What the Sub-Zero manual doesn't tell you: Part II

Ever since the original problem was diagnosed 8 months ago, I knew what to do when the pool of water appeared on the floor under the freezer.  That drain tube had frozen up yet again. 

So, out came the drawers and the ice got chipped away.  Finally, boiling water cleared out the tube.  Until next time.  It was ok when "next time" was several months away.  But when the problem happened much more frequently than that., like every week or two, I had enough. 

I bit the bullet today and shelled out the $400 bucks to have the heating unit installed on the floor of the refrigerator section.  Sub zero did such a great job designing it...you don't lose an inch of space in the fridge.  Too bad they didn't do such a great job designing the fridge itself .

My 650 is a 2000 model.  I have a 550 that's two years older, also with the freezer on the bottom.  It never had a problem.  It seems clear to me that sub zero used an inferior insulation material between the fridge and freezer on the newer models.  Sub zero sold a defective product and should be offering heater kit installations for free!! 

Would be interested in hearing from others who've had this problem.

We know you want your big screen TV

By know you all know that California wants to ban big screen TVs that don't meet certain energy efficiency standards beginning in 2011.  They estimate an energy savings of 33% once this goes into effect.  Another set of standards goes into effect in 2013 and is supposed to save 49% in energy costs.

So what's wrong with that??  To hear the howls this proposal has provoked, you'd think that they were taking the NFL off the air.  C'mon people.  Stop overreacting.  All this proposal is doing is forcing the TV manufacturers to make their products more energy efficient. 

It's not like this is the first time appliances needed to become more efficient.  Back in the "70s the government mandated more energy friendly refrigerators and other appliances.  Now you have the Energy Star ratings that many consumers rely on when they go shopping.  And who (other than the car  and oil industries) is objecting to the regulation of MPG standards for cars?

California is on the right track.  It won't be long before other states follow suit.

What the Sub-Zero manual doesn't tell you

We’ve had a Sub-Zero refrigerator for about 8 years and never had any problems with it. Until recently. I kept finding water drips on the floor and it looked as if it was leaking from the bottom freezer compartment. Thought an ice cube or two had fallen out because it was intermittent. It would be dry for a few days, then leak like crazy, and then stop again. Strange. We cleared out the freezer (needed to do that anyway) and made sure the door seals were clean and tight.
The leaks continued so it was time to call in the professionals. Turns out there’s a condensation drain hose in the fridge behind the vegetable drawer. When he pulled the drawer out, there was the drain and, sure enough, it was clogged with ice. He cleaned it out and poured boiling water to clear the tube all the way through. When the drain was clogged, the condensation had nowhere to go but move out toward the front of the fridge, down the left side door and onto the floor. Once that drain hose was cleared, no more leaks. The tech suggested a periodic cleaning of the drain hose with boiling water to prevent further clogs. The Sub-Zero care manual doesn’t even mention the existence of this drain, much less instruct you to keep it clear.
The tech mentioned that he has seen this problem recur in many Sub-Zeros because, after time, the insulation between the fridge on top and the bottom freezer can disintegrate, allowing the cold air to penetrate the fridge and freeze the condensation in the drain tube. Apparently there’s a heater kit Sub-Zero will sell you to compensate for its crummy insulation but it’s expensive to buy and install. So, for now, I’m sticking with boiling water.
Has anyone out there had this problem too? How have you dealt with it?

My Maytag fridge recall experience

 
You may have seen the recent recall of Maytag refrigerators due to a faulty relay that was prone to ignite. Unbeknownst to me, I was in possession of one the recalled appliances: a Jenn Air side-by-side located in my pool cabana that I just reopened. I wanted to report that Maytag is doing a great job of handling the recall and the repair.
Last week I received a letter that clearly stated the problem and told me which serial and model prefixes to look for. After I verified that my appliance was affected, I called the designated phone number. Since it was programmed to attend only to recall customers, the response was quick and easy. After just a few minutes on the phone, I had a service appointment scheduled for the next morning. I couldn’t believe it! The techs called to confirm the appointment and again when they were on their way. The repair was done in less than five minutes and appropriate documentation was left with me.
Appliance recalls are generally no fun, but I have to give Maytag credit for how this one was handled.

