Twinsprings Research Institute

Toilet Drain Adjustment

Posted on February 24, 2016 by ellen

No wonder I feel bogged down. Installing the offset toilet drain took me several hours across two days. Not predicting well how much standing drain pipe I needed, I cut a little bit of pipe at a time using a dremel tool and cutoff wheel at least four times until the lower pipe set mostly inside the drain. Then I needed to chip out concrete to allow the offset part of the drain to sit lower in the concrete.

Floor Drain Set and Glued

It took time to get the drain to set level.

Drain Level side to side

Front to back was more difficult than side to side because it involved chipping out the right amount of concrete. I had a hammer and cold chisel and protected hand chisel but the angle was restricted by the rear wall. Finally it was the 5# hammer by itself that chipped away enough concrete to set the drain.

Drain Level front to back

I finally got the drain to set within 1/4″ or so of the floor. This type of drain is supposed to set above the floor, but I didn’t want the toilet to set above floor level so I recessed the drain.

Drain Edge From Floor

This offset drain worked to get the toilet to sit far enough forward from the extra polyiso insulation we used on the exposed foundation walls.

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Bogged Down in the Bathroom

Posted on February 18, 2016 by ellen

Sometimes I just feel totally bogged down. While Dave has been busy spreading composted manure he got from a local horse farm and potting/topsoil from a marijuana growing operation–they deliver it for free–on the gardens and flower beds, I have been trying to put together the finalized master bathroom plan.

Guess what? I’m back to the original plan! I thought I wanted the extra room space and square doorways created with my latest drawing, but today I laid out the toilet, vanity and tub and decided that there is enough room to angle the doors and create the larger closet. Plus my friend Steve said the plan looked like it had “too much hallway” or wasted space in front of the closet.

Dibble Floorplan 11-14-12

Here is what the bathroom looks like laid out with fixtures. The tub, sink, and vanity are all re-used fixtures.

Master Bath Fixture Layout

I think I will really like the vanity stand when it is stripped of the dark red paint and sanded silver. I’m thinking I might just leave it silver and put on a clear finish. Or maybe I’ll paint it copper. I love copper color and the two lantern sconces I have are copper/bronze colored too.

Vanity with Victorian Sink and Faucet

I realized that putting 1 1/2 inches of polyiso insulation on the foundation wall had consequences for the toilet rough in. The toilet actually hits the insulation behind it and I could replace the 1 1/2 stuff with 1″ but I looked around for solutions to moving the toilet flange and I found this device.

Offset toilet flange

These are apparently not legal in new construction but are allowed in remodels. I will have to chip away the concrete a little to set it at floor level, but it appears that this device will give some wiggle room behind the toilet for the wall finish.

I finished all this planning and moving around by noon and then I couldn’t figure out what to do next so I just goofed off and took care of some business stuff for my Mom and myself. I need to keep my nose to the grindstone or the house will never be done! Maybe Mañana.

Posted in Planning, Plumbing, Reduce Reuse Recycle | Comments Off

Ultra High Efficiency Toilet

Posted on February 16, 2016 by ellen

Stealth Dual Flush

Our next inspection will be the plumbing rough in so I’m working on the master bathroom. I had purchased all the faucets and fixtures except for the toilet. When I was at the Sustainability Fair in Fort Collins, I heard about the Stealth toilet from Niagara, which is an ultra high efficiency toilet they were installing city-wide.

These toilets sell at the local Home Depot for $150 and have a .8 gallon single flush. But I also noticed that there is a new dual flush toilet that uses only .5 gallon for liquids and .95 for solids for an average of .65. That is about the lowest water use available. I was able to find this toilet at Wayfair for the discounted price of $109.99 each for the tank and the toilet bowl. However I also saw that I could order from Wayfair through ebay, which has a pretty good shipping guarantee itself so I ordered from ebay for the same price and the toilet arrived quicker than promised.

It was well packaged, which is good since it is a fragile shipment. The box for the tank was in a smaller box that was completely enclosed in shipping peanuts and foam in a larger box. Same for the bowl. These toilets come in comfort height and I purchased the elongated bowl. The design is similar to a Briggs Vacuity toilet sold in the 90’s, in that it is vacuum-assisted instead of a full vacuum toilet. The design of the Vacuity had mixed results but apparently there were some manufacturing problems with its trapway not the tank technology.

A vacuum toilet has an inner tank that is kept under vacuum pressure and flushes very loudly. We have one in our Indiana house because a normal toilet sweated so much it was rotting the drywall behind it. The vacuum toilet solved that problem. But it has a loud whooshing sound that is even scary for little kids when it is flushed. This vacuum assisted toilet is supposed to have a very quiet flush.

Vacuum assisted means that there is air behind the water in the tank and in the trap. The air forms a vacuum that pushes water up into the bowl and pulls water down when water is released during a flush.

Vacuum Assist Toilet

There is a similar explanation on the Stealth Toilet website. Here is a diagram of the internal tank.

Stealth Dual Flush Tank Schematic

I’m excited about this dual flush system. If it works as well as the cheaper (free for us because I got it through Craigslist) Glacier Bay 1.1/1.6 gallon flush then we will use this toilet in the existing bath too and have all Water Sense dual flush toilets which is recommended in the LEED water use category.

Interestingly, the water saving shower head I purchased for our existing bathroom is also a Niagara product. It is the TriMax shower head that has an adjustable .5/1/1.5 spray that is air assisted too. The 1 gallon spray we use most often and it has a wide spiral pattern that wets efficiently. Sometimes I use 1.5 just to warm up for a minute when I first get in the shower and I dial down to .5 to keep the water flowing while I shampoo or shave. It works great.

TriMax Showerhead

Posted in Energy Efficiency, LEED Project, Plumbing | Comments Off

Friends Visit and Suggestions

Posted on February 15, 2016 by ellen

We had a wonderful time visiting with some old friends from Indiana for the weekend. I talked their ears off about the house projects. It was so nice to have someone knowledgeable to get their reactions and suggestions. Steve has been in the concrete business for years but also has been a general construction manager. His advice was to tackle the restricted spaces first when putting up walls and then work on filling in the rest.

There is a beam across the entrance to the hallway stairs that I used to run the radon elimination pipe along and that is one area that he thought I should think about first.

Pipe Connection

He suggested that I fill in the area again with a small attic to make a visual break between the clerestory ceiling in the living area and the lower ceiling in the hall and bedrooms so that boxing in the radon pipe would not look so awkward.

Kathleen suggested I leave open the area above the entry and family room to let the nice light continue to shine into the rest of the house. I was thinking maybe we could use windows in the upper walls to achieve the same effect.

