Time To Start Thinking About Steam Boiler Inspections In Boston

Steam boiler heat systems differ from hot water heating systems in the way they generate and distribute heat. Unlike a hot water “heating” boiler, a steam boiler actually generates steam, which is then forced through the home’s heating system. The steam ends up in the radiators around the house and convection (the movement of heated air) distributes heat around the room.

An inspection of a steam heat system should include checks for safety and proper, efficient operation. The steam heat boiler should be checked to ensure that it is in good mechanical shape. If the boiler itself or the tank shows signs of corrosion, a replacement may be in order. The distribution pipes should be checked to ensure that all pipes are in good structural order; that all valves are opening and closing, and that all radiators are in good working condition. The distribution system should be checked for leaks and signs of mineral buildup on valves and at pipe joints.

Boiler safety inspections should include verification that the boiler is operating at a safe pressure; the water level in the boiler is appropriate; safety systems like shutoff valves and low-water cutoffs are working properly; the boiler is properly and safely consuming fuel; and that the boiler operation is not impeded by sludge, mineralization or debris accumulation.

Burners should be inspected, cleaned and adjusted. Sludge and debris should be removed from the system and drains should be checked and cleaned. Thermostatic controls should also be checked.

Boston Standard Plumbing & Heating can assist with steam boiler inspections, boiler maintenance and repairs of all kinds. If you would like more information about our steam boiler inspection and maintenance services, or would like to schedule an inspection, please contact us at (617) 288-2911.

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Hot Water Heating System Inspections In Bosto

This post will deal with hot water heating systems and what should be included in an inspection. In my next post, I’ll discuss steam heating systems and a proper inspection for those types of heating plants.

First, I think it’s important to discuss the difference between hot water heat and steam heat. A hot water system (also called a “hydronic” system) does have a boiler, but the method of distributing heat is what distinguishes a hydronic heat system from a steam boiler. A hydronic heat system has a “heating boiler” that is usually fired by gas, liquefied petroleum gas (LP) or heating oil. The system may or may not include a tank for water storage.

Generally, an inspection should include examination of all heating system components; the fuel source and its controls; the distribution system for the hot water; and the controls and safety devices that regulate the operation of the system and the heat that is generated. Boiler inspections should be conducted annually since boiler-based heating systems require regular maintenance.

The safety inspection should include an examination of all components of the fuel supply, as well as an inspection of the chimney or system vents. Debris should be removed to ensure safe system operation.

Boilers can be made from a number of materials including copper, cast iron and steel. If the boiler, tank and heating coil show signs of leaking, significant rust or corrosion, a replacement of the entire system may be required. Routine maintenance can help keep the mechanicals in good shape. Also, limiting the amount of moisture in the basement by using a dehumidifier, keeping gutters and downspouts clean, making sure floor drains are working, and making sure your sump pump (if you have one) is operational can also prolong the life of the system.

Boiler inspections should indicate – among other things – that the boiler is heating to the correct temperature; the pressure inside the tank (if the system has one) is safely limited by relief valves; all system valves are opening and closing fully; the expansion tank is in good order; the thermostat is properly sensing temperature and controlling the system operation accordingly; the pump is working properly; and exhaust gases are being directed into the chimney or exhaust vent.

The distribution system should also be checked for leaks and signs of corrosion, and all distribution valves should be checked to ensure that they’re in good working order.

Boston Standard Plumbing & Heating can assist with boiler inspections, boiler maintenance and repairs of all kinds. If you would like more information about our boiler inspection and maintenance services, or would like to schedule an inspection, please contact us at (617) 288-2911.

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Time To Start Thinking About Furnace Inspections In Boston

Regardless of what type of heating plant you have in your home, inspecting the system while the weather is still warm is a great idea. If a major problem is found, you’ll have time to get second opinions, make careful decisions and plan how to pay for the repairs. This entry will concentrate on gas forced-air furnaces, but I’ll also cover other heating systems (like hot water and steam boilers) in my next posts.

