OT -- Tankless water heaters

[pfjw@aol.com]

On Wednesday, October 10, 2018 at 1:10:34 PM UTC-4, jurb...@gmail.com wrote:

"NOTE: Many gas cut-off valves require considerable hand strength, or have very short handles."

Around here they got no handles, you need a wrench.

Not much use in an emergency, then.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

 

[pfjw@aol.com]

On Wednesday, October 10, 2018 at 1:09:47 PM UTC-4, jurb...@gmail.com wrote:

"I used flex and a flaring tool. Flare-nut fittings are reliable, simple (remember to put the nut on before making the flare!), and effective."

And illegal in some areas. I heard Canada or parts of it. That means all the stoves and dryers are hard piped in. It is not that hard as long as the floor is level and solid. Obviously you have to use a union and it helps if the two sides connect.

WOW!

Storage water heaters do not vibrate, also true of tankless units. Also true (effectively) with most boilers and well-designed furnaces. But Dryers? Hard-piping a dryer without accommodation for vibration is a recipe for disaster. And, how does one service a hard-piped stove? Are you sure?

How insurance works with a suspended license: The Insurance Company insures the vehicle, and what it does, not the driver. So, they will pay any valid claims to the limit of your policy. However, the will not defend you as they would if you were driving legitimately. You will eat the legal costs. And the costs of any appeal(s), and so forth.

How insurance works with sub-standard work: We have our house insured for Actual Replacement Cost/Replacement in Kind. That, as it happens, comes with an estimated limit of $1,300,000. It is a center-hall colonial built in 1890 and so forth. You may bet that our insurance company verified everything in the house prior to writing the policy, including an on-site inside/out.

I do something - the house burns down as a result. Two possibilities:
a) If that "something" is specified within the limits of the policy as "must be done by licensed mechanic", I am SOL. They will pay legitimate liability claims (such as burning down the house next door), but nothing on the house.
b) If that "something" is not on the By-Licensed list, they will pay without demur. I might not get coverage again, but they will pay.
c) I can do anything I want, listed or not, as long as I have it inspected by the proper people or organization(s). A record of acceptance covers everything.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

 

>"But Dryers? Hard-piping a dryer without accommodation for vibration is a recipe for disaster."

Yes but there are ways. If you have a certain length of pipe in a certain direction and another perpendicular sorta, it is hard to explain but it can be done. I wouldn't want to do it. Plus note that I am not sure of the specifics. I said "I heard" and while there was no reason to lie that doesn't mean I got the details, like the exemptions.

>"How insurance works with a suspended license: The Insurance Company insures the vehicle, and what it does, not the driver. So, they will pay any valid claims to the limit of your policy. However, the will not defend you as they would if you were driving legitimately. You will eat the legal costs. And the costs of any appeal(s), and so forth. "

It is a little bit different here. Insurance does go with the car usually and it gets complicated when driving other people's cars. The payee must have a vested interest in the car and sometimes that includes the loan company.. If it is paid off you can get just simple liability to be legal, full coverage is then an option.

You could also get or post a financial responsibility bond. this allows yo to drive anything but a commercial vehicle. If you get one from a company the policy gives them the right as well as the obligation to settle the matter. The downside is if your liability limit is say $ 100,000 they can settle for a million and leave you holding the bag for the other $ 900,000.

It got fucked up by insurance lobbyists, the same type of folks who wrote Obamacare. (the ACA)

>"You may bet that our insurance company verified everything in the house prior to writing the policy, including an on-site inside/out. "

They rarely do that around here. they do a questionnaire though. the also inspect form the outside. It seems their main concern is liability, which is understandable, not so much if you got too old a furnace or whatever. They ask what amperage service the house has, if it is 100 or more they assume it has modern wiring and breakers. They had no idea what I had going on in the basement but they did send a notice once telling up we must put more gravel in the driveway, someone could trip and fall. They REALLY want to know if you have a swimming pool, and of course a fence around it.

>"c) I can do anything I want, listed or not, as long as I have it inspected by the proper people or organization(s). A record of acceptance covers everything. "

Pretty much the same. It can be inspected after the fire as well so as long as everything is done right they can't weasel out of it. But then you do have to read the policy. I won't get Allstate because a friend of mine got a policy with them and it was not what was agreed, he called and they changed it, still not right, he called again and they changed it again, still not right. Then he dropped their ass. See, they think nobody is going to read the fine print. Well I don't know how I attracted my crowd but they all read the fine print. Most also read the labels on food now. We all wait until all else fails before reading the manual though that goes with the territory.

People just believe people. I wasn't there when they were making the deal for my Mother's new driveway, they put it about an inch higher than the old one so water now gets in the garage and it doesn't match the steps in front anymore. I would have sued but it is too late now. I'm sure they would have said "That's code" and I would have said "Show me on the book" and they would get me to the wrong section about surveying and all this and say it must be at that level. This is only true of certain things, not a driveway. Come on, the thing isn't level anyway and how do they explain basements ? I would have told them GTFO. They also sold her a bunch of useless drain cleanouts that now make plowing almost impossible. I might cut them off this year. We might be able to get the city top come and plow for free. Problem is how to do it. I need to stuff something in there and then have enough room for a little bit of cement.

But whenever a contractor says something is code tell him "Show me the book" and then really pay attention, make sure that $ 1,000 job that must be done instead of the $ 200 job REALLY DOES apply to THAT job. Fucking god damn goniffs, and it is like almost all of them. That is why the people for whom I do work will have nobody else. Plus I charge in stages so if they want to pay cash and not get a loan they can do that more easily.

Laws do vary state to state and I wouldn't want to make a new start in another location at this late date in life. I can satisfy them here, but like California, if they really dragged me there in chains, kicking and screaming I still wouldn't try it there. Earthquake code and all this shit, fuck all that. I'm sure I can do it once I learn about it but I simply won't.