Heating Help

Leaks?

@ May 23, 2013 3:14 PM in Plumbers putty or silicone?

Thank you for your response.

I'm assuming you are referring to using silicone to seal the sink to the counter and not the basket strainers?

Plumbers putty or silicone?

@ May 23, 2013 11:35 AM in Plumbers putty or silicone?

I'm getting ready to install the new kitchen sink and being this is the first time doing this I'm trying to get prepared and learn all I can before diving in.

I used plumbers putty on the basket strainers and now I've got mixed info on what to use when mounting the sink to the counter.

Another thing I'm unsure of is the faucet is a single hole Delta which has a stainless cover that fits over a plastic spacer and I think it comes with a rubber gasket. I've been told in the past to throw rubber gaskets out and use putty when mounting a faucet?

All opinions and comments are welcome as always.

Good news

@ May 15, 2013 11:18 PM in 20+lb garbage disposal in large SS sink?

Looking at Delta's site it looks like other faucets which are identical are sold elsewhere.

The main differences are 1 : the finish Arctic stainless vs stainless steel. And the home depot version comes with a soap dispenser. All internal parts are identical, in fact they share the same parts list.

Still seems odd that Amazon is selling it and actually for the same price.

Home depot

@ May 15, 2013 10:52 PM in 20+lb garbage disposal in large SS sink?

Yeah I noticed it said home depot exclusive, yet I didn't buy it from there so thats kinda funny. Its already ordered so kinda late. I got it from Amazon actually. Can't wait to find out Amazon owns home depot or something funky.

My last project was a bathroom fan. Simple bathroom fan that I started I think in March. Well, we're just about to put the last coat of paint on the walls...... Good news is no more drips from the ceiling or walls after a shower!


I think I'm learning. When I think I know the price of a project simply multiple it by 2 or 3 and that should be about right.


Oh and while running the wire for the disposal circuit my foot went through one of my winder stairs which lead down to the basement. So, now a new set of winder stairs is in order in the near future. I'm sure thats gonna be cheap and easy. :(

Updates

@ May 15, 2013 10:27 PM in 20+lb garbage disposal in large SS sink?

Wow a plumbing section!

Dan just keeps making the forum better and better. Kind of amazing being its by far the best forum I've been to for any subject and has been from the start.


The faucet we went with is a Delta 19978-SSSD-DST and it did NOT come from the home depot.

http://www.deltafaucet.com/kitchen/details/19978-sssd-dst.html


You know this all started off like all of my projects. All I wanted was a disposal, then well, while I'm under there why not do a sink too. And then well, with the sink out why not a new faucet. Before you know it I'm broke.

Ugh.

OOps

@ May 15, 2013 10:01 PM in 20+lb garbage disposal in large SS sink?

Obviously I should have made it clear we switched to a dual tub. I'm sorry, I feel like a dope now.


If we put the disposal on the left side I'd kinda prefer a tailpiece for the drain as the hose comes from the right side and neatness counts. Is there any downside to doing it this way?

Dual or single

@ May 15, 2013 9:57 PM in 20+lb garbage disposal in large SS sink?

Yep I wanted a single but the wife changed her mind and we went with a totally different shaped two bowl sink that should work for both of us.


Btw, I put a turkey leg down a disposal in an apartment we had before we moved here. And yep.... it ate it.

Now I probably won't be doing that to mine even though its twice as strong. But chicken bones, absolutely.

Opinions on drain piping

@ May 15, 2013 8:53 PM in 20+lb garbage disposal in large SS sink?

So I'm trying to plan my drain piping and wanted the opinions of some pros.  Obviously there are tons of ways to do this but I'm curious what is the smartest?   What will allow for either my self or a plumber to clear a clog if ever necessary?  My thoughts are the cleanout directly below the right drain will allow cleaning of the trap towards the back.

This is what I came up with assuming I have the room.  Sorry the drawing looks like a child did it and it is not to scale but I think it gives an idea.  I'm not sure what effect the bottom horizontal tee will have on flow, for all I know it may cause a clog it self.

All piping I picked is glued PVC except for the tailpieces.  I also bought two traps, one has a cleanout, one doesn't.  Not sure which is better as I'm not sure how useful that cleanout even is.

As always look forward to ALL and any comments and opinions.

Art

@ May 13, 2013 12:31 PM in This Week's Steamer Replacement

Another beauty by Frank and Gordo.
Keep the pictures coming I always enjoy looking at them.