Dining With Entry Behind

We looked at the bath layout and Steve suggested I mark with chalklines on the floor where the bed and fixtures would go to get an idea if there is enough room. He said around the doors I had to remember to leave room for trim etc. Sometimes when deciding about walls he said, they would make last minute changes and changes in the architects plans just to make a room more standard or to have room for trim etc. He suggested I just think about moving the tub or leaving it out and putting it in the other bathroom. Hate to do that but also hate to have the bathroom seem really crowded.

Tub in Master Bath

I was glad to get some feedback on the design though. Its good to take advantage of a different perspective.

Posted in Design Style, Planning | Comments Off

Concrete Bricks as Thermal Mass

Posted on February 10, 2016 by ellen

While painting the kitchen block wall I started wondering what kind of block is our inner south wall made of anyway? At one point I heard this type of block called “slag block” and in Arizona where there are many block houses, I heard it called “slump block” so I was curious about the concrete bricks used for the thermal mass on the house.

Our house in Arizona was built entirely of block that was 4 x 8 x 16–actual block measurements are about 3.5 x 7.5 x 15.5. I demoed the bathtub tile and uncovered the inside of the block walls. They were framed out with 2 x 2’s and filled with a 1.5″ layer of fiberglass insulation.

Bathroom Block Wall

I used a rented drill to create a hole in the wall for the drain pipe from the shower. That took quite a lot of drilling to get through the whole wall. For the tub drain setup there were valves that allowed the water to either run out into a soaking tank or down the drain.

Drilling through Concrete Block

The block was gray concrete color inside but it was painted on the outside.

Tempe Block Wall

It was an attractive home and the concrete block acted as a thermal mass holding heat on cold days and night time cool on hot days.
When we were shopping for a house in Tempe, my fellow workers and Arizona natives advised us to buy a block house not a “stick” house. They said block houses were much more comfortable in the Arizona climate and they were well built vs. some of the newer wood framed houses covered in stucco. While looking at houses to buy, I kept that advise in mind and it did appear that newer frame house had cracks in the stucco and were less sturdy. Almost all of them were two stories too.

I was trying to find out what this type of block is called when I ran across some really interesting information about why so many block homes were built in the Phoenix area. It turns out that lightweight building blocks were invented there! In the 40’s three Phoenix guys manufactured blocks originally with perlite in the concrete mix. There was a lot of demand for building materials after WWII and concrete blocks were considered too heavy and often were cast right on the building site. The manufactured concrete blocks were named “superlite” and eventually the company name was changed to Superlite. After the perlite they used an aggregate in the mix created from rapidly cooled lava. They had a mine for this volcanic scoria in northern Arizona. This lighter block trapped air which helped insulate the houses. The blocks were very successful and from the 40’s through the 80’s many many block house were built in Phoenix and the surrounding suburbs.

Superlite Block House

Notice this house has a carport. Our real estate agent told me that her husband refused to buy a house with a garage. True Phonecians knew that garages were heat sinks and trapped the very hot air from the daytime, reducing the ability of the house to lose its heat at night.

These brick/blocks are now known as CMU’s, (Concrete Masonry Units) just one variety of several types of CMU’s, they are solid like bricks but larger and can be used structurally. Bricks are mostly used as a decorative cladding for a wood framed house instead of the actual structure. These blocks became popular also because they are so much larger than bricks they can go up faster.

Slag block uses industrial waste from blast furnaces in the cement mixture. Several types of mineral wastes can be used, even the waste from making Portland cement. It is considered a recycled product because it uses waste in the mix.

Superlite also created a slump block style. They pressed on the molds to create a bulge in the sides of the blocks, but I also read that some companies take the blocks out of the molds a bit early and while still wet they sag a bit to create the bulge.

The adobe brown block planter walls around our yard were slump block and Superlite also designed this integrally colored type of block. Our kitchen wall is slump block because it has this bulge on each block. It is probably plain concrete and the original walls were painted.

Arched Window Wall Painted White

There is a great explanation of concrete block materials at Cemexusa.com. According to this presentation CMU blocks have both heavy and lightweight aggregates in the concrete mix. They have various admixtures to make them stronger or more waterproof, and they are cast in molds. Once the molds are removed, they are dried in moist 140 degree ovens for 24 hours. Then they are ready to be palleted and shipped.

I can’t know where the solid block that lines our south facing concrete thermal walls was sourced or what aggregates were used. But I know it is a layer of solid concrete that increases the depth and mass of our front wall and adds a pleasant decorative brick look to the interior.

Posted in Green Building Interests, Trombe Wall | Comments Off

One Thing Leads to Another

Posted on February 6, 2016 by ellen

When I woke up this morning I had no idea I was going to be painting a wall. But I cleared the dining room floor for scrubbing and sealing and decided I better wash the block wall before I put a bunch of effort into cleaning the floor. The dirt from the wall would eventually end up on the floor when I cleaned it and I would have to clean the floor again. SO I decided to wash the block wall first. But then the wall would eventually need paint so I decided I might as well paint it before I washed the floor. That meant a coat of white over the teal/turquoise trim and then the full wall and another coat over the trim. It took me all day with a bit of time out to visit my Mom in the afternoon.

Here is a photo of the trim color on the day the new window was installed.

Block Wall with New Window

I washed the wall with Clorox Clean Up again and used a scrub brush to get dirt out of the brick. Then I scraped off bits of caulk.

Wall Washed and Prepped

It was difficult to get a good photo of the wall because there was too much light coming through the window but this was the first coat of white covering the trim color.

Arched Block Wall

I was able to get most of the wall painted before it was time to leave for my daily visit to Mom. I applied the paint with a 2″ slanted trim paint brush. When I returned it took about an hour to put a second coat on the trim and finish the top of the wall. It was easier to get a shot of the finished wall in the evening.

Arched Window Wall Painted White

It was nice to have the paint on hand so that I could let the spirit move me when it came time to fix up this wall. I was fortunate to have purchased four gallons of expensive no VOC certified Green Guard paint earlier in the year for only $16.25 a gallon.

Yolo Paint Ad–I paid $65 for these 4 gallons

Second hand paint in unopened containers is usually listed for about $10 a gallon on Craigslist although some ask much more. That is for a typical brand name paint, not low VOC. This paint’s VOC rating is so low (0.0167 pound per gallon) that it is considered no VOC. That is certainly what it seems like when painting with it. The coverage on the brick was amazing and only one coat over the white was needed. I used primer over the dark trim and then one coat of this amazing paint.

Yolo Colorhouse Low VOC Paint

Except for how expensive it is, I’m not sure why I would use anything else, considering how easy it was to apply and how nice it is to work with no VOC paint. But it IS expensive. The ad’s stated retail of $36.95 is about right. Colorhouse seems to have dropped Yolo from its paint names. Inspired Eggshell Paint in Bisque is $37.95 a gallon from Amazon and Aspire Eggshell is $45 a gallon ordered from Home Depot.

