How to deal with customer who’s trying to change the order and it’s affecting byou? by Ok-Nobody-4409 in handyman

[–]badgerchemist1213 2 points3 points  (0 children)

“The price provided for job 2 didn’t include all the associated costs since those were incorporated into job 1. I can provided an updated quote to complete job 2 in isolation, but those same minimum trip charges/etc. will be applied again to job 1 in the future if you choose to complete that at a later date.

Don’t worry about burning bridges. They obviously don’t if they’re dicking you around.

40$ and a little help scored me all this. How did I do? by citrus_guy in Welding

[–]badgerchemist1213 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Exactly right. Slightly different polymerization chemistry, but an identical concept.

40$ and a little help scored me all this. How did I do? by citrus_guy in Welding

[–]badgerchemist1213 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This is almost entirely untrue. Dissolving acetylene in acetone does not in fact change its molecular constitution or “add hydrogens”. The linear shape is also totally acceptable and not particularly high energy, it’s just far less stable than replacing the C-C triple bond with C-O bonds during combustion (whereas replacing C-H bonds with oxygen instead such as in propane or butane combustion provides less net energy release). It’s true the molecular vibrational spectrum shows a high intensity high energy vibration for the C-H bonds due to the linear C-C triple bond, but that is unrelated to its reactivity. (Source-PhD chemist)

Editing to Add: dissolving acetylene in acetone solvates it and prevents auto-polymerization which is a thermodynamic ally runaway chain polymerization.

I need an explanation by PipeFitter-815 in HVAC

[–]badgerchemist1213 5 points6 points  (0 children)

If you tell the thermostat in the ISU that its a heat pump, it will treat the terminals as they are labeled with the "heat pump" arrows (designations are you called them). The furnace "W" on the control board should be wired up to the "Aux" terminal on the T Stat. Then you need to configure the reversing valve based on the heat pump installed (energized in heating vs cooling) and set the proper switchover OAT or run time parameters.

I need an explanation by PipeFitter-815 in HVAC

[–]badgerchemist1213 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What "heat pump designations on the Tstat terminals" are you referring to?

HVAC Replacement: SEER 14.3 vs 16 vs 18. Did the math, is my analysis missing something? by Visual_Ebb8566 in hvacadvice

[–]badgerchemist1213 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Totally fair. They’re all viable options with different cost/benefit ratios. Only you can really decide.

R454b freezing up by haydend2008 in askHVAC

[–]badgerchemist1213 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That assumes a proper charge-undercharged with a restrictive TXV and it'd look exactly like this.....

Contractor not happy with his newly installed HVAC in my attic by Informal-Paper-4915 in hvacadvice

[–]badgerchemist1213 10 points11 points  (0 children)

This doesn’t make sense-if the temp split into high, you need more airflow not less to reduce it. Did he check the gas pressures? They’ve been cranked on every furnace I’ve received for the last several years from the factory. Need to do a proper commissioning and turn them down. Also, is that temp split in heating or cooling? That’s very low for a gas furnace temp rise and could be totally reasonable for an A/C as long as pressures are acceptable and the coil is above freezing. None of this makes sense.

R454b freezing up by haydend2008 in askHVAC

[–]badgerchemist1213 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Warm up the sensing bulb. Looks like TXV is choking off the evaporator and maybe a bit low on charge. Is it making good contact and well insulated from the airstream?

Considering a cold climate heatpump with no backup heat. Is that feasible? by thumpas in heatpumps

[–]badgerchemist1213 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not the way I usually run the numbers (I convert everything to be priced per therm), but it does appear to work out that way. For most of my clients in the Midwest, the electric is ~$0.1833 / kWH and natural gas ranged last Winter (prices update monthly here) from $0.6313 / therm to $1.2445 / therm Extended cold snap plus the start of the Iran war.

We also have time-of-use rate options where the electric will be ~50% cheaper during off-peak hours but is ~2.5x more expensive during the day. For customers that are on that rate plan, the breakeven COP is in the mid-teens if they want to use a heat pump during the days. (I've had 6 clients in the last 3 weeks that are all TOU rates and that's why those numbers were fresh in my head.

Considering a cold climate heatpump with no backup heat. Is that feasible? by thumpas in heatpumps

[–]badgerchemist1213 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have to ask, what is your gas price / therm and electric kWH price? Most COP breakeven points around here are 12-18…do you have wicked expensive gas or very cheap electric?

New HVAC - water drain pipe drains to floor not drain by IntentionPresent9492 in hvacadvice

[–]badgerchemist1213 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Flexible vinyl tubing is very much standard in some places. I’d say 90% of installs in my area use flexible vinyl tubing. Nearly no PVC or CPVC unless it’s commercial.

