Take advantage of Colorado State and Local Rebate Programs
A hot topic for COLORADO residents are the rebate programs that are going on and what is happening with these rebate programs. Visit our new Colorado rebates webpage for an easy reference to many websites.
It is very likely that these rebate programs have limited funding and may not go on for much longer so before you know it, they will be over. So it would be wise to take advantage of these offers and rebates while the offers are still available.
“Big ticket” items like air conditioners, boilers and furnaces are examples of where you take advantage of current rebate offers and save money. If you combine these dollars with the federal money and the Xcel rebate direct to the customer then you are talking about some serious cash. You can get up to 40 % or more in incentive dollars. That means that you can lower the cost of installation and then you can lower the energy bill from the day you start up the equipment. This is real money and that is what it is all about.
The next step of responsibility with major equipment purchases is with you, the homeowner, for the upkeep and maintenance of your equipment. From this day forward, you the owner must keep the air conditioner, furnace or boiler clean and keep the filters replaced like it says in the manual. Remember that when the burners are kept clean they burn more efficiently and the energy bills are lower and you reap the rewards. If you forget, and they get dirty and dusty you pay the price and your fuel bill rises.
When the air filters get dirty they slow down the air flow and this increases the static on the motor and shortens its life. Humidifiers get clogged up depending on the type and now you have a real mess.
To begin - clean the furnace itself. Clean the top and sides of you boiler. Clean the pump and clean the blower motor after you have turned off the electricity and waited for everything to wind down and cool off. Don’t forget that there is safety to consider and that there is low and line voltage as well. Amps and volts can hurt you just as well so make sure you have turned off all of the fuses and breakers before starting any of your cleaning.
Rebates and replacement of this equipment are great incentives if you get the job done right. How do you know you have the right job done? Ask a qualified inspector or those who have been in the trade you need to find a resource you can trust. Go to your local building department and ask them. Go to the local Chamber of Commerce and ask them. They are a great reference for reputable contractors. Ask the BBB and they will give you a list as well. This is where you start but do not stop until you are happy with the choice you have. If you want to schedule a service call or have any questions, feel free to call me, Tom D’Agostino at Kimmel Mechanical, Denver Office 303-952-8668 or our Gypsum Office at 970.328.6001. Best of luck!
Plumbing System & Equipment – Prevent a Large Repair Bill this Spring
Colorado spring has arrived – what should you be looking for this season in order to prevent a large repair bill to your plumbing system and equipment?
The plumbing system in your home consists of the parts to the most used product in your home: kitchen sink, water heater, toilets (Water Closet as we say in the industry), outside faucets (silcocks), etc. We take their use for granted until they break without notice, or so it seems. Let’s take another look:
The kitchen sink faucet is the most used device in the home and because of this wears down with repeated use of the faucet or spray hose. One of the first signs of wear is that you may notice that you are not getting the same amount of water from the faucet. This is easily resolved by unscrewing the aerator on the end of the spout and cleaning out the debris that has accumulated over a long period of time. If the sprayer does not work any more, then you may need to replace the spray head or diverter part (depending on the make and model) so that 100% of the water is diverted from the spout to the spray hose when you need it to.
Water heater – If you have replaced the heater in the last 18 months, then you should have been drawing off 5 gallons of hot water from the drain valve located on the bottom of the heater. If you have not maintained this chore and you are beyond the 18 months, don’t start now because it would result in a plumbing service call to replace that valve because it will not turn off. Minerals plug up the drain valve and cannot be easily dislodge if you have not flushed them out regularly. You may also want to look at the flame on the heater just to see if the blue portion of the flame is 1 12/” to 2” tall. If the flame does not meet this criteria, do not try to make any adjustments with the heater fuel or air intake. Please leave that to a professional.
