Do it Yourself: 2014

31 December 2014

RE: [DIY] Have a Question

Reading these good answers, I realized one thing that may cause the problem. If the grill to the compressor outside is dirty and clogged, it will run hotter and use more electricity. It will also cause a replacement to be done. Spray simple green on the coils outside and wait a few minutes before washing it out with a spray hose. If the fins have been bent up then that also might block the air.

As I'm writing this I'm thinking this might be the case for a heat pump. It is important for the summer cooling unit.

To: DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com
From: DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 22:06:15 -0500
Subject: [DIY] Have a Question

For the past year have been getting High Electric Bills The House is all
Electric including hot water hearer air conditioning . Now the cooking
stove is Brand new all the radiators have been rebuilt, the only thing
that is gas is the Dryer. Now as I said usage is been above normal for
the past year. The only thing I can think of is the Electric Hot water
heater. The heater is over 10 years old, and I think it may be running
more than normal but you can not hear it running when your in the
Basement. As I said Have all new Appliances in the House and the only
thing that is older is the Electric Hot water heater. So my question
becomes could the hot water heater be running, could it have bad
Thermostats which are not telling the heater to shut off. When you feel
the Tank thought it is not hot to the touch, and we get hot water. Need
some help with these High Electric bills. any help would be deeply
appreciated.

__._,_.___

Posted by: Ron Johnson <l0c0l0b0@hotmail.com>

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[DIY] Re: Have a Question

Have you had the heater, A/C inspected recently? The blower motor may be running longer than previously as the system ages.

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Posted by: DJ <ddj0195@yahoo.com>

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Re: [DIY] Have a Question

The two biggest consumers of electricity is the hot water heater and the heating/cooling system. Followed by the dryer and cooking range. You might try pulling the main breaker to the house and see if your outside meter stops spinning.

If it *doesn't* it means that something *outside* your home is drawing power (hot tub? pool? sneaky neighbor?). That

will at least isolate the problem to something inside our home and then it's just a process of elimination. If your meter

is still spinning with all power to the house turned off, you can get your electric company to come out and find out

where the power drain is coming from. It could quite possibly be a faulty meter.

-aki

On Wed, Dec 31, 2014 at 7:53 AM, Bob Davis bob@wrobertdavis.com [DoIt_Yourself] <DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

Is your electric meter the mechanical type that has a disc spinning? It spins faster as your usage increases. You may be able to ascertain roughly if your water heater is the culprit.

Turn the breaker off that controls the water heater. Observe how fast the disc is spinning. Then turn the breaker on and see how much it is spinning. As the water heater is a high energy consumer, it should be noticeable at your meter.

You could check your meter several times a day and see if it is spinning at the high rate and get a pretty good idea if the water heater is running all the time.

In my area, we have electronic meters and I can go online and look at my usage chart throughout the day to see things like increased air conditioner usage during the hottest part of the day during the summer.

Bob

On Dec 30, 2014, at 10:50 PM, John Burke jburke9564.1@gmail.com [DoIt_Yourself] <DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

no rate increase usage chart shows a lot of usage,

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Posted by: Aki <01dyna@gmail.com>

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[DIY] Re: Inaccurate Thermostat Temperature

If you have a modern circuit board system, and a bad connection/ function of airflow switch, unit will cycle gas on/off because the board thinks the fan is not running. It will maybe keep from freezing, but never get up to temp.

Terry
thenne1713@aol.com

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Posted by: Terry <thenne1713@aol.com>

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Re: [DIY] Have a Question

Is your electric meter the mechanical type that has a disc spinning? It spins faster as your usage increases. You may be able to ascertain roughly if your water heater is the culprit.

Turn the breaker off that controls the water heater. Observe how fast the disc is spinning. Then turn the breaker on and see how much it is spinning. As the water heater is a high energy consumer, it should be noticeable at your meter.

You could check your meter several times a day and see if it is spinning at the high rate and get a pretty good idea if the water heater is running all the time.

In my area, we have electronic meters and I can go online and look at my usage chart throughout the day to see things like increased air conditioner usage during the hottest part of the day during the summer.

Bob

On Dec 30, 2014, at 10:50 PM, John Burke jburke9564.1@gmail.com [DoIt_Yourself] <DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

no rate increase usage chart shows a lot of usage,

__._,_.___

Posted by: Bob Davis <bob@wrobertdavis.com>

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Re: [DIY] Have a Question

Does your bill show usage? Maybe the price per KWH has gone up. Compare usage now to usage a year ago.

Google Jers Tablet
Woodhaven, MI

On Dec 30, 2014 11:11 PM, "Lee Griffith ldgriff@earthlink.net [DoIt_Yourself]" <DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

Do you have a smart meter that you can look at when the water heater is turned on and off to see what it is drawing? Does your water have a lot of calcium that has coated the heating element?

