Damned Central Heating!

On Thu, 28 Mar 2019 16:14:23 -0700, wrote:

That isn't just your imagination. It seems that some dairy farmers
pipe music into the barns as they said that it increased the milk
yield. Contented cows give more milk, I suppose.

A radio in the dairy barn was old hat when I was a little kid in the
forties. Can't have been *too* old hat, as I recently learned that we
didn't have electricity when I was born.

My immediate reaction was "ye cats, Mom had Nancy and Alice in diapers
at the same time and didn't have running water." Then I remembered
Mrs. Plough -- the youngest of her fifteen children were the same age
as my older sisters, and she was noted for keeping all of them
*clean*. (And every stitch one wore had to be ironed in those days.)

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/

On Thu, 28 Mar 2019 21:53:11 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote:

On Thu, 28 Mar 2019 16:14:23 -0700, wrote:

That isn't just your imagination. It seems that some dairy farmers
pipe music into the barns as they said that it increased the milk
yield. Contented cows give more milk, I suppose.

A radio in the dairy barn was old hat when I was a little kid in the
forties. Can't have been *too* old hat, as I recently learned that we
didn't have electricity when I was born.

My immediate reaction was "ye cats, Mom had Nancy and Alice in diapers
at the same time and didn't have running water." Then I remembered
Mrs. Plough -- the youngest of her fifteen children were the same age
as my older sisters, and she was noted for keeping all of them
*clean*. (And every stitch one wore had to be ironed in those days.)

And strangely enough people of that era didn't seem to be marching in
parades in favor of Gold Fish Rights, or whatever the flavor of the
day is :-)

--
cheers,

John B.

On Thursday, March 28, 2019 at 12:03:15 PM UTC-7, jbeattie wrote:
On Thursday, March 28, 2019 at 11:32:48 AM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:
On 2019-03-28 01:20, wrote:
On Wed, 27 Mar 2019 22:22:46 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 3/27/2019 7:44 PM, Joerg wrote:
On 2019-03-27 10:25, jbeattie wrote:
On Wednesday, March 27, 2019 at 7:14:41 AM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:

As I wrote, my car insurance is for cars _and_ bicycles.

Yes, and here's an interesting twist -- no PIP or UIM coverage under
your own policy if you get hit by another bike.


Really? IIRC my insurance guy explained that to me as covering any kind
of crash.

Insurance guys have been known to give rather misleading explanations.

But they give you a written contract, don't they? I know nothing about
U.S. insurance policies but the ones we got when I was working, for
our equipment for example, were pretty complete and if there was a
question we would (actually have our Lawyer) write a letter to the
insurance company clarification of that point.

Won't U.S. companies formally clarify points in their contracts?


A witnesses statement from a licensed insurance writer who works for the
underwriting company, or an email, is a pretty powerful thing in the
case of a dispute.

Not if the statement was made by an agent after the issuance of the policy or even before the policy was issued, depending on the binder statute in your state -- and depending on whether the agent is an actual agent of the insurer or just a producer or broker. There are a lot of variables, and the rule of thumb is that you're bound by the terms of the policy. That is the contract between the parties. If the agent got you the wrong policy, you may have an E&O claim -- assuming there was a right policy. Some risks simply are not insurable. If the agent simply mis-interpreted the policy after it was issued, that means nothing in most states.

And when it comes to UM/UIM it's all statutory. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/f...nNum= 11580.2. The policy might expand coverage, but it can't limit it, and most policies are written to conform to the state statute -- you have a "California UM Endorsement" on your policy. It doesn't provide UIM/UM coverage when you're hit by a bike while riding a bike -- no matter what your agent may think.

-- Jay Beattie.

Let me insert a plug for getting a lawyer in any case where even minor injuries occur. It is difficult for a private individual to both just what an injury is worth and to negotiate terms with an insurance company. Here I am a year later and my large toenail sill is only half regrown and it is a pain in the toe on long rides.