Gas forced air (GFA) furnaces should be inspected yearly for signs of mechanical wear and damage to the heat exchanger. High efficiency furnaces are especially vulnerable to problems like cracks forming in the heat exchanger. A cracked heat exchanger can cause carbon monoxide (CO) to seep into the home, placing everyone in the home at serious risk of illness or even death.

A basic furnace safety inspection should include an evaluation of the furnace’s heat exchanger for signs of damage. This is one repair that cannot be put off. Do not use your furnace if an inspection reveals a cracked or broken heat exchanger. The safety inspection should also include an inspection of the chimney for signs of debris or fouling. Debris should be removed because it will impede the release of CO from your gas appliances. Finally, the safety inspection should include an evaluation of the piping and shut-off valves that control the gas flow to the furnace.

The pilot light (if your furnace has one) and the thermocouple should be inspected and cleaned if needed. The thermostat operation should be verified. (If you have an old mercury-based thermostat, now would be a great time to consider upgrading to a programmable one.) The burners on the furnace should be checked, cleaned (if needed) and set properly for ignition and combustion.

The motor, fan and blower should be cleaned, checked and adjusted, and all belts should be inspected for wear. Finally, the filter should be replaced. As a tip, stock up on filters and replace them monthly. Clean filters will improve the efficiency of the furnace by keeping the mechanicals clean, and will improve the air quality in your home.
Boston Standard Plumbing & Heating can assist with furnace inspections and repairs of all kinds. If you would like more information about our inspection and maintenance services, or would like to schedule an inspection, please contact us at (617) 288-2911.

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Boston Water Heater Replacement Can Earn You A Tax Federal Credit

To claim the credit, which amounts to 30% of your cost up to $1,500, you’ll need to install a water heater with an energy factor of at least .82 or a thermal efficiency of at least 90%. The tax credit will cover installation costs in addition to the cost of the water heater. This credit is significant because a hot water heater can account for between 15% and 25% of your total energy expenditures each year. Reducing energy consumption for hot water heating will produce a noticeable change in your monthly heating bills. This credit expires on December 31, 2010, so time is of the essence if you’re planning to upgrade your hot water heater.

Hot water heaters don’t have an indefinite life span. If your hot water heater is making noise (like crackling sounds), has aged beyond its original warranty, is not performing as expected, shows outward signs of rust, produces hot water with a foul odor, or releases white particles when you open the drain valve at the bottom of the tank, you may want to consider replacing your hot water heating system.

At Boston Standard Plumbing, we can perform hot water heater maintenance, and evaluate the condition of your hot water tank. We can also install a tankless hot water heat system that integrates with your existing boiler, or operates independently and provides unlimited, instant hot water for your home and appliances.

Contact Boston Standard Plumbing today at (617) 288-2911 for more information about this tax credit and how you may be able to take advantage of it.

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Replacing The Wax Ring On Your Toilet (Buy Two)

Toilets can be very heavy and difficult to maneuver. You won’t be able to see the soil pipe while you’re moving the toilet and may not know exactly where to put the toilet down. In short, it doesn’t take much to goof up the wax ring when you’re trying to reseat the stool. That being said, my great DIY tip for replacing the wax ring is “buy two.” If the flange bolts on your toilet were rusty or you had to cut them to get the toilet away from the floor, buy a new set when you buy the wax ring(s). (They’re standard and they’re inexpensive.)

The wax ring goes on the toilet. (Don’t try to seat the wax ring in the soil pipe and then set the toilet on top of it.) Press the wax ring in place with the neoprene funnel pointing toward you.

Put the new flange bolts in place. You’ll find slots in the flange where the bolt heads should slip in. Use the plastic “washers” that come with the bolts to hold them in place while you position the toilet.

