07.13.2008 | 8:38 am | General
Several years ago, I had done some research on tankless water heaters as a way of reducing our electric bill, while at the same time having an endless supply of hot water. The theory is that the water heater only turns on when the hot water starts to flow, unlike a conventional tank that keeps turning the heating element on to retain the temperature level in the tank. You can also set the temperature so that the hot water is comfortable when using only hot water, with no cold water mixed in. That way you can avoid any scalding problems, and you don’t waste energy by heating the water up, then adding cold water to cool it back down again.
If you are contemplating getting a tankless water heater, here are the things you need to consider:
1. The temperature of the cold water that comes from the street will govern how powerful a unit you need to buy. In Florida, the cold water is most likely in the 75 degree range, while in Wisconsin, it may get down to the 50’s or lower. The unit needs to have enough power to bring the water up to the temperature you desire.
2. The flow switch will require a certain GPM rate in order to activate the heating elements. This means you can’t have a slow trickle of hot water coming from the tap. Most units seem to need between .2 and .5 GPM in order to trip the flow switch. Typically, you will be turning the hot water tap on full anyway, so this will probably not be an issue. However, there is a caveat. Most showers have a mixing valve, and when you want to make the water temperature colder, it actually adds cold water AND reduces the amount of hot water that is used. In your attempts to get the most comfortable temperature, you may end up reducing the hot water flow too much. This will cause the GPM rate to fall below the threshold, and turn off the heater. The next thing you know, you are taking a cold shower!
3. You will need to decide if you want a whole house unit, or a point of use unit. Using the point of use units is more involved and requires additional expense and installation, but provides redundancy in the event that one of them fails. If you have 2 bathrooms in your home, and the whole house unit fails, you will have no hot water anywhere. If you use point of use units, and one of them fails, you can still take a shower in the other bathroom. With a sink, it is not too tricky to put a small unit under the sink somewhere. When it comes to the bathroom, the location of the unit becomes more difficult, and may require additional plumbing that you hadn’t planned on.
After doing some internet research, I chose a unit from SETS in Miami Florida, and picked the whole house unit, which cost roughly $750 USD. I had an electrician run the 220v lines (two required), and I did the plumbing myself, since I am pretty handy with solder and a torch. The unit looks similar to this one, and mounts flat on the wall.
After the intial tweaking, I got the system to work fairly well and was pretty satisfied with the way it performed. Then, about 2 years later, I had a problem.
I noticed some drips coming from the bottom of the case, and the temperature of the hot water began to be inconsistent. I opened the case up and found that the internal copper pipes had sprung a leak. Here is where things get really ugly.
I called SETS to arrange to have it fixed since it was still under warranty. Over the period of 5 days or so, I made repeated calls to them, trying to find a technician who could authorize me to get the unit fixed. The guy who answered the phone kept telling me they were busy, and that he had been giving them the messages for me. Finally, I got hold of a tech, and after I described what was wrong, he told me I needed a new unit, which I already knew!! Needless to say, my frustration level was maxed out by now.
The problem was that they don’t make house calls, and their warranty policy is that I uninstall the unit, I pack it up and pay for the shipping to them, I pay for the shipping to have the unit sent back to me, I reinstall the unit when I receive it, and I live without hot water during the entire process, which is already 5 days long! Needless to say, this did not sit well with me, and I decided to skip the whole tankless water heater thing and go back to a conventional heater. I went to Lowes, bought one, and put it in.
The theory of a tankless water heater is a wonderful one, and it does save on electricity. When it works correctly, it is great. However, I cannot in good faith recommend SETS based on my experience with them. I suggest that anyone who is considering getting a tankless water heater do their homework and make sure they know exactly what the manufacturer’s warranty consists of before they buy it.
If I were to do it again, I would go with point of use heaters so that I have hot water in the event of a failure of one of the units.
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06.17.2008 | 6:22 pm | Goldwing
From a good friend…
Christopher’s Ride:
I have been wanting to do something for people who are suffering from a debilitating disease such as cancer, leukemia, diabetes, etc. Our biker community currently has so many organized rides for charities that setting up another charity ride I felt would be just one more ride to raise money for a specific group. While it’s important to fund these organizations, my concern has been that the individual element is sometimes lost. I am always thankful for donations to the Leukemia Society since their work benefits me. But I wanted to hit upon the personal needs of patients such as myself - to lend emotional support to someone who is fighting a courageous battle. I wanted a ride that was personal, that was done for one individual who is close to the biker’s heart. I still remember how much it meant to me when a friend told me he took a ride for me with pegs down.
I know first hand just what it means to fight a disease while having family and friends who are there thinking of you and supporting you emotionally. Since 1999 I have been in a tough battle with a debilitating bone marrow disease called Myeloid Metaplasia. I know what a HUGE difference in maintaining your will to fight on when friends and family support you emotionally.
With this in mind I kicked an idea around for a very long time and felt “it is time” to launch this idea, this year.
The Inaugural 2008 Christopher’s Ride
On Sunday, July 20th 2008 the National “Christopher’s Ride ” will take place. Unlike other rides motorcyclists participate in, the benefactor in the Christopher’s Ride will be the person the BIKER selects. It can be a family member, friend, co-worker or anyone you know and want to select who is battling a debilitating disease. You can ride 10 miles or 500 miles. It is up to you, the Biker. It can be performed solo or in a group. Other members in your ride party can select individuals close to them to ride for as well.
If you do not have anyone close to you that is suffering from a debilitating disease then consider riding for a child who is in a hospital pediatrics unit in your home town. Maybe buy a teddy bear, strap it onto your pillion and take it on the ride with you and then later present it to the child explaining just where that bear rode to with you.
