Red Rock Mechanical, LLC Blog

Heating Repair FAQ: What’s That Sound?

January 29th, 2014

Has your heater started to make strange and loud noises? Do you wonder whether your heater is supposed to rumbling, hissing or clanging? Heater problems are often recognized by unusual sounds. Taking heed of these warning signs is important—today’s minor repair is tomorrow’s major repair. Staying alert to your heating system is part of ensuring system longevity and energy-efficiency. Heating problems are often increasing your utility bills in some way. For heating repair in Burlington, VT, call Red Rock Mechanical today!

While our descriptions of sounds vary from person to person, there are some commonly recognized noises that indicate certain problems. Let’s take a look at a few:

  • Rumbling. If your gas boiler or furnace rumbles, then it’s possible the burner or heating element is no longer working properly. This can also indicate an issue with the pilot light.
  • Hissing. If you hear hissing near your heat pump unit, either indoor or outdoor, then you may have a refrigerant leak. This can cause significant damage to your system if left for long. If you hear hissing in the ductwork surrounding your heater’s air handler, then you may have a leak or crack in your ductwork. This can cause inadequate and uneven heating.
  • Squealing. If your heater squeals, then it’s probably a loose or worn belt, which connects the blower motor to the fan. It may even sound a bit like a loose radiator fan belt in your car on a cold morning. This is often a quick fix, but it depends on the condition of your blower motor and how bad the damage is.
  • Grinding. Grinding is typically caused by the friction of metallic parts. If you have dry bearings in your motor, then that is probably the culprit.
  • Rattling. This is often a vibration issue, caused by loosely connected panels and components. Ensuring that your heater is securely fastened at all times is important to the integrity of the machine as well as your safety.

We hope this brief guide helps you to identify strange noises in your heating system. When you’re ready to fix your heater, call Red Rock Mechanical for Burlington, VT heating repair. 

Continue Reading

Tags: ,
Posted in Heating | Comments Off on Heating Repair FAQ: What’s That Sound?

My Furnace Broke Down: Should I Repair or Replace It?

January 21st, 2014

In towns like Plattsburgh, NY heating concerns are quite serious, especially considering how cold our winter has been thus far. A new furnace entails time and investment, which may entice you to just hang on with your old one for a time. On the other hand, you may be experiencing such significant problems that replacement is preferable to repairs. The status of your furnace should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, but a few general tips can help you decide what to do.

It usually boils down to a question of cost, and whether this particular round of repairs is worthwhile or simply throwing good money after bad. If the repairs are particularly expensive, or if this single repair costs a great deal of money, it may be preferable to install a new one rather than fixing the old. This gives you the opportunity to install a more efficient heater (which can save you money in monthly bills) and/or a heater that includes technological upgrades such as digital thermostats and variable speed fans. All of that can help offset the additional cost, or at least make that cost worthwhile.

Similarly, the age of the furnace should come into play as well. A newer furnace – especially one still under warranty – should likely be repaired instead of replaced. Otherwise, you won’t be getting your money’s worth out of it. If the furnace is more than ten years old, however, and it’s experiencing serious or more frequent repairs, then the time may have come to replace it with a new unit.

If you’re saying to yourself “my furnace broke down: should I repair or replace it?” then the experts at Red Rock Mechanical can help. Call us for any Plattsburgh, NY, heating repairs you need. We can inspect your furnace to see what the problem is and either instigate repairs or install a new furnace depending on what you need. Our trained staff of experts can answer any questions you may have, then schedule a repair or installation on a timetable that meets your needs. Pick up the phone and give us a call today!

Continue Reading

Tags: ,
Posted in Heating | Comments Off on My Furnace Broke Down: Should I Repair or Replace It?

What to Do When Your Heating Malfunctions

January 14th, 2014

What to do when you heating malfunctions depends a lot on your particular circumstances. There always comes a time when sinking more money into an existing heater just isn’t worth it. When your heater malfunctions – especially in the dead of winter, when you need it up and running again fast – you need to look for signs to tell you which decision to make. A brief overview of some of the more obvious signs is included below.

