Obed I have been following this thread for quite a while now and have no doubt you will get it straightened out. All the little bugs are frustrating, but you will soon get them all sorted out and will have a beautiful home to share with your wife and that cute little anklebiter. Just think of all the good memories you will have to share when you get old.
At Home In The Woods
- Thread starter Obed
- Start date
- Views: 1641473
patrick_g
Elite Member
Ditto National University in San Diego... Each classroom had its own thermostat and the females always set the temp high and the males low. They installed locked boxes for the "REAL" T'stats and installed the old no longer connected T'stats on the cover of the lock box. The accessible but non-functioning T'stats were run up and down up and down and the temp stayed were set by the mechanical staff.
Never heard of National University? When I was there it was the third largest private university in the state of California BUT... it had no sports teams so no media coverage.
Pat
WBWI
Gold Member
Obed, I doidn't see this until I got to work this morning so I can't look at my FP. I definitely have the round knob ACC control but in 3 years I can't remember seeing the small lever that your pictures show.
The intakes for my FP were run vertically up the FP chase with the flue. I don't know what the max effective distance is for them to still function properly. I did see a blurb in the online manual about negative pressure. I don't know if any of this applies or would result from switched intakes.
"C. Negative Pressure
Draft is the pressure difference needed to vent fireplaces
successfully. Considerations for successful draft include:
Preventing negative pressure
Location of fireplace and chimney
Negative pressure results from the imbalance of air available
for the fireplace to operate properly. Causes for this
imbalance include:
Exhaust fans (kitchen, bath, etc.).
Range hoods.
Combustion air requirements for furnaces, water heaters
and other combustion appliances.
Clothes dryers.
Location of return-air vents to furnace or air
conditioning.
Imbalances of the HVAC air handling system.
Upper level air leaks: recessed lighting, attic hatch
opening, duct leaks
The intakes for my FP were run vertically up the FP chase with the flue. I don't know what the max effective distance is for them to still function properly. I did see a blurb in the online manual about negative pressure. I don't know if any of this applies or would result from switched intakes.
"C. Negative Pressure
Draft is the pressure difference needed to vent fireplaces
successfully. Considerations for successful draft include:
Preventing negative pressure
Location of fireplace and chimney
Negative pressure results from the imbalance of air available
for the fireplace to operate properly. Causes for this
imbalance include:
Exhaust fans (kitchen, bath, etc.).
Range hoods.
Combustion air requirements for furnaces, water heaters
and other combustion appliances.
Clothes dryers.
Location of return-air vents to furnace or air
conditioning.
Imbalances of the HVAC air handling system.
Upper level air leaks: recessed lighting, attic hatch
opening, duct leaks
tony Cecil
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2010
- Messages
- 291
Obed
Could you not just turn the fan on and go to where the outside air is supposed to come in, and light a match or something and see if the air either blows out or sucks in?? Tony
Could you not just turn the fan on and go to where the outside air is supposed to come in, and light a match or something and see if the air either blows out or sucks in?? Tony
OP
Obed
Elite Member
Tony,
The fireplace company is supposed to come out tomorrow so we will have to see what they have to say. We could use the wet-vac to blow air through the duct in the office and see where the air comes out. Lighting a match is a good idea to look for a draft. Thanks for the idea.
Obed
OP
Obed
Elite Member
Today after work I moved a pile of scrap lumber from outside to inside of our basement. This pile has been outside and covered with plastic. The plastic kept the lumber "mostly" dry. I have some piles of stuff still left in the front of the house that I need to do something with before the final grading can be done. I have 3 stacks of brick that need moving but I'm not sure if my tractor will lift them. I also have a big pile of lumber scraps that I will probably haul off to the dump.
Our weather has been unbelievable. Clear and in the 60's. It's hard to get much done outside after work though because it's almost dark by the time I get home. Today I worked from home so I saved the commute time and was able to be outside by 5:30 PM and move the lumber scraps into the basement. It was nice being able to drive the tractor around the house without having to deal with mud. The red clay around the house has stayed wet almost the whole winter until this week.
Our weather has been unbelievable. Clear and in the 60's. It's hard to get much done outside after work though because it's almost dark by the time I get home. Today I worked from home so I saved the commute time and was able to be outside by 5:30 PM and move the lumber scraps into the basement. It was nice being able to drive the tractor around the house without having to deal with mud. The red clay around the house has stayed wet almost the whole winter until this week.
Attachments
campman63
Member
What did you find out about your fireplace.I check in on this thread everyday.
OP
Obed
Elite Member
WBI,
My wife looked at the ducting that runs to the fireplace in the basement under the main floor subfloor. It appears that the fireplace installer may have erroneously swapped the connections where two ducts that connect to the fireplace . It appears that the duct that runs from the outside of the house that is supposed to supply combustion air may be connected to the cutout used for recirculating heated air through the house. I looks like the duct that runs from the office/dining room for recirculating heated air may be hooked to the combustion air cutout in the fireplace. The flexible ducts run up through the floor and inside of the sheetrook beside the fireplace so we can't see exactly where each of the two ducts connects to the side of the fireplace. However, it appears they might be swapped.
The flexible duct that runs parallel to the white PVC drain pipe is the combustion air duct. Just to the right of the combustion air duct, you can see the recirculating air duct that runs to the office. Based on the pictures in the installation manual, we think these two ducts run up through the floor into the wrong holes. Thus, the combustion air is trying to come through the long duct running to the office. That duct is probably too long to supply the combustion air. The longer duct can feed recirculating air because the recirculating air is forced using fans.
The fireplace company is sending out a technician to our house Wednesday of next week. We're a little disappointed they are taking a week to get out here but they said they are really busy this time of year.
Obed
My wife and I hooked up the wet-vac to the recirculating duct in the office and set the wet-vac to blow air into the duct. We lit a lighter in the fireplace and watched the flame flicker when the wet-vac was running and stop flickering when the wet-vac was turned off. This test gave evidence to the theory that the combustion duct and the recirculating duct were each connected to the wrong spots on the fireplace.
The fireplace technician came out yesterday. The two ducts were indeed swapped. The technician cut the flexible ducts and reconnected them the way they should have been connected. Now the fireplace works!
Attachments
RadarTech
Elite Member
Obed said:
Iabnm...
Instead of ibww....
Good outcome! Glad to hear it is fixed... Sad that the problem existed to start with.
Ibww = it broke won't work.... G rated version of an old Marine Corps equipment status....
Guess what the other is.....
tony Cecil
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2010
- Messages
- 291
That`s a nice ending to that problem 
I like the wheelbarrow for the toting of the wood---wish I could do the same---I got a leather carrying thing that will hold six or seven logs, and most of the mess stays in the folds, but not all, and it is heavy....I suggest getting an old heavy brass bucket, about two and a half feet round, maybe eighteen twenty inches high , and keep the wood (turned up) in it...Keeps most of the bugs and wood chips bark etc in the bottom, and don`t stack the wood against the house, or you might get power post beetles in it somehow....I did the above , and think that is where they came from....Tony ps beautiful weather lately
I like the wheelbarrow for the toting of the wood---wish I could do the same---I got a leather carrying thing that will hold six or seven logs, and most of the mess stays in the folds, but not all, and it is heavy....I suggest getting an old heavy brass bucket, about two and a half feet round, maybe eighteen twenty inches high , and keep the wood (turned up) in it...Keeps most of the bugs and wood chips bark etc in the bottom, and don`t stack the wood against the house, or you might get power post beetles in it somehow....I did the above , and think that is where they came from....Tony ps beautiful weather lately