Bricks under the furnace?
Ricky
wants to put a brick under each corner. ?? Is this something old-
timers do? Is it a good idea?
Are the bricks to prevent rusting? There has been water in the
basement on several occasions but it only made it to the furnace when
the furnace itself was leaking, that is, condensate from the AC was
overflowing. And when the water heater leaked, but that's in a pan
now. I've learned all the ways water can get on the floor and I don't
make the same mistakes anymore. The current furnace about 25 years
old only has a little bit of rust at the floor. Why would bricks
help?
2) I also read somewhere, "NOTE: If you live in the South, you must
seal all joints, and insulate all the new ductwork leaving the
furnace." Why just the south? Are joints in hvac ductwork normally
sealed with caulk?
For that matter, what about joints in the 6" round metal flue pipes?
TIA
Ricky
mostly vinyl, 6 inches high, that clamp on to the ducts at each end?
Are they there to keep noise from getting into the ducts, or are they
there to make up for misalignment of the furnace and the ducts.
Thanks again.
Colbyt
"Ricky" <donts...@spam.com> wrote in message
news:66n0f61qg3rbl8nsi...@4ax.com...
Elevating the bottom of the furnace off the basement floor is a sound
practice. Mine sits on 4 8" high concrete blocks. It is not an "old-timer"
thing.
All supply side air ducts should be sealed at the joints. Metal tape is the
better method. Cheap installers will use duct tape. Never heard of using
any kind of caulk.
Better installs will include insulated supply side ducts. This prevents
heat loss in the winter and sweating in the summer. Most local codes require
insulated duct at this time.
Supply side means the part of the unit that is delivering the warm/cool air
and that includes the round ducts.
--
Colbyt
Please come visit http://www.househomerepair.com
Ed Pawlowski
"Ricky" <donts...@spam.com> wrote
> 1) I'm getting a new oil furnace in the basement, and the installer
> wants to put a brick under each corner. ?? Is this something old-
> timers do? Is it a good idea?
>
> Are the bricks to prevent rusting? There has been water in the
> basement on several occasions but it only made it to the furnace when
> the furnace itself was leaking,
If you had water before, you'll have water again. Maybe next week or next
year or next decade. The bricks buy you a few inches of time. The also
promote good air circulation around it to prevent rusting. In some cases,
it makes it higher, thus easier to service.
Bob F
And when you do get water, the air gap will ensure things dry quickly, giving
less time for corrosion or mildew growth. I wouldn't be surprised if it makes
installation and removal easier too.
HeyBub
But a "few" inches means a LOT of safety. Assume 1,800 sq ft of basement and
6" of support. That's 900 cubic feet of water before the flood hits the
furnace gunwales. That 900 cubic feet is almost 7,000 gallons!
Usual faucet flow is in the neighborhood of 0.5 gallons/minute. For the
above calculations, an open faucet in the basement would take 14,000 minutes
(or almost ten days) before the water level reached the furnace.
Jim Elbrecht
<colbyt@-SPAMBLOCK-lexkyweb.com> wrote:
>
>"Ricky" <donts...@spam.com> wrote in message
>news:66n0f61qg3rbl8nsi...@4ax.com...
>> 1) I'm getting a new oil furnace in the basement, and the installer
>> wants to put a brick under each corner. ?? Is this something old-
>> timers do? Is it a good idea?
-snip-
>
>Elevating the bottom of the furnace off the basement floor is a sound
>practice. Mine sits on 4 8" high concrete blocks. It is not an "old-timer"
>thing.
Mine is on 8" block, too. Not only gets it up where it is drier- it
also makes it easier to work on.
Jim
Stormin Mormon
must be one of the lucky fellows, whose furnace is easier. Other guys,
it's not easier to service.
--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.
"Jim Elbrecht" <elbr...@email.com> wrote in message
news:3512f6la71m1gs7ct...@4ax.com...
Steve Barker
if my faucet was that slow, i'd kill myself. I can fill a five gallon
bucket in about 30 seconds with mine.
--
Steve Barker
remove the "not" from my address to email
ransley
> Ed Pawlowski wrote:
Restricted sink faucets with airators are 0.4-.1.5 gpm, my code is
0.50, but piping and unrestricted slop sink facets, outdoor hose, 3-6
pgm is normal. 5 gpm should be considered. On a flood this summer with
sewer backup in maybe 90 minutes I had 4". A smaller basement of 600sq
ft would flood, at 5gpm you could awake the next day to 3000 gallons.
ransley
> Ed Pawlowski wrote:
An incomming main of about 65lb 3/4" pipe is about 17gpm. A 1" at 65lb
is about 34 gpm, 2000 gallons per hour if it breaks, you could swim in
a small basement by morning.