Water Closets(i.e. Toilets) – The internal parts of the toilet consist of a ballcock or fill valve as well as the flush mechanism or flush valve. Due to constant wear and tear, the flush valve or flapper valve usually needs to replaced every 1 ½ to 3 years. The quality of the water in your system will break down the rubber on these valves and cause the tank to leak water ever so slightly at first until it gets very noticeable. The result is that it can waste hundreds and even thousands of gallons of water before noticed and corrected. How can you tell if your valve is ready for replacement? You can tell by touching the rubber flapper valve. If it is very spongy and rubs off on your fingers very easily, then it should be replaced. Once replaced, you can test that your repair has worked by simply putting some food dye in the tank and not use it for 30 minutes. If the flapper valve is the correct type and size, then you will not see any of the food dye going from the tank to the bowl. However, if you notice that the food dye color is leaching into the toilet bowl you will know that your repair was incorrect or your flapper valve was the wrong type or size.
Outside faucets – We will soon be able to start using the outdoor faucets for lawn and garden use. If for some reason you did not take off the hose in time for the first hard freeze, then you may have a split outside hose faucet (freezless silcock). Be very careful when you go out to start gardening in early spring because if there is a split valve, it will flood your home inside while you are outside in the sun enjoying the good weather. The way to find out is to have someone outside turning on the water at the same time you are inside opposite the outside faucet and listening for the spraying noise which is very easy to detect by listening and watching to see if the floor starts to get wet.
If you see the water on the ground the stop and turn off the faucet and then call you local plumber for this repair. If you let this leaking faucet run for an hour or two while you are outside you will come back to a flooded home and a lot of work cleaning it up.
These are some of the most common problems or concerns that you SHOULD have regarding the plumbing system in your home. So, an ounce of prevention …… If you have any questions, please give Kimmel Service a call in Denver at 303-952-8668 or Summit and Eagle County at 970.328.6001 for some quick, free and easy advice.
Tom D’Agostino, Service Manger
Kimmel Service
Denver, Summit County and Eagle County Colorado
Phil Says: 6 More Weeks of Winter. Plumbing & Heating Tips
The sun is out and the weather is getting warmer in Colorado but we are not out of the woods yet when it comes to potential plumbing and heating emergencies. It is a little disarming when you feel the sun beating on a Colorado winter day but there could be some surprises for you and your plumbing and heating systems.
Plumbing
As the Colorado temperatures start to moderate and the hours of sunlight increase, you are beginning to think about spring and flowers and fun in the garden. It is OK to think about that but do not try to turn on your outside faucets because when the sun goes down so does the temperature. If you do a little gardening or you water some of the trees and shrubs that have been dormant and you use your outdoor faucet, don’t forget to remove the hose or the freezeless faucet may split at night when the temperature dips to below 25 degrees F. This could cause a flood in your home when spring does arrive and you get out to work on your lawn or yard for the first time. Without knowing it, the water will be spraying inside your house while you are outside tending to the grass or perennials. This mistake is very common so please heed this warning to avoid a very costly repair. Also, do be tempted to turn on your underground lawn sprinkler system just because we have a few mild early spring days. Be sure that we are out of the danger zone and temperatures are not going to fall below 32 degrees F and the danger of frost has past.
Heating
You have gone all winter and avoided heating disasters. As the temperature rises, don’t forget to change all the filters in your system. It is easy to forget to do this because the furnace does not run as often. But remember, now that the front and back door are open to the outside more often than during the winter months and all the airborne dirt, seeds and particles can get into your home and be trapped by your filter. When you shut the door, these airborne matter work their way back to the furnace through the return air duct system. Remember when you change the filter, change it more often than during the winter or at least check it more often.
And don’t forget the humidifier. Many of them require that you replace the pad and it is easy to forget. If the water gets dirty and the pad begins to crumble this means you could have a plugged drain on the humidifier. When this happens, you could also start to grow some type of mold and several other nasty things can happen. A good plan is when you change any filter, don’t forget to write the date that you installed it on the side of the filter where you can see it so you do not have to get inside the blower assembly or take the time to flip it around. (Also, don’t forget to install the filter with the arrow pointing in the direction which the air flows.) A filter rack outside the furnace itself is the safest place to install and service/replace the filter itself.