Posted in Maintenance and Repair, Reduce Reuse Recycle | Comments Off

Winter List for 2016

Posted on February 5, 2016 by ellen

Winter List

I updated the to-do list a couple of weeks ago. But lists are getting tiresome–too many items repeat from season to season.

Here is what I hoped to get accomplished this winter.

Finish membrane on ceiling
Install battens on ceiling
Polyiso in crawlspace joists
Polyiso around door areas
Replumb fireplace boiler
Build walls
Patch concrete edges
Clean and reseal floor
Polish floor
Put bird barrier on chimney
Plan master bath and closet
Install ventilation system
Schedule LEED insulation inspection

The first three items were on the fall list–also the summer list. There is not much more membrane that needs to be done on the ceiling but all the insulated walls will need membrane too.
I’ve already re-plumbed the wood fireplace though.
Building walls would be a huge advance but we seem reluctant to actually put up a wall. We did bring in the 2×4’s to acclimate to the indoor temperature.
I’m working on patching the edges of the concrete with tile and Schluter Kerdi Band–more on that later. And I’ve written about cleaning and resealing the floors
The bird barrier will have to wait for warmer weather and for that matter so does finishing the siding which didn’t even make the list but is still hanging on from fall.
I’ve been working on the master bath and closet layouts and acquired most of the plumbing for the room and have made the decision on the toilet, a Niagara low water use dual flush that I just decided to order from Wayfair, but through ebay so I can use their return policies.
The ventilation system will require putting up a distribution ducting system and deciding if the RecoupAerator is the right unit for our house and the most energy efficient.
I thought we were ready for the LEED inspection but after contacting the new person who is my advisor, Adam Jonash, I have not made the appointment. I have to get the Level II thermographer out here at the same time and it has not been a task that I felt ready for. Really, building the walls is probably the most important task right now and the sooner the better so the city can come back for another inspection to keep our building permit active.

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Resealing the Stained Concrete Floor

Posted on February 5, 2016 by ellen

As a preparation for installing walls, and to just make the spaces more pleasant, I decided to clean and reseal the concrete floor. This project is also on the winter to do list.
I hauled in the SoyCrete stain and Acri-Soy sealer from the garage where it sat for a couple of years. I found the yellow golden stain to still be yellow, but no amount of stirring made the brown stain lose its gray cast. On the floor it is a dull muddy grey-brown. The sealer however seemed to be just fine. I stirred it well and I’m using it with a large grout cleaning sponge.

I’m using Clorox Cleanup to clean the floor.

Clorox Clean Up

I really like this cleaner and it seem to tackle the toughest dirt. I’m cleaning with a scrub brush with3M pads for tough spots, a utility drywall joint knife to scrape off lumpy dirt and a 3M Scotch-Brite sponge using both the scrub and sponge sides.

I tried a little yellow stain on the entry and didn’t think it improved the effect. The extra yellow stain is in the foreground of this photo. Just the corner on the left is sealed. I decided staining again would just be a lot of trouble for little gain.

Stained and Partially Sealed Front Entry

I’m using the Zep four step Floor Maintenance products from Home Depot. The finish is Zep Wet Look, the same stuff I have used for years on the RV fiberglass to make it shine. It requires four thin coats of finish. On concrete this goes over sealer, on the RV just over very clean fiberglass. The coats only take about 15 minutes to dry and they recommend 30 minutes between coats.

Zep Wet Look Floor Finish

The finish will help protect the sealer.

Sealed Front Entry with Floor Finish in Upper Corner

I also bought the Zep cleaner which is neutral and won’t destroy the finish. Ammonia will take off this finish. The cleaner is a concentrate while the finish is used full strength.

Zep Neutral Floor Cleaner

The kitchen floor’s sealer did not prevent some grease stains near the sink and stove, but re-sealed, they are not terribly obvious. Cleaning and sealing makes the floor look better, if not up to its original pristine finish.

Sealed Kitchen Floor

And here is the final product with four coats of finish. I tried buffing with a hand buffer but the finish did not get shinier, so that is another extra step I can skip. I just sealed and finished around the cabinets. I will finish under the cabinets when I can get to them.

Finished Kitchen Floor

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Compare Energy Star 2008 to Energy Star 2016

Posted on February 2, 2016 by ellen

So I know you are wondering, how efficient is an eight year old Energy Star appliance– especially compared to today’s standards? I wondered myself.

Energy Star minimums have decreased over time. I happened to have downloaded the clothes washer excel spreadsheet in 2008 when I was considering a new washing machine. Since the GE washer we just purchased is on that list I know that at that time the washer was a very respectable 76% better than the minimum standard.

I just downloaded the 2016 list and found that the standard has not only changed, the method of measurement has also changed and the percent better category is a thing of the past. The top row is the washer model I just bought. The second row is a front loading model that qualifies for the new Energy Star standard for “most efficient”. In the 2008 list Kwh/year for just GE washers ranged from 120 to 350. On the 2016 list the range is from only 86 to 152. The washers have more capacity and use less water and electricity per year in 2016 vs. 2008. About 8 fewer KWh/yr for these two models and a bit more than 1200 gallons per year less water but for more than a cubic foot larger capacity.

Compare Energy Star Washer Ratings

The MEF standard in the 2008 was based on the 2004 criteria, in 2009 and 2011 the factor became more efficient. But the GE model from 2008 was better than the 2011 minimum so would have still qualified as Energy Star.

Energy Star Clothes Washer Standard V5 and V6.

In 2015 version 7 of the standard was introduced. This new criteria utilizes the IMEF factor instead of MEF. The standard document defines the two different criteria.

B.   Modified Energy Factor (MEF)3: The quotient of the cubic foot (or liter) capacity of the clothes container divided by the total clothes washer energy consumption per cycle, with such energy consumption expressed as the sum of the machine electrical energy consumption, the hot water energy consumption, and the energy required for removal of the remaining moisture in the wash load.
C.   Integrated Modified Energy Factor (IMEF)4: The quotient of the cubic foot (or liter) capacity of the clothes container divided by the total clothes washer energy consumption per cycle, with such energy consumption expressed as the sum of the machine electrical energy consumption, the hot water energy consumption, the energy required for removal of the remaining moisture in the wash load, and the combined low-power mode energy consumption.
D.   Water Factor (WF)3: The quotient of the total weighted per-cycle water consumption for cold wash divided by the cubic foot (or liter) capacity of the clothes washer.
E.   Integrated Water Factor (IWF)4: The quotient of the total weighted per-cycle water consumption for all wash cycles in gallons divided by the cubic foot (or liter) capacity of the clothes washer.

