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How do the humidity levels run in your home when it is warm and humid outside, and with the a/c running?
If the levels are higher than 50%, the installers may need to look at airflow, duct leakage, and refrigerant charge, especially if the system does not have a thermostatic expansion valve (TXV) metering device. A newly installed system with a fixed restrictor metering device (commonly called a "piston" or "flow rater" needs to be critically charged (that is, the proper refrigerant charge level installed), and that can only be done if the airflow is right and the ducts leak minimally. An overcharge or an undercharge will affect how well the system cools and dehumidifies.
A TXV will net better dehumidification performance from your system, but does not negate the need for airflow and duct air tightness to be addressed. It is not a bandage for inadequate system design and installation.
The house itself is usually the larger offender for humidity infiltration. Ideally, a reasonably tight house with a well performing a/c does a fine job handling interior humidity levels, even when outdoor temperatures are cooler. Most American homes leak too much, and they leak in a fashion that is not controllable. You want to control the leakage so you still get required fresh air but do not have a desirable indoor environment that is difficult to maintain. This is best done by sealing air leaks in the home, and bringing in fresh air mechanically, dehumidifying it in summer and adding humidity to it in winter. |
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Gas Valve
When you look at a gas valve, imagine two valves in series.
The gas port where the tube to the pilot light connects is between the two valves, so that gas can flow to the pilot light as long as the first valve, or "safety" valve is open. If the second valve, or "main" valve is open, it can also flow to the burner trays.
Both valves are operated by electromagnets. The electric power to hold the first valve open, and therefore allow gas flow to the pilot light comes from the thermocouple or thermopile immersed in the pilot light flame. The thermocouple or thermopile generates electricity from the heat of the pilot light flame.
So, if the pilot light flame goes out, then the voltage to hold the safety electromagnetic valve open is lost and the safety valve closes, thereby shutting off gas flow completely, including the gas flow to the pilot light.
The second electromagnetic valve in the gas valve, the "main" valve, allows gas flow through a much larger tube to the burner trays. This second electromagnetic valve gets power from either a 24 VAC transformer or the thermopile. Up until recently flue dampers were not required on water heaters so 120 VAC power wasn't needed to operate hot water heaters. As a result hot water heaters typcially used thermopiles to generate more electricity than a thermocouple could, and used that electricity to operate both electromagnetic valves in the water heater's gas valve.
A thermopile is nothing more than about 25 thermocouples all connected in series, so that a thermopile generates about 750 millivolts instead of the 30 millivolts that a thermocouple produces.
On a boiler or furnace, there will be 120 VAC power available to operate the circulating pump or blower, and so by using a 24 volt transformer this 120 volt power can be converted into the same 24 VAC power that the safety controls on a boiler or furnace operate on. By simply putting the second electromagnetic valve in series with all of the safety controls, the second electromagnetic valve will open and allow gas to flow to the burner trays as long as every safety control in that "control circuit" allows power to flow through it. If any safety control detects a problem, it interrupts the circuit to that second electromagnetic valve, thereby shutting off gas flow to the burner trays (but not the pilot light).
This is where I fly off on a tangent:
Typically, the thermostat in a house won't be connected directly to that 24 VAC control circuit to the main valve in the gas valve. That's because to heat up a house you also need the boiler's circulating pump or furnace blower to come on to deliver the heat to the house. I'm much more familiar with hot water heating systems, so I'll describe the typical arrangement for a boiler. Typically the thermostat will be connected to a double pole 24 volt relay, and when that relay gets energized, it completes two circuits; a 120 VAC circuit to the boiler circulating pump or furnace blower, and a 24 VAC circuit through to the temperature control (or "aquastat") on the boiler. When power flows through that aquastat circuit, it energizes a second relay that completes a 24 VAC circuit through all the safety controls to the "main valve" in the gas valve. So, as long as the thermostat is calling for heat, the aquastat is controlling the boiler temperature setting (from 160 to 190 deg. F) and turning on and shutting off the gas valve to maintain the boiler water temperature at that setting. If the first relay completed the circuit to the gas valve directly, then the boiler would keep firing until it kicked itself out on high limit. By having that first relay control a circuit through the aquastat that controls a second relay which operates the gas valve, then the aquastat controls the gas valve to, in turn, control the water temperature in the heating system. A boiler will typically have a "ladder diagram" which shows the start up sequence as sequence of "loops" (kinda like a ladder).
