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Larry (from OSHA)

Joined on November 24, 2003

Last Post on May 12, 2013

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I noticed the dogs tail too

@ May 12, 2013 4:03 PM in Steam at Work

Great video and nice to see such an operation going. What can you say? A step back in in time for sure and I suppose some OSHA inspector might have some concerns with all the whirly spinny things going and everything else. But I think it's really cool and looks like maybe all family run. I'd have a pretty tough time shaking a stick at those folks. And, i'm pretty sure that the dog doesn't work there, so it's not an OSHA concern :)

Larry

CO levels, etc.

@ March 25, 2013 2:11 PM in A good story

Tim, I agree that the technician’s judgment may have been questionable, but the concept of Good Samaritan is what most likely kicked in and maybe the few extra minutes of fresh air that the guy in the basement got because of that saved his life. As far as what various exposure levels mean, here are a few numbers.

IDLH: 1,200 ppm
Existing short-term exposure guidelines: National Research Council [NRC 1987] Emergency Exposure Guidance Levels (EEGLs):
10-minute EEGL: 1,500 ppm
30-minute EEGL: 800 ppm
60-minute EEGL: 400 ppm
24-hour EEGL: 50 ppm
Lethal concentration: Human = 5,000 = 5 min
OSHA 8 hour exposure limit: Minnesota = 35 ppm, federal = 50 ppm.

So even exposure to the IDLH does not mean that a person will tip over and die. It depends on the amount of carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) in the blood which is dependant on the level of CO exposure verses time of exposure.
And I still say it's a good idea to have a personal CO monitor because if you don't test, you don't know.

Larry

A good story

@ March 14, 2013 3:24 PM in A good story

technician saved a man from his home, which was flooding with carbon monoxide.
Do you have a personal CO monitor?

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/56001471-78/technician-carbon-mecham-monoxide.html.csp

Larry

some of the dead men showing off

@ January 26, 2013 1:38 AM in some of the dead men showing off

Our commisioner thought it would be a good idea to show some historical images of various workers and we now have a great display on the walls of the lobby of our building.

Larry

it could be

@ December 30, 2012 3:08 PM in Hot spot at top of indirect hot water heater

that the insulation under the handhole inspection cover is not as effective as the rest of the tank insulation. Or there might not be any there at all. Check your documentation.

Hope you are enjoying your new condensing boiler too.

Larry

Well

@ December 23, 2012 1:44 AM in At what point ,

The OSHA permissible exposure for an 8 hour period is 5000 parts per million. That's 1/2%. The short term exposure limit is 30,000 parts per million (3%).

http://www.osha.gov/dts/chemicalsampling/data/CH_225400.html

Hope that helps.

Larry

where will your feet be?

@ December 7, 2012 4:43 PM in where to put electric mat radiant heat in kitchen

I would suggest that you do it right the first time since you won't do it a second time and won't be happy if your feet are not where the warmth is. You should consider covering as much floor area as possible because where ever the heat wires are not - you won't have warm floor. The heat does NOT spread past the area of the wires. At best an inch or two but that's it. We have electric radiant in both bathrooms and it is very apparent where it starts and stops. As far as having two thermostats, I would only do one. Since you are already thinking about where it would be nice to have warm floors, like the back door area, etc. my suggestion is to go with the most coverage and you will not be sorry.
Good luck and enjoy you remodeled spaces.

Larry

works great

@ November 12, 2012 7:38 PM in Laing Thermotech re - circ pump

I have had mine for a number of years and have a mixing valve at the hot water tank and all is well. At the faucet where the recirc is, warm water is right there. At the other faucets near by, warm water is there within 6 seconds. I am very pleased with the whole thing.

Larry

this stuff is great

@ November 9, 2012 9:57 AM in Boiler stand for TT boiler

http://www.8020.net/

give them a design and they will build it or buy material and you do it. really works well.

my experience

@ November 8, 2012 7:56 PM in Step Up To The Plate Manufacturers!

I have a Knight that is about 5 years old. Our generator, a GE which is actually a Briggs & Stratton seems to work just fine. I think that there are many different situations where a system will or won't work with axillary power.

Let's hope everyone affected by the storms come out ok really really soon.

Larry

Dangers at hockey game

@ November 8, 2012 3:09 PM in Dangers at hockey game

Time to tune the Zamboni and turn on the vent fans!

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/249282/group/homepage/

Larry

here are a few examples

@ October 25, 2012 6:27 PM in What Happens When a Steam Boiler Explodes?

http://www.doli.state.mn.us/CCLD/BoilerIncidentsWater.asp

http://www.doli.state.mn.us/CCLD/BoilerIncidentsWater1.asp

The effects are catastrophic and deadly.

Larry

CO death at appartment in Colorado

@ October 8, 2012 1:39 PM in CO death at appartment in Colorado

http://www.gazette.com/articles/monoxide-145635-one-critical.html

very unfortunate situation.

more than a little neglected

@ September 18, 2012 10:05 PM in Leaking HX on Vitodens 200

Too bad about the V. I'm actually surprised that there was no inlet-outlet differential limit fault like on the Knight boilers. Or, for that matter, a low flow fault. I suppose there needs to be a flow switch for that one. I don't recall anyone posting any pics of any Vitodens that look that ugly. Maybe most V owners have periodic service. But that does prompt me to do my annual service on my Knight.

Larry

Oh, those permits

@ August 28, 2012 11:41 PM in Tidbit #5: a guessing game

Ok Bob, I get kind of narrow focused when talking permits and such and automatically think OSHA stuff.

