. Now, I don't know if it's bullshit or not, so if anyone's actually used one of these, I'd love to know! I will look into the ductless minisplit. This model in particular intreigues me: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Haier-10..._-204712072-_-N , and it's only a bit more expensive then the Icybreeze. The power draw would be something to take into consideration. Let's hope the things I learn here prevent me from making my own crappy construction x.x I do appreciate any and all input, as it will hopefully let me avoid doing dumb things! Like building a tiny house! Suspect Bucket fucked around with this message at 00:44 on Mar 6, 2016 |
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Mar 6, 2016 00:37
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Buff Skeleton posted:I actually need some sunlight, as I have a ton of houseplants all over the place. I did a quick search and discovered that window film won't hurt them, and might even help some: http://homerous.com/can-window-tinting-affect-your-indoor-plants/ For anyone who is buying a new place, you might consider hiring pros to tint your windows. It's not particularly expensive and saves a lot of time, you'll probably have access to a wider variety of film materials, and they might be able to do exterior applications (which are more effective since it keeps heat on the outside of the capsule).
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Mar 6, 2016 00:46
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OSU_Matthew posted:Attic fans are the absolute best thing ever invented, there's nothing better than getting the rush of cool clean nighttime air flowing through the whole house, it's just incredible--I would take that over AC any day. I'm still trying to figure out how to install one in my house. http://www.amazon.com/AirKing-9166-Whole-House-Window/dp/B0007Q3RQ6 Alereon posted:For anyone who is buying a new place, you might consider hiring pros to tint your windows. It's not particularly expensive and saves a lot of time, you'll probably have access to a wider variety of film materials, and they might be able to do exterior applications (which are more effective since it keeps heat on the outside of the capsule). The other thing you can do is put in shading (like awnings). The right amount of overhang will cut summer heat while letting it in during the colder months. Suspect Bucket posted:Now, I don't know if it's bullshit or not, so if anyone's actually used one of these, I'd love to know! I will look into the ductless minisplit. This model in particular intreigues me: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Haier-10..._-204712072-_-N , and it's only a bit more expensive then the Icybreeze. The power draw would be something to take into consideration. Any single hose portable air conditioner is poo poo, because it has to blow interior conditioned air out a window (which means suck in unconditioned air). Two hose models can be decentish, but still not any better than a window AC. If you want to DIY a ductless mini split install, there are some models with quick connects, like the Friedrich Breeze, that don't need any special HVAC equipment to install. Unless you live somewhere very cold, it can efficiently cover both your cooling and heating requirements for a tiny house.
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Mar 6, 2016 01:53
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Zhentar posted:If you want to DIY a ductless mini split install, there are some models with quick connects, like the Friedrich Breeze, that don't need any special HVAC equipment to install. Unless you live somewhere very cold, it can efficiently cover both your cooling and heating requirements for a tiny house. Someone I know who rents out a handful of flats replaces the (typically old inefficient and lovely) gas boilers with mini air con units because they're cheaper to service and run (and he doesn't need to get them checked like boilers). I think he puts in electric water heaters too?
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Mar 6, 2016 10:38
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Thanks for the earlier advice on finding a builder, as promised here's the thread on our little project if you want to follow along: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3767040&pagenumber=1&perpage=40#post457102192
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Mar 6, 2016 16:36
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I have blowers from a retired 1/10th scale wind tunnel installed in my attic. It has the added benefit of cleaning the house as everything gets forced up at mach 2.
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Mar 7, 2016 11:53
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Sylink posted:I have blowers from a retired 1/10th scale wind tunnel installed in my attic. It has the added benefit of cleaning the house as everything gets forced up at mach 2.  this requires video, you know this. why you have to tease?
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Mar 7, 2016 13:30
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Sylink posted:I have blowers from a retired 1/10th scale wind tunnel installed in my attic. It has the added benefit of cleaning the house as everything gets forced up at mach 2. 
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Mar 7, 2016 13:46
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Its like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnMAxANavKY&t=15s
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Mar 7, 2016 16:26
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Does anyone here (USA) have professional knowledge of NFPA part 54? My RInnai direct vent gas furnace is installed in the basement, and says that must adhere to NFPA 54. I signed up at NFPA and read it a few times, from what I can tell, this means that the exhaust gas vent extensions cannot be mounted where they not inspectable, and that joints in the vent extensions cannot be concealed. Of course, mine are installed behind the drywall, no access without ripping out drywall. Just curious if I am understanding the NFPA part 54 correctly. The Rinnai installation manual shows the pipes routed outside the drywall in a basement installation.
