Helpful Tips on Cutting Down Natural Gas Use

While Winter may be on it's way out, it still is cold outside and we're still turning our heat up. Yeenet.eu offers some helpful tips on how to save energy during these cold months.

* Make sure your furnance filters are clean. It is actually recommended to change your filters once a month. Do you remember the last time you changed yours?


* Reduce your hot water temperatures. There is a gauge on hot water heaters - and if you make sure it is locked in at the 'normal' setting. This could potentially save you 7-11% on your hot water. Just make sure your dishwasher does not require hotter water to run properly.

To read more information, check out the entire article here: YeeNet.eu

Home Improvement & Repair on Video: How to Stop Air Conditioner Condensation Drip

If you’ve noticed water dripping out of a pipe located by the porch or front door, you may have a clog in your primary condensation drip line.

Your air conditioner produces condensation as it runs. This build up can cause problems, which is why it is drained through the primary condensation drip line. But the drip line can get clogged with algae buildup, forcing the condensation to be diverted to a drip pan in the attic, which drains through your back-up condensation drip line.

You’ll need to go to your attic and locate the condensation line. Pull off the cap and pour some warm water and bleach down to clean out the algae. If the build up is too much, then you’ll need to get a snake to help you clean it out.



For more information on air conditioner condensation drip, contact the experts here at Beacon Plumbing, Heating & Mechanical.

5 Commercial Plumbing Services Your Business Building Needs

Your business building is similar to your home in a lot of ways. It has vents to circulate airflow, bathrooms containing toilets and sinks, and many even have kitchens resembling the ones we know from home. Because your business building is so similar to your home in how it works, doesn’t it make sense to have a plumber for it? Commercial plumbing services provide the regular maintenance and repair that your building’s appliances require.

Commercial plumbing also offers some services that residential plumbing does not. This comes in handy when you think about the large-scale plumbing and piping that business buildings contain. Let’s take a look at 5 commercial plumbing services that your business building needs:

1. Drinking fountain installation. Employees need to be able to get their daily water requirements in while at work, which is why drinking fountain installation is essential to business buildings.
2. Drain cleaning and repair. Your building has employees working and doing various tasks inside all day. Toilets, sinks, and other drains are constantly being used day in and day out. It’s important to make sure everything stays clean and in working order.
3. Sewage pump maintenance. The sewage pump plays a vital role in the disposal of waste. It is important that it’s always working to its fullest potential.
4. Leak detection. With such a large building having so much water being run through it, you’re at risk for leaks. Commercial plumbers can perform expert leak inspections.
5. Preventive maintenance. Having a professional plumber regularly check all the pipes will help them spot small problems before they get too big.



For the best in commercial plumbing, contact the experts here at Beacon Plumbing, Heating & Mechanical. Our crew specializes in sewer line repair, tankless water heaters, heating & furnace repair. We even offer emergency plumbing services for those unexpected circumstances. Contact us today for more information on our amazing services!

5 Ways to Stop Your Furnace From Wasting Your Money

Everyone is looking for ways to reduce monthly expenses these days. We try to cut down on eating at restaurants, lower our gasoline consumption, and decrease our cell phone plans. One of the easiest ways to save money is often overlooked—proper care and maintenance of your home heating system.

By taking proper care of your furnace you will not only be saving money on monthly bills, but you will reduce the chance of the need for heating & furnace repair.

Below are 5 simple tips to keeping your furnace from wasting your hard earned money:

1. Install a digital programmable thermostat for your furnace. Digital programmable thermostats are not only more accurate but can save you hundreds of dollars a year on your heating costs. Set your thermostat lower while you are out of the house and at night when you are sleeping.
2. Take the time to look for leaks around windows and doors. If leaks are found, then seal them with caulk or weather stripping. By taking the few minutes needed to check and fix leaks, you could reduce your heating bills by as much as 20%. You may also avoid an unnecessary call to your plumber.
3. Check your furnace filter every month. By keeping your furnace filter as clean as possible and changing it on a regular basis, you help your furnace run as efficiently as possible. This means a more comfortable house and lower utility bills.
4. Have a professional tune-up performed on your furnace annually by heating & furnace repair specialists. By having your furnace inspected and tuned up annually, you will ensure you get the best performance and longest life from your heating system.
5. If a problem does arise, then get your furnace repaired as soon as possible by a heating & furnace repair professional. Finding problems in the early stages helps keep your furnace running at peak efficiency.

At Beacon Plumbing, Heating and Mechanical, we are ready to help you stay warm and save money. We perform emergency plumbing, sewer line repair, heating & furnace repair, as well as tankless water heater installation. Our professional technicians are experienced and ready to fix any type of problem on almost any type of system. Give us a call today to see what we can do for you.

To Our Customers: Thank You

On behalf of Beacon Plumbing, I want to apologize to any of our loyal customers if we were late to our appointment with you during this past Thanksgiving week.