Homedepot and Lowes

@ May 12, 2013 4:55 PM in Need opinions on kitchen faucet brands

I know exactly what you mean.

I spent a lot of time hunting down a garbage disposal for this project and was amazed that Insinkerator actually makes custom models for Lowes and Home depot. Whats so custom? The fact they don't have stainless grind chambers like the normal version and instead include other stuff that doesn't matter. I ended up buying a Insinkerator evolution essentials pro from Amazon. Stainless grind chamber and auto reverse for the same price homer and lowes wanted for one without the stainless chamber. It also has an 8 year inhome warranty which who knows if thats worth anything or not. More and more I learn the big box stores do not have good prices compared to mom and pop shops. They sell you a cheapened crap version for a slightly lower price that appears to be a good deal.

Once we find a faucet I plan on buying it from Amazon or equivalent. Looking at the Danze stuff now. Honestly I assumed they were some no-name company and ignored them until now.

Just like the Franke sink. The wife wanted it and I had never heard of them. Was very surprised to see it was made in Canada and not China.

The deep strainers have me curious now. I've never seen anything like that?

Basket

@ May 12, 2013 2:44 PM in Need opinions on kitchen faucet brands

The basket is what I think the drain piece in the sink is called. It seems to actually be called a strainer. http://www.amazon.com/KOHLER-K-8799-CP-Duostrainer-Strainer-Polished/dp/B0015BZAH6


The sink we are installing has 3 holes but the faucet can only have one or two of those depending. If we use a soap dispenser then the faucet only gets one. If no soap dispenser then it can have two.

The look of the kitchen? I don't know, all stainless appliances bought in 2011 but nothing real fancy.

The exact sink the wife wanted to go with is this one. The faucet will of course go in the left hole. I wanted a large Kohler sink but you know what they say, happy wife happy life. :)

http://www.frankeusa.com/product/index/productId/171

Need opinions on kitchen faucet brands

@ May 12, 2013 2:13 PM in Need opinions on kitchen faucet brands

Its almost time to put the sink and stuff together and we are down to picking out a faucet and a basket.

Any opinions on what brands of faucets are preferred?  Last I knew Delta was the way to go and to avoid Pfister at all costs but for all I know everything has changed.

All comments welcome!

Yep

@ May 10, 2013 11:43 PM in Suction line frosting??

Hi Rich,

He came out a few days ago and added 2 pounds of gas to the system. The post I beleive could look green, hard to say. It does not look yellow that is for sure.

The system ran beautiful all week with no sign of frosting anymore and much better cooling. He said it may have a really slow leak, but I honestly suspect his tech didn't add enough refrigerant last year when he replaced the compressor. I have a feeling he didn't realize it had 40-70 feet worth of lineset but who knows.

Speaking of frost, I ran my 2nd Monitor top last weekend and am proud to say it doesn't have a problem with non-condensibles like I originally thought. This is a 1934 methyl formate machine that uses a high side float to regulate refrigerant flow. My 1933 unit works beautifully as well.   Another interesting fact is the Monitor top fridges all had crank case heaters or as they called it "an oil conditioner".

See picture.

Sinks and fun

@ May 8, 2013 8:38 PM in 20+lb garbage disposal in large SS sink?

We're highly considering this nice Kohler sink.

http://www.us.kohler.com/us/Vault%E2%84%A2-33-x-22-x-9-5-16-top-mount-under-
mount-large-single-bowl-kitchen-sink-with-single-faucet-hole/productDetail/Undermount-Sinks/427698.htm?brandId=651508&skuId=407209&categoryId=651500&hash=id%3Dfilters%26startIndex%3D20%26scrollTop%3D200


Gordy, I thought these 2 and even 3 grind stage Insinkerators were pretty good as far as grinding stuff up enough? The one I bought is an Evolution Essential pro so it only has 2 stages but it seems pretty decent.

I need to pick up a spool of 12-2 NM-B this weekend and run a nice new 20A dedicated circuit for it. Also I'm proud to say our house will have one less S-trap after this project.

Thanks for all of the replies and help!

Weird

@ May 8, 2013 5:57 PM in 20+lb garbage disposal in large SS sink?

I really think Elkay is full of it but I have no way to know for sure.
Kohler said every kitchen sink they make will support it no problem at all.

The sinks I'm looking at are top mount so Id think its even less of a concern than bottom mount.

