Home Improvement

Araysar

Loser Araysar

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Hateyou said:
Is it an old house with old building materials?

I know someone who had a lot of problems with food allergies, had to follow a very strict diet or have stomach issues. On vacations though she could eat stuff and not have a problem. They eventually did a test where she just stayed somewhere else for a couple weeks and her problems went away. They think it’s just she’s sensitive to old building materials. They moved to a newer house six months ago or so and no problems since, can eat whatever she wants. Fuckin weird, but maybe you have some shit like that going on.
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Its a brick house, built in early 1990s. So not super old, but not particularly new either. Has a wood burning fireplace in the family room which we've used at least 1-2x a week so that might be affecting the IAQ a bit. Also, I haven't really had the opportunity to air the house out since fall, since half the time its below 40 here, so that could be a factor too. Dont remember coughing much if at all when were in Hawaii for Christmas break, seems like it started when we came back.

Ive been reading about symptoms for poor IAQ and I feel like I had most of these in past few weeks, especially the headaches. I pretty much never get headaches.

I called a local HVAC company to come and clean out my entire HVAC system this week
 
BrutulTM

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I think the fireplace is probably a pretty good guess. I heat my house with a wood stove and I seem to cough more in the winter time. Never really investigated it though.
 
Lanx

Lanx

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Araysar said:
Lanx Lanx I bet you already own some IAQ monitor from Amazon. What's good?
Click to expand...
i just rely on my winix air purifer that thing is super sensitive, try to sneak a fart? it whirs up

my wife puts on chemicals or whatever on her face at the vanity? whirs up
 
Araysar

Loser Araysar

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yeah i have the same purifier, but its a 3200 sq ft house

i need better solutions.
 
Araysar

Loser Araysar

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Captain Suave said:
Indoor wood fires are a likely culprit. It doesn't burn efficiently in fireplaces and the smoke has all kinds of irritants, particulates, and undesirable gasses in it.
Click to expand...

So I was thinking that too. I havent used the fireplace in just under 2 weeks now, but still having the coofs.
 
C

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Araysar said:
I havent used the fireplace in just under 2 weeks now, but still having the coofs.
Click to expand...
Your house could be filled with fine ash particulates you can't even see. Blow some air around to kick up the dust and then vent it out, see if it's better.
 
Fucker

Fucker

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Araysar said:
yeah i have the same purifier, but its a 3200 sq ft house

i need better solutions.
Click to expand...
Fireplace is your likely culprit.

Should get your system checked for leaks and ductwork cleaned if it needs it. HVAC lines get old and tape and ductwork can fail. If this happens in attic, you are going to get a lot of stink.

I duct taped the HVAC lines in this place and vacuumed out the vents...they'd never been cleaned. This cut out almost all the dust and the stink.

Also check anything that has holes to exterior walls. Vents, AC outlets and the like. Same goes for exterior facing ceilings.

Big whole house air filters won't do any good if there are flaws in the system...and they are only good against particulates, not gases.
 
Araysar

Loser Araysar

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Yeah those are my next moves.
1. Got HVAC people to tuneup my furnace and AC unit
2. Also to clean out/vacuum my ductwork
3. Ordering an IAQ monitor for a sanity check.
 
Lanx

Lanx

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gonna install a hot water recirculator now
845757f830d7bbde50153ff883587340.png

PROZRTED Smart Instant Hot Water Recirculating Pump System with Bulit-In Thermostat HBS24-12

in my research these are usually pump installed at the water and then you have to install this valve at the furthest point in your hot water loop
2ea70fc60a9ef9dff34699a3a0a2489b.png


this way it pushes hot water through the cold water line

the valve alone is already half the price of the pump/valve combo... sure it'll take up undersink space and eventually i'll have to wire up a power connection for it (just gonna use extension cord now to test it out)
 
lurker

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BTDT

Not sure I understand how that one works. It sounds like it's always on even if in a lower power mode. While it's on, it's pushing hot water back to the water heater through the cold water. I'd rather have a unit that runs on a timer.
 
Lanx

Lanx

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lurker said:
BTDT

Not sure I understand how that one works. It sounds like it's always on even if in a lower power mode. While it's on, it's pushing hot water back to the water heater through the cold water. I'd rather have a unit that runs on a timer.
Click to expand...
yea "i think" it senses thermo changes and turns on when needed? or i'll just hook it up to an alexa plug, instructions are in chinglish
 
Brad2770

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I have had this chest for awhile, but it usually sat in the garage or shed in the past. Been using it as my TV stand and have grown accustomed to it. It is a shipping container from a machine shop my great grandmother used to work at, so it has some sentimental value. I had asked to help locate some corner pieces a month or two back and figured I would give an update.

