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tater_salad posted:What if it's directly vented to the atmosphere (high efficiency furnace and or power vent hwt) I had to go look it up to make sure and that's fine now. It was originally not okay in 2009. In 2018 it was updated to specifically exclude "mechanical draft venting system(s)" from the makeup air requirement. 2018 IRC posted:Where one or more gas, liquid, or fuel-burning appliance that is neither direct-vent nor uses a mechanical draft venting system is located within a dwelling unit’s air barrier, each exhaust system capable of exhausting in excess of 400 cubic feet per minute shall be mechanically or passively provided with makeup air at a rate approximately equal to the exhaust air rate. Such makeup air systems shall be equipped with not fewer than one damper complying with Section M1503.6.2. Submarine Sandpaper posted:I have a jen air in the house I bought with seemingly no intake, but windows on either side I can crack. The risk really is just pulling a negative pressure in your house and having the hood not work well if you have electric appliances, but it would have to be pretty well sealed for that to happen with a sub 400 CFM fan. A super minor risk (unless you live in a 90 sq foot shed) would be the other reason for makeup air: to replace the oxygen burnt durning combustion. If you've got a big hood fan like mine you can literally kill the draft on your fireplace and smoke out the living room if someone turns the fan on full tilt before the flue is hot. I wish I did not know this, but here we are. (Cue me running around trying to find a newspaper to light and shove up the chimney to re-reverse the draft)
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Feb 14, 2024 00:14
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I have a hood that claims to go up to 450 cfm, but my house was built in the 80's so I can't imagine it has any problem making up air! It's almost always run at the lowest setting anyway
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Feb 14, 2024 02:57
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Motronic posted:If you've got a big hood fan like mine you can literally kill the draft on your fireplace and smoke out the living room if someone turns the fan on full tilt before the flue is hot. I wish I did not know this, but here we are. (Cue me running around trying to find a newspaper to light and shove up the chimney to re-reverse the draft) lol. Imagining the first time this happened while you’re trying to cook and entertain.
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Feb 14, 2024 03:09
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So my wife and I came home from a weekend away to a smell in the house. It was pretty strong so I checked the usual spots (trash, fridge, compost, toilets, sinks, tubs). They were all fine since we took all the trash out, emptied the fridge and nothing was leaking. I checked the garage rat trap, nothing. I figured it was something dead in the crawlspace. I suited up in trash clothes with gloves, goggles, a respirator, and headlamp and crawled down there. I keep a few rat traps near the hatch for easy access. The one near the hatch was snapped but nothing was in it. I look a bit further away and notice a huge dead rat in one of the traps. It poo poo and pissed when it got clapped. I tossed the grey squirrel sized rat into a trash bag with the trap because it was covered in crap. The vape barrier smelled so bad I had to clean it with enzyme cleaner first and wiped dry, and then some Clorox spray after. I was wearing a respirator the whole time because the smell was pretty bad and I don't want to gently caress with hantavirus. I then crawled all over my crawlspace investigating. It's pretty clean down there respectively for a crawlspace, but lots of spiders. It's so tight I had to crawl over my air ducts and got some fiberglass on my stomach so that was not fun. There was a very light coat of dust allowing me to see the rats footprints. It looks like it was just this one rat. He ran around a quarter of the basement, tripped two traps and got hit by the third. I found some ancient mummified rat carcasses and bones beneath the vapor barrier near the corners. Bagged all those and tried to secure the vapor barrier. It appears I have two layers of plastic. An original clear vapor barrier and then a newer black one on top. There appears to be lots of trash and debris beneath. My PO was pretty garyish. He tried to duct tape the barrier to the concrete foundation walls. He left all the empty tape rolls and plastic wrapping down there. All of my foundation vents are secured with steel mesh so they're not getting in that way. I didn't see any holes around the foundation so my guess is they're borrowing beneath. I cleaned up everywhere, baited more traps and tossed the clothes. I think I'm going to buy a full body jumpsuit for next time. I might call an exterminator to see if they suggest anything else. I'm avoiding poison because id rather kill them where I can retrieve them and not kill the ecosystem. Encapsulation sounds kind of nice right now.
