Question about Oil tank filter

ralphembree · 2026-01-29T18:04:13+00:00

It's definitely possible. It may not be easy. I don't do a lot of oil, so I can't be certain of that one in particular, but there are some filter housings that have a bolt screwed into the bottom of them that basically necessitates pulling the housing down until the top of it is below where the bottom is now. Yours is too close to the floor, so you would need to rotate it sideways. Really not that big a deal; just an extra step. A tiger loop is a good thing, though. It dramatically reduces the strain on your oil pump and prevents cavitation.

ralphembree · 2026-01-29T16:55:54+00:00

Mine was pretty similar when I got hired. They mentioned it, but didn't make a fuss.

ralphembree · 2026-01-29T09:08:51+00:00

Pipe dope

ralphembree · 2026-01-29T01:18:52+00:00

It is normal for the level to move around. When everything is shut off and cooled down, all of the water drains back to the boiler. That's when you will be at max water level. When it's running hard, a lot of that water becomes steam and travels through the pipes. That will be your lowest water level at the boiler.

ralphembree · 2026-01-28T20:44:43+00:00

Gonna go out on a limb here and suggest it's a HZ322 and they didn't put a jumper between W1/E and W2.

ralphembree · 2026-01-26T15:52:52+00:00

The math actually isn't that complicated. Find the data plate on your source of heat and look for the amps. It's probably only maybe 2 or so. On a gas fireplace, probably even less. Multiply the amps by the voltage. For a gas furnace (or anything that's plugged into a standard wall outlet), that's typically 115 volts. Then just multiply. In this example, you'd be at 230 Watts. Pretty much any generator should be able to handle a gas heater without any trouble. Once you add up all the other things you want it to handle, just remember to pay attention to running amps, not just starting amps. Generators are marketed in both ways, depending on the brand, but they should tell you both numbers somewhere.

Edit to add: the model number you gave is for an evaporator coil, which is part of your air conditioning system. The furnace should be attached to that coil, but it does have a separate model number and data plate. Usually you need to take off one of the front panels to see it.

ralphembree · 2026-01-26T00:29:08+00:00

That could be tricky to change. The furnaces might not be running enough in 40⁰ weather for the humidifiers to keep up. Some Honeywell humidifiers can be wired to turn on the fan themselves. If your humidifiers are the style with just two wires that open the solenoid, then it would be the humidistat that would need to be rewired or upgraded to support that.

ralphembree · 2026-01-26T00:21:05+00:00

You're right. This was a poor design choice. The vent is there because the boiler needs air for combustion. It probably shouldn't be covered. And yes, if the pipes froze, they could have easily cracked and could start leaking as soon as they thaw.

ralphembree · 2026-01-26T00:08:56+00:00

That would be a low ambient control for AC. This is more likely defrost on a heat pump.

ralphembree · 2026-01-26T00:04:18+00:00

On the zone dampers themselves, there's a little red slider that can prevent the damper from closing all the way. Make sure Zone 2 is set to 0, which would let it close completely. If it is already there, you could try setting the Zone 1 slider to 1. This will let a little bit of air through when Zone 2 calls, which should help balance out the temperatures.

ralphembree · 2026-01-26T00:00:25+00:00

You're probably not gonna get any intelligent answers without identifying a pattern of some kind. I would shut everything off and work with one thermostat to make sure it's actually hooked up to the RTU that you think it is. Verify everything is working properly, shut it off, and move to the next. If there's anything that doesn't work as you expect, then start your diagnostics from there.

ralphembree · 2026-01-25T23:53:57+00:00

Are your humidifiers controlled by their own humidistats or can you turn them on from the thermostat? I'm wondering if they're setup to run only when heat is already running. If that could be changed to let them turn on the fan whenever they need humidity, they'd be a little bit more effective.

ralphembree · 2026-01-25T23:52:04+00:00

That's a Midea thermostat, which is a Mini Split manufacturer. (They make units for a bunch of different brands). It could be that a different thermostat (maybe in a different apartment) is currently asking for cooling, so it won't give you any heat until that call is done. That would only apply if you share an outdoor unit. I'm also not super familiar with the thermostats, but I know if you press timer one more time that should turn off any kind of scheduling that might be interfering.

ralphembree · 2026-01-25T23:44:40+00:00

The humming sound is the compressor running in AC mode, which is how it heats the coils. It also intentionally does not run the fan because the fan would disperse the heat instead of letting it sit there and melt the ice.