The chest I’m copying-

6E275A58-408F-47D3-9F2D-007415FD326B.jpeg


The table still needs a little more paint, I need to scuff it up more and weather it and I’m still waiting for the L brackets that go under the corner brackets. I’ll also be getting the stencil for the address in about two weeks.

AABB2286-54B8-4108-A94A-B1FE09BDA8CA.jpeg


Waiting on stencil and I’ll finish weathering it then-

F45BA7A1-BF30-45DC-9711-FAE5B9842BB3.jpeg
 
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Lanx

Lanx

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Lanx said:
gonna install a hot water recirculator now
845757f830d7bbde50153ff883587340.png

PROZRTED Smart Instant Hot Water Recirculating Pump System with Bulit-In Thermostat HBS24-12

in my research these are usually pump installed at the water and then you have to install this valve at the furthest point in your hot water loop
2ea70fc60a9ef9dff34699a3a0a2489b.png


this way it pushes hot water through the cold water line

the valve alone is already half the price of the pump/valve combo... sure it'll take up undersink space and eventually i'll have to wire up a power connection for it (just gonna use extension cord now to test it out)
Click to expand...
so this thing works wonders, it only turns on 2-3x a day for 10seconds and we get instant hot water on the second floor, for two ppl that are 24/7 work from home.

i put it on the 2nd floor guest bath instead of the master bath b/c thing thing is a chonk and takes up a bit of space (football size and un wieldy w/ all the hoses)

it only gets neg remarks b/c ppl don't know plumbing 101, they don't tighten shit for instance the t barbs are loose and floppy and wobbly until you hulk smash 1/4 a turn and no leaks.
 
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Intrinsic

Intrinsic

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What started as a routine maintenance inspection for HVAC has turned in to a whole project… one of the guys found a vent assist that had been unplugged by the previous owner, that I had no idea existed because my previous house didn’t have one. We weren’t sure why exactly so he wired it back up (incorrectly) and of course over night it blew a fuse in the furnace.

Call them back out when we wake up and it is 60 degrees downstairs trying to get a 4 year old ready for school. This old timer just shit talked the newbie who had no business wiring this stuff up without us knowing why it was unplugged and me not knowing it existed. Newbie wasn’t here but I was like, “Man I’m sure he didn’t do it on purpose and we’re are still alive, but sure, damn kids!” We’ll be proceeds to do his own inspection. Original furnace from 1995 when the house was built, and all supporting AC equipment. We knew when we bought it that we were pushing our luck, so no big deal. And we bitched all summer about how terrible it cooled the house and unevenly.

Long story medium, we’re just going to replace the whole thing. Not going to go the home warranty route though maybe we could, but they’d just replace the heat exchanger and not address any other concerns, and I didn’t have the highest opinion of the process in my last house with a furnace and AC replacement. My HVAC place doesn’t mess with home warranty claims so it’d be farmed out to lowest bidder.

Leaning between Trane and Carrier which they can actually get in next week and not have extended lead times.

3 Ton, 60k BTU and some duct fixes, vent assist motor, relocating downstairs thermostat (different story), dampers. Around $15k total. There’s some other miscellaneous things.

Here’s my debate… I don’t think going to a higher SEER is going to be worth it. It is $1,200 or so more for the 16 SEER. Think that is XR-14 vs XR-16. I can’t find as much information on the comparable Carrier model.

And I think stepping up to a variable speed is going to be significantly more ($4k+?) if my online searching has been close to accurate. That would be the XV-18 model. Which is more efficient to begin with plus variable. Not sure that pays for itself either.

Any thoughts either way from anyone? We’ll complain either way when it is 110 degrees outside with 200% humidity and the AC is struggling to keep the house below 78. I don’t buy any of the “your bill will be 17.3% lower” BS. But it is hard to put a price on comfort if variable units really make a difference.
 
Dandai

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Intrinsic said:
What started as a routine maintenance inspection for HVAC has turned in to a whole project… one of the guys found a vent assist that had been unplugged by the previous owner, that I had no idea existed because my previous house didn’t have one. We weren’t sure why exactly so he wired it back up (incorrectly) and of course over night it blew a fuse in the furnace.

Call them back out when we wake up and it is 60 degrees downstairs trying to get a 4 year old ready for school. This old timer just shit talked the newbie who had no business wiring this stuff up without us knowing why it was unplugged and me not knowing it existed. Newbie wasn’t here but I was like, “Man I’m sure he didn’t do it on purpose and we’re are still alive, but sure, damn kids!” We’ll be proceeds to do his own inspection. Original furnace from 1995 when the house was built, and all supporting AC equipment. We knew when we bought it that we were pushing our luck, so no big deal. And we bitched all summer about how terrible it cooled the house and unevenly.

