Q. I would like to know if yearly servicing is really required on high efficiency furnace/air conditioners? If so, why and what should be performed by technician. Thank you

A. Gary has it right. The vast majority of service calls are on systems that have not been serviced on a regular basis. While there are a few things you can do yourself such as changing the filters or cleaning the coils, most of the things you will want to check are not DIY items. You cannot check the operating pressures of the ac unless you are a certified refrigerant technician. There is a $25,000 fine and/or a year in federal prison if you access a refrigerant system without that certification. Besides, you probably do not know the correct pressures and temperatures that are to be found for the conditions the system is being operated in. The technician will know them. Knowing how to check for proper combustion is another thing you will not be versed in. A qualified service technician will be knowledgeable in those things. You may have to spend a little money to have these things done but that's better than waiting for a failure that will cost many times more or a problem that could potentially kill you or your loved ones. Improper combustion can produce carbon monoxide which is a deadly poison. The wrong amount of refrigerant in a system can cause the compressor to burn out and costs several hundred dollars to repair. Coils that are dirty can cause the compressor to operate at excessive pressures and higher than normal temperatures. That leads to compressor failure. Filters that are dirty will reduce heat transfer adn not only raise operating expenses but can also lead to mechanical damage to the compressor. Have the system checked out by the professionals twice a year. Once in the spring to prepare for the cooling season and once in the fall to prepare for the heating season. Change your filters every three months.

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Q. My dryer takes forever to dry. I can see a small amount of steam coming out of the vent. I have had a professional duct cleaning service out they did a lousy job. Then I prepaid for sears to come out and fix the problem . The outside vendor that sears hired canceled once without calling then when I rescheduled he did not call to confirm. I put a complaint in and when he showed up I don't know if it was to get even with me or it was true. He said there was nothing wrong with my dryer and that I needed to start opening ceilings and such as the tubing for the vent was probably collapsed in the house somewhere. My husband tried the leaf blower and not much came out it still drys but very slow. Someone said you can rent some kind of camera to run through venting system? or I can buy some tubing and run it from dryer to outside and see if that works. My husband just wants to buy a new dryer I don't think that will solve the problem anyone know of what type of repair man I would call? or if I can somehow re vent the dryer without tearing ceilings apart?

A. TT; If your dryer is getting hot enough to make steam as you stated then it’s hot enough to dry clothes. You also mentioned (or if I can somehow re vent the dryer without tearing ceilings apart?) Since it’s apparent the vent vents up into your ceiling ( attic ?) it’s most defiantly the vent is clogged with lint from the dryer. Packed and with the volume lint I believe to be in your vent the leaf blower being an ingenious idea would not could not do much good as the lent while damp would be to heavy to move with the leaf blower and when the lint is dry it would be stuck together and to the sides of the vent. Mine is vented up and into the attic ( what a terrible idea ) and I have to every two years or so run a Wet-Vac flexible hose up the vent to clear out the vent. So someone is gonna need to run a wet-vac hose up and threw your dryer vent, run a snake threw it to break up the lent then use the leaf blower to finish cleaning it out. Bottom line the clogged drier vent will also shorten the life of the heating coil and burn it out so this needs to be done ASAP.

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Q. I asked this question once already, but I guess I didn't give enough info, so I am going to try this again. Bare with me because I honestly don't know anything about this, that is why I'm trying to get info on here. I am currently looking at buying a house that is heated with a boiler furnace. There are base board vents through out the house, and multiple thermostats to control the heating in the different "zones" of the house. I'm not sure if this also controls the hot water, or if there is a seperate hot water heater. My understanding is that there are lines that run along the base boards, hot water runs through them and some how heats the house?!?! Like I said, I really don't know, and I am just trying to get a better understanding of this system. ANY info on them would be much appriciated, such as cost to replace them, repair them, or service them. Common problems to watch out for, how they opperate, and if it would be better than a regular furnace. know to have it replaced with a regular furnace will cost some major money. And I also know that with this type of system, having central air installed will NEVER happen.