Last Monday in the Greater Seattle area we experienced unusually harsh weather which lasted through Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. Many of the people caught off guard by the snowstorm battled traffic jams for hours and hours on end on Monday only to go home to a cold house. By Thanksgiving Day many people suffered from broken pipes that had frozen during the 3 day cold snap when those same pipes began to thaw sprouting gushing leaks and forcing these people to shut off the water to their homes. Imagine facing a large group coming over to celebrate Thanksgiving at your home with no running water, or heat, or both. We understood the gravity of the situation for everyone who called in and desperately requested service.

We did the best we could, under the circumstances, to get out to as many of our customers as we could. It’s not as simple a matter to dispatch our technicians by assigning them to customers on a “first come, first serve” basis. We have to take into account the abilities of each technician, the distance they will have to travel, and we managed to dispatch as efficiently as we could reaching hundreds upon hundreds of people in the last week. Unfortunately, at times we could not get our technician to you in as timely a manner as we normally do. We take great pride in providing same day emergency services but sometimes circumstances and events are beyond our control.

We started early every morning and worked late every night. Yet, no one from the business office, to the shop, to the dispatchers, and especially our dedicated technicians, complained about the long hours. Some of our office staff stayed in a hotel near the office on the Monday it snowed because they knew the next day they would be needed in the office early in the morning.

We’re just now recovering from the sudden onslaught of so many people needing help. Our scheduling is beginning to return to some semblance of normalcy.

Please accept our apology for any inconvenience this may have caused you. If it’s any consolation, your patience, cooperation and understanding made it possible for many other people to enjoy the basics such as heat and hot water who otherwise would have been without during this Thanksgiving holiday.

Thank you.

William K. Cahill, President
Beacon Plumbing & Mechanical, Inc.

My Heat Exchange Is Cracked

The weather is starting to cool off and its time to start using your furnace again. If you have a gas furnace, you may want to have your furnace inspected and tuned up. If you do, and the technician tells you your heat exchanger may be cracked and you need a new furnace, you should read further . . .

The basic role the heat exchanger plays in your gas furnace is to confine the combustion from your gas furnace in a metal enclosure (the exchanger). The combustion heats up the exchanger and the heat is then blown throughout your house.

If the exchanger is cracked, then it means you’ll likely have to replace the furnace because it can pose a health hazard. One of the gases produced by the combustion is carbon monoxide, an odorless gas that is highly toxic. Replacing a heat exchanger is frequently not economically feasible and buying a new, replacement furnace is more economical in the long run.

That’s why it’s prudent to have your gas furnace inspected annually by a qualified heating technician from Beacon Plumbing. We’ll inspect the heat exchanger and other critical components in your furnace to give you peace of mind that your furnace will operate at peak efficiency when you need heat.

Contact us about one of our high efficiency gas furnaces that carry a lifetime warranty on the heat exchanger, and don’t forget, the tax credit for these furnaces expires at the end of 2010! For a very limited time a 10year extended warranty on parts and labor are being offered by some manufacturers.


Where is the crack?



1.Don’t let a dishonest heating technician try and sell you a new furnace by telling you
your heat exchanger is cracked. Ask that person some basic questions such as:


2.How big is the crack?


3.How much air is leaking from the crack?


4.Is the crack actually in the combustion area or in the sheet metal of the frame?


5.How will this crack affect the operation of the furnace?


6.Can you see light (blower removed) from the air side of the furnace?


7.How does the crack compare to the burner openings and the flue opening on each end of the heat
exchanger?

Know How Your Run-Off Drainage System Works

It’s Fall and the rainy season is just around the corner.

A wet basement or crawl space is a common problem if you live in the Northwest because we live in an area that gets rainfall for most of the year. Add in the geography of our area which is hilly to mountainous, it’s understandable why the ground can stay wet for so long after we’ve had some rain. While water coming into your basement is an obvious problem to fix, why the big deal about water in the crawl space? Most homes with crawl spaces have structural elements made out of wood. Wood is susceptible to “dry rot” if it becomes saturated, then allowed to dry out, only to become saturated again. So standing water beneath your home can pose a dry rot threat because of the constant moisture. That’s why a moisture barrier (thicker black “visquine plastic” is often used) is put over the bare dirt in the crawl space to keep the moisture below from reaching your home, but even the moisture barrier may not be enough to protect your home.

Often the problems of damp or wet basements and wet crawl spaces are the result of poor drainage of the runoff from the roof and other impervious surfaces around your home. On a rainy day do you ever wonder where the runoff is going? Do your gutters drain onto bare ground, or are your gutters “tied in” to some other drainage system such as a foundation footing drain? Even if your gutters are tied into a foundation footing drain, where does the foundation footing drain empty? What kind of pipe is being used in the foundation footing drain system and is there sufficient grade in the footing drain system to carry the runoff away from the foundation?

All of these factors need to be taken into account, plus other considerations like the topography around the home. When you understand how your runoff drainage system really works, you can then take preventative measures to keep the drain lines open and able to carry off the water so your basement or crawl space can dry out. Sometimes a sump pump is necessary because there’s just too much underground water, sometimes a “french drain system” is necessary but your expert technician at Beacon Plumbing can help you solve the problem and protect your home!