Long story medium, we’re just going to replace the whole thing. Not going to go the home warranty route though maybe we could, but they’d just replace the heat exchanger and not address any other concerns, and I didn’t have the highest opinion of the process in my last house with a furnace and AC replacement. My HVAC place doesn’t mess with home warranty claims so it’d be farmed out to lowest bidder.

Leaning between Trane and Carrier which they can actually get in next week and not have extended lead times.

3 Ton, 60k BTU and some duct fixes, vent assist motor, relocating downstairs thermostat (different story), dampers. Around $15k total. There’s some other miscellaneous things.

Here’s my debate… I don’t think going to a higher SEER is going to be worth it. It is $1,200 or so more for the 16 SEER. Think that is XR-14 vs XR-16. I can’t find as much information on the comparable Carrier model.

And I think stepping up to a variable speed is going to be significantly more ($4k+?) if my online searching has been close to accurate. That would be the XV-18 model. Which is more efficient to begin with plus variable. Not sure that pays for itself either.

Any thoughts either way from anyone? We’ll complain either way when it is 110 degrees outside with 200% humidity and the AC is struggling to keep the house below 78. I don’t buy any of the “your bill will be 17.3% lower” BS. But it is hard to put a price on comfort if variable units really make a difference.
Click to expand...
From what I can tell, higher SEER is similar to more insulation. There's a theoretical break even point decades in the future. If you aren't gonna die in that house, you aren't gonna see any ROI.

I'm not familiar with the benefits of variable speed. When I was shopping for new HVAC for a retail space, the tech recommended undersizing the unit for the space so that it would be continuously running as that would make the climate consistent (as opposed to turning on for 10 minutes to get to 72 degrees, turning off for 10 minutes as it climbed to 75 then kicking back on). Maybe variable speed would do something similar with computers/sensors?
 
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Hateyou

Hateyou

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Intrinsic said:
What started as a routine maintenance inspection for HVAC has turned in to a whole project… one of the guys found a vent assist that had been unplugged by the previous owner, that I had no idea existed because my previous house didn’t have one. We weren’t sure why exactly so he wired it back up (incorrectly) and of course over night it blew a fuse in the furnace.

Call them back out when we wake up and it is 60 degrees downstairs trying to get a 4 year old ready for school. This old timer just shit talked the newbie who had no business wiring this stuff up without us knowing why it was unplugged and me not knowing it existed. Newbie wasn’t here but I was like, “Man I’m sure he didn’t do it on purpose and we’re are still alive, but sure, damn kids!” We’ll be proceeds to do his own inspection. Original furnace from 1995 when the house was built, and all supporting AC equipment. We knew when we bought it that we were pushing our luck, so no big deal. And we bitched all summer about how terrible it cooled the house and unevenly.

Long story medium, we’re just going to replace the whole thing. Not going to go the home warranty route though maybe we could, but they’d just replace the heat exchanger and not address any other concerns, and I didn’t have the highest opinion of the process in my last house with a furnace and AC replacement. My HVAC place doesn’t mess with home warranty claims so it’d be farmed out to lowest bidder.

Leaning between Trane and Carrier which they can actually get in next week and not have extended lead times.

3 Ton, 60k BTU and some duct fixes, vent assist motor, relocating downstairs thermostat (different story), dampers. Around $15k total. There’s some other miscellaneous things.

Here’s my debate… I don’t think going to a higher SEER is going to be worth it. It is $1,200 or so more for the 16 SEER. Think that is XR-14 vs XR-16. I can’t find as much information on the comparable Carrier model.

And I think stepping up to a variable speed is going to be significantly more ($4k+?) if my online searching has been close to accurate. That would be the XV-18 model. Which is more efficient to begin with plus variable. Not sure that pays for itself either.

Any thoughts either way from anyone? We’ll complain either way when it is 110 degrees outside with 200% humidity and the AC is struggling to keep the house below 78. I don’t buy any of the “your bill will be 17.3% lower” BS. But it is hard to put a price on comfort if variable units really make a difference.
Click to expand...
I can’t speak from a ton of experience but I did go through this once. We are fortunate that we have a HVAC company that is locally owned/small and they don’t bullshit you. They told us that yes you’ll save a little money if you go up to the high end options they have, but even if it lasted us 30 years it probably would not pay for itself. They said the efficiency gains have diminishing returns past a certain % (I don’t remember the % they gave) but they recommended to just go with the middle of the road option because it was still above that diminishing return %. They had three options, we went with the middle one, so I’d just see what they have available and go with one or two steps below the most expensive.

No idea about the variable thing. The “paying for itself” part of your question doesn’t really come into play until decades down the road. Do you really care about saving a few hundred 20 years from now? Go with what’s going to be affordable, the least amount of maintenance, and works well for the size of your house.
 
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