The closest washer in performance that I can find on the 2016 list is a 3.4 cu. ft. Haier Top Loader, Model HLTW500AXW that has an IMEF score of 2.07 with a Federal Standard of 1.29. This washer also uses 4 gallons of water for a rating of 4012 gallons per year. It only uses an estimated 108 KWh/year though! So the Energy Star GE washer I just bought may or may not still meet the current Energy Star guidelines. I don’t have enough data on the components of the MEF vs. IMEF to find out.

But it is an interesting question. If you purchased an Energy Star appliance before the standard changed, would it still be considered Energy Star for the purposes of meeting the LEED guidelines?

Posted in Appliances, Energy Efficiency, LEED Project, Reduce Reuse Recycle | Comments Off

Energy Star Washer and Gas Dryer

Posted on February 2, 2016 by ellen

I noticed that our older washing machine was leaking every time we did a load. The leak seemed to increase in volume and I had wanted to replace this older washer with a more energy efficient one for our LEED remodel. Of course a new model would be quite expensive so I looked for a used set with a gas dryer on Craigslist.
I lost an offer in early January when the owner did not get back to me before it snowed several inches. I didn’t want to try to move a laundry pair in the snow. And the pair was over 10 years old. Then we were going out of town for a week and while we were gone someone else purchased the set.
About two weeks later I noticed this ad. I emailed the contact immediately but I happened to be in the hospital with my mom that day because she was having a procedure. I almost missed out on this pair too, but the person who was going to borrow a truck to get them did not show up, so we were able to use the tilting trailer to load these–the washer is heavy, over 250 lbs. They were manufactured in late 2008 and purchased new in January 2009. The owner had all the paperwork including the bill of sale. So this set is a bit newer and the price was very low. It was the last day they were available because new ones were coming the next day and if they were not gone, the owner was going to have the delivery folks haul them away. The location was about 30 minutes away which was not too far.

GE Washer and Gas Dryer Ad

They were in a mud room attached to the garage off their kitchen so there were only 2 steps down into the garage. We quickly disassembled the pair with a screwdriver to remove the brackets and a pliers to loosen the water and gas connections, luckily there were shutoffs for both, and carted them out with our appliance hand truck. Loading them on the tilt trailer was not too difficult, we perched them both on the end of the trailer and then stood on it to tilt it up and latch it. Then we pushed them forward over the axle of the trailer, put a tarp over them and tied them down with bungee cords, straps and rope. Didn’t want them going anywhere. We got them home just fine and before the snow started falling.

Washer and Dryer loaded on tilt trailer

All I had to do then was to remove the old set and clean the floor before the new set could be put in.

Old Washer and Dryer Set

I have been cleaning up portions of the stained concrete floor in preparation for putting up walls. So I had the cleaner, sealer, and polish available to treat the floor after I tried to get the water stains out. I was not completely successful in removing all the stains but with new sealer and polish it doesn’t look too bad. The sealer had to dry overnight so it was the next day, on Sunday, that I was able to install the new washer and dryer. I started by thoroughly cleaning each of them with Clorox cleanup.

ew GE Stacked Washer and Dryer

Installing consisted of figuring out exactly where I wanted them. I wanted to have enough room to use the gas pipe for drip drying on hangers so that meant closer to where the utility room wall will be, but I didn’t want them to be too close so that they would have to be moved when the wall is built.

After setting the washer in place, it had to be leveled front to back and side to side and the legs adjusted and tightened. The next step was installing the hoses, and I used plumbers tape on the connections. Then moving the drain enough so that it would clear the gas pipe attachment for the dryer. I cleaned out the drain hose and attached it and set it into the stand pipe.

The dryer had to be lifted up on the washing machine. That was awkward but we got it up there. Then I had to reattach the brackets so that it could be screwed to the washing machine. I also used some 3M double sided tape to reattach the four rubber feet that cushion the dryer on the washing machine.

Reattaching the exhaust pipe flue was a bit of a hassle because I had to rearrange the pipe for the higher attachment and cut the flexible pipe so there was not too much so it would not get kinked or dip down. Luckily I had some good flue tape to attach the pipes together and the clamp ring for the dryer side. I also cleaned out the pipe, although it was not too dirty because I had cleaned it out when I reconnected the dryer last time.

We bought a new flexible gas pipe for the dryer because the old one had been kinked, but we re-used the water hoses the owner had been using. It took almost all day to finish the floor polishing and put in the new set. But by evening I was washing some clothes in it. Unfortunately during the first couple of loads the washer shimmied way too much during the spin cycle, I tried using the medium spin and it still shimmied. I was afraid we had broken a drum support while moving it. I noticed the timer would reset itself after a particularly shaky spin and start the whole spin process again! I interceded by changing the spin cycle to rinse and spin and it finally finished the load.

Today I found the service mode information, performed the tests, and read the service codes: http://www.appliance-repair-it.com/GE-front-load-washer.html. There was only one error code and that was for a blocked drain. Since the drain is freely flowing now, I assumed that was an old error code. If not it will show up again soon. Just in case I opened and cleaned the pump filter at the bottom of the machine. But there was only a little wet lint in the filter.

GE Washer Cleaning pump filter

Everything else tested out as operational, and even the spin cycles did not shake the machine. I can only assume that the clothes I loaded were off balance. I tried a load of sheets today and the spin cycle was fine. So hopefully I will learn to use the machine so that it doesn’t get the jitters.

Finally, I moved a cabinet from the garage to the utility room to hold the detergent and other items we generally kept on the dryer. It has a nice shelf inside for extra bottles of detergent, vinegar and even some wine and liquor we had on the floor. Also has three drawers which I used for placemats for now. It holds some stuff we had laying around the utility room. Looks much more organized now!

Cabinet beside Washer/Dryer

Posted in Appliances, Energy Efficiency, Maintenance and Repair, Reduce Reuse Recycle | Comments Off

Tweaking the Pump Wiring Again

Posted on January 31, 2016 by ellen

As part of the pump install I changed the wiring again. In the past I had trouble with the primary and secondary pumps working independently. I thought that was one of the things that wore out the Taco 011 pump the first time. I thought it was running when the primary pump was not and when the valves were closed.
The Taco Zone Controller sends a signal to the boiler when the zone valve opens. The zone valves open when the thermostat calls for heat. I think the valve opens and then sends the end switch signal back to the controller which then turns on the boiler.
The boiler has a control for the primary pump. It tells the pump to come on as soon as the boiler sends it a signal. It also remains on for a minute or two after the boiler goes off. The zone controller sends a signal to the secondary pump to come on when it sends the boiler signal. So the secondary pump comes on a bit before the boiler because the boiler has to go through a pre-heat setting. I thought that was keeping the two pumps from running synchronously. Although I forgot about it, reading the former post reminded me that the secondary pump coming on first was causing a low pressure error in the boiler.
But when I wired the new pump, it seemed that it would be easier to wire the primary pump back at the boiler. The electrical box on the Grundfos is not as large as the one on the Taco and I was having difficulty fitting in all the wires. So I eliminated the one to the boiler pump and wired it back at the boiler itself. Now the entire system seems to work just fine. This smaller pump is not causing low pressure in the primary loop.
Here is the Taco illustration of their recommended wiring for a system and domestic hot water pump. I am only using the system pump and not the priority zone 6 to store hot water.