On 2019-03-28 20:41, wrote:
On Thu, 28 Mar 2019 21:53:11 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote:

On Thu, 28 Mar 2019 16:14:23 -0700, wrote:

That isn't just your imagination. It seems that some dairy farmers
pipe music into the barns as they said that it increased the milk
yield. Contented cows give more milk, I suppose.

A radio in the dairy barn was old hat when I was a little kid in the
forties. Can't have been *too* old hat, as I recently learned that we
didn't have electricity when I was born.

My immediate reaction was "ye cats, Mom had Nancy and Alice in diapers
at the same time and didn't have running water." Then I remembered
Mrs. Plough -- the youngest of her fifteen children were the same age
as my older sisters, and she was noted for keeping all of them
*clean*. (And every stitch one wore had to be ironed in those days.)

And strangely enough people of that era didn't seem to be marching in
parades in favor of Gold Fish Rights, or whatever the flavor of the
day is :-)


They didn't have time for that. They had to ... work.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

The new, "smart" HVAC systems with the 2-stage compressors and the DC-operated, variable-speed fan motors are very trouble-prone and cost much more to repair than any energy savings you might get versus a "dumb", thermostat-controlled system with generic parts and an AC fan motor. Plus you can learn to work on the "dumb" system yourself, if you want to. With the "smart" system, not so much.

They don't tell you that the "smart" system's two-stage compressor will fail shortly after the warranty expires, and that it's not cost-effective to replace just the compressor, so you have to buy an entire new outdoor unit. But once you buy the outdoor unit, the new indoor coil and fan doesn't cost that much more, so you wind up having to replace the entire system due to compressor failure. I would avoid buying another "smart" HVAC system.

On Tue, 2 Apr 2019 14:34:56 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

The new, "smart" HVAC systems with the 2-stage compressors and the DC-operated, variable-speed fan motors are very trouble-prone and cost much more to repair than any energy savings you might get versus a "dumb", thermostat-controlled system with generic parts and an AC fan motor. Plus you can learn to work on the "dumb" system yourself, if you want to. With the "smart" system, not so much.

They don't tell you that the "smart" system's two-stage compressor will fail shortly after the warranty expires, and that it's not cost-effective to replace just the compressor, so you have to buy an entire new outdoor unit. But once you buy the outdoor unit, the new indoor coil and fan doesn't cost that much more, so you wind up having to replace the entire system due to compressor failure. I would avoid buying another "smart" HVAC system.


Given that China exports some 33.7% of all the air conditioners in
the world it must he a evil plot by the Yellow Peril to undermine the
U.S.'s demand for cooling.
--
cheers,

John B.

On Tue, 02 Apr 2019 07:54:55 -0700, Joerg
wrote:

On 2019-03-28 20:41, wrote:
On Thu, 28 Mar 2019 21:53:11 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote:

On Thu, 28 Mar 2019 16:14:23 -0700, wrote:

That isn't just your imagination. It seems that some dairy farmers
pipe music into the barns as they said that it increased the milk
yield. Contented cows give more milk, I suppose.

A radio in the dairy barn was old hat when I was a little kid in the
forties. Can't have been *too* old hat, as I recently learned that we
didn't have electricity when I was born.

My immediate reaction was "ye cats, Mom had Nancy and Alice in diapers
at the same time and didn't have running water." Then I remembered
Mrs. Plough -- the youngest of her fifteen children were the same age
as my older sisters, and she was noted for keeping all of them
*clean*. (And every stitch one wore had to be ironed in those days.)

And strangely enough people of that era didn't seem to be marching in
parades in favor of Gold Fish Rights, or whatever the flavor of the
day is :-)


They didn't have time for that. They had to ... work.


Horrifying isn't it? What out ancestors had to go through :-)
--
cheers,

John B.

On 2019-03-28 09:00, wrote:
On Wednesday, March 27, 2019 at 4:49:14 PM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:
On 2019-03-25 11:33, wrote:
On Saturday, March 23, 2019 at 4:09:26 PM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:
On 2019-03-20 09:42, wrote:
On Tuesday, March 19, 2019 at 1:28:01 PM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:
On 2019-03-19 11:17, wrote:
A couple of months ago when it was coldest my central
heating stopped igniting. My impression from the sounds
it was making was that the thermocouple was bad or the
pilot light that would be ignited was dirty or some such
so that the flame wasn't close enough to the thermocouple
of inform it that there was a real flame there and turn
the full flame on.

