About 20% of my inspections show rigid aluminum gas lines which I also recommend being changed to flex pipe.
And yes, I carry body bags for the realtors… ha!
Thanks Ray, I am glad that a fellow inspector has seen these! 
Justin
I was referring about your choice of the word chance. I don’t deal in chances the exchanger either has a crack at the time of inspection or it does not. If you do not have the capability of checking the exchanger disclaim it as allowed in most SOP’s If the furnace is operating normal at the time of inspection I am not responsible for what can and will happen in the future. I just inform that the unit has exceeded or is about to exceed normal life expectancy depending on age and that replacement should be expected.
On the aluminum gas line you were referring to is it on the main supply to the control valve for some reason I had in my mind that you were referencing the aluminum pilot light line as used on older units. We don’t have the quakies in this state thus we use black iron pipe all the way to the control valve.
[quote=jwatts1]
Hi Charley,
So your carbon monoxide detector is right 100% of the time…
Yes Justin my detectors have been correct for the last 10 years as an inspector and the last 40 years as a HAVC mechanic. I feel pretty comfortable doing what I do.
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Charley, what is the sensitivity and resolution of your meter that you can definitively call out a 0 PPM reading with your CO meter???
Wouldn’t a “no detectable CO reading” or “less than 1 PPM of CO reading” be a more prudent way of recording your findings.
Yes it could be; just a personal choice of words.
Hey Guys,
I know you all think of me as the Electrical Guy…but I do inspections also and my take on this is the following :
On HVAC systems I check the lines outside first, check to see the condition of the outside unit…check the name plate and check the wiring in the disconnect and so on…look to see if the insulation is around the ref. lines and so on and if it is damaged or missing.
I open the panel to the inside HVAC unit, check for issues one being in my case mold and so on…I also look at the fan if visible for build up and seeing if it needs cleaning…checking filters and so on…also for microbial growth…a different story but heck while i am in there I do it… I check the wiring making sure it is done right and the right size…disconnects where needed and so on.
now I move on to the testing of it’s operation…
I then will be brief here…will operate the unit via its thermostat and only that…I wont jump anything even if I know how to do it…I really try to wear only “ONE” hat when I am doing normal home inspections…
If below 65 degrees I dont work the AC part of the system and I inform the client of this in the report, I also ALWAYS recommend cleaning and service on a yearly basis to not only cover me but get a second set of eyes on it…and defer the option to a more trianed eye at some point.
If I work the heat…I use my thermal and check incoming air temp and outgoing air temps…try to ensure they are within what I consider acceptaple lines…also I happen to check flow with toilet paper on the returns…I know…call me old fashion…just a habit I have…
If I am able to work the AC part…I basically do the same thing as I do with the heat…
now…thats about it…I report on what I find…sometimes do a few extra little things…but nothing I would consider above the SOP…just things I like to do…nothing more.
Oh I forgot…if it is a gas furnace…I use my nose…sorry I dont use a CO tester…but that does not say I wont in the future…just have not in the past…
[quote=pabernathy]
,
:
If I work the heat…I use my thermal and check incoming air temp and outgoing air temps…try to ensure they are within what I consider acceptable lines…also I happen to check flow with toilet paper on the returns…I know…call me old fashion…just a habit I have…
Call me old fashion also but I use a single sheet of newspaper a little heavier.
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Interesting.
I stand across the room. If the air hits me, there’s good air flow. Similar to what a normal homeowner would do during the course of a normal day. I’ve never seen a homeowner use bathroom tissue or a newspaper to see if the air is making it to a specific part of the room. Hmmmmmmm.
[quote=bkelly2]
Charley, what is the sensitivity and resolution of your meter that you can definitively call out a 0 PPM reading with your CO meter???
Brian sorry to split your questions but I was on a short chain with the wife on the other end. You know how those Realtors can be.
My meter reads in PPM’s 000 to 999 with 035 being the dangerous level. Furnace MFG design a heat exchanger (gas) to have no exchange of co between the exchanger and the air flow discharge from the exchanger. If my test reveals any at all such as 001 to 035 I call for it to be check by a licensed heat and air contractor I take no chances. To me a gas furnace is the most dangerous item within the home. A couple of years ago a family of five ended up in the hospital in OKla. City because of a cracked heat exchanger on a 8 year old furnace. Lucky; it could have been body bags.
A good amount of folks do not realize that a gas kitchen cook stove oven will discharge 003 to 004 co within 5 minutes of starting the oven. I never operate a gas oven until I have completed my furnace tests. Have played around with my meters with both the kitchen stove oven going and the furnace just to see what my readings would be and I can pick up 001 at the most remote outlet on the central duct system any time the oven is in operation.
I use two meters I don’t just rely on one. Have both meters re-calibrated by the factory on a yearly basis.
RR
Paul was referring to the suck of the return not the supply discharge.:mrgreen: :mrgreen:
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Oh.
I just check for the present of the air filter (if it’s not inside the furnace–attic units usually have the filter at the air return) and for a clean, undamaged filter. Rarely do I find an air filter that has been cleaned or replaced before I get there. When I do, I send a $100 Borders gift certificate to the seller–just kidding.
I use a 3 step process to check return air flow.
- A piece of newpaper at the return air grill that falls to the floor will most usually tell me what I am going to find when I get to the furnace.
- The blower motor looks like a English sheep dog cain’t see the motor for the lint.
- The blower wheel cups are matted over with lint and a 100% odds that the furnace A-coil is also matted over.
Even though this can be considered by some realtors as a maintenance item I send it to the HAVC contractors based on the fact that the system can not perform its intended function as designed by the MFG.
HVAC? what does that stand for.:shock:
Sorry it’s all I have.
It’s called not proofing reading in a hurry???
Heating- adding heat to a space (adding Humidity is usually recommended)
Ventilating- changing of air in a space (filtering the air is recommended)
Air
Conditioning- typically adding cool air while lowering humidity to a space **
** there is a more technical explanation to the operation of A/C, but it’s not needed here.
Try to use the “KISS” method till you get more experience in the classroom and in the field. (keep it simple stupid) It works for me all the time!
The main problem with using CO meters is when you find no CO. How do you know the crack will not develop the next week?
I state in my reports that all findings good or bad are as found at the time of the inspection and that time near or far from that will result in different findings.
No crystal ball: How do you know if the A/C
compressor is not going crash and burn next week.
How do you know if the sewer line is going to stop up next week.
How do you know if the hot water heater is going to start leaking next week.
All you can state was that the furnace was operated thru a normal cycle on the day of inspection and no CO was detected.
I write everyone of my reports as if I was defending it in a court of Law and you may very well be.