Taco Optional System Circulator

The diagram is a little different from the actual board. Here is a demonstration of the system pump wiring also with a domestic hot water pump.

Zone Control Pump Wiring

I have the jumper installed even though I’m not using Zone 6. But the secondary pump is wired to the first two posts, the pump end switch on the board. I’m not sure why this seems to be working when it didn’t before so I’ll have to keep an eye on it.

Posted in Condensing Modulating Gas Boiler, Maintenance and Repair, Radiant Heat | Comments Off

Heat is Back On

Posted on January 31, 2016 by ellen

I left the heat off until the days stopped being sunny. During that time the house temperature didn’t go below 64 degrees. Even when it got down to 20 degrees outside at night. We woke up to a steady 64 degrees every day even when the outside temp was warmer than 20. I supposed that means the house loses heat at a constant rate no matter what the outside temperature is? As long as it is below the inside temperature anyway. During the sunny days the inside easily heated up to 70 or 72 within an hour or so of the sun shining into the house. And it did not get warmer than that.

But this weekend the sun stopped shining and we got some snow. So I turned on the heat with the new pump installed. I had confirmed that it worked with most of the valves–at least two of the valves are not turning on the boiler so there seems to be a problem with their wiring. But enough zones are working so that I have three turned on and the nighttime temperature in the house is staying at the daytime temperature of about 70. I have the thermostats set for 65.

The pump is not reading 6 GPM though. With only one zone open it reads between 1 and 2 GPM and with all zones open between 3 and 4 GPM. With those numbers and my calculations we should not be feeling warm when the temperature outside gets cold. Obviously the programs that I used to figure the Manual J stuff were a bit on the generous side for BTU requirements. But we can’t complain! We seem to have good system in place, despite the issues with the valves. I rebuilt them this summer and maybe some of the old wires should have been replaced too.

After I installed the pump, I tried all the pump settings with various numbers of valves open. I could get it to pump a little faster on a high setting both at the fixed high speed and at the high variable speed but it uses a lot more watts to do it, while the Auto uses the least watts for the same speeds, it just doesn’t pump at the highest possible GPM. Not sure how it determines the flow rate, but it must be the head from the piping is high enough to result in the lower variable speeds.

Here are the control settings. Number 3 is the variable setting within a section of the performance curve. Auto is variable within the entire performance curve.

Grundfos Alpha Control Display

This is the pump in action with one valve calling for heat. It is on Auto Control and shows the watt and flow measurements. This is a great feature.

Grundfos Alpha 15-55 at 14 Watts

You might notice that the pump is installed with the existing flanges. I worried about whether it would fit. Grundfos does not offer stainless flanges for their pumps. Since I was not sure I could use the existing Taco flanges, I ordered an expensive set of Grundfos brass flanges from Amazon. But the Taco stainless flanges worked great. So the return of the brass flanges will cost me $8. However, I thought the insurance that I could put in the pump before it got very cold and cloudy was worth it.

At 14 watts of power the pump flow is 2 GPM. That seems slow but it also seems to be heating the house at that flow rate.

Grundfos Alpha 15-55 at 2 GPM

If the 6 GPM calculated flow rate was a too high estimate, perhaps the Taco 011 pump was too large for the system? I will just have to see how the Grundfos performs and lasts.

Posted in Condensing Modulating Gas Boiler, Maintenance and Repair, Radiant Heat | Comments Off

Over-sized Pump vs. Undersized

Posted on January 25, 2016 by ellen

How did I end up with a Taco 011 pump for the secondary system anyway? The project spreadsheet has the original calculations.

Pressure Loss	Zone	Length	Delta T 20 degrees	Loss @ 20
Rear Bedrooms	1	50	0.03	1.50
Family Kitchen	2	355	0.03	10.65
Entry/ Dining	3	330	0.03	9.44
Living	4	290	0.03	8.29
Master 1	5	245	0.03	7.01
Master 2	5	250	0.03	7.15
			Highest	10.65


Secondary Loop	Zone 1 3/4″ pipe	Zone 2-5 1/2″ pipe

Loop corners	90 degrees	180 degrees	Total Pressure Loss at delta 20
Rear Bedrooms	14		28
Family Kitchen	11	9	29
Entry/ Dining	11	13	37
Living	2	14	30
Master 1	22	6	34
Master 2	30	4	38
	1 1/4″ pipee	Highestp	38
Tee Side Port	5.5		43.5
Reducer Coupling to 1″	0.6		44.1
Reducer Coupling to 3/4″	0.5		44.6
	1″ pipe
Air eliminator valve (gate valve?)	0.3		44.9
Tee Straight	0.45		45.35
Ball Valve	4.3		49.65
Tee Side Port (Tee off primary loop)	4.5		54.15
	3/4″ pipe
90 degree elbow	2		56.15
Zone Valve	10		66.15
Plus longest 1/2″ length			10.15
	Equivalent Feet of Pipe	Divided by .04	132.45	5.298
	Total HEAD	Loop plus piping		15.948


Room	Zone	BTU Capable	Sq. Ft.
Rear Beds	1	15729.00	565.00
Family/ Kitchen	2	7281.00	342.00
Entry/ Dining	3	9419.00	315.00
Living	4	15942.00	420.00
Master	5	9952.00	376.00
Total		58323.00	2018.00

Given a requirement of about 60,000 btu/hr, if 10,000 BTU/hr= Pump Speed of 1 Gallon per Minute, then the base pumping requirement is 6 GPM.
Given an effective 16 ft. of head, then the pump needs to be capable of 6 GPM at 16 ft of head pressure.

Taco and Grundfos Pump Curves

According to the Taco pump curves, the 008 would not be powerful enough, the 014 would do the job and the next higher pump is the 011. So since it is more common and more easily available, the 011 seemed like it was a reasonable choice.

The downside is that I have burned out two of them! I am assuming that the pump is too big for just one zone at a time. The rear bedroom radiators are only capable of about 15,000 btu/hr which may be a bit undersized for the lower temperature water in the radiant system. So it runs more often that the rest of the system.