The repairman came out and said that the pilot and
thermocouple was OK and changed out the main gas valve.
The heater appeared to work for six weeks and then as the
weather got cold again started not lighting again.

The company sent another repairman out and he said that
it was the main control board and replaced that.

I am now $1,600 into "repairs" and sure enough - the
heater isn't lighting still.

It would appear to me at this time that there is nothing
more to replace but the pilot tube and the thermocouple.
So I wonder how to convince the repairman that there is
something wrong with one of those?


We had that happen a long time ago and the cause was the
electronic controller board. The central propane furnace
would go VROOOOP .. PHUTAH-PHUT ... RUMBLE ... VROOOOOOOOOP
... and never stayed on anymore.

When the technician came out he exclaimed "Oh look, an old
Fenwal controller board!", saying he was amazed that it
lasted this long. He switched it out against one from
another manufacturer and all was well.

I asked him to leave the old board and when probing it I
found that the triac that controls the main burner valve
had gone partially bad so it wouldn't be able to send a
full current through the valve solenoid anymore. Could have
kicked myself because instead of paying a few hundred
Dollars I could have gotten one of those triac for a couple
of Dollars and replaced it. If these triac are on a
separate driver board then check that.

There is also a suction sensor, for example a flap in the
intake stream that operates a signaling switch. If that
got crudded up it might at times falsely signal a failing
air draft and that would cut the main valve.

-- Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/




when the technician came out again the board was showing
errors of "too many tries". He pulled the connector off and
spread the male connector so that it would make better
connection to the main gas valve and it appears to work
perfectly now. Though when the main gas valve was replaced 3
months ago it all worked fine until recently.


The first technician could have diagnosed that easily by
measuring how many volts are actually arriving at the solenoid.
This is the first order of business for me when, for example,
my wife says that a certain zone in the yard doesn't get
watered reliably.

-- Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

He got the correct readings because the problem wasn't the board
but the connection between the board and the gas solenoid not
making proper contact. Since both the board and the valve were
new there really wasn't any question about their working. It took
him a little while to isolate the connection. These connectors
are the male and female pin types. So it is virtually impossible
to measure them when connected.


However, it has to be done and not on the board side but at the
solenoid. Most such connectors are crimped these days. A thin
sewing needle usually gets in. If not I poke through the wire
insulation with the needles and later cover that with electrical
tape.

-- Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

The third technician came out to work on my heater. This one has more
experience and had an idea of what the problem was. He pulled the NEW
gas switch out and used some wire extensions so that he could switch
it outside of the heater. He triggered it several times and while
there was a click, blowing into the tube revealed that the valve
wasn't opening. He tried this several times until the butterfly valve
would open on switching.

This was no charge since I had paid for a replacement valve already.
He also ordered a new free valve and it should arrive in a couple of
days. My suspicion is that the power would attempt to pull the
solenoid open but that it wouldn't actually move - a number of things
could cause this from insufficient clearance to it being a rebuilt
solenoid that could cock in the slide or even never being lubricated.
Or even it could have been a foreign product without compatible slide
and raceway. Though that is improbable since the Chinese parts I've
been getting are actually better designed than the older American
components.

In any case he managed to duplicate the problem and will have it
repaired in a couple of days.


Good that the root cause has been found. Or actually two, a loose
contact and then the bad new valve. If the first technician had done a
better job by measuring the solenoid voltage the old valve would
probably be still in there, along with more money being left in your wallet.

Hopefully you have a wood stove to keep you warm because summer just
doesn't want to happen.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

On 3/26/2019 4:15 PM, wrote:
On Monday, March 25, 2019 at 8:07:45 PM UTC-7, Bob F wrote:
On 3/20/2019 12:04 PM, wrote:
On Wednesday, March 20, 2019 at 11:09:26 AM UTC-7, sms wrote:
On 3/19/2019 4:04 PM, Joerg wrote:

snip

We rarely use it anymore due to the price-gouging in the propane
industry. We switched to cord wood and pellets.

