Masterworks Services

03/15/2018

And the 2 shall become 1
The filter holder is now also the attic access
The upper part of the filter compartment pushes up and moves out of the way to allow attic access
The only thing left is to sand the drywall and apply imperfect - smooth texture on Friday

03/13/2018

My project for later today, 1.5 million dollar home, attic access and return air grill next to each other, misaligned, and visible from the entry. The builder blamed it on the architect, said nothing could be done.... Ya, whatever.
I had some custom metal work done, and will be combining them. The new attic access will be through the filter holder, photos to follow later

03/13/2018

When clothes dryers behave badly...
{it isn't always the dryer}

Today's lesson is similar to yesterday's (although no villains are involved)

I was repairing a malfunctioning blower wheel on an electric dryer for a client, the repair went well and solved the problem.

I went back the next day to do some other work, to be informed that the dryer had stopped heating.

I tested the thermal fuses, which sometimes blow when the air flow is too low, (previous issue of blower wheel not turning (caused by metal objects (known as coins) being left in articles of clothing)).
Thermal fuses tested OK.

So... The electric dryer is connected to a 240 volt circuit.
In the photos, there is 240 volts applied across the angled prongs, made by adding 2, 120 volt circuits together. This is measured between each angled prong and the L shaped prong.

The point being...
The heating element is powered from the 2 angled prongs, the motor that turns the drum is powered from 1 anged prong and the L shaped prong.

In the photo, you can see that one of the L shaped prongs in the plug has been over heated, and there are signs of arcing, (the metal is pitted and discolored) on both angled prongs.

This dryer had lost 1/2 its power, so it turned, but didn't heat.

I was suspicious the day I repaired the blower wheel, because I was able to insert the plug into the receptacle easily with 1 finger.

Important note, any electrical receptacle should hold plugs firmly, if you plug things in, and they fall out, your receptacle needs to be replaced.

Another aspect of this situation, when the blower wheel stopped working, the back of the dryer apparently got quite hot, as the power cord melted
(really bad)

I will disassemble the dryer receptacle to explain how this all occurs

These symptoms can also be caused by bad circuit breakers and bad wiring.

Be alert, electric issues can either cause injury or death by electrocution, or burn your house down

If you experience crackling noises or have flickering lights, have someone check it out

03/12/2018

Just because your furnace doesn't work, doesn't mean you need a new one.
But a heating and cooling company told my clients, (elderly, one with Alzheimer's, the other with a brain aneurysm), that they needed a new 14000.00 system. Using scare tactics, (typical), I have dealt with 4 of these situations in the last year, all elderly.

I have personally confronted 1 salesman, he tried to bu****it the wrong guy, the others were to chickensh*t to return my calls. Pardon my "spicy" vocabulary, but these people need to be strung up by their "naughty bits" as the British say.

This photo shows the result of using a poor quality receptacle, (actual cause of furnace functioning in an erratic manner), it does not grasp the prongs on the plug firmly, which results in arcing, which generates heat, which burns your house to the ground, which makes water shoot out of your eyes, which... Well you get the picture

Get 2nd opinions, any free or low cost inspection of your heat and air, is 99.999999999 percent likely to result in someone feeding you a line of crap to scare you into purchasing a new system.

I have another client who was paying a yearly service contract for maintenance, he asked me to look at his 2 10,000 dollar units.
Both units had their condensing coils packed with debris and had no refrigerant in them.
The same company also told him his 5 year old units needed replacement.

Another example of, we will pretend to service your unit, while actually we are simply here to sell you another one.

I charged him significantly more than the "service" company, however I got his units working in tip-top condition and didn't try to sell him 35,000 in unnecessary equipment

If they try to sell you a system based on energy savings and the system costs 15,000.00 the average life span is 15 years, get in writing that the system will save you 1000 per year (if your system is really old, this is possible)
Some things to think about

07/22/2017

Thermal imaging can find a lot of issues.
Water, insulation, Air conditioning and heating, termites, bees, electrical issues. Most issues will show up thermally before they will be detected by other means.
The imager works on the principle that the warmer and object is, the more infrared light it gives off. With software and an adjustable color palette, the thermal image can be adjusted to reveal the most important data.
One of the best features is speed. I can scan a room in a few seconds and know more than I would if I spent hours with other technologies.

02/24/2015

The cool? thing about this fire alarm is, after it warns you about the fire, it provides you with a fun snack, and... none of that annoying chirping from low batteries!

02/24/2015

Low tech at its best!
Like if you know what it is...

02/23/2015

One of the most "not right" ceiling fixture installations that I have ever seen.

02/19/2015

Do you have an exit strategy???
Or as Dirty Harry queried, Do you feel lucky? Well do you, Feel Lucky?

02/19/2015