The base of the toilet is heavy (50 pounds or more) and it helps to have a second person around to guide you while you position the toilet on top of the new bolts. If you don’t have a helper, use some kind of indicator on the floor to help you see the flange bolts. The indicators could be string, screwdrivers, chalk marks, pencils … just something to point the way. Line your markets up exactly where the flange bolts exit the flange, but far enough away from the flange to stay out of the way. If you’ve capped the soil pipe with a rag or other cover, remove it at this point.

Maneuver the toilet into place. Do not set the toilet down anywhere but on the flange bolts. The wax on the ring is exceptionally soft. If you set the toilet down for any reason or you miss your mark, you’ll goof up the wax ring and you’ll need to start over. (Remember: “buy two.”)

Once you have the toilet in place and on the flange bolts, carefully sit on the toilet. Your body weight will press the wax ring around the flange. Shift your weight carefully to ensure a good wax seal around the flange.

Tighten the nuts around the flange bolts slowly and carefully. Work on both sides of the toilet by tightening one nut gently on one side, then shifting to the other side to tighten the other nut a little bit. Alternate sides until the fixture is securely bolted to the floor on both sides. There’s no need for power here so take your time and tighten the nuts gently.

Flange bolts are much longer than they need to be. Use your hacksaw to cut off the unneeded length of the bolt. You may need to check the nuts after you’ve sawn through the bolts to verify that they’re still tight. Put the plastic bolt caps back on.

Reconnect the tank and the water supply, check for leaks and fill the tank. Flush the toilet and check again for leaks around the floor. If you have none, you’re done!

You can apply bathroom caulk around the base of the toilet, but don’t completely seal the base. Leave a little discreet opening somewhere. This will allow any leaking water to escape and reveal itself before significant damage occurs.

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Now for the messy leaks:
A leak can also occur if the tank cracks or if the connection between the tank and the stool is broken, cracked or not sealed properly. On a two-piece toilet, you can replace just the cracked tank, however many people choose to replace the entire toilet. If the bowl is cracked, you’ll need to replace it, even if it isn’t apparently leaking. A cracked toilet stool is unsanitary, unsafe to sit on, and poses a health hazard. New toilets range in price from about $100 to thousands of dollars, so choose a toilet that fits both your budget and your bathroom.

If the toilet isn’t cracked, but seeps water from underneath it when you flush, the wax ring on your toilet may be deteriorated, broken or dislodged. The wax ring may also need to be replaced if your toilet constantly emits a sewerish, foul odor. Wax rings are inexpensive and can be found at hardware and home improvement stores. The wax ring, which may include a neoprene “funnel”, seals the toilet fixture to the soil pipe. It’s an integral part of most residential toilet designs. You can’t get by without one, and you can’t reuse an existing ring.

To replace the wax ring, you’ll need to shut off the water and flush the toilet to drain it. You may need to use a plunger to get the rest of the water out of the bowl. Disconnect the supply lines from the toilet. Unbolt the toilet from the floor. If the flange bolts (sometimes called “Johnny bolts”) are rusted, that may be a telltale sign of hidden water damage. If you can’t get the toilet unbolted due to rust, you may need to use a hacksaw to cut the bolts apart. Lift the stool off the pipe. You can “cap” the soil pipe with a rag or overturned bucket while you have the toilet fixture removed.

Remove the old wax/neoprene ring on the bottom with a putty knife or something similar. You’ll need to remove all of the old wax to ensure a good seal. Likewise, remove any old wax from the soil pipe.

Examine the floor around the toilet. Use the tip of a screwdriver or your putty knife to check for softened wood. If the leak has caused a lot of water damage, or has been active for a long period of time, you’ll need to repair the floor before you re-install the toilet. Depending upon the extent of the damage, you may need to replace the surface flooring, the underlayment or even the subfloor! Check the integrity of the floor joists around the damaged area to determine whether they’re still sound. Complete any floor repairs before trying to reset the toilet. Be sure to extend your flooring right up to the soil pipe.
In my next post, I’ll discuss replacing the wax ring and repositioning the toilet on the soil pipe.

