Winterizing Your Boiler

Boiler Maintenance

As Jack Frost first tops the pumpkin, people begin to fret about the strength of their boiler, and properly so. Any home that depends on a boiler to make central hot water or steam heating, must have the freedom of knowing that this crucial plumbing heating appliance won’t quit in the middle of a snowy winter night.

The proper way for a homeowner to keep his boiler running without breaks is to afford it periodic maintenance, and a checkup, at least once a year. Other benefits that devolve proper boiler maintenance include improved efficiency and reduced annual repair costs.

When searching for a professional plumber for your pre-winter maintenance,select a company that is knowledgeable in plumbing heating. Many companies, such as A-1 Plumbing of Baltimore, a Baltimore plumbing company, mention on their website that they handle the area of plumbing heating.A company that specializes in “plumbing heating, will send out licensed technicians skilled in the installation, maintenance and repair of all fixtures in the home that employ water and heat.

What types of problems will a plumber look for during annual maintenance? Of utmost importance, the inspector will make sure that the boiler plate is free of any corrosions. Boiler cracks can be fixed by drilling holes on the sides of the crack, caulking the crack and patching it. If the crack spreads beyond the holes, it must be repaired again.

During a maintenance inspection, the plumber will also check for boiler leaks. Leaks can come from worn down seals, elevated internal pressure causing waterto trickle out from the relief valve or corrosion of sections of the boiler, especially seen with cast iron boilers. Part of the boiler leak inspection needs to include a complete examination of the temperature pressure valve. This valve is responsible for maintaining standard temperature and pressure inside the boiler. If this part is not working properly, either the internal temperature or pressure may be elevated. The plumber will also check the amount of water inside the boiler, water levels too high or toocan cause problems.

An additional aspect of the pre-cold weather inspection is examination of all the boiler parts that help the boiler create an adequate temperature to heat the water and or produce steam. He will look at the circuit breaker, on the lookout for a burned out fuse, he will check the pilot light and the electrical start up system and he will also look to see that the thermostat is in the heat mode and is set at the proper temperature.

General boiler difficulties that can stop the boiler from heating up the water sufficiently include: insufficient electrical power, low water within the boiler, thermostat problems or electrical burner light up difficulties. These difficulties quite often come to light late in the fall when homeowners get ready to light their boiler initial cold days when they first begin to use their central plumbing heating system.

Householders with central hot water or steam heating, who are making an appointment for a late fall boiler maintenance would be wise to have their peripheral heating system checked as well. Plumbing heating specialists will not infrequently note air trapping within the line, a faulty zone valve or a faulty radiator valve. These problems can be fixed by bleeding the line and fixing or replacing the circulatory pump and the valves.

A meticulous annual inspection, as outlined in this article, will provide the homeowner a safe feeling of surity that his hot water or steam based central heating system will work, as it is supposed to, all winter.

Troubleshooting for a Malfunctioning Water Heater Element

Water Heater Element

Should you discover that your domestic water heater is not making hot water like it once did; for example, if a hot shower turns cold after five minutes, than chances are you’ve got a bad heating element. The source of the problem is likely to be hard water, Minerals in hard water; for example calcium and magnesium ions, promote chemical changes that decrease the effectiveness of the water heating element. The plus side of it is you don’t necessarily have to replace the heater; you can just replace the heating element.

Putting in a new heating element is a basic job for technicians who are familiar with plumbing and water heaters. However, if you are not experienced in this type of repair, there are certain complications to watch out for and I will explain them in this guide. The first step any repairman wants to be positive and do is to turn off the electrical current to the water heater. The electrical current must be shut off at the breaker box. If the breaker box is not labeled, you need to turn them off one by one and then check if the electricity is turned off in the system.

Checking the electricity in the heater is a process that must be done cautiously. Taking off the lid over the heating elements must be done very cautiouslylcarefully. If there are live wires within you want to be extra sure you don’t touch them. An electrical meter comes in handy to check if there is current flowing through. Occasionally the upper heating element cuts off when the water is sufficiently warmed, so you can also check the upper two leads of the upper thermostat. Even when power has been flowing through the lower thermostat, the upper leads should still work.

Once you have determined that the power is not flowing into the heater you want to check the resistance of the heating elements. This isn’t as simple as it might seem. You first need to detach one of the leads to be certain you are measuring the resistance properly. The resistance can be determined against the screw that holds the heating element in place.

Once you have determined that one or both heating elementsmust be replaced, you are required to drain the water. While professional plumbers are familiar with techniques to change the heating element without draining the tank completely. DYI plumber using this technique could cause a lot of flooding in the house, and so is not advised to use it.

It is essential to keep in mind not to remove the water from your tank while the the current is live. The heating elements are made to work with water not air. If they are exposed to air, they will let out a popping sound, which sounds like a gun and is terrifying.

The next important fact to keep in mind, when changing the heating element, is to make certain to put a rubber gasket around the element. If you neglect to place the gasket on the heating element, then you will have a leak when you put the new element in place.

To reiterate the most careful way to change the water heating element is to let out all the water. In this step, you must attach a tube to the drainage valve, which is found at the bottom of the tank. The drain screw is usually brass or copper and you must be certain you employ the right size head or you can mess up the screw; if that happens you will be required to call a professional plumber. Make sure that the water will flow freely from the tank because that will insure that sediment in the bottom of the tank goes out with the draining water and doesn’t remain in the tank. When the tank is completely drained of waterThen you turn off the out flow valve.

