Furnace / AC

Gmaper said:
That is very interesting. :yes:

Looking at how many $$$ per month for water heating indicates to me that your heating cost is a real bargain. The cost for hot water seems reasonable unless you happen to be providing hot water for the whole neighborhood in which case I'd question the accuracy of your meter (but don't call them to have it checked :no:).

Does it not get cold where you live? Maybe you keep your thermostat at 55 degrees in the winter? You secretly get heat from your neighbors? I think it is amazing. :D

If you happen to find a unit figure for therms or CCF or MCF for one of those months I'd sure be interested in knowing the amount.
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It's Nebraska. It gets pretty cold. I keep the thermostat at 68 at night and 72 in the day. Winter or summer.

The funny thing is that my windows suck. I'll probably replace those next year.
 
TangoWhiskey said:
Do it NOW... it gets much more expensive once the bottom rusts out and spills water. Don't ask me how I know. If you haven't replaced it, maintained it or flushed it on schedule, get preemptive.
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I haven't done any maintenance on my water heater (electric) or HVAC (heat pump) since I moved in (5 years). What exactly should I be doing to them, other than changing the filter on the HVAC?
 
Ted DuPuis said:
I haven't done any maintenance on my water heater (electric) or HVAC (heat pump) since I moved in (5 years). What exactly should I be doing to them, other than changing the filter on the HVAC?
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Don't know about a heat-pump, I've actually never seen one. If it has an outdoor unit like a normal central A/C, about the only exterior maintenance you can do is keep the coils clear of grass/weeds. Once a year, use a low pressure garden hose and wash out any collected dirt, dust, grass, leaves, ..., off the cooling fins. Don't blast it with water, you'll damage the fins.

Interior - just keep changing the filter. Run a little bleach down the drain line to keep mold, mildew, and slime from forming.

Probably a good idea every couple or three years to get the pressure checked to make sure it's not leaking.

Water heaters - there are mixed messages on them. Some people say to drain some water out of it once a year to get any sediment out. Some folks say to test the overpressure valve once in a while (and some say not to because they are notorious for leaking once they are used). They seem to have a particular life expectancy, and preventive maintenance doesn't seem to extend that too much.
 
Matthew said:
Water heaters - there are mixed messages on them. Some people say to drain some water out of it once a year to get any sediment out. Some folks say to test the overpressure valve once in a while (and some say not to because they are notorious for leaking once they are used). They seem to have a particular life expectancy, and preventive maintenance doesn't seem to extend that too much.
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Someone recently told me that they had heard it's a good idea to drain and refill your water heater every so often. I have never done that and mine lasted 19 years. I had it replaced because I saw a little dribble of water coming from the bottom. However, I have heard of other people who had the tank let go all at once.
 
Everskyward said:
Someone recently told me that they had heard it's a good idea to drain and refill your water heater every so often. I have never done that and mine lasted 19 years. I had it replaced because I saw a little dribble of water coming from the bottom. However, I have heard of other people who had the tank let go all at once.
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I attached a hose to the heater drain valve which runs to a floor drain (along with the drains for the furnace and water softener) and I open the drain valve for a minute every year or so. This stirs up the sediments at the bottom of the tank and flushes them out so they don't insulate the water from the flame. Today's heaters are "glass lined" which I assume means they can't rust from the inside out other than the pipe fittings. Mine's been doing fine for almost 25 years.
 
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