ECM pumps (electronically controlled motor) are considered much more energy efficient, however the largest residential pump I could find is the Grundfos Alpha 15-55 which is roughly equivalent to the Taco 008. Notice on the graphs above that the fixed speed Grundfos 15-55 is just a little more capable than the 008 although it can only pump 6 GPM at about 14 ft. of head. The Alpha graph shows a lower capability of 6 GPM at 12 ft. head.

Grundfos Alpha 15-55

Grundfos Alpha Pump Curve

Most of the time the pump should be operating at below the maximum requirement. The Alpha has the additional feature of showing the watts being used and the flow rate. Since it is designed to provide a constant pressure that adjusts automatically as the demand adjusts, it should not burn out from not enough flow. So I ordered one from Supply House and took advantage of a three day 15% off coupon that came just when I needed it. With that the pump was only $275 so hopefully it fits the taco flanges and I can install it when it arrives.

Posted in Energy Efficiency, Radiant Heat | Comments Off

Ach Phooey! Taco Pump Siezed

Posted on January 24, 2016 by ellen

Since we returned from a trip to see our newest grandson about a week ago, I’d been noticing that the floor was not warm but the radiators in the back were. I thought since I had turned the heat down that it was just not coming on in the slab area of the house. But when I woke up at night all the thermostats were calling for heat and the floor was not warm. I tried opening all of the zone valves manually in case they were not getting electricity or were broken and still the floor did not get warm. Then I knew there was a problem.The main secondary pump was apparently not working.

The Culprit Pump

I could smell that the wiring was burning so I shut all the thermostats off and called Supply House. At first they wanted me to hire someone to look at it which was quite frustrating. I just said no, who else could I call–Taco directly? Then the guy finally decided to talk to me about the issue. He said the burning smell is probably because it is running dry. But I could not see that it could be dry since the pressure in the boiler is correct and the water feed is open to make up any water that might escape, which it doesn’t because we don’t hear the water tank filling at random times. I just keep it open as a fail safe.

The tech recommended I take it apart and let them know the status of the impeller. He thought it might be disintegrating–maybe from hard water. I took out the cartridge and the impeller was seized up solid and both the cartridge and the top plate had brown burn marks on them. So I called back but they were closed by the time I had it apart and had to wait until the next day. The new guy said no problem, these pumps do this, we will send another one under warranty. Said to look for the paperwork in my email.

The paperwork requires that I send back the part and they will look at it for 3 to 5 days and then send a replacement. Yikes! In that time it could get to zero degrees and we only have the solar heat and the wood stove. By the way solar alone kept us quite cozy last night at 25 degrees outside.

I do have a second cartridge that I put in the old pump at some point until that pump stopped working in a day or two. I took out the cartridge and examined the impeller and it turned hard but I was able to loosen it up and get it turning freely. So I put that in the pump. Then I must have been tired because I dropped one of the flange nuts and darned if I could not find it anywhere. These are the kind of frustrations you can only hope to avoid.

Unfortunately that cartridge was also fried. I took the pump out again and rigged it up to pump from one bucket to the next and it did not pump at all. At this point I am convinced that the Taco 011 pump is the wrong fit for this system. According to my calculations and the pump diagrams this pump is the right size but I have now burned out two of them, one used and one brand new. So time to buy something else.

Posted in Condensing Modulating Gas Boiler, Maintenance and Repair, Radiant Heat | Comments Off

Another Flaw in Boiler Piping Redesigned

Posted on January 20, 2016 by ellen

The placement of the Taco iSeries mixing valve is designed to temper the water going into the stove, however, that valve also limits the flow of water returning from the storage loop. I realized this in the middle of the night after completing the changes to the stove plumbing yesterday.

Taco ISeries Mixing Valve Hookup

I reread the instructions for the iSeries three way valve and they show it installed in an isolated thermal loop that is feeding the heat/storage side of the system.

Taco iSeries 3 Way Primary/Secondary

Looking at this diagram and one of the stove installation diagrams that uses a similar piping design, I redrew the plumbing with a similar thermal loop. The drawing duplicates the iSeries instructions and moves the mixing valve to the secondary storage side of the system.

Dibble Fireplace Boiler Piping-18

Although this plumbing looks like the Taco install diagram above, it is NOT the storage side in this system that needs to be tempered, the water going to storage should be as hot as possible. Instead, the water going to the stove should be tempered with a mixture of warm and cooler water returning to the stove. The water in the return primary loop is mixed with water from the supply. So the mixing valve should stay where it is.

The solution that will provide cooler return water to the mixing valve and bypass the valve when returning from the secondary loop is to install another tee in the boiler primary loop. This design is similar to the mixing valve thermal balancing loop on the secondary piping in the Taco diagram but on the boiler side. It also closely spaces the return tee next to the supply tee in the secondary loop.

Dibble Fireplace Boiler Piping-19

Now the fix is in place. I had to run around a bit finding a 3/4 inch brass tee, which apparently Lowes is dropping from its inventory, and to exchange the wrong Sharkbite tee that I picked by accident–it was probably in the wrong box and I didn’t notice. I hate having to spend construction time running around to various stores to get what I need. I added a shut off on the new loop too so supplies cost about $60. When I turned the water back on and it refilled the system, I only had one leak at a Sharkbite that was easily tightened. I also notice the air vent was closed! So once I opened that the air was able to fully escape from the pipes and the pump ran quieter too.

Redesigned Piping Primary Secondary

I’m anxious to have another fire so I can see if the aquastat turns on the secondary pump and the heated water gets to the storage area.

Posted in Fireplace Boiler, Maintenance and Repair, Planning, Radiant Heat | Comments Off

Fireplace Boiler System Re-design

Posted on January 19, 2016 by ellen

During our first fire in the fireplace boiler the hot water was not getting out of the stove. I took some thermal photos to try to capture where the heat was going. The photo appears to show that the hot water was in the primary loop but it never got hot enough to open the zone valve to allow the heated water to move to the storage tank. Even when I opened it manually, the warmer water did not flow through the pipes to the storage system. UPDATE: I later realized the return loop was “blocked” by the mixing valve allowing only some return water back to the stove.

Thermal Image of Pipe

The internal temperature of the water in the stove was very hot, almost 200 degrees, and the pump was working hard and getting hot itself.

Thermal Image of Pump

The system was not working according to plan, so it was back to the drawing board to change the plumbing layout of the stove. I first thought that the connections should be closer to the primary secondary type of system–maybe I should have planned it this way to begin with! In the original plan, I was following diagrams that came with the stove, so it appears I had a bit of misdirection to overcome. The original plumbing diagram had the takeoff for the storage loop at the top of the stove and that is how I plumbed it.

Dibble Fireplace Boiler Piping-15 Revised

The plumbing looked a bit crooked in this layout where a ball valve allowed shut off of water through the primary loop. I had tried closing this during the burn hoping to force water into the pipe that goes to the storage tank but it was not flowing through the stove properly.