Proceed with caution

 

 

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So, your furnace isn't working?

It’s been getting cold here in New Jersey and I’ve started to get the usual calls: my gas furnace isn’t working, or it seems to be on but I’m not getting enough heat. What should I do?
If your furnace isn’t working at all, there are several possible reasons. First, check your thermostat. If the temperature is set too low, it will not signal the furnace to generate heat. First make sure the thermostat is set to “heat” and that the temperature is high enough to call for heat.
If the setting’s ok,  the thermostat itself may be the problem. Try moving the temperature setting up or down a few degrees and listen for the “click” to make sure the thermostat is working properly and sending the signal for heat to the furnace. If you don’t hear anything, you could open it up and clean the contacts, unless it’s a digital thermostat. 
Another possibility is that the circuit breaker or fuse that controls the furnace is tripped or blown. Replace any blown fuse or reset a tripped circuit breaker, if that’s the problem.
At the furnace itself, the gas control valve may be closed or the pilot light’s gone out. It’s easy enough to open the valve or relight the pilot light yourself or you could call a service professional if you like.
If your furnace seems to be operating but not giving off enough heat, you probably haven’t had it serviced in a while. Possible causes could include a dirty furnace air filter or dirty gas burners. I would suggest you call a service professional to change the filters and to clean and adjust the gas burners. A furnace should be serviced annually, before the heating season to keep it operating at peak efficiency. 

The mystery of the leaking skylights, and other unwanted drips

A few years ago, we did a kitchen renovation.  Large room, Euro-style, floor to ceiling glass sliding doors, skylights.  The roof wasn't quite flat, it had a very slight pitch. The  skylights had been installed on a very low curb so we increased the curb to approximately a 4 on 12 pitch, which is the minimum that the manufacturer will warranty for leaks.  We did a torch roll roof, which is common for flat roofs, and also up and around the skylights.  

It took a couple of years before the drips started.  Whenever it would rain, there'd be water leaking into the kitchen.  We resealed the skylight units multiple times.  The leaks stop, then start again a few months later.  It seems that the seasonal temperature changes constantly cause the drip to reappear. Also, strangely enough, there are 3 skylights and they seem to take turns leaking. 

We're now planning on installing a much higher curb and increasing the pitch to a minimum of 6 on 12.  One of the reasons we want to change to the higher pitched curb is so we can use standard roof shingle and not torch roll, which is melted directly to the skylight.  The reason for this is it would seem that the change in temperature is causing a  break in the bond between the roof material and the aluminum flashing.

One of the many "might as wells" when we were doing this reno was to put ceramic tile over the flat roof area as it made for a fantastic place to have an outside deck with plenty of privacy and a great view.  Since then, we've had a calcium and lime deposit problem.  It seems that the calcium and lime in the cement under the tile is leaching out, causing an ugly white drip on the wood siding and decking below.  At first the drippings from the ceramic deck caused the aluminum gutter to rot out, actually burning holes in the aluminum.  We then changed it to a PVC gutter system but as is typical with PVC, because it expands and contracts so much and can't be sealed permanently, it tends to also drip this white residue. 

We finally have come to the realization that the easiest way to fix this problem is to remove the tile and install a pea gravel coating on the deck which hopefully will give the effect of sitting on the beach. We'll be using pea gravel not only for the beachy effect but the light color will reflect heat and UV rays keeping the kitchen below cooler and adding longevity to the roofing material.

We'll let you know how this goes.  If anyone has encountered similar problems, especially with the calcium and lime drip from ceramic tile, let us know.

Diagnosing a Pool Problem

Don't get me wrong. I love my pool. On a sweltering afternoon, there's no place I'd rather be. Recently, though, I was ready to just truck in the dirt and turn it into a big planter.

It all started at the end of last summer. I found myself needing to add water to the pool on a daily basis because otherwise the level would drop beneath the skimmer intakes and too much air entered the pump system. I have a leak, I told my pool guy. Evaporation, he said. I wasn't buying it.