Newer boilers or furnaces will simply have a "controller" that the thermostat connects to that does all this and more.
Back to the chase...
So, to diagnose a gas valve, first check to see if the pilot light is on. If so, then the thermocouple or thermopile is generating enough voltage to keep the safety valve open. If the appliance is a hot water heater but it's not firing up, the thermopile might be weak. It may be producing enough power to open the safety valve, but not enough to open both the safety and main valves together. If replacing the thermopile doesn't work, then you need a new gas valve.
If the appliance is a boiler or furnace, it'll use 24 VAC to operate the "main" valve. Check to see if you're getting 24 VAC at the terminals on the gas valve. If so, and the boiler or furnace isn't firing up, then you need a new gas valve. If you don't have 24 VAC at the gas valve terminals, check for continuity across all the safety devices in the control circuit of the boiler or furnace as it's likely one of the safety devices is interrupting the circuit to the main valve.
The "button" you have to push on a gas valve when lighting the pilot light simply overrides the first electromagnetic valve to allow gas to flow to the pilot light. Once the thermocouple or thermopile is hot enough, the electricity it generates will be sufficient to hold that electromagnet open and you can release that "button". This can often take a few seconds.
Also, thermocouples gradually lose their ability to generate sufficient voltage to operate that safety electromagnet, and when they do, gas flow to the pilot light stops. So, a pilot light that won't stay lit is often the result of an old and weak thermocouple. Different thermocouples get replaced differently. Most of the time you can just pull down on them to pull them out of a spring clip that holds them in place. Other thermocouples will be held in with a thumb screw you loosen from below to pull the thermocouple out. Basically, if it doesn't have a thumb screw on the bottom, pull down on it.
Some gas appliances, like natural gas burning fireplaces will have a "dual" pilot light that has two pilot light flames; one for a thermocouple and the other that continuously heats a thermopile. The thermocouple will produce the voltage to hold the safety valve open in the gas valve, and the thermopile will produce the voltage that goes through the control circuit to the second electromagnetic valve. In this way, the fire place can be turned on, turned up, turned down and shut off with just the turn of a switch even without external electric power being supplied to it.
This is what a thermoCOUPLE looks like:
The copper "tube" is really a coaxial cable. The outside of the cable is copper and there's an insulated copper wire that runs inside it. When the end of the thermocouple is heated, a voltage is generated between the two copper conductors.
This is what a thermoPILE looks like:
The distinguishing characteristic of a thermopile is that it connects to the gas valve with two electric wires (each with a terminal crimped onto it) rather than with a single nut like the thermocouple does.
And, finally, since both a thermocouple and a thermopile simply create a voltage difference between two wires when their ends are heated, different lengths of thermocouples will all generate the same voltage, just as thermopiles of different length. So you can use a longer thermocouple to replace a shorter one, and use a longer thermopile to replace a shorter one. They're like extension cords or garden hoses or battery booster cables in that respect. That's important to know when you're water heater's pilot light goes out and the hardware store doesn't have a thermopile of the right length. (Just buy a longer one.)
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Kitchen Remodeling Edition
The kitchen is evolving. No longer is it viewed as a place solely to prepare and cook food. Instead, it has transformed into a space that can be truly utilized for living & entertaining friends and family.
In essence, out of all the rooms in the house, the kitchen is often the family hangout. Parents are cooking or checking e-mails, the TV is on, and the kids are doing their homework — all at the same time, all in the same room.
The next generation kitchen will be a place not only for cooking, but also for social and everyday interaction. Kitchen remodeling trends now concentrate on the kitchen as the ‘hub‘of the household, incorporating the functional aspects of a kitchen with the ability to relax and enjoy the surroundings.
 
The trends in kitchen remodeling and design are set to focus on comfort and usability. Imagine a kitchen that incorporates a couch, a television, a coffee table, and internet access into its space. This is the future of kitchen design.
The kitchen space is set to evolve to incorporate all of the needs of everyday life.