Ned Flanders
> order is there's any dampness on the floor.
>
> I never heard abotu caulk on ducts. Just use that metallic tape, or
> duct tape, but use the REAL duct tape sold by heating suppliers, not
> the cheap stuff sold at Walmart.
>
I seem to remember seeing something on Holmes on Homes or his new
inspection show where the heating people were painting on some type of
sealant around the seams on the duct work instead of the foil tape. It
was grey in colour and appeared to be very thick.
Ned Flanders
Ned Flanders
DerbyDad03
> On Sat, 27 Nov 2010 11:36:49 -0800, Ned Flanders
>
>
>
> <ned.fland...@springfield.com> wrote:
> >j...@thenet.com wrote:
>
> I'd hate to have to work on ducts that were sealed in that manner.
> Tape can be removed when needed.
re: "Fix your newsreader, you posted this 3 times..... "
Wouldn't that be "newswriter"? ;-)
ransley
>
> - Show quoted text -
It might be called Duct Sealing Mastic, i used it on my ducks
Oren
<mark.ra...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> I seem to remember seeing something on Holmes on Homes or his new
>> inspection show where the heating people were painting on some type of
>> sealant around the seams on the duct work instead of the foil tape. It
>> was grey in colour and appeared to be very thick.- Hide quoted text -
>>
>> - Show quoted text -
>
>It might be called Duct Sealing Mastic, i used it on my ducks
I bet the "ducks" were mad! <G>
k...@att.bizzzzzzzzzzzz
Yeah, they hate it when they're stuck to the sealing. ;-)
Ned Flanders
>
> I'd hate to have to work on ducts that were sealed in that manner.
> Tape can be removed when needed.
>
It wasn't my news reader alone it was also my Usenet Server. My
connection to the server drops from time to time (ever since my provider
outsourced it). The Usenet program popped up a message that told me the
post failed so I resent it.
Its not Like I make a habit of triple posting...
Colbyt
"Ned Flanders" <ned.fl...@springfield.com> wrote in message
news:nvgIo.47541$wQ1....@newsfe04.iad...
> j...@thenet.com wrote:
>
> It wasn't my news reader alone it was also my Usenet Server. My connection
> to the server drops from time to time (ever since my provider outsourced
> it). The Usenet program popped up a message that told me the post failed
> so I resent it.
>
> Its not Like I make a habit of triple posting...
Ned it happens every now and then. A couple of others had the same problem,
at least they did here.
No big deal!
Colbyt
Oren
Even today my NNTP server has some lag. Now and then they burp...
HeyBub
As some have pointed out, some faucets act like fireplugs with an output of
65 gallons/minute. If you live in one of these homes, the 7,000 gallon level
would be reached in about an hour and a half.
The point is, however, leaving the furnace on the floor would subject it to
ruinous 1/4" of water in the original calculation in a bit less than ten
hours. Living in the water-hell home, the critical level would be reached in
a mere four minutes.
Bottom line: Depending on your water pressure and delivery pipe, by putting
the furnace six inches above the floor, you have between 90 minutes and ten
days to recognize the problem. If the furnace is left on the floor, you've
got between four and 90 minutes to sober up.
All that aside, a concrete floor can sometimes act as a wick to elevate
ground water to its surface.
k...@att.bizzzzzzzzzzzz
I think that's the key. If the furnace is put directly on the concrete floor
it could be constantly damp. Cement blocks are cheap, and don't burn well.
aemeijers
Some sort of spacers would make sense. I would use something made out of
concrete rather than a brick made of clay, though. Sometimes those turn
to dust at inconvenient times. I wish the people who installed my
furnace had put it up on blocks. No flooding issues (knock on wood), but
that filter housing is a knuckle buster right next to floor. A couple of
inches up would have made it easier.
--
aem sends...
--
aem sends...
k...@att.bizzzzzzzzzzzz
In my previous house the furnace (boiler) was on 4" solid concrete blocks. The
filter was on the tank. ?? I never worked on it, so don't remember too many
details.
mm
wrote:
>>
>> I think that's the key. If the furnace is put directly on the concrete floor
>> it could be constantly damp. Cement blocks are cheap, and don't burn well.
