Pioneer Plumbing has built a reputation of honesty with our long time returning customers. We’ve found that “doing the right thing†in all aspects of our company has brought us to where we are today, and will continue to guide us into the future. Don’t hesitate to call and ask us any plumbing, heating, ventilation, or gas related questions. Chances are if you have a tricky issue, we can solve it.
We have a few goals for our clients. One is to be available for you. It is very uncommon that when you call us we are unable to make it within the same day. We give our repeat customers priority service so if you’ve used us before and you have an emergency, we are going to do what we need to, to get someone there.
Two is to be upfront and honest. From our quotes to our service techs on site, we don’t like to beat around the bush. We will let you know our concerns, our recommendations, and our opinions on how we would handle each situation as if it were our own residence where the problem occurred. We won’t tell you the job is only a 2 hour repair when we have had situations where it turned into an all day repair.
Three is to stand behind our installations and repairs. With mechanical work, it is very common for jobs to get larger or go sideways as you get into them. If we give you a quote we will stand true to the price, if we complete a job for you and you are unhappy with the finished product, we will come back and make it right. In return, all we ask is that you communicate with our office respectfully and honestly so that we can make sure at the end of the day you are happy with our services!
So next time you have a plumbing, heating, cooling, or gas question, repair, or installation you would like quoted, give us a call! Were here to help.
The article directly below pertaining to Furnace Cleaning is definitely compelling. Don't miss out on it.
How One Can Avoid High Heating Repair Bills
You can maintain an furnace system numerous different ways. Odds are, during wintertime months your heater is on all day attempting to keep the home warm. furnace systems typically run longer than needed, because of incorrect settings. When troubleshooting and optimizing the heating portion of your furnace system, there are various areas to check out.
Replace The Air Filter
This is what you usually hear people talking about most often, but so few people take the advice and check it. When there is a obstruction, you either run the chance of not distributing heat effectively or perhaps starting a fire.When the air conditioner filter is dirty air will not flow through as well which means the furnace must work harder and could also mean a risk of fire. When a furnace works harder, it costs more to operate. You want eliminate any exposure to fire. Neither scenario is good for your bank account or your well-being..
Try The Blower
Look at the blower blades to make sure they are clean. If you find any buildup of grime and dust, your fan will need to work harder to blow the air out, and the heating will be overexerting itself. This means the system is overworking and costing more money to run.
Check To See That The Fire Damper Works
Be sure to look at your fire damper for correct operation. The fire damper explains itself so take note of this factor.
Look For Holes In The Flex Duct
Air ducts get bumped into over time. If there are obstructions or if the duct has flattened anywhere the furnace system will think the correct temperature has been achieved, which will be wrong. When this happens the furnace works harder to do its job but is going to be unable to reach the desired temperature range.
Band Insulation
Insulation is often overlooked but is perhaps the most regular explanations why an furnace system does not work properly. Take take time to look at the insulation between the duct work and the exterior to make sure it has not come loose. If this happens, your equipment will not reach ideal temperatures and work too hard to attempt to accommodate.
Air Ducts Need To Be Sealed
See that the ductwork does not become detached from the next section. Disconnected ductwork will permit warm air leak out and of course add to the running costs.
Check For Leaks In The Return Air Inlets And The Zone Dampers
Be certain to make sure return air intakes are clean and in good shape or your system will be out of kilter. Look at your dampers to verify that they are in the best spot. During the year we could change the positioning of the damper for many reasons (i.e. getting into a tight space or making room for storage). For a properly working system, look to see that the dampers are in the best place.
If this is a tad too much to handle on your own, we propose you hire an area plumbing business licensed for furnace and heating repair. You should manage to find a good heating company who can manage this for you. For the best results you can arrange annual maintenance for furnace and your heating people will call every year to take care of it.
What’s the cheapest way to heat your home this winter?
We all want to keep our homes nice and warm in winter, without spending a fortune. To find out the best way to save on heating, we did some research into the pros, cons and costs of electricity, gas and wood.
Find out which is the most cost effective and efficient way to heat your home this winter.
Electricity
Startup costs
You can buy a cheap fan heater, which is very efficient for warming a room quickly, for under R200. A 9-fin oil heater costs around R800. The better quality the heater, the more you will pay.