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Feb 14, 2024 07:22
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Hed posted:lol. Imagining the first time this happened while you’re trying to cook and entertain. Same thing in our house, being so well sealed, we have tiny windows with mosquito nets around the house, two in the kitchen. By now it's a reflex to go open the window before starting the kitchen fan.
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Feb 14, 2024 08:08
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Hed posted:lol. Imagining the first time this happened while you’re trying to cook and entertain. Of courese it was. You learn very quickly to open windows/doors for either thing.
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Feb 14, 2024 15:00
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Verman posted:Encapsulation sounds kind of nice right now. A determined rat will crawl under your foundation and chew right through the encapsulation - it won't even slow them down. Ask me how I know. Best bet is trying to eliminate their ability to crawl under your stem wall in the first place if that is how they are getting in. My situation is aggravated by having underpinned and lifted our foundation, so a good chunk of my house has the foundation raised off the original soil it was poured on making access easy if a rat decides to go tunneling. ROJO fucked around with this message at 22:27 on Feb 14, 2024 |
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Feb 14, 2024 22:25
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We've got an oil-burning furnace connected to radiators that as of this winter is only intended to be used for hot water. One of the radiators kicked on today (a door was closed that's usually open and a forgotten thermostat activated) and it's causing a lot of horrible sounds from a Taco circulating pump. I'm reasonably confident that the motor inside has seized up (grinding noises plus also the pump body is hot). There are shutoff valves on either side of the pump. What I'm wondering is if I shut off one or both valves, will whatever kind of controller is in the pump be smart enough to turn itself off? Or would I have to flip a breaker and try to disconnect some wires?
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Feb 15, 2024 03:15
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I don't know the answers to the questions. But can you stop the thermostat for that zone from calling for heat?
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Feb 15, 2024 03:40
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Vim Fuego posted:I don't know the answers to the questions. But can you stop the thermostat for that zone from calling for heat? Yeah we first turned it down (to 50) then a few minutes later just turned it off, the grinding noises settled down after that and stopped maybe twenty minutes later but there's still a pulsating vibration.
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Feb 15, 2024 14:27
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fritz posted:We've got an oil-burning furnace connected to radiators that as of this winter is only intended to be used for hot water. One of the radiators kicked on today (a door was closed that's usually open and a forgotten thermostat activated) and it's causing a lot of horrible sounds from a Taco circulating pump. I'm reasonably confident that the motor inside has seized up (grinding noises plus also the pump body is hot). There are shutoff valves on either side of the pump. What I'm wondering is if I shut off one or both valves, will whatever kind of controller is in the pump be smart enough to turn itself off? Or would I have to flip a breaker and try to disconnect some wires? Unless it's a brand new (last 5-ish years?) model pump - the type with a digital display on the back - it's just a dumb device that is on when power goes to it an off when not. Chances are nearly 100% if you valve off the zone the pump is simply going to deadhead. Motronic fucked around with this message at 14:59 on Feb 15, 2024 |
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Feb 15, 2024 14:56
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Not sure if this is the best thread to ask, but I need to buy a sitting mower for a 2+ acre yard. As a transplant from southern California, I have no experience in lawn mowers. Any advice on getting something that will be good, low maintenance, and long lasting?
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Feb 15, 2024 18:32
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the tingler posted:Not sure if this is the best thread to ask, but I need to buy a sitting mower for a 2+ acre yard. As a transplant from southern California, I have no experience in lawn mowers. Any advice on getting something that will be good, low maintenance, and long lasting? Electric riding mowers aren't there yet, especially for 2+ acres, plus their prices are ridiculous. If you have lots of trees, you may want to get a zero turn radius mower.