If you want to make a donation to a charity after your ride, select the charity that you want to support and send them a check with a note. If you want this to be a non monetary ride, then ride for them for the sole purpose of providing emotional support only. Consider taking a picture during or after your ride and send it to them with a note letting them know this ride was for them. Explain to them why you took that ride for them and where you went.
There are very few guidelines in regards to Christopher’s Ride. We ask that:
1.) Your ride is in support of an individual and not part of a group charity ride event.
2.) You please do not drink and ride and that you also ride safely.
3.) Please put your rear pegs down for the person you are riding for (if you are riding solo).
The whole purpose and intent of the Christopher’s Ride is to share your freedom and love of biking with someone who is fighting a horrible disease. It is a way to give an individual a moment of freedom that we all experience whenever we ride. It is also a way to provide one person in your life who is battling a debilitating disease with the knowledge that on this day, you were thinking of them and took them along with you for a ride.
Fire up your bikes and Take a Christopher’s Ride on July 20th 2008.
Thank you for your support,
Christopher Throgmartin
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06.16.2008 | 10:25 pm | Bathroom Renovation
Some final pictures of the finished product. All I have to do is a few very minor things, but overall the bathroom is done!
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06.7.2008 | 8:47 am | Goldwing
Here is a link to a ride report from a guy who took off and rode over 10,000 miles on his Goldwing, and toured the West and took hundreds of pictures and posted them at Adventure Rider. It is really long, and will take you several hours to work your way through all the pictures and narrative, but it is well worth the time.
Flanga’s Ride Report
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06.1.2008 | 10:09 am | Bathroom Renovation
We got the bottom half of some of the walls painted with the brown, and got the chair rail cut, painted, and installed. We only have the wall with the sinks left to finish up and we can start putting the vanities in. I added some photographic proof that I have actually been the one doing the work on this project.
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05.26.2008 | 7:31 pm | Bathroom Renovation
We got the shower walls sealed and put the shower heads and controls in.
We also got the floor tile all laid and the grouting done. Now, we can start on the final installs, like the vanities, lights, baseboard and trim.
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05.25.2008 | 9:43 am | Goldwing
A friend of mine from the HondaShadow.Net forum has put this event together. You can see the original post and any replies here:
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To My Fellow HSN Members.
I have been wanting to do something for people who are suffering from a debilitating disease such as cancer, leukemia, diabetes, etc. Our biker community currently has so many organized rides for charities that setting up one more I felt would be just one more ride to raise money. I wanted to hit the emotional end of things - to lend emotional support to someone who is fighting a courageous battle. I wanted a ride that was personal, that was done for one individual who is close to the bikers heart.
I know first hand just what it means to fight a disease while having friends who are there thinking of you and supporting you emotionally. It makes a HUGE difference in maintaining your will to fight on. This forum group is a perfect example.
With this in mind I have been kicking an idea around for a very long time and felt ” it is time ” to launch this idea, this year. And why not start the ball rolling with the HSN gang. So here it is.
Christopher’s Ride:
On Sunday, July 20th 2008 the Nationwide Christopher’s Ride will take place. Unlike other rides motorcyclists participate in, the benefactor in the Christopher’s Ride will be the person the BIKER selects. It can be a family member, friend, co-worker or anyone you know and want to select who is battling a debilitating disease. You can ride 10 miles or 500 miles. It is up to you, the Biker. It can be performed solo or in a group with other members of your ride party all riding for someone close to them.
If you do not have anyone close to you that has a debilitating disease then consider riding for a child who is in a hospital pediatrics unit in your home town. Maybe buy a teddy bear, strap it onto your pillion and take it on the ride with you and then later present it to the child explaining just where that bear rode with you to.
If you want to make a donation to a charity after your ride, select the charity that you want to support and send them a check with a note. If you want this to be a non monetary ride, then ride for them to provide emotional support only. Consider taking a picture during or after your ride and send it to them with a note letting them know this ride was for them.
There are no guidelines in regards to Christopher’s Ride except that it is in support of an individual and not a charity. We also ask that if your riding solo, put down the rear pegs and take them with you ( in spirit ).
The whole purpose and intent of the Christopher’s Ride is to share your love of biking with someone who is fighting a horrible disease. It is a way to give an individual a moment of freedom that we all experience while riding.
Fire up your bikes and Take a Christopher’s Ride on July 20th.
Thank you,
Christopher
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05.24.2008 | 10:34 am | Bathroom Renovation
We got all the tile on the walls and floor of the shower stall. The remaining floor area should be done soon. We grouted all the shower tile and put the sealer on. Once it is dry, we can install the faucets and shower heads. We will order the glass next week, and once that is installed, we can use the shower!!! Woo Hoo!!!!
We started this project on January 24th. We save a lot of money, but it has been a long time to have the bathroom ripped up. We can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.
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05.11.2008 | 10:00 am | Bathroom Renovation
I got the final bottom row of wall tiles put up, and we are now getting the floor tiles down. We are using the small tiles that are 2×2 and mounted on a one foot square piece of mesh. We cut a few of them into strips that are 2 tiles wide and made a border around the shower floor area, and are putting the full size pieces down in a diamond pattern. Ricardo is getting the initial ones lined up correctly for me.
Here is what it should look like when it is all finished.
Next, I need to seal the natural tile floor and wall pieces so the grout does not sink into the tiles when we apply it. Once that is done, we can start the grouting.
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04.30.2008 | 9:22 pm | Bathroom Renovation
Night after night I spent cutting, fitting and glueing tiles to the walls. I am now to the point where I have to get the floor tile down in the shower area so I can put the final wall tiles on. At that point, I can begin grouting the walls and let that cure while I finish the rest of the floor. It is finally beginning to look like a bathroom again.
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