  • Higher heating bills. As your heater wears out, it spends more and more energy to do the same basic job, which translates to higher monthly bills. If you’ve noticed higher costs every month, even though your heater isn’t being used any more than normal, then a malfunction may be the final straw indicating that a new heater is in order.
  • Recurring repairs. It’s quite possible that the malfunction is being caused by something that you’ve had repaired before. Or, it may be that the malfunction comes at the end of a long string of further repairs. Either way, it’s a good sign that your existing furnace is ready to give up the ghost, and you should probably invest in a new one.
  • Age. An older heater isn’t necessarily ready to give up the ghost, but if your heater is more than 10 years old and evinces the kinds of problems described above, it’s definitely time to consider a replacement. You might also want to think abo a replacement if you want a more efficient heater (newer heaters are invariably more efficient than old ones) or if you want to install improved features like a variable speed blower.

Repair or replace? What to do when your heating malfunctions can be extremely tricky to determine. Luckily, the Plattsburgh, NY heating repair experts at Red Rock Mechanical can help. Pick up the phone and give us a call today!

Continue Reading

Tags: ,
Posted in Heating | Comments Off on What to Do When Your Heating Malfunctions

The Winter Is Already Here: Can I Put off Heating Maintenance for Another Year?

January 7th, 2014

We all lead busy lives and sometimes mundane tasks can get put off longer than they should. Case in point: your heating system. Here in Burlington, VT, heating is a serious issue, and ideally every homeowner should schedule maintenance before winter starts in order to ensure that their home is kept warm without undue inefficiency. But life has a way of putting more pressing concerns in the forefront, and homeowners might very well find themselves in the middle of winter without scheduling a maintenance visit for their heater. “The winter is already here: can I put off heating maintenance for another year?” Yes, you can, though like everything else, it comes with a price.

Maintenance basically serves two purposes: to ensure your heater is running at maximum efficiency and to identify potential problem areas.  In both cases, it benefits you to schedule maintenance as soon as possible. In the first case, if you don’t clean off the dust and tighten loos bolts and fittings, the furnace is going to use more energy when it runs. This translates to higher monthly bills for you, as well as increasing wear and tear on individual components overall.

The second purpose is even more significant. If you can’t spot a smaller issue before it becomes a larger one, you run a greater risk of a more serious breakdown: costing you more money and possibly cutting you off from heat in the dead of winter. Considering the severity of the weather this time of year, that’s no small concern.

In light of that, it’s in your best interest to schedule a maintenance visit, even if winter has already arrived. True, you can push it off until next year, but doing so will ultimately cost you money in some form or another. If you need to schedule an appointment, call Red Rock Mechanical today. We work in Burlington, VT, heating maintenance and repair issues are our specialty, and we can help lower your bills and retain a reliable heating system with routine maintenance. Call us today to set up an appointment!

Continue Reading

Tags: ,
Posted in Heating | Comments Off on The Winter Is Already Here: Can I Put off Heating Maintenance for Another Year?

The Ball in Times Square

December 30th, 2013

New Year’s is a time for parties, fun and great traditions, some of which go back more than a century. Among them is the famous “dropping of the ball” in Times Square, an event which is broadcast to millions of people every New Year’s Eve. With 2014 nearly upon us, we thought we’d take the opportunity to look at the history of this popular New Year’s Eve festivity.

The idea began in 1907 at what was then the New York Times building at One Times Square. The newspaper’s owner, Adolph Ochs, had been celebrating the New Year with fireworks since 1903. He wanted make the event even more remarkable, and added the ball in December of 1907 to welcome in the New Year. The first ball was designed by Artkraft Strauss, who made it out of iron, wood, and light bulbs. It took six men to hoist the ball up the building’s flag pole; once midnight struck, the tremendous ball was carefully lowered, and all were allowed to marvel at it.

Since then, the ball has undergone many changes in materials and design, and even the New York Times has moved to another building. But the tradition remains and the ball has dropped over One Times Square ever since. Today, the ball is electronically controlled, and uses LED lamps for its construction: designed by Waterford Crystal and weighing in at over 1,200 pounds.