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Mar 8, 2016 03:45
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some_admin posted:Does anyone here (USA) have professional knowledge of NFPA part 54? Check out this thread where a variety of goons will tell you about your imminent demise from carbon monoxide poisoning: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2734407
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Mar 8, 2016 04:49
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Yep, thats exactly the kind of thing I am worried about. Imminent CO poisoning OR the house burning down. OR both. We're super aggravated because the HVAC *contractor put these Rinnai heaters in with too long of a pipe and too many elbows and now the flame chamber and heat exchanger are rusting out 5 years into ~20 year lifespan. * = supposedly RInnai certified, at the top of their website for local installers.
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Mar 8, 2016 16:55
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some_admin posted:Yep, thats exactly the kind of thing I am worried about. Imminent CO poisoning OR the house burning down. OR both. Call Rinnai and say you are worried their certified installer did not do the job up to code?
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Mar 8, 2016 16:57
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Oh, we've already talked to lots of folks, Rinnai, city code, contractor, sub contractor, other Rinnai installers companies Blah blah etc. life goes on, maybe I'll just reinstall it myself.
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Mar 8, 2016 22:54
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some_admin posted:Oh, we've already talked to lots of folks, Rinnai, city code, contractor, sub contractor, other Rinnai installers companies Blah blah etc. If you do not yet have a CO Monitor, you can get one off amazon for $20. http://www.amazon.com/Kidde-KN-COPP-B-LPM-Battery-Operated-Monoxide-Digital/dp/B004Y6V5CI
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Mar 11, 2016 07:55
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Kidde makes good stuff. I kept one of those in our old house in case the lovely 30 year old heater tried to kill us.
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Mar 11, 2016 09:26
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Avoid the FirstAlert battery operated models. I had a couple where the battery had a loose fit, and thus would unpower the unit if you shook it. I sent those back and got a couple AC-powered CO monitors with battery backup instead - way better idea.
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Mar 12, 2016 01:07
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 They just don’t make ’em like they used to.
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Mar 12, 2016 10:05
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Platystemon posted:
I was on a demo crew that tore down a motel from the 1940s. Every bathroom in 40 units had a blade slot in the medicine cabinet and they just dropped inside the wall. 40 years of double edged and injector blades rusted into sharp sculpture of maiming. Shoveling that stuff out was tricky.
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Mar 12, 2016 15:52
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I never quite understood the logic behind blade slots. Were people just like, "gently caress the future" when they built them?
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Mar 12, 2016 16:08
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Anorexic Sea Turtle posted:I never quite understood the logic behind blade slots. Were people just like, "gently caress the future" when they built them? What future are they loving?
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Mar 12, 2016 16:34
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Anorexic Sea Turtle posted:I never quite understood the logic behind blade slots. Were people just like, "gently caress the future" when they built them? The Gardenator posted:If you do not yet have a CO Monitor, you can get one off amazon for $20. http://www.amazon.com/Kidde-KN-COPP...RX6E1AHARFN84VR Nitrox fucked around with this message at 16:43 on Mar 12, 2016 |
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Mar 12, 2016 16:40
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Anorexic Sea Turtle posted:I never quite understood the logic behind blade slots. Were people just like, "gently caress the future" when they built them? Yes. The logic is "Its not going to fill to the brim during our time and its not going to be our problem if it eventually does." I've heard of similar blade slots that just drop the blades into crawlspace, you can imagine it being much worse solution than "inside a wall"
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Mar 12, 2016 18:05
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Anorexic Sea Turtle posted:I never quite understood the logic behind blade slots. Were people just like, "gently caress the future" when they built them? See also the oil industry, nuclear power, farming, motor industry, chemical etc etc
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Mar 12, 2016 18:25
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Anorexic Sea Turtle posted:I never quite understood the logic behind blade slots. Were people just like, "gently caress the future" when they built them? It's a weird idea, but I don't think it's a particularly bad one. Even if you used a new blade every day, it would take decades to fill up the wall; the steel itself is inert and non-toxic, so there's no environmental damage; and the only time you'll even see them is if the house gets demolished or renovated, in which case you've already got all the tools and equipment to handle a bunch of sharp rusty metal safely. If someone was super forward-thinking, they could put a galvanized steel box in behind to collect the blades and that'd solve any problems. e: also it was the 1950s and everyone was going to get nuked by the USSR any day now so who cares about some razor blades in the wall
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Mar 12, 2016 23:42
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