 Then the pool was closed for the season. We use a solid pool cover with an automatic pump to remove the accumulated rain and melted snow.

By the time the pool was reopened, there wasn't much water left in it. I have a leak in the pool, I said again. No, the pool maven said.  You probably have a hole in the pool cover and the pump was pumping out the water from inside the pool.  I wasn't buying it.

We refill the pool, turn on the equipment and set up the poolbot, an automatic floor vacuum. After several days, I find the pool needing water again on a daily basis. Pool guy replaces some "leaky" valves on the pool pump.  But the water level still goes down daily. He looks and finds nothing wrong. Now he thinks I'm just a cranky customer.  And maybe I am.  But I'm still convinced there's something wrong.

Then the water level really goes down: the poolbot line has sprung a leak so we shut it down. By now I have my ex husband, my contractor and all my friends and family offering up advice.

Get rid of the poolbot, they say. The wrong pipe was installed and it's always going to leak. That's been your problem all along. So, we fix the break in the line and plan to jackhammer up my beautiful stone pooldeck after the season to reinstall new hard pipe.

But the pool continues to lose water, about an inch per day.

Then, early one morning, I see that the water level is down about a foot and we rush out to find that a plug has failed on the water heater and water is just gushing out. A coincidence? Maybe. We fix the plug.  But that doesn't fix the daily water loss.

This is where I'm ready to throw in the towel, excuse the pun.  There've been too many problems with this pool, and it isn't even July 4th yet. I start each morning with a call to my pool guy who I'm sure is ducking me. But I know there's something else wrong.

The pool guy is now talking about bringing in a diver, and all sorts of major and costly pool projects. But I keep telling him to check the left skimmer basket, which seems overly active to me. He sees nothing wrong but checks anyway.

In his hand is a 79 cent bottle of blue food coloring, which he proceeds to squeeze out in drops next to the pool wall tiles near the skimmer. He uses it to follow the water current. If there's no leak, the dye remains where he put it. But if there's a leak...I found it! he says. And he shows me: there's a small hole between the pool tiles and when he squirts out some dye near it, the water is just sucked out of that hole so fast you can barely see the dye go in. In about 5 minutes, he's used 50 cents worth of putty to plug the hole.

You guessed it: no more leaks.

So what's the lesson for all of us homeowners? We should use our common sense when we suspect a problem and not let the experts lead us to a costly and possibly unnecessary solution.

Has anything like this happened to you?

A/C on the fritz?

A few years ago I built a beautiful home and explained to the client the need for regular maintenance on the various service systems.  Typical of many people, they neglected to have their equipment serviced on a regular basis.

Approximately two years after they moved in, water was pouring through the 2nd floor ceilings caused by a frozen air handler, which is part of the air conditioning system.  A simple air filter change a couple of  times a year would have allowed the unit to breathe properly and therefore it never would have frozen up, causing extensive water damage in the home.

Spending a few dollars on regular maintenance would have saved them thousands in repairs.

Keep things cool

Recently we answered an email from someone asking about why his fridge wasn't staying cold even though he heard it running.

Not long ago I was checking some items in the kitchen and decided to pull the grill off of the top of my subzero refrigerator, just to look inside.  I noticed that the coil was clogged with dust, grime, etc. and I figured this couldn't be a good thing. I vacuumed the coil and it's now running more efficiently than before.  So, even though I'm a fanatic about maintaining my heating and cooling air filters, dust can still make its way around. 

I recommend cleaning around the fridge coils 3 to 4 times each year to keep the appliance running at peak efficiency.  It's an easy thing you can do yourself to reduce your energy costs and keep things cool in your fridge.

 

Scam Artists Target Homeowners

It can happen to the savviest homeowner.  You get a call or knock on the door from a handyman or other service provider.  They're in your neighborhood servicing other homes and offer to clean your gutters, sweep your chimney, or perform some other maintenance task.  They offer you a discounted rate, since they're there anyway.  Sounds reasonable.  You agree.

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