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Official Pit Home Improvement/DIY thread

A pet peeve, but DIY related. A product, in this case a ceiling fan, says to attach a bracket to the electrical box in the ceiling. Use the screws and washers that came with the box. Riiiighttt. Box has been in the ceiling with just a cover plate held by two tiny screws for many years. And I'm supposed to trust those tiny screws to hold a ceiling fan? So much nope about that situation. So off to find some decent length screws and washers that I will trust to do the job. That's what a massive collection of miscellaneous hardware is good for.
 
Deaconblue said:
I'm not an expert in oil burners. However, I'll throw in my 2 cents.

Your setup is not ideal. Better setup is having the oil line exit the tank, go down and then up to the pump and burner. That way air/ga/vapor would either go back up into the tank or go up into the pump where it would be a momentary "burp" and the pump would continue to get liquid. I will assume a change to this configuration is not possible.

I think you are on the right track with a de-aerator. The physics of the oil tank, supply line and pump locations in your set up leave the system vulnerable to air/gas/vapor build up in the supply line where it is above the level of oil in the tank and burner feed pump. The pump is near the burner, pulling oil from the tank. Hence, when enough air/gas/vapor builds up in the supply line, it will accumulate in the high part of the line, breaking the continuity of oil within the line and the pump will lose prime. At that point it will quit. Putting a de-aerator in the high part of the supply line should cure that problem. The Tiger Loop or similar device should do that.

It doesn't seem to me that changing the tank outlet from bottom to top accomplishes anything useful. In order to get oil out when the tank was getting empty there would need to be an internal tube that reached to near the bottom connected to the supply line. The inlet to the supply line would still be approximately where it is now, and the oil would still need to be pulled by the pump to flow all the way to the high point in the line before gravity would allow it to flow to the pump.

I also don't get the usefulness adding a return line, unless there isn't one (can't imagine it works at all without one) or if there is reason to believe that the existing one has some issues that make it effectively too small. Kinked or flattened are two such reasons. Only other reason that might warrant an added return line is if the burner and pump were changed since the original line was installed and the new pump needs the larger return capacity.

Good luck. Hope the foregoing is useful
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Thx.

The experienced experts at the HVAC company we’ve been using dismissed my Internet larnin’ ‘bout de-aerators. Then the fuel line failed again due to air getting into it. So I told them to go ahead with their idea of re-running new lines... from the top (feeds from maybe 5 inches off the bottom of the tank), goes overhead and then down to the furnace. Added a return line back to the tank (didn’t have one of these at all before).

Turns out my own exploration leads me to suspect we had a small leak at the old shutoff valve at the tank bottom where I think the air was getting sucked into the line.

Sigh.

Of well...we now have new lines that seem to be working fine.

But I’ve lost my tank gauge. 🙁

I’m trying to figure out if I can get a combination vent pipe and gauge...seems possible...?
 
ConnorEl said:
Thx.

The experienced experts at the HVAC company we’ve been using dismissed my Internet larnin’ ‘bout de-aerators. Then the fuel line failed again due to air getting into it. So I told them to go ahead with their idea of re-running new lines... from the top (feeds from maybe 5 inches off the bottom of the tank), goes overhead and then down to the furnace. Added a return line back to the tank (didn’t have one of these at all before).

Turns out my own exploration leads me to suspect we had a small leak at the old shutoff valve at the tank bottom where I think the air was getting sucked into the line.

Sigh.

Of well...we now have new lines that seem to be working fine.

But I’ve lost my tank gauge. 

I’m trying to figure out if I can get a combination vent pipe and gauge...seems possible...?
Click to expand...

I whiffed on thinking up the question "where is the air/gas/vapor coming from?" That stuff comes from somewhere. The small leak you diagnosed was probably the real cause of the problem. As you said, just enough to let in air from time to time, and as the air accumulated, your fuel line would air lock.

If the fuel line locks up again, they should rebate you the cost of the new feed line and put an aerator in for free. But they won't.
 
I had them address the small leak at the same time they ran the new lines...considered just fixing that and seeing what happened. But they seemed certain I needed the new lines anyway and I figured...ok do it and you guys own the results, and maybe they’re right about the supposed advantages of this new line system.

Anyhow, I like the really warm air we get from the oil furnace but pretty much hate it otherwise. When it dies I plan to get a totally different system...either a big heat pump or maybe a gas pack or dual fuel system.
 
ConnorEl said:
I had them address the small leak at the same time they ran the new lines...considered just fixing that and seeing what happened. But they seemed certain I needed the new lines anyway and I figured...ok do it and you guys own the results, and maybe they’re right about the supposed advantages of this new line system.

Anyhow, I like the really warm air we get from the oil furnace but pretty much hate it otherwise. When it dies I plan to get a totally different system...either a big heat pump or maybe a gas pack or dual fuel system.
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If you like the warm air, you may not like the air from a heat pump in heat mode. It may not feel warm. Also, depending on where your house is located, it may or may not be cost effective. If you have neighbors with heat pump, try to visit in cool (40 - 55 degree) weather to see how you feel about heat pump warm air.
 
We have a heat pump for upstairs already.

The furnace is for the main level.

I think we’d be happier with a gas pack or dual fuel system. OTOH, we tend to use a gas fireplace and space heaters to generate local warmth as desired, so we possibly could go with the heat pump. Probably the costs of the various set ups will factor into the decision.

Heck, I’d be happy if I never have to replace it...we’ll see.
 
Does anyone have a wood burning stove as a primary heat source? I'm thinking about adding one to my bonus room/office and would like to hear feedback from anyone using a WBS as a primary heat source.