Once you have rewmoved all the water, you can install two new matching heating elements. If your water heater elements are really old and worn they may be difficult to remove. Removing the old elements might feel funny to an amateur plumber, however, professional plumbers say you can pull them out hard and that won’t hurt the tank. If you feel funny about this step you should {contact|call| the plumber.

Once you have finished made the replacement you must open the water inlet valve and replenish the water supply in the tank. Then and only then you can reactivate the tank’s electricity. If you feel squeamish about doing any of the cautionary steps described in this article than you should call an experienced plumber, to make certain you don’t hurt anything when replacing the water heater elements.

Wrestling With Clogged Drains

Clogged Drain

Have you flushed a toilet and had it backup onto the floor? Or have you on your bathroom faucet but the water fails to drain but rather continues to rise in the sink. Have you ever had the experience of taking showers in standing water? If you have had any of these experiences recently, its time to ask yourself when was the last time you had your drain cleaned?

Your drains will clog up when you least expect it. Your sinks, bath tub, shower, toilet, and sewer are most often clogged. Drains face a daily buildup of grease, hair, soap, detergents, and other substances, ensuring the likelihood you will experience an unexpected clog or backup as can occur with most residential drains.

Good News! An experienced plumber can clear your drain problem with state of the art drain cleaning equipment and totally unblock your sink, toilet, bathtub, shower and any other drain, pipe or plumbing fixture. After they’re done, your drain and pipes will be ג€œgood as new”

What are the Most Common Causes of Drain Backup?
ג€¢ Build Up of Sludge and Grime
ג€¢ Large or Bulky Items Being Flushed Down the Toilet or Drain
ג€¢ Broken or Dislocated Pipe in the Line
ג€¢ Tree Root Meshes Filling Drains

The Video Camera Inspection
Modern plumbers employ state-of-the-art video camera probes to locate your blockage and source of the backup problems (broken pipe, root infiltration, blockage point, etc.). Once they’ve eliminated the clog and tested to be sure the drains in the home are working properly, they will perform a thorough clean-up of the work area.

Complete plumbing drain unclogging and repair services include the following:

Comprehensive sewer and drain inspection, cleaning, and repair service
Bathroom sinks, toilets, tub, and shower drains
Kitchen sinks and garbage disposal cleaning
Sewer & main line inspection and cleaning
Rooter services
Local breaks and cracks repair on pipes and lines
Repair of a burst pipe
Unclogging of extreior and interior drains
Drain Maintenance

In case your drain blockage can’t be solved with normal procedures, most licensed plumbers possess professional drain cleaning equipment, which can even the worst drain pipe problems:

Mechanical plumbing snakes
Hydro powered jetters to clean sewer lines

Protecting Your Plumbing Pipes From the Winter Weather

Plumbing Pipes

The arctic weather is close at hand for sure, and it’s not a moment too soon to make certain that your house and especially your exposed plumbing pipes are protected from the expected freezing temperatures. Because frozen water increases in size, a pipe that holds frozen water runs the risk of spliting or breaking. Not only might your water flow be lessened or shut off when the pipe freezes, but after the melt, you might develop a plumbing leak as water flows out from the break in the tube.

Safeguarding your home’s plumbing is doubly important for homeowners who will be critical throughout the coldmonths, or those who have unused floors in the upper part of the house. In order to cut down on on the fuel expenses, most homeowners turn down the thermostat in unoccupied rooms. This makes plumbing pipes in those sections of the house especially vulnerable to freezing. Just picture returning from a holiday and discovering your preciouscarpets wrecked by a major flood caused by a burst plumbing pipe and you can understand the paramountcy of winterizing the plumbing your domicile.

The good news is, most plumbers provide a a pre-winter pipe protection plan, which can be personally tailored to your home plumbing requirements. While each domicile and each situation is unique, this is what a licensed plumbing company will do for you.

Plumbing companies will start by putting insulation all over exposed plumbing pipes, especially pipes along outside walls, which are the ones most likely to allow cold into the domicile. People who will be out of town foran extended stay usually set their thermometers at 40 degrees.

Now here’s the real preparation. When winterizing the plumbing of a home for people who will be away for a long stay, the plumbing company will drain all the pipes in the house. To do this safely, they need to shut the power to the water heater and boiler, and shut off the gas flow to gas heaters. Once they have accomplished this, they will add anti-freeze to the pipes, to keep them from bursting, even in the most frigid conditions. Anti-freeze will be added to the toilets as well.

When winterizing the plumbing of abodes with unused upper floors, a plumbing company can put in, as necessitated, shut off valves to the plumbing pipes that bring water to the upper rooms. For for convenience sake, the plumber will change the valves from gate valves to ball valves, which require an easy 1/4 turn to close the water flow.

All types of exposed pipes need to be covered as plastic pipes are as susceptible to freezing as metal pipes. In the opinion of Byron Graham, a Baltimore plumber with A-1 Plumbing of Baltimore, galvanized pipes that break are the hardest to fix, so he Doesn’t recommend installing galvanized pipes in locations in the home In danger of pipe freezing.

The price of plumbing winterization varies from area to area and home to home, but it is money well worth spending. our most recent winters have been among the coldest in recent times, and the media and Internet presented reports of record numbers of plumbing calls to fix frozen pipes.

Having a plumber winterize your plumbing pipeswill give you the peace of mind of being certain that your plumbing pipes will be safe all winter.

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Plumbing Pipe

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