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Feb 16, 2024 03:54
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This ryobi apparently isn't bad (once you do a full battery swap) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQVa48RJ1_E (This now a common thing, based on a quick google search to see if ryobi just sells a lifepo4 version already, they don't appear to sadly)
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Feb 16, 2024 14:41
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I'm gonna suggest a husqvarna robot, Automower 550 is rated for 10,000 square meters (2,47 acres) and no need for burying wires. e: 550 EPOS is the model, not the regular 550. His Divine Shadow fucked around with this message at 14:56 on Feb 16, 2024 |
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Feb 16, 2024 14:53
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Qwijib0 posted:This ryobi apparently isn't bad (once you do a full battery swap) This was an insane product for them to create
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Feb 16, 2024 16:09
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Is there a good source for decent quality lamp parts like sockets, shade harps etc? I just installed some Eaton sockets from the hardware store and they feel so sad and flimsy and gummy to use. E: also do normal LED’s generally play nice with 3-way switches or do they require dimmable LEDs?
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Feb 16, 2024 18:30
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Kaiser Schnitzel posted:Is there a good source for decent quality lamp parts like sockets, shade harps etc? I just installed some Eaton sockets from the hardware store and they feel so sad and flimsy and gummy to use. Normal LEDs are fine with 3 way switches. 3 way switches act no different electrically to the bulb load than a single-pole switch.
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Feb 16, 2024 19:38
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TacoHavoc posted:Normal LEDs are fine with 3 way switches. 3 way switches act no different electrically to the bulb load than a single-pole switch.
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Feb 16, 2024 20:03
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3-way sockets need 3-way bulbs to actually work as described, whether they're incandescent or LED. A 3-way bulb is just two sets of filaments in a single bulb - one filament comes on with low, a higher-powered filament comes on for medium, and both turn on for high.
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Feb 16, 2024 20:05
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Kaiser Schnitzel posted:Just to be clear I mean a 3 way lamp switch/socket, one that has high/medium/low levels of brightness, not a 3 pole switch which can be turned on/off different places. I'm assuming those work somewhat like a dimmer which some LEDs don't play nice with, but I'm now realizing I actually have no idea how they work. They do not work like a dimmer at all. 3-way bulbs have different contacts and filaments and that switch is literally switching from one contact to the other and then turning both on for the three different brightness levels. 3-way LED bulbs exist: https://www.1000bulbs.com/fil/categories/3-way-led-light-bulbs
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Feb 16, 2024 20:07
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Oh neat, today I learned about three way bulbs!
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Feb 16, 2024 20:20
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Kaiser Schnitzel posted:Is there a good source for decent quality lamp parts like sockets, shade harps etc? https://www.grandbrass.com
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Feb 17, 2024 00:15
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Now that is one pro click. Saving that for the next relevant random applicable project.
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Feb 17, 2024 00:22
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I've replaced every lamp socket with the brass turned & threaded-collar sockets from these folks: https://www.nostalgicbulbs.com/collections/brass-lamp-sockets - It started with a goose-neck floor lamp that goes with my Dad's rolltop desk. The standard push-together socket kept falling apart since it couldn't handle the weight of the socket with the shade. One of these is sturdier than I needed
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Feb 17, 2024 02:23
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Qwijib0 posted:This ryobi apparently isn't bad (once you do a full battery swap) This is an absolute pro click if you've got any interest in electric tools or electric vehicles. He rebuilt it so it uses an electric car charger! The absolute mad lad! I was just in awe from beginning to end!
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Feb 17, 2024 04:15
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He’s done that to a number of interesting things including the loving thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Etvlh10p-eM Honestly he’s a pro subscribe for me
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Feb 17, 2024 13:55
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I remember having to cross state lines to go to a head shop to buy a pot pipe in the 80s. Little did I know at the time that the exact same brass parts to make those pipes were available in the lamp section of my local hardware store for a fraction of the cost.
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Feb 17, 2024 14:17
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Motronic posted:Conditioned makeup air is pretty much a commercial kitchen thing. I think they mean just the thermodyanmics of it all. You're pulling in 900 cfm of air which your air conditioning has to deal with over time. Just twice as expensive to run from an AC side as a 400 cfm unit.  Motronic posted:If you've got a big hood fan like mine you can literally kill the draft on your fireplace and smoke out the living room if someone turns the fan on full tilt before the flue is hot. I wish I did not know this, but here we are. (Cue me running around trying to find a newspaper to light and shove up the chimney to re-reverse the draft This is a hilarious mental image, especially given your background. "I will light this chimney on fire if it's the last thing I do!" I know this isn't what causes chimney fires. Oooooooo.... shiny.