>
>Some sort of spacers would make sense. I would use something made out of
>concrete rather than a brick made of clay, though. Sometimes those turn
>to dust at inconvenient times. I wish the people who installed my
>furnace had put it up on blocks. No flooding issues (knock on wood), but
>that filter housing is a knuckle buster right next to floor. A couple of
>inches up would have made it easier.
My furnace filter was easy to change for several years. I don't know
when it changed, but it's not anymore. And I cant' get in there to
look at what's stopping it.
A typical cardboard-frame filter, it's hard to get started** and even
after I start it, today I had to force it in a little at a time for
the first 12 inches, before it slid in okay. **To get it started, I
usually end up pushig so hard the bottom carboard edge crumples.
That's just makes it harder to push at all later.
An inche or two underneath would help get it started, but that's not
the whole problem at all.
>
>--
>aem sends...
hal...@aol.com
> On Sat, 27 Nov 2010 21:22:04 -0500, aemeijers <aemeij...@att.net>
>
> - Show quoted text -
might be a good idea to fix the root cause of wet basement, the ideal
time to install a french drain is when the old furnace has left the
building.....
at least install the french drain in the area where the new furnace is
going.
its hard to work around a existing furnace
aemeijers
Or do it the proper way, and fix it OUTSIDE the house. Bailing a boat is
a poor substitute for fixing the hole in the side.
--
aem sends...
aemeijers
I WISH a had a typical cardboard-frame filter. No, like an idiot, I had
to buy one of those damn fancy air filters, with a 3" thick filter you
have to assemble before you can put it in, reusing the frame of the old
filter. And it costs 15-20 bucks a pop. Takes forever to get the plastic
comb things (3 of them) stuck down between all those folds, and when
assembled, it has to go in the box (sitting right on the floor) just SO,
or it jams. I don't notice the dust-bunnies growing any slower since I
got this thing, or any improvement in my allergies, even with a fresh
filter in place. Probably overdue for a change again, now that heating
season is underway. I could change a disposable thin filter monthly for
probably less money, and certainly a lot less aggravation.
--
aem sends...
cl...@snyder.on.ca
wrote:
>On 11/27/2010 8:38 PM, k...@att.bizzzzzzzzzzzz wrote:
The VAST majority of brick today is concrete based, not clay, at
least in our area.
Autoclaved concrete brick can be as attractive as clay in the lighter
colours, and stands up better to our climate. I've not seen many
spalled concrete bricks, compared to what I see in clay.
Smitty Two
wrote:
> Tape can be removed when needed.
That metal foil tape might as well be solder, for how easily it's
removed. I had occasion to take apart a short section of ducting that
I'd taped about 5 years ago, and that shit is tenacious, Maynard.
Jim Elbrecht
-snip-
>I WISH a had a typical cardboard-frame filter. No, like an idiot, I had
>to buy one of those damn fancy air filters, with a 3" thick filter you
>have to assemble before you can put it in, reusing the frame of the old
>filter. And it costs 15-20 bucks a pop. Takes forever to get the plastic
Can't you just slide a regular filter into the same space?
>comb things (3 of them) stuck down between all those folds, and when
>assembled, it has to go in the box (sitting right on the floor) just SO,
>or it jams. I don't notice the dust-bunnies growing any slower since I
>got this thing, or any improvement in my allergies, even with a fresh
>filter in place. Probably overdue for a change again, now that heating
>season is underway. I could change a disposable thin filter monthly for
>probably less money, and certainly a lot less aggravation.
I slide a clean BoAir in every 100 hours- I *did* notice a marked
difference when I went from the regular filters to the BoAir. I
tried a similar looking but much cheaper one and it didn't catch as
much junk.
Now I have 2 BoAirs that I swap out.
Jim
hal...@aol.com
after having installed a exterior french drain, new downspout drains,
new sidewalks and steps, and regraded a entire yard...... cost near 9
grand I was the laborer, it took months. 9 grand was supplies like 20
tons of gravel, concrete, supplies and backhoe contractor.
all to fix a wet basement that within months was wet again:( water
percolating up thru floor:(
then did the only thing left, $3600.00 for interior french drain that
made it bone dry....
if you had tried doing it right only to fail you might better
understand my suggesting interior french drains..........
hal...@aol.com
> Or do it the proper way, and fix it OUTSIDE the house. Bailing a boat is
> a poor substitute for fixing the hole in the side.
I might add you CANT seal water out of a basement, ther best you can
do is redirect it......
basements have too many joints and seams they arent a boat:(
Han
7239ec...@t35g2000yqj.googlegroups.com:
Silly Dutch. Half their basments are ower than the ground water table,
none are wet. They must have suspended the laws of nature, or might they
know a trick?
