Columnists: Yates
HP water heaters: where the rubber meets the road
The good news, no make that great news, for my friend and competitor who said that: he doesn't need the license to sell and install HP water heaters. The refrigerant circuit is self-contained. The potentially bad news is that failure to follow a few basic guidelines will increase operating costs for his customers and potential for service issues he'll be forced to correct. ...
Heat Pump Water Heaters — Part 2
Keep selling heat pump water heaters after tax credit expires
Step right up! Get your tax credits here! Well, at least up until Dec. 31, 2010. Due to expire at the stroke of midnight, the 30% up to a maximum of $1,500 Federal tax credit, www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=tax_credits.tx_index, has been a boon for business these past two years and a huge advantage for selling tax-credit-eligible products. With less than half a year to go, we’ll need to sharpen our sales skills if continued sales of more expensive, higher-efficiency equipment are to continue at, or near to, the same pace. ...
Making hay with the RPA
One thing that's undeniable: this recession and economy has altered the way we do business. Chances are you’re operating a bit leaner and paying closer attention to details than when the economy was firing on all eight cylinders just two years ago. It's not easy being an independent small business and it seems to get tougher with each passing year. ...
Drain-line carry and HETs
If ever there has been a phrase designed to strike fear into our hearts, it has to be this one. If, as has been widely suggested, drain-line carry dictated where adequate drainage stopped and stoppages began forming, we’d be spending every minute of every day occupied with clearing waste blockages....
1.6 ULF to 1.28 HET upgrade concerns
Mike, a plumbing engineer, writes, "Hello Mr. Yates. I’ve been commissioned to perform water-efficiency audits at several facilities in the area, which is to include recommendations for toilet and urinal replacement/retrofits. Most of these facilities are currently equipped with 1.0-gpf urinals and 1.6-gpf toilets....
Papal permit trumps plumbing code
Hey Gene, I need half a plumbing permit for a double-bowl sink! Gene was Eugene Witmer, the York City plumbing inspector at the time, and we were installing a special plumbing fixture. I wanted to give my friend Gene a bit of a hard time — in a friendly manner — about this fixture. Two drains for two bowls in a single fixture...
One on one with SEIA's president, CEO
During SPI (Solar Power Intl.) in Anaheim, Calif., last October, I had an opportunity to interview Rhone Resch, president and CEO of Solar Energy Industries...
Solar hot water sales are hot, hot, hot
Rhone Resch, CEO of Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), www.seia.org, recently noted that sales of solar thermal water systems enjoyed a 50% increase...
CSE: contractors are always responsible
So, you want to get serious about safety where Confined Space Entry is concerned? Get out your wallet to purchase the following additional items (last...
Be safe: CSE requires a series of steps
Toss the dice and take your chances. Some gambles in life hold greater risk than others. Confined Space Entry (CSE) claims an average of 91 lives each...
Public bathroom pressure woes resolved
Last month's column dealt with the low-water pressure problems faced by a large public park. New restrooms had been completed, but the installed plumbing...
Public restroom water pressure woes
The park's director of public works called with a water-pressure issue: We have a new restroom facility and the water pressure can't be regulated properly...
A call for common sense with WaterSense
Consider me spoiled when it comes to using scald-guard style shower faucets. So much so that my recent experience, repeated each day for four days, using...
The 1.28-gpf limbo: how low can we go?
I'm on a toilet binge seriously! While I was admiring our newest 1.28-gpf water closet's performance the other day, it struck me that I've been working...
Size matters when adding an indirect water heater
Recently I received a number of questions, like the following one, from readers about sizing indirect water heaters: I am considering an indirect and...
Dave’s ultimate ROI sales tool
Here’s how you overcome price objections when you are selling high-efficiency equipment: sell return on investment. ROI allows customers to sweep the fog from their eyes to clearly see why an investment in high efficiency HVAC products is in their best interest....
Help my water heater isn't working
Looking back, I thought it was a one-of-a-kind Rube Goldberg job. Someone's twisted idea for cobbling together a cheap indirect-fired water heater to...
Anger management: keeping cool is best
Plumbing contractor Dave Yates on dealing with angry customers...
Slam dunk a two point energy swish
Imagine you live in a home with no insulation, single-pane glass windows and solid wood doors: the kind of home many inner-city and country folk live...
A story behind every badge
Carly Simon's song was stuck on mental replay in my mind as Dan Ashenden, publisher of Radiant Living, Green Mechanical and Contractor magazines, and...
Here we go again
Remember when gasoline was $5 a gallon everyone was screaming bloody murder SUV sales fell off a cliff, fuel oil was just under $5 a gallon, crippling...
Inverters Invade the U.S.
Every now and then, I get pretty riled up over an issue that gets under my skin. According to my bride, that occurs just about every third second! Well,...
Cubic feet of infiltration is the enemy
Did you know that for every 100 Btu of fossil fuel, one cubic foot of air is required for adequate combustion? We've always known about the need for providing...
Getting Your Walk Away Money, Part 2
We previously discussed air infiltration heat losses with our homeowners and that became a financial concern. We know they burn an average of 1,000-gal....
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