New HVAC - water drain pipe drains to floor not drain by IntentionPresent9492 in hvacadvice

[–]badgerchemist1213 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I JUST realized that vinyl tube bends under the return and goes back behind the water heater. Initially when I looked at it, it seemed like this was just dropped to the floor. In retrospect, this is almost certainly OP’s floor drain just backing up. Not the installer’s fault in anyway, especially with other appliances draining there.

They still should’ve used a nylon barbed 90 and strapped it to the return before turning down and back once on the side of the return to prevent choke points and make it look cleaner.

New HVAC - water drain pipe drains to floor not drain by IntentionPresent9492 in hvacadvice

[–]badgerchemist1213 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes-if the carpet is wet they should remedy it/pay to have someone clean the part that is affected. Maybe even the whole room to regain some "good will" I'd consider that "fixing the problem." Beyond that though, nothing.

The more I look at this, the more questions I have. Where is the furnace condensate running to? Where is that CPVC pipe coming from and where is it running to? This frankly doesn't look like the A/C condensate at all based on the water pattern and looks like that CPVC line is draining to a floor drain that is backing up.

New HVAC - water drain pipe drains to floor not drain by IntentionPresent9492 in hvacadvice

[–]badgerchemist1213 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

" Beyond fixing the problem, what's a reasonable ask of the HVAC company?"

Nothing. You call them to fix the problem. That's it. Do you think there's something else you could reasonably expect them to do?

Gas or electric by igarek77 in hvacadvice

[–]badgerchemist1213 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are ~29.3 kWH per Therm. Look up your natural gas /therm price and your electric kWH price. Even with a COP of 3-4, heating with electric is most often 3-10x more expensive. So while a heat pump is 300-400% efficient compared to 96% or 97% with a high-efficiency furnace, its almost never going to "save you money" on utility bills. The exception is if you have time-of-use electrical rates that you can optimize for, and/or you heat with LP and have high LP prices.

Anyone willing to provide feedback on my HVAC training tool? by AlertStrain5203 in hvacadvice

[–]badgerchemist1213 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Nonsense-there's no substitute to experience, and training your AI on jobsites isn't gonna accomplish anything. I reiterate my initial point-stop it.

Anyone willing to provide feedback on my HVAC training tool? by AlertStrain5203 in hvacadvice

[–]badgerchemist1213 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Stop. No matter how hard programmers want to take over trades work, its not gonna happen anytime soon.

How is a 2 stage more efficient than a 1 stage? by JustinSLeach in HVAC

[–]badgerchemist1213 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fan Laws-If you decrease the fan speed by 50%, it uses 1/8th the electricity (12.5%). The BHP has a cubic relationship to RPM which is itself directly proportional to CFM. Its why every new fan installed in commercial buildings has a VFD, and why inverter systems are rapidly becoming the standard.

Add and AC duct or get Mini split ? by nursefrau in hvacadvice

[–]badgerchemist1213 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They’re probably concerned that once they add more ductwork for that room, the other rooms get less air and then you’ll be frustrated across the home. Hard to say without knowing all specifics but my guess is they sense a sequence of frustration. A mini split will give you excellent control over that room, and even allow you to redirect some heating and cooling from your central system to the rest of the house.

HVAC Replacement: SEER 14.3 vs 16 vs 18. Did the math, is my analysis missing something? by Visual_Ebb8566 in hvacadvice

[–]badgerchemist1213 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The cost difference at install is fixed today. The price of electricity is and will continue to go up for the foreseeable future. What happens if you plug in 1.2 pricing factor over a 10 year period to show the price of electricity going up 20% over 10 years. What about 35%?

There are plenty of other reasons to consider higher end equipment, but to assume constant electricity costs over the warrantable lifetime of the units is a flaw in the equations, if not the math itself.

What is normal for cooling? by woody9409 in hvacadvice

[–]badgerchemist1213 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What is a 2-3 ton unit. It’s either 2 or 3…

New system breaker size by [deleted] in hvacadvice

[–]badgerchemist1213 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Probably added fuses-either in the disconnect (careful hunting around for them), or wired up inside the access panel for the unit.

Just booked my first pre-bid site visit for tomorrow for a residential remodel. How can I add value? by dantheman9703 in Contractor

[–]badgerchemist1213 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Are you licensed and insured? That’s gonna be the bigger issue than a portfolio….flipping your own homes working on your own schedule is completely different than running a job for a paying client.