War Stories
Archive
Boil Away
Boilers experience cyclic stresses every time a burner starts and stops. Those stresses occur because the boiler structure resists the expansion and contraction that otherwise would occur from temperature change. The higher the firing rate, the greater the stress. ...
Waste of Money?
The contractor was about to start installing new coils to replace coils that froze when the director of engineering called to go over my design....
Don't Wait on Submittal Sheets
The corridor air-handling unit (AHU) in a high-rise was reported to be inoperative. The resident manager indicated the duct traversed a long shaft between...
A Comma Really Can Make all the Difference
A request for information came from the plumbing inspector shortly after the construction contract for a renovated school was signed. It said, "All water piping is undersized per Massachusetts Code and must be replaced. Please advise."...
Condominium Condensation
Water dripped from the windows and mold grew on the walls of a series of upscale urban condominiums. Other experts had ruled out water leakage. I arranged to visit several units....
Don't Play the Blame Game
After I retired, I received a call from an engineer with whom I had worked. He told me that, nearly three years earlier, he had installed an oven that was used to burn paint off of hooks that held sheet-metal panels while they were being painted. He had been trying to control fumes and smoke at the oven inlet ever since without success, and the workers were threatening to walk off of the job if the fumes were not controlled. I agreed to visit the plant to see if I could come up with a solution....
The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing But The Truth
A shopping-center developer called to report that a new mall’s centrifugal chillers had broken on opening day. The chiller manufacturer flew in technicians and parts to rebuild the chillers as quickly as possible, which cost close to $100,000. The developer wanted to find out why the chillers failed. Was it a manufacturing defect or something wrong in the installation or startup?...
Sometimes No Is the Right Answer
I was in a crankshaft grinding area in which a water and soluble-oil solution was used for cooling at the grinding station when I was asked if I could...
Not Just Another Refrigerant Leak
My colleagues and I had replaced a 20-ton, single-circuit condensing unit as part of a retrofit of a dual-duct variable-air-volume system. The cooling...
Ice, Ice, Baby, Too Cold
On a recent project, an owner's engineer had decided a large supply duct running down a corridor did not need to be insulated. You don't need it, and...
No Room at the Inn
A new retail tenant had no room for his own boiler, so he asked if he could tie into the building's utility steam service, which heated the apartments upstairs. The landlord insisted that the tenant provide a submeter and reimburse the landlord for steam use. ...
Following the Instructions
A company hired me to conduct pump training on site for its engineers and maintenance personnel. About midway through the first session, I learned that...
Ice Knocks Sensor Off Its Game
A customer called to comment on a dehumidification unit located in an ice arena. The unit uses so much energy we had to turn it off, the customer said....
Finding the Right Equipment
I designed an HVAC system for a large electronics store in midtown Manhattan, a fast-track construction project that was supposed to be completed during...
Solving Problems Off the Clock
When I checked into my room in one of the largest hotels in Las Vegas, the room was too warm, but the vertical chilled-water fan-coil unit was running...
Flood!: War Stories - April 2009
Flood! A few friends came over for a dinner party. With the first hot weather of the season, the air conditioning was especially welcome. Cleaning up,...
War Stories: Out With the Old
Converting a 1980s wood-framed office building to a private school was not going to be easy, but it could be done. Money was tight, but most of the building's existing mechanical and electrical systems could be reused. Keeping four main sets of toilet rooms intact also would save a lot of money. ...
Want to Get Paid? Check Your Work
To be sure the contractor would see a note in the specifications covering an addition to one of our plants, the following sentences were printed in capital letters: “When a contractor notifies the plant that his work has been completed, and before final payment is made, all of the work by the contractor will be surveyed to be sure it complies with the plans and specifications....
Trapped Gas
A sealed-combustion high-efficiency gas water heater connected to the outdoors by polyvinyl-chloride flue and combustion air-intake pipes running up through the roof provided domestic hot water and hot water for a heating coil in the air-conditioning unit. ...
WAR STORIES
Follow Your Noise A makeup-air unit we sold was only delivering half the required airflow to a new country club's golf-cart- maintenance shop. The grand...
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