Red Rock Mechanical, LLC Blog: Archive for August, 2018

A Short-Cycling AC Is Bad News: Here’s Why

Sunday, August 19th, 2018

spinning-fan-closeup“Short-cycling? What’s that?” We know it sounds like a strange circus act or a short-distance bicycling competition. But it’s a term for faulty behavior from a cooling system. If you hear your home’s AC starting and stopping multiple times over an hour, that’s short-cycling. This isn’t something you want to happen, since it spells trouble for your air conditioning in Burlington, VT. In most cases, you’ll need to call up HVAC technicians to find out why the AC is short-cycling and what to do about it.

Why is short-cycling a problem?

First, we must explain in greater detail what short-cycling means. When the thermostat of a house makes a request for cooling, the air conditioner starts up its fans and the compressor motor. The compressor is the component that allows for heat exchange and cooling of the air. The compressor remains running until the thermostat registers it has reached the target temperature, and then the compressor cycles down. In mild weather, the AC cycle lasts approximately 10 to 15 minutes and completes 2 to 3 times per hour.

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Museum of Weird Plumbing: Strange Things That Can Clog Your Drains

Monday, August 6th, 2018

oh-no-not-the-museum-of-weird-plumbing

When you think about calling for a plumber, what’s the first plumbing problem that pops to mind? We’d bet in seven cases out of ten you’d say “clogged drain.” Slow or clogged drains are among the most common and irritating of plumbing troubles. Every home runs into them at some point, and no matter how much care people take to prevent them, they can still crop up—and often for some pretty strange reasons.

The main culprits behind clogged drains are food waste, FOG (fats, oils, grease), soap scum, hair, and small objects from bathroom and kitchen counters that may go down the drains by accident. Plumbers know how to deal with each of these. But plumbers also know how to deal with some of the more unusual and uncanny reasons for clogged and slow drains. Step into our “Museum of Weird Plumbing” and meet some of the other villains that can stop up your sinks, showers, toilets, and tubs.

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