Jim Katen

I suspect the reason is that bonded sub-panels in the same building are more likely to cause problems with parallel paths. Most buildings - and particularly dwellings - are full of conductive paths. No so much with separate buildings. 

That might be why the rule morphed from "allowed in separate buildings" to "allowed in separate buildings only when there are no continuous metallic pathways between the two buildings," to "not allowed in separate buildings." 

No one here can help you. 

You need to work this out with the local electrical inspectors who will be inspecting the work. Call the building department and ask them for a meeting to go over your options. 

The first panel is Hardie Panel in a stucco design. It's on this page: https://www.jameshardie.com/products/hardiepanel-vertical-siding 

I can't tell much about the siding in the 2nd picture - it's too far away. 

I've never had that experience and I haven't heard about any problems with them. These are relatively cheaply mass produced devices, though. It's inevitable that a few klunkers will make it into people's panels. 

On 1/30/2023 at 10:51 AM, Steve M said:

I couldn't find a better place to ask this question...

Is there a better place for purchasing office supplies and equipment other than Office Depot, OfficeMax (now office depot?), and Staples? I used to love these places but they have changed, for the worse, and I'm sick and tired of spending my money with places that I don't view as good solid American First companies.

This quarter I'm looking at purchasing a new simple desk (my roll-top just isn't a good fit anymore), an HP Color Laserjet Multi-Function Printer (no wireless) - I will be offering color printed reports in addition to downloadable PDFs (for a fee of course - and I've already provided 2 with an inkjet - and I'm only just getting started), and a micro crosscut shredder that can handle cds, staples, c-cards, etc.

I look forward to interesting positive resources as well as an interesting discussion...

I strive as hard as I can to buy stuff locally - from people in my town, the surrounding towns or, if I can't find it there, then from within my state. If I can find a thing that's made in the USA, great, but if not, I'd rather buy foreign-made goods from my neighbors than from some far-flung corporate giant. I don't *not* buy from Amazon, but I avoid it when I can. 

You certainly have a local furniture store that can sell you a desk. That said, you're out of luck with the printer and shredder - you can buy directly from HP, but you're not going to be able to buy them without enriching some corporate giant. 

I'm curious about your idea of providing paper reports. Is this something that people actually want? 

The splits are damage that the tree suffered while it was still standing - perhaps the result of a severe wind storm. Sap entered the split areas and dried over time. Somehow, this made it past the lumber grader. After all this time, I wouldn't worry about it. 

I see that the minimum circuit ampacity is 10 amps . . . though if it's working, I guess that's all you need. 

Look at the furnace's rating plate - it's almost certainly going to be greater than 7.5 amps. 

Then just try bonding the grounding terminal to the neutral at the generator - even temporarily as a troubleshooting measure. 

Awful report. 

The pictures show a single post that's not centered in its pier block. That's not a big problem, it's not even a little problem. Don't worry about it. 

I'd be much more concerned about getting that electrical cable up off the ground, installing a vapor barrier on the ground, and installing some seismic retrofitting - if you're in the Bay Area. 

That's a great question. I didn't even look at the capacity of the generator. Most furnaces are going to need 8-10 amps, not the 7.5 that this one produces. It's possible that the generator just isn't producing enough power. 

According to the instructions ( https://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/manuals/Honda EU1000i Manual 2013.pdf  page 38), the equipment grounding wires are bonded to the frame of the generator but not to the neutral. This makes little sense  because the EGCs will never clear a fault that way. This also explains why your furnace won't work while connected to it. The instructions don't mention it, but there should be a bonding strap that bonds the neutral to the EGC. I'd make that connection and try again. 

If it's a portable generator that only uses extension cords, then there is no reason to make a connection to the earth. The frame of the generator is the "ground." As long as the extension cord has an intact equipment grounding conductor and as long as the grounding wire's socket and pin are it good condition, then the furnace will see this as grounded. 

Also, a generator is not an inverter and the furnace should not see it as one. 

Is this how your system is set up, or are you using a transfer switch? 

If this is a portable generator with an extension cord, the grounding shouldn't matter as long as you're using an extension cord with a grounding wire and intact connections at each end. 

If this is a permanent setup with a transfer switch, the generator should have its own grounding connection to the earth, just as you'd have at the power company's service point. 

Grounding problems to a furnace usually result in the flame sensor not working properly, in which case the unit would at least try to start up, but then shut down when it couldn't prove the flame. If the flame doesn't even try to start, something else it probably wrong, but I couldn't say what. Try calling Rheem. 

Do the burners try to light and fail or does the ignition cycle not even start? 

If you're going to start moving pins, definitely get a Molex extraction tool set. 

On 11/22/2022 at 11:35 AM, Loopy Wafflebrains said:

Jim, I found a bunch of documentation on mine. If it's useful, I can get a copy.

Is it online? 

Can you post it here? 

Not a concern. 

Salting and rusting elbows on a new-in-august furnace is not normal. No one here can tell you what the problem is without knowing a whole lot more information. However, I'd start by looking at the possibility of short cycling. How long does the furnace run each time it runs? 

The B vent doesn't need to project above the peak of the roof unless it's less than 8' from a vertical wall - then it need to run above that wall. 

If it's just on a sloped roof, the distance it has to extend depends on the slope. Here's a chart: 

1 hour ago, Jerry Simon said:

Out like Diogenes looking for a recent house sale?

Ha!

Oddly busy, in fact, given the market. 

Sorry to chime in so late. As the other guys have said, the prohibition appeared in the 1993 NEC. Of course, VA might have been slow to adopt that version, so it could have rolled in a few years later. 

I think you're addressing the symptom, not the problem. 

Contrary to your statement, modern washing machines discharge less (far, far less) water than older washers. If the new LG washer is causing the drain to overflow, its either because the drain is corroding on the inside and needs to be replaced, or because the person using the washer is putting too much detergent into it. Modern HE washers need a tablespoon or so of detergent. If you use the same amount that you used to use in an old top loader, you'll produce waaaay too many suds, which will choke up the drainpipe. 

Really, I can't stress this enough, use just a little bitty bit of detergent with any modern HE machine. 

As for your proposed solution. I have no idea what you're talking about. You say that you already put a larger pipe in, but that the wall won't let you put a larger pipe in, but you're going to put a larger pipe in. ???

How old is your house. What kind of pipe serves the washer? 

2 hours ago, Marc said:

A 2" thick solid concrete pad is needed above the celled concrete blocks, then above that, hardwood shims.

I agree that a 2" solid concrete pad should have been installed there. But that plan was screwed when the house was built - there's no room for a 2" pad now. Trying to add one isn't going to be worth the trouble and, in my experience, will just make a mess of things. You'll end up two steps behind where you are now. 

Personally, I'd cut my losses and call it good. 

I've used both, but I find that the phone is far less versatile. Aside from the poor macro capability and poor dark-attic performance, it's a terrible form factor for a camera; it forces me to use two hands to take a picture. With my regular camera, I take 95% of the shots one-handed. That just doesn't work with a phone. 

After some research, it looks like a Z wave receptacle. Either one or both sides can be controlled by a Z wave hub. As I understand it, this is a wireless version of the old X10 system. 

2 hours ago, Rich Bleich said:

Jacob, what are you hoping to accomplish by asking variations of the same questions on multiple forums?

He keeps repeating the questions because he doesn't like the answers that he gets the first time. 

He wants someone to tell him that a kid straight out of high school with no experience in construction, no experience running a business, and no secondary education can start and succeed in a home inspection business and make 6 figures out of the gate.