Be Careful about CARBON MONOXIDE!

 

The below article came from a local paper today.  Scary when a family barely gets out with their life!  It has been stated before on this blog but I will do it again. 

Be Sure the Company Installing Your Furnace Knows what they are doing.  This accident was due to someone taking the easy way out and exhausting the furnace thru the drier vent!!! 

If it was the owner of the property shame on him for not hiring a professional.  Worse yet if it was a professional they should be handled accordingly as well as never allowed to work in this industry again.

Carbon Monoxide is no laughing matter-it is colorless, odorless and tasteless.  For many the go to sleep and never wake up again!!!!  It is simple to address in your existing furnace if you have someone perform a proper furnace clean and check-which should include a combustion analysis and Carbon monoxide test with heat exchanger and flue inspection-not as an extra to your clean and check but included with the initial charge for the service. 

Please be safe this winter-for between 80-100 dollars you can have a reputable company come and perform the above service.  The Key is REPUTABLE-not the 19.95 advertisement. 

Carbon monoxide leak sickens Wilkinsburg family

By James Knox, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Last updated: 8:52 am

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James Knox can be reached at 412-320-7832 or via e-mail.

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A Wilkinsburg family of seven was hospitalized this morning after being sickened by a carbon monoxide leak in their rented duplex.
The furnace exhaust had been poorly vented through a clothes dryer duct and the basement registered 1,000 parts per million, which can be fatal, according to Pittsburgh fire Lt. James O'Toole. The first floor registered 70 ppm.
The average level in a home without a gas stove is 0.5 to 5 ppm, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The family — five children and two parents — lived on the first floor of the building in the 1400 block of Marlboro Avenue and a woman lived on the second floor. The parents were taken to UPMC Presbyterian and the children were taken to Children's Hospital, O'Toole said. The tenant upstairs was evacuated.
Authorities are seeking the duplex's owner, he said.

Read more: Carbon monoxide leak sickens Wilkinsburg family - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_764115.html?_s_icmp=NetworkHeadlines#ixzz1bzFnCGv9

Sam's Club Sells coal/wood furnaces

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=prod4850649&pid=20111010_InsiderROL&rid=1191639370&cid=promoemail

The above link is from an e-mail I received today from Sam's Club.  They are offering a coal/wood furnace so you can eliminate your HIGH OIL BILLS!   What are they going to think of next.  If says fits right up to you duct work.  They make it sound like a 2 hour job based on the little I have read. 
I am not sure what to say about this.  Anyone have any thoughts? 
Cut Your own wood! Dig your own Coal!  Just takes a saw and a pick/shovel and you are now self sufficient. 
Does anyone remember the days of burning coal for heat?  I do and I am not that old.  I lived in a little community in North Central Pa.  The neighbor across the street burned coal. The filth on my car each morning.  The dust on the porch,  the dirt on the windows.  Certainly made for alot of Grumbling on my part.

I must say though the folks at Walmart/Sams Club certainly want to be the one place you will go to shop.  A lot of Chinese products-putting US workers out of jobs. 
I have a novel Idea-lets see how many of us can quit shopping at Sprawlmart and begin helping America again.  Buy American-such as Bully Tools-a small company in Steubenville ohio that manufactures 100% american made tools.  At a better quality and a more competitive price than the Chinese can bring to our country. 
Look around-ask around-you might be suprised! 
Oh and for those of you who do purchase this unit-Best of Luck!

Can you Trust the technician performing your furnace inspection?

Maintain, troubleshoot, and repair various HVAC systems including furnaces, boilers, air conditioners and heat pumps.


Knowledge of electrical and gas diagnostics and airflow.

Both residential and commercial settings.

EPA certification and clean driving record required.



We are an excellent company with an outstanding reputation in the Pittsburgh area. Included in this position is a great benefits package, including health, dental, vision, 401k and life insurance.




Location: North Hills Pittsburgh

Compensation: hourly + commission

Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.

Please, no phone calls about this job!

Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests
 
 
Do You SEE THE ABOVE HIGHLIGHTED?  This is an actual Craigslist advertisement for an HVAC Service technician.  You obviously see the Commission portion of the ad.  How can you trust a technician that gets paid commissions on what they sell you.  Not what you need but most often what it is they want to sell you.  Do you need a new furnace?  Maybe not but with the technician getting commission on a new furnace installation perhaps he may tell you an untruth/LIE to scare you into a new furnace which is good for his pocket-and bad for yours.  Would a new furnace have been a good idea?  If you have an 80% efficient or perhaps an even older 60% efficient furnace than YES it would be a good idea.  You begin saving money the minute they install it but does it mean your old furnace NEEDED to be replaced.  Unless it is a danger to leave it operating then no it does not need to be replaced.
Is the above a common practice with Residential HVAC service technicians?  I believe more than any of the HVAC service companies would like to admit to. 
I have seen numerous occasions where technicians have directly lied to home owners about the condition of their furnace or air conditioning unit which is generally followed by the line "But we can get you taken care of immediately by replacing this old one with a brand new one!" 
I have seen it  2 days before Christmas where a client of ours, a business owner we serviced, was flat lied too about parts availability for the furnace in his home.  He was told that most of the parts required-that his kids shorted out having a water fight-were obsolete and alternates were not available, but they, the company on the service call, could get him a new furnace installed that same day!  After he called me, as he was not in a financial position to afford a new furnace, I dispatched a technician.  He arrived at the client site and just for kicks took the model and serial number then contacted the one and only local supplier for this manufacturer.  GUESS WHAT?!  All parts needed for the repair were on the shelf locally at the supply house in Pittsburgh-we had their heat back on by 8 pm that evening.  NO NEW FURNACE NEEDED-and no commission check for the other companies technician-oh yeah-and no commission check for our technician because he is paid well on an hourly basis-no commission-no incentive to lie. 
If you call a company to come inspect and/or repair your hvac equipment at their home-ASK IF THEY PAY THEIR PEOPLE COMMISSIONS!!!  The majority do!! 
 
As well, the benefits listed above as Excellent, may not be.  I have one current employee who worked for a company for a short period that Paid commissions on the sales.  Well the excellent benefits were there if you sold a minimum amount of parts and equipment each month.  If you did not sell the minimum amount then your excellent benefits costs came out of your hourly rate.  If you are living check to check like alot of people that could provide additional incentive to not tell the truth. 
 
If you call a company to come inspect and/or repair you home hvac equipment as them if they pay commissions to their technicians.  Another hint-if they do not want to tell you then most likely they do.