Finally, save money by adjusting your thermostat down during the late winter and early spring months, since there is more daylight and solar heat beating down on your house. You can get the house very warm during the day and circulate this heat by leaving the fan switch in the “ON” position while keeping the temperature setting at the desired level. This will move the heat that has accumulated in the ceilings throughout the day and keep an good average temperature throughout your home. Your furnace will not fire up as much and you will be more comfortable. This great tip uses the natural solar heat gain during the day and also reduces your heating bill.
If this blog has generated a few questions, please feel free to give me a call. Denver Colorado (303-952-8668) or in Summit and Eagle County (970.328.6001) --- Tom D’Agostino, Kimmel Service Manager
With the Current Colorado Cold snap – a Reminder
With the current Colorado cold snap a reminder that should be spread to all of your friends:
- It is so cold out that any pipe that is subject to freezing and bursting should be left running a small stream for the next 48 hours. This will prevent the horrible damage that occurs.
- Open vanity cabinet doors so that heat from the room can go around the water pipes and keep them freezing at night.
- Turn up your thermostat a few degrees, don’t turn it down, these next two nights.
- If you hear water running, know where the main shut off is located and turn off the water right away.
Just a few simple tips from your Master Plumber. Stay warm.
Water Heaters and How They Age
When we get calls from homeowners regarding their water heaters, often the reason for calling is that they report getting less and less water from their tank type heaters. There are two issues involved when I hear this complaint. First, the temperature of the water in the main drops in the winter, so it takes more energy to make the same amount of hot water in colder months than in the summer. But the most common reason for this problem is that their heater is getting filled up with mineral deposits.
How do minerals get into the heater and why are they accumulating? The best way to answer this is to begin by explaining how water heaters work. The tank is typically a steel tank with fiberglass liner that was sprayed inside the tank as part of the manufacturing process. The function of the fiberglass liner is to help protect the steel tank from rusting prematurely, but the liner will eventually wear out and the tank will begin rusting.
This process begins with the burners. The burner is at the bottom of the tank and there is a sensor in the tank which measures the temperature of the water and turns the burners on and off. Keeping the heater at the lowest possible temperature to meet your needs is very economical, and also lengthens the life of the heater. When the burners fire up and the tank is producing the desired hot water, you are also driving out the dissolved minerals that are in suspension in your water. The quality of water can vary greatly here in Colorado, and if you do not have some type of water treatment equipment (we will discuss choosing these in a future blog) then these minerals within the water will drop out of suspension when you exceed 138 degrees and begin building up. When the minerals turn back into solids, they become heavier than water and float to the bottom of the heater tank. When the flames from the burners hit the bottom of the steel tank, the metal attracts the dissolved metals and minerals and eventually clings to the tank and become a growing mass of solid matters. This solid matter usually contains calcium, iron and other components mixed together.
If you do not flush out the tank from the drain valve from the very beginning when the tank was new, then don’t start after the solid masses have accumulated. The reason is that these solid particles will clog your drain valve and you will have to call your plumber to replace this clogged valve. If you have the situation where the heater already has accumulated mineral deposits, one way to deal with this it to turn your heater temperature as low as you can (approximately 120 degrees) to keep your heater functioning as long as possible.
If you hear gurgling noises coming from your water heater tank, this indicates that the minerals have now accumulated to the point that little pockets of water have been caught within the mass of minerals and they are flashing to steam. When you hear this, it is a good indication that your water heater is failing. When this situation occurs, the heater now has to work harder and harder to provide the hot water to meet your needs. This can also make your gas bill rise as the efficiency of the hot water heater diminishes. If your water heaters has been in use for 10 – 12 years, most often it is at this point of mineral buildup and decline.
When you notice these problems, please call me at Kimmel Mechanical so we can help you select a state of the art water heater to replace the old one before it fails. Call Tom in Denver, Colorado at 303-952-8668 and in Summit County or Eagle County Colorado at 970-328-6001 – it will be my pleasure to work with you and help you resolve your water heater issues and keep your home running smoothly.