Cost of electricity
The heat energy of a heating device is measured in kilowatts (kW). The current cost of electricity in Johannesburg is R1.24 per kW. A 9-fin oil heater or an elctric fan uses around 2kW in an hour, so at R1.24 per kW, it will cost you R2.48 per hour.
Remember, though, that during peak times (between 07:00 and 10:00 and 17:00 and 21:00 on weekdays) in certain municipalities in winter, electricity can be billed at 2.5 times the standard rate. This Time of Use Tariff means that you’ll be paying R6.20 to use a heater during these times.
Heat generated
In South Africa, our heaters are limited by the type of power they can draw from our plug points, so the maximum heat they can generate is 3kW. However, as most of our heaters are imported, the maximum they can generate is 2kW, in line with European limitations.
Pros
Electric heaters are available in a range of sizes, functionality, cost and heat efficiency. In addition, the costs of heating a room with electricity are not overly high. And it’s convenient - as long as the power’s on, it is always available at the flip of a switch.
Cons
Electric heaters are dependent on the Eskom power supply, which means that if there is no power, you will have no heat. Certain types of heater – oil heaters, for instance – take a long time to warm up. Other types – like bar heaters – give a more immediate radiant heat, but there is a risk of burning yourself or even starting a fire. Electric heaters do tend to dry out the air but a humidifier or bowl of water nearby will solve that.
Gas
Startup costs
A portable gas heater starts in the region of R800 to R1 000. A 9kg gas bottle requires a deposit of R300 and the gas itself costs R200 for each refill.
Cost of gas
It is calculated that a 9kg gas canister, which costs around R200, will be used up in around 30 hours – so that’s R6.67 an hour.
Heat generated
Mobile gas heaters can give out over 4kW of heat. You can manually adjust their temperature to give out less heat, and thus use less gas.
Pros
Gas heaters deliver instant heat and are therefore very efficient at warming a room – or your cold hands!
Cons
The costs of gas and gas heaters are comparatively quite high. Also, gas heaters consume oxygen and so the room must be well ventilated. And you will have to arrange for gas to be delivered to your home, or take your gas bottles to be refilled.
Wood-burning stove
Start-up cost
David Wantling, a heating expert and the managing member of J Macdonald and Sons (trading as macD Fire House), says that a wood-burning stove or a closed combustion fireplace costs between R10 000 and R25 000, with installation of around R5 000.
Note that the following calculations do not include open fireplaces, which are very inefficient; only around 15% to 20% of the heat radiates into the room while the rest goes up the chimney.
Cost of wood
The cost of fuel for a wood-burning stove is far less than the cost of using electricity or gas. A bag of hard, well-seasoned wood containing around 25 pieces costs around R45. David estimates that a fire loaded with six pieces will burn for more than six hours at a moderate level. This means that the stove will consume about one piece of wood per hour at a cost of R1.80 per hour for an output of 6 to 8kW of heat. The cost is therefore around 30c per kW.
Heat generated
Closed wood-burning stove have an efficiency of up to 80%. Wood stoves’ heat outputs are generally rated as: small – 3kW to 6kW, medium – 5kW to 9kW, and large – 8kW to 12kW, and very large - above 12kW. The size of the space would determine the size fireplace you need.
Pros
Wood-burning stoves give off a lot of warmth very efficiently, and wood is an inexpensive fuel to burn in this way.
Cons
The start-up costs of buying and installing a wood-burning stove are fairly steep. And you will have to make arrangements to purchase wood.
The conclusion
Wood-burning stoves, while the most expensive to purchase, burn wood at a slow rate while generating a lot of heat, and are the most-cost effective way to heat a room.
Electric heaters are the cheapest to purchase, and their running costs are the second cheapest after wood stoves.
Mobile gas heaters are generally more expensive than their electric counterparts and their fuel is more costly than electricity and wood.
Of course, most people make the decision to heat their homes based on the equipment that they already have available and the convenience of getting hold of the right type of fuel. However, with the rising costs of all types of fuel, it is worth considering the financial implications of any heating solution that you opt for, so be sure that you go into any purchase or installation with your eyes open – especially with the wide range of products and models on the market.
I hope you liked our section about Furnace Maintenance Cost. Many thanks for spending some time to browse our article. Kindly take the time to promote this blog entry if you liked it. Thank you for taking the time to read it.