As it becomes increasingly hard to juggle the tasks of every day life, this is a room to fit around your lifestyle. Having a ‘live- in room‘provides a family space where you can prepare a meal whilst helping the kids with their homework. It is versatile and very useable.
This trend seems a natural progression in a period when open planned living has become the chosen preference for most households. Remodeling the kitchen into a live-in room therefore will add a new level of comfort and practicability to a style of living that most Americans have already adopted. As the kitchen continues to be the most used space in the household, adapting this space to be truly comfortable and useable is a key to utilizing the function of the space.
From the ductwork installation point of view, kitchen remodeling requires resolving of some important issues, which could arise during the remodeling process.
For example:
- Bathbox installation/relocation
- High wall heat installation
- Toe kick heat installation
If in your kitchen remodeling project you are moving or removing a wall, you may find out that an existing heat is no longer can serve your kitchen aria and should be moved to another location. It is why I give you three options of resolving this problem:
If you have unoccupied span of wall you can install a bath box, if not, you can install the bath box high above your wall cabinets, or you can set it low and bring so necessary heat to your kitchen aria as a Toe Kick heat.
Next and the most important part of your kitchen-remodeling project is a kitchen exhaust. Here you can also have three options:
- Microwave Hood exhaust
- Kitchen Hood exhaust
- Downdraft Range exhaust
All three of them require resolving of some ductwork installation issues and you are able to find the solutions in this book.
The “Jumper Installation” chapter of this book gives you insight how to run a heat or exhaust if you unable to run it as a “straight shot”.
All the chapters are very cheap and the book price is even cheaper than combine price of all chapters. However, you may be worry that there is no answer to your particular question or issue, and then you have two options:
- You can buy the book and if you are unable to find an answer to your particular question I will answer it free of charge
- You can ask your question before the book purchasing and I will tell you if there is an answer in the book. You can type your question here.
- Bath Box Installation
- High Wall Heat Installation
- Toe Kick Heat Installation
- "Jumper" Installation
- Kitchen Exhaust
- Tools and Materials
Price for the book is only $7.49, please click BuyNow button below and purchase an Instant Access to the downloadable version!
Or you can buy any one of the four chapters of the book below!
What is a Range Hood?
Currently on my website, I have quite a few very important books and pages where you can find out how things should be done right. So, let’s talk about why it is so important for you as a homeowner to have these books or to see these pages.
Recently one of my customers sent me these pictures below:
 
In these pictures, you can see a 120k BTU-s furnace with the 5-ton AC – looks good, right? However, this particular homeowner is having a lot of problems with his system of ductwork it is why he had purchased both noise elimination pages on my website!
So, what is wrong?
Look at the picture to your left. If this is a 120k BTU-s furnace with 5 ton AC a cold air drop is undersized, instead of 24 x 10 it should be 24 x 12 and it should be connected to the furnace the other way. There are actually two ways how such furnace should be connected to the cold air return duct, see both of them below:
 
Secondly, the hacks who had this system installed did not mount any canvases. It suppose to be two of them one for the return and another for the supply ducts!
In the picture to your right, you can see how these so-called pro-s connected the furnace
 to the supply duct. By the way, instead of 24 x 12-supply duct they just used 22 x 8!
So, instead of using a plenum, starting transition and canvas (see the picture to your left) they tapped the plenum directly to the bottom of the supply duct! It is why a homeowner is having those bang and oil-canning noises!
So what is this all about? Well, it is about the notion that you cannot trust anyone who claims that he/she is a pro and can do any type of installation the right way! As a homeowner, you must do your homework, as a homeowner you must know if a contractor you are hired knows what he/she is doing. Moreover, it does not matter if you are decided to do it yourself or hire a contractor – you will spend thousands and thousands of dollars and you should be aware that these hard-earned dollars could be wasted and do not wait for another ten years and suddenly find out that the job was done wrong!
All the books and pages on my website are very cheap. If you compare the price of the Ductwork Installation Guide (it is the highest one on my website – $75) with the price of a new construction system installation (the cheapest one is about $10000) it would be only 0.75% - does it worth of suffering? I do not think so….