Photo Credit: Andrew Ratto, via Flickr

Spotting Hidden Water Damage, Part 3: Leaking Toilets

Spotting hidden water damage from a leaking toilet can be a bit more difficult, depending upon what’s leaking and where the water’s going. When you’re lucky, the toilet tank may be overfilling, In this case, the excess water is shunted down an overflow tube and into the soil pipe. No water damage, but you’ll want to adjust the float in the toilet tank to shut off the refill flow sooner, mainly to avoid wasting water. If the flush mechanism isn’t sealing the bottom of the tank properly, you may need to replace a valve, the flush chain, or make a few adjustments inside the tank.

Water can also condense on the outside of the toilet tank causing water to drip on the floor. The condensation is a product of a large difference in temperature between the water in the tank and the air temperature in the bathroom. The condensation can add to an already-damp atmosphere. It can also soak carpets and cause water damage to floor tiles and other flooring surfaces.

There’s not much you can do about the temperature of the water filling the tank, but you can insulate the tank itself with a tank cover to inhibit condensation. Be sure to use a cover that’s designed to fit your toilet and make sure the tank is covered all the way to the water line. Use an exhaust fan to circulate the air in the bathroom. This may help reduce the difference between the outside air temperature and the inside water temperature. Finally, consider using a small dehumidifier to draw moisture out of the air.
In my next post, I’ll tackle the messy leaks – those that involve removing or replacing the wax ring or repositioning the toilet on the soil pipe.

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Hidden Water Damage, Part 2

Before you get too far into diagnostics and repair, verify that your drains are free-flowing. Clogs can cause backups and leaks around joints, so working with a clean drain is essential. If your drain is clogged or partly clogged, try using BioClean to clear the drain. Boston Standard Plumbing & Heating sells BioClean, a non-hazardous enzymatic drain cleaner that won’t harm your plumbing and is safe to handle. We use it and recommend it.

Once you’ve determined that the drain is clear, the most likely place to find leaks will be at the joints, or connections in the drain pipe. The hardware that actually joins two pipes together is called a fitting. Turn the water on and let it drain. If you spot leaks, make sure the drain fittings are tight.

Before you take any action, look for other telltale signs of trouble around your drain joints. If they show signs of deterioration, rust, mineralization or other corrosive damage, merely tightening the fitting isn’t going to help, and might actually make things worse. Corroded metal is permanently damaged and should really be replaced. Applying torque (force) to a damaged or weak fitting may break or crush the fitting and you’ll have to replace it anyway.

Most often, drains either use compression fittings or threaded fittings. Compression fittings are often found around sinks, faucets, and valves, and as their name implies, use a compressive force applied to an inner metal ring to make a tight seal. If a compression fitting is loose or damaged, a leak in the joint may occur. If you have a compression fitting that’s leaking, you can try to remove it, clean it and reapply it. If the fitting still leaks or the compression band appears to be damaged, replace it instead.

If you have compression fittings, it’s not a good idea to use Teflon tape or pipe dope to make a seal. These sealers are designed mostly for use with threaded fittings and may actually prevent a compression fitting from making a good seal.

Threaded fittings work just like a cap on a container. If you have threaded fittings, your drainpipe will also have threads to receive the connector. Replacing drain couplings is an uncomplicated and inexpensive repair. As long as you know the diameter of your drainpipe, you can find the right parts for the job at your local hardware store. If you have threaded fittings, clean off the pipe threads before applying the new fitting and use Teflon tape or pipe dope to seal the threads.

If you’re uncertain how to replace a drain, have problems with the main drain for your home, or need additional assistance with a plumbing repair of any kind, please contact Boston Standard Plumbing & Heating at (617) 288-2911 and we’ll be happy to lend a hand. We can check your drains for clogs and leaks, and repair potential drain problems before they cause real damage.