I think you and I think along the same lines pretty much. Although, I don't think I ever would have thought of space aliens as a likely hazard either. I did watch Independence Day last night for the umptheenth time and still enjoy that movie!

So, if you have some guys working for you, I think they are fortunate to have a boss as considerate as you. You have the kind of attitude i prefer to encounter in my inspections.

Thanks for the good conversation.

Larry

How do you know - What do you do?

@ August 28, 2012 10:16 PM in Tidbit #5: a guessing game

First of all, thanks to Bob for all his well spoken comments. You do a better job of vocalizing this than I can.

From my point of view, training that provides an understanding of the hazards that someone could encounter and how to deal with them is essential. We even have regulations that require as much.

That HVAC guy that blew himself up that Bob talked about could have avoided all of that if he had enough training and the tools to assess the hazards in front of him.

This conversation has mostly focused on what might be considered confined spaces. Bottom line is who ever has to deal with going into some funky crawl space or where ever, needs to have the tools (training) to assess the situation and decide how to handle it.

From where I sit, there is no situation, no - no heat call, no - no hot water call, no - have to enter a pit for an inspection of a piece of equipment to satisfy some code (ie. reduced pressure zone device) or what ever that exposes either an employee or an employer to hazards that need to and can be dealt with to prevent something bad from happening.

Tim, there is no specific rule on rattle snakes but there is industry recognition of critters as a hazard to deal with in the confined space regulation. What you do with them, I don't know, but the worker should.

Bob, as far as permits go, if we are talking about OSHA confined space permits, there are no limitations like a 24 hour rule or something like that. If you need to enter a permit space, you fill out your own permit and do what you need to. If you are talking about something else, I obviously don't know what that is.

Every one here has the best interests of their people in their hearts and would feel really really bad if one of their own got hurt or killed. The OSHA rules give the guidance to help prevent that. From my experience, most business owners don't want some government schmuck to tell him how to run his operation, but most understand that we (us government schmucks) are only trying to prevent an injury or worse.

I am off my soap box now but am always available to answer questions about OSHA rules or whatever.

As always, thanks to Dan. This continues to be the best community on the web.

Larry

Those pesky gubamint workers

@ July 25, 2012 3:37 PM in Tidbit #5: a guessing game

Hey Mark,
Just when you thought it was safe to light that torch, more darn regulations.

Actually, the permit required confined space regulation includes lots of common sense stuff for keeping you and your workers alive. Please Google 1910.146 and you will find out more than I can possibly put in words. Or talk to Dave Yates about it. He and I have traded a few emails over time about the ins and outs of going into questionalble places.

As far as those permits go, you make your own, you fill it out yourself and you don't spend anything or wait for some inspector type to show up and say "Go forth and work".

And trust me, I take no offense to your reaction. As far as "common sense" goes, I've really tried to stop using the phrase because what's common for you and me isn't so common for someone else. Over the years I've seen lots of things where you just scratch your head and think what the heck was that guy thinking when he stuck his hand in there (or whatever) So what I think about this particular topic is that there are plenty of steps that can be taken to make sure that it is safe to go or do whatever and the OSHA regs provide a framework and some guidance to follow.
Actually, the points that Bob Harper makes about testing before entering kind of follow what I seem to remember someone here saying more than once. If you don't test, you don't know.

I think that Bob's point and certainly mine is to get people to think first about what could be waiting for them on the job site. It seems very apparent that the vast majority of boiler rooms, crawl spaces or whatever aren't just waiting to kill the next unsuspecting person who enters, but I suppose it's not a bad idea to think about what you might find.

So thanks for your comments and I'm always up for having any conversation where we might learn something from each other. I've gotten a good deal of education from you over the years and always appreciate your perspective.

Larry

confined space

@ July 25, 2012 12:41 AM in Tidbit #5: a guessing game

Bob, you raise a good point. That crawlspace that Plumdog describes would very likely be a permit required confined space. As you said, routinely entering places like that should make you pause and re-think what you might encounter. The actual OSHA definition of confined space and permit space is copied below. Entering a permit space does require jumping through a few hoops first.

"Confined space" means a space that:

(1) Is large enough and so configured that an employee can bodily enter and perform assigned work; and

(2) Has limited or restricted means for entry or exit (for example, tanks, vessels, silos, storage bins, hoppers, vaults, and pits are spaces that may have limited means of entry.); and

(3) Is not designed for continuous employee occupancy.

"Permit-required confined space (permit space)" means a confined space that has one or more of the following characteristics:

(1) Contains or has a potential to contain a hazardous atmosphere;

(2) Contains a material that has the potential for engulfing an entrant;

(3) Has an internal configuration such that an entrant could be trapped or asphyxiated by inwardly converging walls or by a floor which slopes downward and tapers to a smaller cross-section; or

(4) Contains any other recognized serious safety or health hazard.

Be safe.

Larry

What they do in England

@ April 19, 2012 4:50 PM in What they do in England

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/apr/17/gas-fitter-jailed-carbon-monoxide?newsfeed=true

please send pictures

@ February 24, 2012 5:47 PM in Lochinvar Knight boiler problems

Hello cricka,

Really need to see several photos of your system. How it is piped up and the more photos you can post, the better. Even though you have a pretty good size home with perhaps marginal insulation, the KBN400 seems a bit large for your home. If it is very oversized, this can lead to not getting the savings that you were expecting. Post some pictures of the venting as well. It sounds like some of your issues may be installation related.

I have a Knight KBN80 that has warmed our house since 2007 quite flawlessly. Our place is about 3000 sq. ft. and fairly well insulated for your comparison.

People here can help you if you give more info.

Larry