No natural gas in your area? Odd for California housing developments.

There's a big move now to all-electric since the electricity can be
generated without the use of fossil fuels.

I don't know where you get that idea. Those new windmills are more than 500 meters high and they will not start turning in anything short of hurricane force winds so the "generator" is driven like a motor to keep them rotating. Any that you see not turning are turned off and may be broken. The results of all of this is those windmills have a net power DRAIN in most areas because while they generate a good deal of power when the wind is above 20 mph that is rare.

Solar farms are almost as bad. They virtually kill the environment beneath them and they have efficiency of only 22% or so when new. They age 4 times faster than is claimed and if you do not keep them clean they can fail faster than that. At 22% efficiency at high noon when the sun is directly overhead that means that they can only generate 220 watts per square meter.

A friend was planning on putting solar cells on his home in Phoenix and dragged me off to a solar show. The salesmen were taunting 20 year lifespan. I talked to the engineers and they told me soto vox that they were 5 years to 50% output if the surfaces were cleaned all the time. And this is only under perfect conditions. They are only good for output on 2 hours either side of local true noon. Any clouds greatly reduce their output.

So virtually all of that crap about "green energy" is just that. They cause 100 times more environmental damage than they supposedly prevent. Birds cannot judge a windmill speed because the ends of the blades are traveling at 200 mph. The sound from the rotating blades even being driven via motor power confuse bats and when under full wind drive make super-sonic sounds so loud that they permanently deafen the insect eating bats that are environmentally important.

All of this is well known and there are plenty of papers written on these subjects. Why does the media avoid these at all costs and continue to promote the fraud of climate change when the climate has been more or less stable since the end of the Little Ice Age?


LOL! You actually BELIEVE this crap?

I don't know who you are or where you live but my brother used to be the electrician for the power company that runs the windmills in the Altamont Pass area. I have seen the destruction. You only have to ride an F-ing bike through the May Rd./North Flynn Rd. area to see it.

The new windmills now hardly ever generate power anymore because it takes 20 knots of wind or more to generate enough power to turn those huge blades. So they drive them by powering them up all the time to keep them revolving because they will not start in the amount of wind that is usually the highest wind they receive. The mills that are not moving are those that will not work with wind from the normal direction and they don't get powered up unless the predictions are for more northerly or southerly winds.

Pure B.S. They start from the wind. They aim into the wind.

https://www.energy.gov/eere/wind/ani...-turbine-works

I have gone to solar shows and while the salesmen are bragging about all sorts of efficiencies and long life the engineers tell me a far different story. Strange how an engineer can talk more openly to another engineer.

So tell me what YOU know about this "crap"?


It is not true.

On Tuesday, April 2, 2019 at 2:34:59 PM UTC-7, wrote:
The new, "smart" HVAC systems with the 2-stage compressors and the DC-operated, variable-speed fan motors are very trouble-prone and cost much more to repair than any energy savings you might get versus a "dumb", thermostat-controlled system with generic parts and an AC fan motor. Plus you can learn to work on the "dumb" system yourself, if you want to. With the "smart" system, not so much.

They don't tell you that the "smart" system's two-stage compressor will fail shortly after the warranty expires, and that it's not cost-effective to replace just the compressor, so you have to buy an entire new outdoor unit.. But once you buy the outdoor unit, the new indoor coil and fan doesn't cost that much more, so you wind up having to replace the entire system due to compressor failure. I would avoid buying another "smart" HVAC system.

I had the gas control solenoid replaced a second time. One of the odd things I detected was that when it was warmer in the afternoon the solenoid would work when the thermostat changed from 62 to 69.

It occurred to me that this was a clearance problem in the solenoid. When the new one arrived me and the technician looked at the box and it was made in Mexico. I have my fingers crossed that this one works but I sure as hell don't know what to do if it doesn't. It has operated normally for the last two days but the first replacement operated normally until the weather turned really cold. Great time for the heater to fail.