Fireplace Boiler Piping

The new layout has the “tee” lower on the primary loop. The connection to storage was moved from the top of the boiler to within a few inches of the supply return in a secondary arrangement. I added another Taco 006 pump in place of the zone valve to pump water into the secondary loop and that is now controlled by the Honeywell 6006 aquastat which is set to turn the pump on at 120 degrees and off 30 degrees lower.

Dibble Fireplace Boiler Piping-16

The existing plumbing was disconnected with the orange release clips for Sharkbite fittings. Imagine if I had to disconnect soldered pipes to correct the system! Thank goodness for Sharkbite!

Removing the Zone Valve

I am a frequent customer of Supply House but also check on ebay and Amazon to be sure I am getting the best price for the items I order. This new Taco 006 was $129 from ebay. The box is from my Sharkbite fitting order.

New Taco 006 Pump

The secondary loop “tee” is at a 90 degree angle, with the return coming from below. I tried to make this tee as small as possible while still having room to disconnect the pipes if necessary. It is definitely less than the maximum twelve inches for the separation of the primary and secondary loops but it is not in the “closely spaced tee” arrangement.

New secondary loop “tee”

I also removed the check valve at the stove high point because the tapping led me to believe that the hot water was having trouble getting out of the stove into the pipes against the resistance of the check valve. It does not seem in retrospect that a check valve was even required at this point.

Removed Check Valve

The new plumbing was completed and I opened the supply valve to refill the tank, the stove, and the piping. After I stopped hearing an active trickling sound, I turned on the pump to see if there were leaks. I could not believe that I took the whole thing apart and put it back together and did not have one leak. Must have been my day.

Completed New Plumbing

The plumbing actually looks neater with the changes, which must mean it is closer to correct! I can’t wait to try a fire and see if the new system works as designed and the second pump gets warm water to the storage tank in the utility room.

Stove Top View

Posted in Deconstruction, Fireplace Boiler, Maintenance and Repair, Planning, Radiant Heat | Comments Off

Fixing a Printer

Posted on January 4, 2016 by ellen

I purchase a lot of supplies online, and occasionally an error is made in ordering or shipping and I have to return an item. It has always been a hassle to get the return slips printed. Either at our daughter’s house or at the library, we always had to go out to get the labels.

My son-in-law decided to purchase a new printer when he started having problems with his Samsung CLP 315 Color Laser Printer. He thought it only needed new cartridges but I tried the printer and realized it was having other problems too. Back then I looked at solutions online and decided I’d try them but the project fell by the wayside.

I ordered the toner powder and chips to just replace the toner in the existing cartridges, but then I put the whole thing on a shelf for two years because I just didn’t have the mental energy to figure out the problems. Finally, now that it is winter and the holidays and a bit of space in our schedules, I decided to haul out the printer and tackle the repairs. I also have a few returns to send to Amazon.

The toner kit I bought was from tm-toner on Amazon. There are several other vendors who carry the kit on ebay too. Be sure to get one that includes the chips that tell the printer the toner is full. I paid $36.75 for the kit in 2014 and it is not more expensive today.

TM-Toner Kit

I found several resources with instructions about how to refill the cartridges, including the tip that using a vacuum would keep the job from being too messy. It also helps to clean out the extra toner still in the cartridges so that the new toner is the exact amount the cartridge requires. It was a youtube video in Chinese that had great step by step visuals of the toner replacement–I turned off the sound as it was entirely unnecessary.

Replacing the chips is merely a matter of peeling off the paper cover for the sticky tape and pressing it over the old chip. Luckily the ones in this kit had a directional arrow to get it in the right position.

I knew the printer had been overheating and the print on one side of the paper was faded. The cure for these symptoms was to do a thorough cleaning of the interior of the printer. I found a description of the problem and solution again on youtube. This video was silent but had a step by step description of cleaning the inside of the printer. I followed the directions and had mostly success with the process. I used our wet/dry vacuum and it really helped keep the powdery toner from spreading.

Samsung dumping and vacuuming toner

I did have a problem with reassembly of a paper roller. I didn’t get it set correctly and when I played around with it, I didn’t notice that the small end bracket had fallen off.

I lost the small end bracket during reassembly

I thought I had ruined the printer or would have to search for an expensive assembly to get the one small part, but I checked inside the vacuum cleaner and there it was!

Close up of end bracket that fell off

Needless to say, I was more careful when reassembling it a second time. I had hoped that would solve all the issues, but when I tested the printer with a few different types of paper, thinking perhaps some of our paper had gained moisture or something to make it jam halfway through the printer, I found that I had a common problem with these printers, a sensor was worn out and it was making the paper jam in the same place each time.

Again there was a very good tutorial about how to replace this sensor on youtube. I ordered the part from Part Store, a Best Buy branded site. Digikey was also supposed to carry it but they were out of stock and no longer stocking this part. I ordered two because shipping is more than the part, so it seemed to make sense if they are being discontinued.

Samsung 0604-001393 PHOTO-INTERRUPTER;TR $3.03 2 $6.06 + $3.95 shipping + $.62 tax = $10.63. I had to wait a few days for the parts to arrive.

Samsung paper sensor

Samsung sensor removal

The video shows that popping the new sensor back into place is the most difficult step. It was true, I ended up dislodging the rollers below the sensor in order to lift up the casing enough to get the new sensor into it and the wiring to slip down into its narrow channel. Putting it back into place took lots of jiggling and finesse. But it finally slipped back into its correct alignment and I put it back together.

I like the message at the end of the video.

Always DIY

This is another silent video which I find I like the best since sometimes there is more talking than showing on youtube videos. I usually hate video results as I can scan for information much more quickly on a printed page, especially with illustrations, but I have to admit for this job, the videos were a better source of help in fixing the printer.

And the outcome? I was able to print a beautiful color rendition of the cover of the manual as well as a couple of return slips for Amazon packages. Very satisfying.

Posted in Maintenance and Repair | Comments Off

Craigslist Vanity and Doors

Posted on January 3, 2016 by ellen

I sometimes wonder how the things I like will come together in one coherent style. I have called the kitchen post industrial rustic. I think the new master bathroom vanity fits that description. I know I like a tall vanity and they are hard to find. I also like the unusual. So I keep a lookout on Craigslist for items that are inexpensive and will fit into our spaces.

I really thought it would be great to use the old Hoosier cabinet from my grandmother for our bathroom vanity. But when I got it into the space it was too wide as well as the question of how to fit a sink into it without ruining it.

I have occasionally seen log style or even Old Hickory style vanities, but they are usually 60 inches wide or more and quite costly. I knew I had at least 36″ to work with but didn’t want a typical cabinet vanity. When I saw this ad on Craigslist I made an offer. I picked it up right in downtown Denver off the 16th St. Plaza and California St. so from a hip address too.

