Red Rock Mechanical, LLC Blog

Two Winter Heat Pump Problems—That Aren’t Really Problems

December 21st, 2016

Heat pumps have improved so much over the past decade that they are now practical in colder areas. Our winters are mighty chilly, but if you have the right heat pump installation from our experts, you can expect the system to make it through the season without trouble.

If this is your first winter using a heat pump, you might run into some behavior from it that will seem alarming. Actually, these odd-seeming occurrences are normal. If you know what to look for, you won’t need to panic and call for repairs.

Continue Reading

Tags: ,
Posted in Heat Pumps | Comments Off on Two Winter Heat Pump Problems—That Aren’t Really Problems

Let’s Keep Your Heating an Energy-Saver through the Winter

December 12th, 2016

No question about it… winter has already arrived here in Vermont. It doesn’t matter that the actual start date of winter is December 21. Vermont’s winter snow doesn’t follow any timetable!

If you’ve already had heating maintenance done for your furnace or heat pump (make sure to do this every fall), then you are already off to a good start with a heating system that will work at the highest energy efficiency throughout the season. But there are more steps you can take now that the winter is here to see that the heater gives you the best value for your comfort until spring arrives:

Continue Reading

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Heating | Comments Off on Let’s Keep Your Heating an Energy-Saver through the Winter

How to Deal with Frozen Pipes in Winter

December 5th, 2016

This is a topic that we need to turn to ever year right as winter starts to close in because it’s one of the major threats that household plumbing faces when temperatures plunge below zero. Frozen pipes are bad news for a whole range of reasons, but the two most important are:

  1. Frozen pipes stop the flow of water
  2. Frozen pipes can lead to pipe bursting and potential flooding

What can you do about frozen pipes? Let’s look at the steps you can take:

Continue Reading

Tags: ,
Posted in Plumbing | Comments Off on How to Deal with Frozen Pipes in Winter

Preparing Your Outdoor Air Conditioner for Winter

November 29th, 2016

Taking care of your home’s heating system to prepare it for winter is an essential step to take during the fall. However, your air conditioner requires some attention at this time as well. If you have a standard split-system AC (i.e. it has both indoor and outdoor components), it’s important to follow a few steps to “winterize” the air conditioner over the long months of cold when it won’t be running. This will help ensure its best operation when it starts up next year. These steps will protect the unit from snow as well as from rust.

Continue Reading

Tags: ,
Posted in Air Conditioning | Comments Off on Preparing Your Outdoor Air Conditioner for Winter

The Dangers of a Cracked Heat Exchanger in a Furnace

November 21st, 2016

Are you one of the many people who use a natural gas furnace to provide heat for the winter? If so, then you probably understand why they’re so popular for home comfort: gas furnaces are dependable and provide a level of heating that few other systems can top—and that’s especially important in our part of the country, when it gets cold.

You need to take some special precautions with gas furnaces, however. They aren’t automatically dangerous—they’re built with safety uppermost in mind—but they may run into some troubles that might lead to carbon monoxide poisoning. (Always have CO detectors in your home if you use natural gas.) Perhaps the most worrying problem is a cracked heat exchanger, which we’re going to look at now.

Continue Reading

Tags: , ,
Posted in Heating | Comments Off on The Dangers of a Cracked Heat Exchanger in a Furnace

Fixing Pinhole Leaks: Examples of How We Do It

November 14th, 2016

Among common plumbing issues that we take care of in our day-to-day work, pinhole leaks in copper pipes are among the most frequent. Copper pipes are corrosion-resistant, but there’s a special type of corrosion, pitted corrosion, that can affect them. This corrosion comes from chemicals often found in water and is difficult to prevent. When small pinhole leaks start up, however, they aren’t difficult for professional plumbers to fix. We’ll take you on a little tour of some of the ways that we solve these plumbing aggravations.

Continue Reading

Tags: , ,
Posted in Plumbing | Comments Off on Fixing Pinhole Leaks: Examples of How We Do It

How to Catch Furnace Repair Problems Early

November 7th, 2016

When temperatures plummet in the middle of winter, the last thing you want to happen is for your gas furnace to suddenly quit working. Although you can call for emergency repairs, you’re still in for an uncomfortable wait… especially if many other homeowners are experiencing the same problem. The best strategy when it comes to repairing a furnace is to have the repairs done as soon as you notice anything wrong with the furnace, even if it’s minor. A furnace rarely suffers a complete breakdown without some warning. We’ve put together some specific warnings to watch for during the late fall when your furnace starts to run regularly.

Continue Reading

Tags: ,
Posted in Heating | Comments Off on How to Catch Furnace Repair Problems Early

Reasons to Schedule Professional Duct Cleaning

October 31st, 2016

The ducts that make up a home’s ventilation system pick up dust, lint, dander, and various other particles over time. After a year, a thin layer of debris will already be clinging to the ductwork walls. After a few more years, this build-up can be substantial enough that it will have a negative effect on the performance of the heating and cooling system. Getting rid of this accumulation in the ducts requires professionals with special equipment.

You might think that duct cleaning isn’t that important, but there are a number of benefits to having it done every few years:

Continue Reading

Tags: ,
Posted in Indoor Air Quality | Comments Off on Reasons to Schedule Professional Duct Cleaning

Is It Time to Replace Your Water Heater?

October 23rd, 2016

A water heater is a necessity for any home, and it works all throughout the year no matter the weather. Think about how often you need hot water in your home on a daily basis and you’ll start to understand how much stress your water heater goes through.

This is why you need to give serious consideration to replacing your water heater after enough years have gone by and the system is showing signs that it’s starting to lag. Below we’re going to look a bit more at the age of a water heater and the warnings that it’s time to replace it.

Continue Reading

Tags: ,
Posted in Water Heaters | Comments Off on Is It Time to Replace Your Water Heater?

Winterize Your Hose Bibs before the Cold Hits

October 17th, 2016

The biggest step toward preparing your home for another chilly winter in Vermont is to arrange for heating maintenance from a skilled technician. But your plumbing requires some attention as well to help avoid issues from frozen pipes. There are a few parts of your plumbing that are exposed to the outside, and if these freeze over it can mean expensive damage.

In this post, we’re going to look at what you can do to winterize the most exposed part of a home’s plumbing: the outside hose bibs.

Continue Reading

Tags: , ,
Posted in Plumbing | Comments Off on Winterize Your Hose Bibs before the Cold Hits