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Feb 17, 2024 16:01
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Is there a thread like this, but for cars? I tried to search but I'm on mobile and the search didn't pan out upon a cursory glance Edit:nvm I found it hark fucked around with this message at 18:37 on Feb 17, 2024 |
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Feb 17, 2024 18:34
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hark posted:Is there a thread like this, but for cars? I tried to search but I'm on mobile and the search didn't pan out upon a cursory glance AI dumb questions thread for those following along.
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Feb 17, 2024 18:58
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Motronic posted:Now that is one pro click. Saving that for the next relevant random applicable project. Oh yeah. Grand Brass is the best site I know of for fixing light fixtures no matter how old they are.
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Feb 17, 2024 21:08
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LG washer (12 years old) that came with our house we bought last year appears to be terminal- loud grinding noises and a faint smell of smoke that looks to be a sure sign of the bearings and/or motor failing. What’s the current consensus (if any) on new front loading machines? LG or GE, whatever’s cheaper as they are now so crappy as to be disposable? Also- does anyone have experience with Costco appliance purchases?
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Feb 18, 2024 15:02
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Costco appliance purchase process is simple, the actual delivery / installation is somewhat regional. In my case the website said it would be delivered and installed by two different contractors but when the day came, the same person did both. Was smooth and painless in my case. I did have my old dishwasher unhooked and pulled out since I recall the website saying they didn't do that normally but I don't know if that would have been an issue. Had them haul it away as well.
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Feb 18, 2024 17:00
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IOwnCalculus posted:Costco appliance purchase process is simple, the actual delivery / installation is somewhat regional. In my case the website said it would be delivered and installed by two different contractors but when the day came, the same person did both. Was smooth and painless in my case. I imagine they love doing this as they likely sell the machines for a profit in bulk to a third party who fixes and resells them.
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Feb 18, 2024 17:53
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Haul away is included, my point is that the way I read the wording at the time is that they would only do the install/haul away if you'd unhooked the old one first... which seems silly in hindsight. Oh well. it was trivial to remove because the PO didn't really go to any effort to secure the old one in place. And I certainly don't have it in me to haul a dishwasher for scrap or trying to make that piece of poo poo Kitchenaid actually clean dishes.
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Feb 19, 2024 06:05
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mountainwalrus posted:LG washer (12 years old) that came with our house we bought last year appears to be terminal- loud grinding noises and a faint smell of smoke that looks to be a sure sign of the bearings and/or motor failing.  - not sure about  I think they are actually manufactured in either North Carolina or Mexico.
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Feb 19, 2024 18:41
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I have heard strong warnings against LG or Samsung as far as long term reliability, but I did have a Samsung washer for a few years and never had an issue with it. I just replaced a Hotpoint toploader where the main bearing was basically rust pudding with an Electrolux front loader that I got cheap as a scratch and dent, we'll see how that plays out.
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Feb 19, 2024 19:42
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The newest Bosch washers seem to use many/most of the same parts on the inside when it comes to motor, pump, sensors, etc as my 10 year old one. I noticed this when I was replacing some parts and the websites helpfully told me that this part "also fits this other machine!" This is specifically the small condo sized washers, not sure about anything else. I've also replaced the drain pump on it twice in 10 months. I'm not sure I'd go Bosch again but I don't know if anything out there is meaningfully more reliable.
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Feb 19, 2024 19:47
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wolrah posted:I have heard strong warnings against LG or Samsung as far as long term reliability, but I did have a Samsung washer for a few years and never had an issue with it. Where did you see someone reviwing an LG (presumably front load) washing machine as unreliable? They are generally accepted to be among the best in that class, with Samsung being the worst.
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Feb 19, 2024 20:48
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