Elkay recommended two sinks in the $600-700 range. Don't get me wrong they are good looking sinks but a bit out of my price range.

20+lb garbage disposal in large SS sink?

@ May 8, 2013 3:46 PM in 20+lb garbage disposal in large SS sink?

I'm planning on installing a somewhat large single tub 33x22 kitchen sink and am concerned about it supporting a 20+lb insinkerator evolution disposal. I had my eyes on an Elkay sink so contacted their support and was informed the sink is not compatible with the disposer.


Curious on any experiences with this? I'm guessing a single tub 20 gauge 33x22 sink may be a lot weaker than say a 2 tub version but I can't see people buying special sinks for disposers like this? We want a single tub for washing large pans. I'm thinking the sink may work fine and Elkay just doesn't want to be responsible for it.

I was going to go for a Kohler cast iron sink but the wife hates how black shows all of the imperfections and she insists the sink be either stainless or black.

Types of compressors rotary vs recip - OLD fridges

@ May 7, 2013 10:59 AM in Types of compressors rotary vs recip - OLD fridges

I'm curious what the advantages and disadvantages of reciprocating and rotary compressors are?

As many know, I have been restoring two 1930s refrigerators for a while now and I've studied everything I can find on them.

One thing that had me wondering for a bit was why GE switched from SO2 to methyl formate for 2 years and then back to SO2. From what I've found it was due to non-condensibles causing problems due to moisture breaking the refrigerant down. This lead to service calls where repairmen would "bleed" the system and let the non-condensibles out without letting much if any refrigerant out. Either way it lead to angry customers.


What I don't understand is why GE used reciprocating compressors with SO2 but used a rotary design with the methyl formate.

I'm hoping someone may have an idea why? What I can tell you is SO2 is similar to R12 as far as operating pressures where methyl formate operates under a substantial vacuum on the evaporator side. My guess has been a rotary is better at low pressure operation but I have no clue honestly. Both use what appear to be called flooded evaporators where refrigerant flow is regulated with a highside float.

I have a 1933 and 1934 unit which are both methyl formate \rotary units and all I can say is I have never heard such a beautiful sounding pump anywhere else.

On a side note, both reciprocating and rotary compressors used on these have a unloader than holds the intake valve open until oil pressure reaches a certain point. This actually allows the pump to start with a high head pressure and I have personally tested it by unplugging the fridge for a second, allowing it to stop and plugging it back in. It started right up.

Oops

@ May 6, 2013 8:59 AM in Suction line frosting??

Hi Rich,

I worded that sentence very poorly, I'm sorry.
The suction line is insulated and they installed a sight glass on the liquid line. For some reason when I typed that I was thinking "they installed a sight glass on the system" and messed it all up. As I said earlier refrigeration is a hobby of mine but I've never really done much with it as far as central air systems. I own two gauge sets and have worked on automotive systems but when it comes to this stuff my hands don't belong on it in my opinion.

I just went out and double checked the color of the sight glass and all I see is it looks like its copper lined or the housing is made from copper with a post in the middle and the liquid looks clear. The cap for it does show yellow and green where green is marked dry but I don't see green or yellow in the glass.


At this point it sounds like something is definitely wrong so we're going to have the installer come have a look at it.

Moisture

@ May 5, 2013 10:30 AM in Suction line frosting??

I did notice the cap showed I think green and yellow. The glass it self I think was yellow tinted but I didn't notice anything weird other than the bubbles.

BTW when I checked for bubbles the line was NOT frosted and was actually barely cool As I said previously though the system isn't cooling very well either.

Joe

@ May 4, 2013 12:30 PM in Suction line frosting??

Hi Joe I know and believe me if it was mine you'd be the one doing the work. In fact if I ever get to the point where I can afford mini splits at home you'll be doing them. My boss has a guy he has used for many many years and he does good work so no reason for him to change.


The suction line is insulated and I noticed Friday they had installed a sight glass on it. I noticed quite a bit of bubbles going through it after an hour of running.

Frost

@ May 3, 2013 11:20 AM in Suction line frosting??

It was definitely frost. I'm sure all vents are wide open as I walk by them throughout the day.

Lines

@ May 3, 2013 8:57 AM in Suction line frosting??

The lines are probably around 40 feet long. I do remember them being run a way that was less than preferred just to keep them inside the building.

Unit does my office and one other area. We will be changing the filter today.

I'm curious, what is included with low ambient controls?