Custom Sink and Vanity Craigslist Ad

The metal stand is very sturdy and could make a great tool stand if it doesn’t work out as a vanity. It is a full 36″ tall with a built in 4″ backsplash on the sides where there will be walls.

Post Industrial Rustic–Red Metal Sink Stand

The faucet is a Kohler kitchen faucet that I can use elsewhere, right now I’m thinking it could be the faucet for the bar sink, and the sink is a cool cast glass rimmed sink decorated with orange fish and gray horseshoe crabs. I was going to use a Victorian style sink in this bathroom so this sink will probably go elsewhere too.

Glass sink

I also bought a pair of closet doors from craigslist to emphasize the rustic theme.

Craigslist Bifold Doors–I paid the full asking price–doors are expensive

I am planning to use one set for the closet and one for the bathroom. On a home improvement show, I saw a sliding door installed with casters on the bottom so that it would not need a floor track so that is what I am planning to do too. This is about where the closet door would be located.

Bifold closet door

The bathroom door would be at right angles to the closet to allow for a longer wall in the room. The bifold leaves enough room to open the door into the bathroom and still have a 36″ opening.

Bathroom bifold door

So far the master bath has a 42 x 32″ shower, a 37″ x 25″ metal vanity, and a 67″ x 32″ freestanding tub. I have redrawn the bathroom walls several times to make room for all these amenities in the master bath without making it feel too cramped. When I was planning for walls I drew this latest floor plan with the master bathroom and closet doors at a 90 degree angle to one another.

Dibble Floorplan Update 12-11-15

Posted in Design Style, Plumbing, Reduce Reuse Recycle | Comments Off

Fireplace Boiler in Action

Posted on January 3, 2016 by ellen

On Christmas Eve it was cold outside and we finally made a fire in the fireplace boiler.

First Fire in Fireplace Boiler

The fireplace outside air draft worked perfectly, and the glass door makes a spectacular fire show. The fireplace water got very hot but there was no internal pressure. It turned out that I had the water supply turned off–so it may have been cavitating with not enough water flow.

Temp and Pressure first fire

After I turned the water supply on I could hear the storage system filling with water and assumed the stove system was also filling. So for New Year’s we fired up the stove again. But the water in the pipes did not seem to get warm while the stove water got very hot.

Unfortunately the logic for sending the warmed water to storage in the utility room is flawed. The first problem was that the zone valve would not open. I realized that it was not getting power and finally that the Grundfos clip on aquastat would not work–since I double checked the stats and it turns on (closes the switch) at 95 not off, and off at 120 degrees while I would still want the the hot water to circulate to the storage system.

For the second fire, I replaced the Grundfos with the storage tank’s Honeywell 6006 aquastat. But the pipe never seemed to get hot enough to turn the storage zone valve on. I had it set at 120 degrees with a 30 degree differential so that the valve would come on at 120 degrees and higher and would turn off again at 90 degrees. Then I just tried leaving the storage zone valve open manually but the water still did not get warm in the pipes.

Second fire in the fireplace boiler with Honeywell aquastat

The pressure did build in the stove the second time. In fact as it reached 20 psi and the temperature in the stove approached 200, the check valve above the hot water pipe began to tap. Leading me to believe that the water was not pumping through the stove correctly. It was worrisome that the pressure regulator might go off, but it did not. Did the flapper type check valve slow the hot water cycle down?

Pressure and Temp build as fire burns–Check valve at rear of stove

My conclusion is that the single 006 pump at the boiler is not strong enough to get the water through the stove and also to storage. So the warmed water is not moving through the stove to the piping system. My solution will be to replace the zone valve with a second 006 pump that will be controlled by the aquastat. When the water in the primary loop is warm enough, the secondary pump will come on and pump the water through the storage loop.

If I look at this system as a primary/secondary loop system, then the current piping would be incorrect, as there are not close tees to the secondary loop. So it may be that the piping will have to change too. And if the check valve continues to tap, it may need to come out. Trial and error will eventually work out the issues with the system.

Posted in Fireplace Boiler | Comments Off

Plumbing Inspiration!

Posted on December 17, 2015 by ellen

My guilty pleasure is watching home improvement shows on TV. I usually watch one each evening. I mix it up with a different series each night so they are not too repetitive. I have Netflix and lately they have been dropping shows like flies, so sometimes I don’t get a whole series in, but some new series seem to show up.
This Genevieve’s Renovation is one show that I just started. My kids wonder how I can stand the slow pace and repetitive information in these shows, but I look for that one idea that can help me in our renovation and I guess I’m willing to slog through whole shows just to find it.

Outdoor Spigot in Guest Bath–Season 1 Episode 4

I was impressed by this idea. I have been thinking of using a wall mounted faucet for the bathroom faucet in the guest bathroom, but they are VERY expensive. Just like in this show I have always liked the animal shaped spigots that are made for outdoors. In fact I bought one for our first house and used it to fill the wood cook stove water reservoir. I had to remove it when the pipe was in the way of the new furnace installation. But I kept it and even have it here in the new house.

Genevieve learns her idea has a problem

So Genevieve buys two of these thinking one for hot and one for cold, right? But then she wants to have a big sink and separate the faucets–but if one is hot and one cold they would be too far apart to mix like in old fashioned sinks.

Forgot one was for hot and the other cold–what can she do?

Never fear, this is the clever part, there is a mixing “box” they call it, or valve that can premix the hot and cold at a desired proportion before it gets to the spigot. This valve is installed under the sink.

There is a brief glance at her tub faucet diagram which is a normal mixing faucet.

By adding mixing valves under the sink, she is able to have two inexpensive and interesting faucets that both deliver hot and cold water to each side of her sink.

A mixing “box” (valve) under the sink.

When the faucet turns on, both hot and cold come out in a pre-set proportion.

The faucets needed to have an extension from the wall to reach inside the edge of the sink so they used plain copper pipe and covered it in rope as a decorative accent. I’m thinking there are several coverings that could be used for this purpose.

Spigot’s copper extension pipe covered in rope.

Here are the final faucets installed in her guest bathroom.

Final two spigots in bathroom.

And here is the mixing valve that I ordered for my bathroom!

Moen Mixing Valve

This was not the most nor the least expensive valve available on Amazon. I chose this one because it has check valves integrated into it and they are recommended and it is a good brand name while others seemed to be non-branded imports. The mixing setting is very simple and it is checked at the faucet for temperature with a thermometer. They recommend about 110 degrees.
This is a very inexpensive solution for a wall mounted faucet. Especially since I already have a decorative snail spigot! Too bad I don’t have a wall–yet.

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