Long version: My detached garage has a finished bonus room that was not built to code so the wiring of the building can't support the current HVAC system in that room. To redo the electricity and AC (i.e., bringing everything up to code) would cost several times what it would cost to buy and install a wood stove, especially as there appear to be tax credits available for high efficiency stoves. I can live without AC in the space, but not having heat is making it unbearable. The space is too large (~225 sq, 12' ceilings) to be heated with space heaters.
 
leftcoastdeac said:
Does anyone have a wood burning stove as a primary heat source? I'm thinking about adding one to my bonus room/office and would like to hear feedback from anyone using a WBS as a primary heat source.

Long version: My detached garage has a finished bonus room that was not built to code so the wiring of the building can't support the current HVAC system in that room. To redo the electricity and AC (i.e., bringing everything up to code) would cost several times what it would cost to buy and install a wood stove, especially as there appear to be tax credits available for high efficiency stoves. I can live without AC in the space, but not having heat is making it unbearable. The space is too large (~225 sq, 12' ceilings) to be heated with space heaters.
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You might want to rethink your stance on not bringing the garage wiring up to code. If you ever go to sell the place, an inspector would likely pick up on the not to code status of the garage wiring. It could impact the sale. Addressing it now would head off this issue in the future, and would give you the enjoyment of proper heat and A/C over the next however many years you own it.
 
Deaconblue said:
You might want to rethink your stance on not bringing the garage wiring up to code. If you ever go to sell the place, an inspector would likely pick up on the not to code status of the garage wiring. It could impact the sale. Addressing it now would head off this issue in the future, and would give you the enjoyment of proper heat and A/C over the next however many years you own it.
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I haven't ruled it out, but in Denver it won't be a problem. Inspection waivers or "minor stuff only" is kind of the rule in the market right now.
 
My wife’s cousin and her family have a wood burning stove in the storage area under their home. Not quite a crawl space and not quite a basement. They pipe the heat under the floor boards of the house and it seems to work fairly well.

I think my concern would be not getting too hot. At UVA I lived on the range and my heat sources were a furnace or the fireplace. The furnace was either off or raging inferno.
 
Fuuuuuuuck. My garbage disposal broke and now I have to install a new one this weekend. It's such a brutal task. I was really hoping that this one would last forever so I'd never have to do it again.
 
wfudkn said:
Fuuuuuuuck. My garbage disposal broke and now I have to install a new one this weekend. It's such a brutal task. I was really hoping that this one would last forever so I'd never have to do it again.
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Yeah but there are few things in life as gratifying as installing the latest version of the Insinkerator and then testing it by throwing whole raw potatoes and apples down in there to get obliterated in like 2 seconds.
 
yeah, you gotta go maximum power. we had whatever the smallest one is in an apartment years ago and it couldnt even handle carrot peels. ridiculous.

i replaced one once; i dodn't remember it being too bad. what was the problem last time?
 
ImTheCaptain said:
yeah, you gotta go maximum power. we had whatever the smallest one is in an apartment years ago and it couldnt even handle carrot peels. ridiculous.

i replaced one once; i dodn't remember it being too bad. what was the problem last time?
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The problem with going any higher on the power is that I would have to adjust the pipes because the 3/4 hp doesn't have them in the same place as the 1/3 and 1/2 hp versions. And I really don't want to move anything.
 
I didn't run into problems, per se, it was just that it was a giant pain in the ass. There is almost zero space under the sink and I have to contort myself like a cirque du soleil performer.
 
wfudkn said:
I didn't run into problems, per se, it was just that it was a giant pain in the ass. There is almost zero space under the sink and I have to contort myself like a cirque du soleil performer.
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If you replace with the same manufacturer's model, you may be able to reuse the collar that attaches to the bottom of the sink. Most disposals twist lock to that collar. Pretty easy to do that. Installing collars can be a pain.

Check location of exit and entry ports on your new one. They may not line up exactly either, even if the same size. Manufacturers change things, well, because they can.

Some of the newest disposals i've seen have been plug-in, almost like they expect them to break instead of hard wired. the the electric connection. That means installing an electric outlet where you may not have one. Unless, your existing, broken one is already wired that way.
 
Deaconblue said:
If you replace with the same manufacturer's model, you may be able to reuse the collar that attaches to the bottom of the sink. Most disposals twist lock to that collar. Pretty easy to do that. Installing collars can be a pain.

Check location of exit and entry ports on your new one. They may not line up exactly either, even if the same size. Manufacturers change things, well, because they can.

Some of the newest disposals i've seen have been plug-in, almost like they expect them to break instead of hard wired. the the electric connection. That means installing an electric outlet where you may not have one. Unless, your existing, broken one is already wired that way.
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I'll definitely reuse the collar if I can. I was able to last time, so I'm hopeful this time. And that's a good call on checking the ports. They were identical the last time I changed it, but I suppose it is possible that Badger has changed something. If they did change the ports then I guess I can take this opportunity to get the larger size since I'll have to move the pipes anyway. If the electric is different (plug rather than hardwired), then I'm just going to hire someone to come in and install.
 
Greetings, pit friends! Checking in from my new office!

We converted an 8x8 gear storage area of our garage into a home office. Framed, cut, and installed a new window; ran a new electrical circuit (including re-running old wiring heading to the patio outside and connecting it to this circuit); insulated everything; installed a door to close it off from the garage; had our 'guy' come and drywall/mud/tape/sand... and now I'm sitting at my new sit-stand desk, looking out my new window into the backyard, staying plenty toasty with a small space heater, and all is well in the world. Total project cost is somewhere around 2500, with the biggest bulk of that being the drywalling job.
 
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