--
Best regards
Han
email address is invalid
cl...@snyder.on.ca
A razor knife or box-cutter makes short work of it. Just slice the
joint - tape over it when you re-assemble - no need to ever remove it,
really.
mm
>might be a good idea to fix the root cause of wet basement, the ideal
>time to install a french drain is when the old furnace has left the
>building.....
>
>at least install the french drain in the area where the new furnace is
>going.
>
>its hard to work around a existing furnace
That's for sure.
I think it strange that the filter started going in easy after 12
inches. All the way to the end. I can imagine the first inch or two
being hard, but 12 inches seems strange.
Because of my work bench, I couldn't look in very well, but I coudl
get my fingers in and I didn't feel any obstruction at the bottom or
top of the filter slot. I thought there might be a big piece of
flaking rust, metal that became mostly detached because of rust.
But there was nothing like that, and in gneeral there's only a little
bit of rust on the bottom of the furnace. Water doesn't seep up
through the cement and it's only been wet there a 10 or 20 days total
years ago. Still, maybe it's a thin layer of rusty bubbling metal on
the bottom of the slot. Which I could scrape or file or chisel off.
I'll take a tape measure with me too. This last time, I was so tired
from bending over in a strange way, I just quit when the filter was
in.
cl...@snyder.on.ca
Houses should not be built in swamps. If the water table is below the
basement floor level you will not have "perculation" problems.
mm
Don't even boats have bilge pumps? What are they for?
Wikip
The bilge is the lowest compartment on a ship where the two sides meet
at the keel.[1] The word was coined in 1523.[citation needed]
The word is sometimes also used to describe the water that collects in
this compartment. Water that does not drain off the side of the deck
drains down through the ship into the bilge. This water may be from
rough seas, rain, or minor leaks in the hull or stuffing box.**
[So it's usually mostly NOT from leaks. I guess that's reassuring. ]
The water that collects in the bilge must be pumped out to prevent it
from becoming too full and threatening to sink the ship
**Where the propeller comes in.
Bill who putters
cl...@snyder.on.ca wrote:
First time in 60 years my dads and brothers home flooded last April.
Normally about 20 foot down but about 11 caused flooding. Missed me by
about 2 o3 feet. Sump pumps can't handle it btw.
http://groundwaterwatch.usgs.gov/Table.asp?S=394354075025901&sc=34&sa=NJ
--
Bill S. Jersey USA zone 5 shade garden
Steve Barker
>
> I seem to remember seeing something on Holmes on Homes or his new
> inspection show where the heating people were painting on some type of
> sealant around the seams on the duct work instead of the foil tape. It
> was grey in colour and appeared to be very thick.
>
My guy uses that gray stuff on all my jobs.
--
Steve Barker
remove the "not" from my address to email
Ricky
too.
On Sat, 27 Nov 2010 11:38:49 -0800, Ned Flanders
<ned.fl...@springfield.com> wrote:
>j...@thenet.com wrote:
>> On Fri, 26 Nov 2010 20:26:09 -0500, Ricky<donts...@spam.com> wrote:
>>
>>> 1) I'm getting a new oil furnace in the basement, and the installer
>>> wants to put a brick under each corner. ?? Is this something old-
>>> timers do? Is it a good idea?
>>>
>>> Are the bricks to prevent rusting? There has been water in the
>>> basement on several occasions but it only made it to the furnace when
>>> the furnace itself was leaking, that is, condensate from the AC was
>>> overflowing. And when the water heater leaked, but that's in a pan
>>> now. I've learned all the ways water can get on the floor and I don't
>>> make the same mistakes anymore. The current furnace about 25 years
>>> old only has a little bit of rust at the floor. Why would bricks
>>> help?
>>>
>>> 2) I also read somewhere, "NOTE: If you live in the South, you must
>>> seal all joints, and insulate all the new ductwork leaving the
>>> furnace." Why just the south? Are joints in hvac ductwork normally
>>> sealed with caulk?
>>>
>>> For that matter, what about joints in the 6" round metal flue pipes?
>>>
>>> TIA
>>
>> There are bricks under my furnace. If not, it will rust in short
>> order is there's any dampness on the floor.
>>
>> I never heard abotu caulk on ducts. Just use that metallic tape, or
>> duct tape, but use the REAL duct tape sold by heating suppliers, not
>> the cheap stuff sold at Walmart.
>>
>