Lee

Sent from my iPad

On Dec 30, 2014, at 10:06 PM, John Burke jburke9564.1@gmail.com [DoIt_Yourself] <DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

For the past year have been getting High Electric Bills The House is all
Electric including hot water hearer air conditioning . Now the cooking
stove is Brand new all the radiators have been rebuilt, the only thing
that is gas is the Dryer. Now as I said usage is been above normal for
the past year. The only thing I can think of is the Electric Hot water
heater. The heater is over 10 years old, and I think it may be running
more than normal but you can not hear it running when your in the
Basement. As I said Have all new Appliances in the House and the only
thing that is older is the Electric Hot water heater. So my question
becomes could the hot water heater be running, could it have bad
Thermostats which are not telling the heater to shut off. When you feel
the Tank thought it is not hot to the touch, and we get hot water. Need
some help with these High Electric bills. any help would be deeply
appreciated.

__._,_.___

Posted by: Jerry Hnidy <jhnidy@gmail.com>

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Re: [DIY] Have a Question

no rate increase usage chart shows a lot of usage,

On 12/30/2014 11:34 PM, Bob Davis bob@wrobertdavis.com [DoIt_Yourself] wrote:

Have you examined your billing history to see that the actual usage went up? …or did you just get a rate increase? Is the rate for the past year the same as previous years?

On Dec 30, 2014, at 9:06 PM, John Burke jburke9564.1@gmail.com [DoIt_Yourself] <DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

For the past year have been getting High Electric Bills

__._,_.___

Posted by: John Burke <jburke9564.1@gmail.com>

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Re: [DIY] Have a Question

Have you examined your billing history to see that the actual usage went up? …or did you just get a rate increase? Is the rate for the past year the same as previous years?

On Dec 30, 2014, at 9:06 PM, John Burke jburke9564.1@gmail.com [DoIt_Yourself] <DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

For the past year have been getting High Electric Bills

__._,_.___

Posted by: Bob Davis <bob@wrobertdavis.com>

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Re: [DIY] Have a Question

Do you have a smart meter that you can look at when the water heater is turned on and off to see what it is drawing? Does your water have a lot of calcium that has coated the heating element?

Lee

Sent from my iPad

On Dec 30, 2014, at 10:06 PM, John Burke jburke9564.1@gmail.com [DoIt_Yourself] <DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

For the past year have been getting High Electric Bills The House is all
Electric including hot water hearer air conditioning . Now the cooking
stove is Brand new all the radiators have been rebuilt, the only thing
that is gas is the Dryer. Now as I said usage is been above normal for
the past year. The only thing I can think of is the Electric Hot water
heater. The heater is over 10 years old, and I think it may be running
more than normal but you can not hear it running when your in the
Basement. As I said Have all new Appliances in the House and the only
thing that is older is the Electric Hot water heater. So my question
becomes could the hot water heater be running, could it have bad
Thermostats which are not telling the heater to shut off. When you feel
the Tank thought it is not hot to the touch, and we get hot water. Need
some help with these High Electric bills. any help would be deeply
appreciated.

__._,_.___

Posted by: Lee Griffith <ldgriff@earthlink.net>

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Re: [DIY] Have a Question

Is your insulation up to snuff? Attic insulation, around windows and doors, and outlets? That could be one way you are losing $$. Along with the heater being old.

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

From:"John Burke jburke9564.1@gmail.com [DoIt_Yourself]" <DoIt_Yourself@yahoogroups.com>
Date:Tue, Dec 30, 2014 at 9:06 PM
Subject:[DIY] Have a Question

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Posted by: "Tatia L. Sanchez" <cutipi_ddiesel@yahoo.com>

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[DIY] Have a Question

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Posted by: John Burke <jburke9564.1@gmail.com>

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Re: [DIY] Re: Inaccurate Thermostat Temperature

Thermostats do go bad. The temperatures where the thermostat turns off and back on again is called the differential setting. Most thermostats don't have a controllable adjustment for that. Its usually set several degrees apart from the set temperature to stop what is called hysteresis, I think that s the right word for it. That is a condition where the thermostat turns off and on repeatedly faster that the unit can respond.
Usually the wire used is about 18 gauge bell wire. Mostly just for the durability but a smaller gauge can be used. The amperage at that voltage is very slight. Bell wire is a solid copper wire. The voltage is usually low but can vary according to the standard of the AC unit/heating unit being used. Most AC/heat units are 24VAC but look on the AC unit to see if you can find the voltage for the thermostat. That voltage will determine what thermostat you get to replace the old one. There should be 3 wires used, a common, AC, and heat wire. I suppose its possible they could use 24VDC too. Just be sure to get the right thermostat and the repair is easy.
Steve

On 12/30/2014 4:46 PM, subprong subprong@gmail.com [DoIt_Yourself] wrote:

So, I think I've stumped the panel with that previous question.