A. I can't tell from your description whether your system is hot water or steam. Usually, with baseboard radiators, it is hot water which means you do not have a "boiler", just a hot water furnace. It is heated by burning either natural gas or oil. The baseboard units "radiate" the heat carried by the water into the room. Each baseboard should have isolation valves and a small vent (operated by a key). You should bleed any air out of each radiator by opening the vent allowing any air to escape until water comes out of the vent. Start on the lower floors and work your way up to the upper floors of the house. Bleeding the air will maximize the efficiency. If you don't get water out, the system needs to have water added. Look for a supply valve near the heater. This heating system may or may not have a separate water heater for non-heating purposes (bath, laundry, kitchen etc.). Take a trip to your basement and get familiar with system. Get your gas or oil supplier or a plumber to walk you through the piping and valves.

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Q. I am a socially normal person. Whenever a handyman comes over to repair the roof, change a leaky faucet, or re-do the heating system, I am overwhelmed by the sexual tension. I remain very distant and courteous, but I can't help stealing glances at their pulsating muscles, torn and paint-splattered clothes, and gruff beards. (I do admit to tipping generously.) Is it normal to feel this much debilitating sexual tension?

A. They don't call them HANDYmen for nothing. Where do you think HANDY Manny got his name from... Those gloves.. are very unclean.

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Q. Hi My combi boiler (see link below) suddenly playing up. The boiler fire/burner ignites for few seconds then goes off. My tap gives HOT/COLD water. Radiator cold. Some times all the lights on the boiler flashes, other times (number 13 on the boiler - see user manual below lights up), user manual suggests if this symbol flashes it suggests "lack of water in the system" . My boiler/radiator is only 7 years old, but not sure if system was flushed prior to this boiler being installed by previous owner. The boiler also groans at time. British gas serviced the boiler, found no problem and suggested POWERFLUSH but i have been advised by local plumber this is motivational Commission talk. Unfortunately until i powerflush my boiler, my warranty is void. So i guess i dont have much of a choice. Upon speaking to local plumbers over the phone, they suggested power flush hardly resolves the problem and its more then likely plate heat exchanger needs cleaning or replacing. or its a faulty divertor valve or something to do with pump... any advise?? http://www.radiantboiler.com/radiantmanuals/Sliminstruction99943NA.pdf british gas do not cover power flush under the HOMECARE 200 agreement, funny isnt it, only fault they find and their service doesnt include this? They quoted £450 to power flush the system, local plumbers quote £300, finally found corgi engineer who can clean it for £240. If it doesnt fix the problem then british gas will look into it further....damn annoying!

A. The boiler manufacturer should have their own maintenance/service division or agent. Employ them to repair the boiler as necessary. BG tell virtually all their customers that their system needs a power flush at some point.The local plumber is right,its just a sales gimmick to unsuspecting customers and 95% of the time is pointless.The local corgi engineer does seem to have jumped on the band wagon by also offering you a flush when it might not be needed. Drop BG for your service contract and find a local heating engineer with fault finding experience that you can call on when required. The fault could be something as simple as a choked water pressure sensor or primary ntc sensor,both which cost roughly 15-20 pound.