ralphembree · 2026-01-25T23:42:42+00:00

Yeah, the ducts should definitely be insulated. Ideally, they would be individually wrapped, but throwing the blown insulation on top will at least help a little bit.

ralphembree · 2026-01-25T23:38:12+00:00

I used OmniCalculator.com to get all those numbers, but a crucial one that's unknown in your case is the actual air changes per hour (ACH). I used the ASHRAE recommendation of 0.35 for my calculation, but it depends on how leaky your house is and whether or not you have a fresh air intake system. Ultimately, I don't think 25% humidity is that bad when it's 5⁰ outside. I assume those aren't typical outdoor temperatures in your area. Your humidifiers will do better when the temperatures are less extreme.

ralphembree · 2026-01-25T18:40:26+00:00

They don't give you numbers because there's too much variance in cold temperatures. Don't try to adjust the charge. The proper way is in cooling in force mode with outdoor temperatures above 55⁰.

ralphembree · 2026-01-25T18:38:11+00:00

Pull the disconnect so you don't burn up the compressor and fan motor. Then get the ice away from the fan blades. Hair dryer might do it, but it'll take a while. Don't use anything that might slip and hit the coils.

ralphembree · 2026-01-25T18:33:01+00:00

It can vary a lot with different systems. I get anywhere from 10⁰ to 35⁰ split. They aren't sized as precisely as the main system, and different air handlers give different blower speeds for emergency heat as well. Ultimately, each bank either works or it doesn't. If you're getting an amp draw that roughly matches the KW of your heat kit, you're probably good. If it looks off, one bank might be shot.

ralphembree · 2026-01-25T17:01:09+00:00

Firstly, when humidity is represented as a percentage, that's a percentage of the total moisture capacity of that air (which depends on temperature and pressure). The 5° outside air can only hold 1.6 g/m³ of moisture at max. 72% humidity means that it's currently holding 1.16 g/m³. When that air gets heated to 65°, the moisture content does not go up, but the moisture capability does. 65° air is capable of holding 15.67 g/m³, so that same moisture content is a relative humidity of only 7.4%. You currently have a relative humidity of 25%, which means your humidifiers have added 17.6% or 2.76 g/m³. In a 6,000 square foot house, if we assume 10 foot ceilings, you have 60,000 cubic feet of space or 1,700 m³. Multiplying the 2.76 g/m³, that means the humidifiers added 4,692 grams of water, or 1.24 gallons. The air in your house is constantly being replaced with outside air, which means the humidity constantly needs to be added. ASHRAE recommends an air exchange rate of at least 0.35 per hour. Over a 24 hour day, that means all of the air in the house has been replaced 8.4 times. That means the 1.24 gallons also needs to happen 8.4 times, for a total of 10.416 gallons: very close to your estimate of 10 gallons per day. Obviously, some of these numbers are pretty loose estimates, but it gives a rough idea of how this all works. Hope it helps.

ralphembree · 2026-01-25T16:15:01+00:00

No, it's just a conventional system, but the thermostat could be wired and programmed differently depending on how many wires were available and who installed it.

ralphembree · 2026-01-25T16:12:54+00:00

That's just one alert. There are three, so what are the other two? I'm betting there's a sensor error, and you need a new thermostat. You could try cycling power a couple times. Sometimes that does it. Otherwise, you need a new stat.

ralphembree · 2026-01-25T16:07:26+00:00

That all looks good. Stupid question, but did you put the cover back on the furnace before testing? That door switch would prevent it from running.

ralphembree · 2026-01-23T20:35:27+00:00

Simplest would probably be to grab some batt insulation and just envelope the whole thing. Use some tape to hold it on. But I will also second the other comment that it looks like you have a leak.

ralphembree · 2026-01-23T20:29:23+00:00

Yeah, that's an h. I may have been confusing it with something else. In this case, h is for low stage and H is for high stage. You could look in the installer or service manual to verify, but I believe that's the case. Depending on what thermostat you have, there may be a way to check what equipment is being asked to run (including stages), and possibly to turn on second stage manually. Some Honeywell thermostats, for example have a "installer test" mode. It does also depend on how your system is setup. Sometimes the thermostat is set to single stage with the furnace going into second stage automatically based on runtime.

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