Anywho, I think I need to replace the digital thermostat with an older manual thermostat that I already have.

As far as I can tell things seem to be straight forward with the wires and their corresponding letters (colors). The only snag that I can see is that I believe the RC and RH (power for cooling and heating) have a jumper wire. Now the gap on the current thermostat between those two terminals is shorter than the gap on the thermostat that I want to install. Meaning, the jumper wire will be too short for the new thermostat. Is there a certain type or gauge of wire that I need to get and cut as a jumper for the install on the thermostat?

On Mon, Dec 15, 2014 at 11:05 PM, subprong <subprong@gmail.com> wrote:

Digital thermostat for AC/HEAT (about 10 years old). It's reading the temp incorrectly. I don't know what the actual temp is but initially I estimated that the reading is at least 10 degrees higher than what it should be reading. ...and I think the gap has widened within recent days (as a matter of fact, as of the last reading it was apparently 110 degrees or "10" since there isn't room for a 3rd digit).

I've checked the batteries. They still have juice in them (plus the change battery indicator isn't showing) and there are no signs of leaked acid. I've "reset" it a few times but the temp climbs right back up to the incorrect reading. I see no signs of dirt or dust in the unit. This thermo's temp can be manually changed but the differential is only by 4 degrees up or down and I'm sure it's well above that mark.

My question. At this point, I'm going to assume the thermo has gone bad (but please tell me if there is something else I should look for). I don't care what the reading says. I'll keep it so long as the AC or Heat kicks on at the correct temperature. Meaning....please tell me whether this would be the case or not....

Let's say the actual temp inside is 70 degrees but the unit states that it is 80 degrees. Now, if I set the heat to kick on at a thermostat reading of 82 degrees (2 degrees above the thermo readin)....will the heat actually pump out at 82 degrees or will it pump out at 72 degrees (2 degrees above the actual temp)?

I guess I'm not sure if there is a secondary measure of temp in the central air unit or if all measures of temp are read and sent strictly by the thermostat.

...on a side note, is there a reason why thermostats don't allow you to start the heat or AC (not the fan) at any particular temperature (as oppose to only above or below the actual temp).

__._,_.___

Posted by: Steve Wilson <virtualwilz@yahoo.com>

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[DIY] Re: Inaccurate Thermostat Temperature

So, I think I've stumped the panel with that previous question.

Anywho, I think I need to replace the digital thermostat with an older manual thermostat that I already have.

As far as I can tell things seem to be straight forward with the wires and their corresponding letters (colors). The only snag that I can see is that I believe the RC and RH (power for cooling and heating) have a jumper wire. Now the gap on the current thermostat between those two terminals is shorter than the gap on the thermostat that I want to install. Meaning, the jumper wire will be too short for the new thermostat. Is there a certain type or gauge of wire that I need to get and cut as a jumper for the install on the thermostat?

On Mon, Dec 15, 2014 at 11:05 PM, subprong <subprong@gmail.com> wrote:

Digital thermostat for AC/HEAT (about 10 years old). It's reading the temp incorrectly. I don't know what the actual temp is but initially I estimated that the reading is at least 10 degrees higher than what it should be reading. ...and I think the gap has widened within recent days (as a matter of fact, as of the last reading it was apparently 110 degrees or "10" since there isn't room for a 3rd digit).

I've checked the batteries. They still have juice in them (plus the change battery indicator isn't showing) and there are no signs of leaked acid. I've "reset" it a few times but the temp climbs right back up to the incorrect reading. I see no signs of dirt or dust in the unit. This thermo's temp can be manually changed but the differential is only by 4 degrees up or down and I'm sure it's well above that mark.

My question. At this point, I'm going to assume the thermo has gone bad (but please tell me if there is something else I should look for). I don't care what the reading says. I'll keep it so long as the AC or Heat kicks on at the correct temperature. Meaning....please tell me whether this would be the case or not....

Let's say the actual temp inside is 70 degrees but the unit states that it is 80 degrees. Now, if I set the heat to kick on at a thermostat reading of 82 degrees (2 degrees above the thermo readin)....will the heat actually pump out at 82 degrees or will it pump out at 72 degrees (2 degrees above the actual temp)?

I guess I'm not sure if there is a secondary measure of temp in the central air unit or if all measures of temp are read and sent strictly by the thermostat.

...on a side note, is there a reason why thermostats don't allow you to start the heat or AC (not the fan) at any particular temperature (as oppose to only above or below the actual temp).

__._,_.___

Posted by: subprong <subprong@gmail.com>

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