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Q. I have a warranty for my laptop that is less than two-years old. I was informed by the company that they could not fix my laptop, they'd have to replace it. Unfortunately blah-blah-blah, they can't give me the laptop that I already have, so they offered me a different one. I spent a lot of money on this laptop customizing and upgrading things, and what they offered me just seems like too much of a loss. Unfortunately I'm not too technologically savvy when it comes to the inner-workings of the computer, and I was wondering if it seems like it'd be a significant down-grade. This is the laptop that I returned for repair: - Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit) - Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T9400 (2.53 GHz) - 15.4" diagonal WSXGA+ High-Definition HP BrightView Infinity Display (1680 x 1050) - 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) - 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT - 320GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection - [For BrightView Infinity] Webcam + Fingerprint Reader - HP Color Matching Keyboard - Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100AGN and Bluetooth(TM) - No Modem - SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support This is the offer I received for replacement.: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-370M Dual Core Processor (2.40 GHz, 3MB L3 Cache) + Intel(R) HD Graphics 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm) FREE Upgrade to 500GB 5400RPM Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection No Additional Office Software No additional security software High Capacity 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (standard) 15.6" diagonal High Definition LED HP Brightview Widescreen Display (1366x768) Blu-ray player & SuperMulti DVD burner HP TrueVision Webcam and Digital Microphone 802.11b/g/n WLAN and Bluetooth(R) Standard Keyboard I realize that the hard drive is 180 gigs bigger, and it has blu-ray, but between the loss an additional headphone jack, my fingerprint reader, my brightview border-less screen infinity screen, it just makes me wonder... Any help would be duly appreciated! I do realize the things I mentioned were trivial, what was really concerning me was the downgrade in the processor, and the network card. Would I seriously feel something like this? I'm pretty taxing on these things. Thanks for all the answers- and as far as whether or not I'm lucky- I did pay close to four-hundred dollars for a warranty just in case something like this happened- the company sells this thing for only about $150 more than that so they're not doing my any great favors. The fact is, the one I had was over-heating right out of the box. I just couldn't send it back until I finished with school. In the end, it was the motherboard that blew. I do hope to get on well with Windows 7. Vista had been gone from that thing a long time ago and was ultimately replaced with XP. I just realized that the processor was completely different. I thought it was the same one just slower. I wonder about the network card though.

A. Take the replacement. The 4GB DDR3 vs the old 4GB DDR2 is good enough to get the replacement. It is twice as fast. Windows 7 is so much better than Vista. You should consider yourself lucky that you are getting a free upgrade.

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Q. So When installing ceramic tile, (ours is going to be porceline) is it best to put the heating system ounderneath? Do you really need it. I keep telling my parents to put it and they aren't sure we really need it. I told them how my friend had it in her sunroom and they ended up pulling it all out a few years after to re-do it with the heating system underneath. What do you guys think? Also who would be installing it? Do you get an electrition or does the ceramic floor installer do it? Thanks! I'm sorry I didnt word that correctly...my friend had ceramic in her sunroom without the heating system and they pulled all the ceramics out afew years after to re-do it with the heating system because they said it was too cold all the time..thats what im worried about..is it really cold all the time on the feet..I felt the ceramic tile we have piled ready to be installed and it doesn't feel too cold, what do you think?

A. I would think that in most climates it wouldn't be absolutely necessary to have floor heating if your house has an alternate source of heat. I don't have heat under my tile floors.They do stay cool but shoes or socks remedy that. Another thing to consider is the heating cost. We had marble floors in the home I grew up in and it was heated. The cost of heating the floor is very expensive. Like I said it just depends on the climate. If you live in a very cold climate you may want to go ahead and install it but otherwise it's really not necassary. God bless!!

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Q. I have a twelve-year-old central A/C system in my condo (two floors, 1000 sqft). I had an A/C tech from a well known local company try and service it yesterday. It's a 4lbs system, and he put in 2lbs to test. He said there is a leak in the system. He didn't charge me for the 2lbs of freon, only $89 for the service call. He said the next step is to vacuum the system and check for leaks which will cost $379, plus however much it costs to fix the leak. He coming back today to perform this service.. I only intend to live in my home three more years. -- Should I pay to have it checked for leaks plus however much it costs to repair (could be a leaky joint, compressor or evaporator), just to have it possibly go bad next season or two? -- Should I just pay for a new system? I imagine it would cost $3k-$4k. Though, probably wouldn't have much of a return on it when I sell the condo in three years.

A. As a general rule, repair it if the cost is less than half the value of what you are repairing. When you exceed the 1/2 value, then is a good time to replace it.

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