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Spotting Hidden Water Damage, Part 1

Being able to identify plumbing problems is critical to protecting your home from water damage. Quickly finding leaking plumbing joints, worn out fixtures and sources of condensation can mean the difference between a small repair and thousands of dollars worth of plumbing damage, wood rot and mold remediation.

A leaking faucet is easy to spot. If you’re lucky, the leaking water drips down into the sink and goes down the drain. If you’re not so lucky, a leaking faucet may allow water to drip down the walls or underneath the sink. Sometimes, you may find leaking water near the faucet handles or near the neck of the fixture.

If you suspect a leak, look for pooled water under the sink, seeping water around the faucet handles or neck, or signs of damage along the wall or in the sink base if your sink has one. Signs of water damage can include peeling or bubbled paint, warped or rotten wood, water stains on the walls, soft bulging plaster or drywall, mold growth, buckling floor tiles or mineral build-up around the base of the faucet.

Sometimes, replacing a washer or gasket can repair a leaking faucet. Many newer faucets are “washerless” so a $0.10 washer won’t do the trick. Some inexpensive faucets have plastic bodies that either crack with time, simple wear, over-tightening at the connections or manufacturing defects. In these cases, faucet replacement is in order.

Replacing a faucet isn’t hard, provided you have the right materials. Most faucets have standard threaded supply and drain connectors, so you may only need Teflon tape or pipe dope and a few hand tools to complete the repair. Despite the fact that federal laws require faucets and other plumbing materials to meet certain health and safety standards, plenty of low-quality parts still make it to store shelves. Choose a faucet that is made from quality material, guaranteed to be free of heavy metals and designed to work with your sink.

If your sink doesn’t have independent shut-off valves, now is a good time to add them in line with the water supply. If your sink does have shut-off valves, now is a good time to test them and verify that they’re still working! If they’re hard to move, sticky or leaky, replace those, too!

In most cases, a faucet replacement is “out with the old, in with the new.” Other leaks, such as those hidden behind walls or underneath the floors can be messy, difficult and time-consuming to locate and fix. If you’re not confident that you can complete this kind of repair, or you simply want professional assistance, contact Boston Standard Plumbing & Heating at (617) 288-2911 and we’ll replace your leaking sink faucet, test your shutoff valves and install valves (or replacements) if needed. We can also replace pipes hidden in the walls and test them for additional signs of wear or damage.

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Boston Standard Plumbing Techs Are NATE Certified!

NATE certification indicates that our staff members are experts in residential HVAC, light commercial and commercial refrigeration. NATE certification is the only HVAC certification that’s recognized industry-wide, so having a fully certified staff recognizes the fact that our technicians are well trained and up-to-date on industry standards and best practices. A fully certified NATE staff will also enable Boston Standard Plumbing & Heating to be listed in NATE’s Consumer Contractor Connection.

To the consumer, the NATE certification means that a professional group within the HVAC community has recognized Boston Standard Plumbing & Heating for its technical proficiency in heating and cooling systems. Consumers can be confident that the NATE-certified professionals at Boston Standard Plumbing & Heating are qualified to install, repair and maintain the heating and cooling systems they depend on to keep their homes safe and comfortable throughout the year.

To us at Boston Standard Plumbing & Heating, NATE certification means that our peers in a professional organization have recognized our hard work and training, and they’re willing to recommend us to the consumers in Boston who need high quality, reliable heating and cooling services.

We’ll keep you up-to-date on our certification progress and welcome you to contact Boston Standard Plumbing & Heating at (617) 288-2911 anytime you need a heating and cooling or plumbing professional. We do offer 24-hour emergency service and all of our “night” calls are answered by a Boston Standard Plumbing & Heating technician. We don’t use an answering service because we know that when an emergency arises, you want to talk with the people who can help you right away!

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