Therefore:
Currently I almost do not have free pages on my website, but all the prices here are very low and many of my customers keep emailing me until their questions are answered, I think it make sense.
Instant Download:
After you have purchased a paid page, PayPal is going to bring you back to my website. In order to see the paid page you have to click on the “Register” button, fill out the form, choose your own Username and Password and click on the “Register” button at the bottom of the form – congratulation, you are on the page you are paid for!
Important: After you have purchased any Paid page or Download page and PayPal brought you back to my website, the first thing that you should do is to save that page in your Favorites. Then if something went wrong you always can come back to reregister yourself on my website again.
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1. Toe Kick Heat Installation – the chapter covers several topics and gives explanations:
- How to make openings in the floor and in the cabinet
- What kind of fitting should be used
- How to cut a take-off in
- How to run a pipe
- How to terminate a heat run
The chapter could be useful for the kitchen or bathroom remodeling project or to any project alike. The chapter has five pages, 10 pictures. $2.50. (Instant Access).
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2. High Wall Heat – the chapter covers several topics and gives explanations:
- How to install High Wall Heat and what kind of fitting should be used
- How to measure, cut, and put together piece of oval stack or pipe
The chapter could be useful for the kitchen or bathroom remodeling projects or to any project alike. The chapter has four pages, two pictures in it. Price of the chapter is only $2.50 (Instant Access).
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3. “JUMPER” INSTALLATION – the chapter gives explanations:
- How to run a “jumper” to the Toe Kick 90*
- How to run a “jumper” to the Oval Stack
The chapter could be useful for the kitchen or bathroom remodeling projects or to any project alike. The chapter has nine pages, twenty pictures in it. Price of the chapter is only  2.50 (Instant Access) |
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4. MICROWAVE HOOD, JENN AIR, KITCHEN HOOD
 the chapter describes all three cases of the kitchen exhausts: Kitchen Hood, Microwave Oven Hood, Jenn-Air Fan; explains the roof and wall caps installation; covers the ductwork installation. Chapter has 10 pages, 30 pictures. Price of the chapter is only $2.50 (Instant Access).
This discussion took place on the forum.doityourself.com website:
Question
I have a GE JV966DSS that calls for 7" ducting. It is rated at 600 CFM with two fans installed 30" over a 36" GE gas cook top with 5 burners. Well, the HVAC person came when I wasn't home, and installed 6" ducting instead, about 30" of it through the roof. Poor communication on my part. Should I call him back to install 7" instead? How much effectiveness did I reduce by going with 6" vs. 7"? Thank you in advance.
Answer
With 600 CFM I think 7” would be too small. I think an eight inch would be better so the static pressure is not off the chart. But I would add that I would go with what the manufacture recommend. Make sure you seal the duct because it will push any grease out the seams at that kind of pressure.
Feedback
Thanks. Well, I called the HVAC Company. They said they don't install 7" ducting. They have 8" ducting, but only install them if the hood calls for 8". He said 6" shouldn't reduce the efficiency too much. I don't agree with him as it stated clearly in the manual that going smaller will decrease the efficiency. A 15% decrease in diameter will reduce the flow by almost 50%, the equivalent of doubling the length of the pipe I suppose. With the length of my pipe at 45’, it effectively increases it to 90’, technically still below the 100 ft maximum length per manufacturer. I am not happy, but they are not going to install either 7" or 8".
That’s it! But what that homeowner could do, I think you already got the answer! Of course if he would purchase the MICROWAVE HOOD, JENN AIR, KITCHEN HOOD chapter then:
- He could do it himself
- He would be know how this installation should be done and hire someone
- He could ask me some questions before this started and after it’s done
I know I know the price of any home improvement project easily adds up, and even $2.50 for this chapter seems too high when you already spent hundreds of dollars on everything else. It is true, but what this guy is going to do now… have the answer?
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5. BathBox Installation – the chapter covers bathbox installation in the interior wall. The chapter  could be useful for the kitchen or bathroom remodeling projects or to any project alike. The chapter has two pages, one picture in it. Price of the chapter is only $1.49 (Instant Access). |
| If you are not completely satisfied with information on this page please check out links to the other websites above and below of the YouTube unit, you may find some useful information there. |
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