A number of television broadcasts have helped carry the event over the years, but by far the most famous is “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” which first ran in 1972. The show was created and hosted by Dick Clark, who became a staple of the event as much as the ball itself. Clark hosted the show every New Year’s Eve from 1972 until his death in 2012. Since then, it has been hosted by Ryan Seacrest, who shared hosting duties with Clark starting in 2005.

Whether you’re watching the ball drop on TV or have some other New Year’s Eve plan in mind, we here at Red Rock Mechanical wish you nothing but the best for 2014. Have a safe and happy New Year!

Continue Reading

Tags:
Posted in Happy Holidays | Comments Off on The Ball in Times Square

Happy Holidays!

December 23rd, 2013

Holiday greetings from Red Rock Mechanical! We hope you are having safe and pleasant season, enjoying your favorite traditions for this time of year. We wish you the very best, and we thank you for your business this year.

In honor of the season, here are some fun facts about one of everyone’s favorite holiday movies: It’s a Wonderful Life.

For years, one of the enduring December traditions in the United States was watching the movie It’s a Wonderful Life playing almost nonstop on numerous television stations. No matter the time of the day, you could turn on the TV set, flip through channels, and discover It’s a Wonderful Life playing. Whenever you needed him, you could find Jimmy Stewart shouting, “Hello, Bedford Falls!”

But now… It’s a Wonderful Life only appears on broadcast television a few times during December, and most families instead choose to watch the movie on video. What happened?

The reason goes back to the film’s initial wide release in January 1947. (That’s right, it opened after the holiday season. It was not even promoted as a holiday film.) It’s a Wonderful Life was a box-office disappointment at the time, and its studio, RKO Radio Pictures, lost more than half a million on it. The movie’s production company, Liberty Films, was sold to Paramount to avoid bank foreclosure. (A bit ironic, considering the movie’s plot.) In 1955, the National Telefilm Associates (NTA) took over the rights to It’s a Wonderful Life, which included the television syndication rights.

However, NTA failed to properly renew the copyright in 1974 because of a clerical error, which allowed the film’s images to enter into the public domain. Although the movie’s plot was still under copyright protection because it was adapted from a published story called “The Greatest Gift,” television stations across the world could now broadcast it with only minimal royalty payments.

In 1993, Republic Pictures, which now owned the NTA library, tried to enforce their claim to the copyright of the film, as they possessed the rights to “The Greatest Gift.” Republic Pictures succeeded, and licensed exclusive television rights to NBC. Suddenly, It’s a Wonderful Life vanished from local television stations, and NBC made the movie’s broadcasts—usually twice during December—into major events. As of 1998, Paramount again has the rights to It’s a Wonderful Life… 43 years after they lost them.

It’s still easy to make It’s a Wonderful Life a part of whatever traditions you observe during the holidays, whether through home video or television broadcasts. Despite its lackluster initial reception in 1947, Frank Capra’s film is now an inseparable part of December in the United States.

Have a great holiday week!

Continue Reading

Tags:
Posted in Happy Holidays | Comments Off on Happy Holidays!

Common Boiler Repair Problems

December 18th, 2013

In Plattsburgh, many homes use boilers to keep them comfortable all winter long. Boilers are inexpensive to run, and they tend to be more efficient than gas furnace. Boilers are reliable pieces of technology, but like all mechanical devices they can still experience their share of problems, which require a trained technician to repair. Here’s a short list of common boiler repair problems, which you should keep an eye out for when operating your heating system.

  • Leaks. Leaking could stem from the central boiler or anywhere in the piping system, and is often cause by a corrosion of the fittings or damage to the pipe.
  • Low pressure. Low water pressure can be caused by leaks, faulty valves or similar issues. You can spot it by more strange noises in your pipes and by uneven heating in the boiler system.
  • Clogs. Clogs in the system will prevent hot water from reaching the radiators, leaving those areas without proper heat. The clog will need to be cleared and proper flow restored before the issues can be fixed.
  • Broken thermocouple. The thermocouple regulates the flow of gas into the system. When it’s broken, the gas will not flow and the boiler won’t ignite.
  • Broken pilot light. The pilot light ignites the gas in the system. If it goes out, it it’s blocked by build-up or if it’s otherwise impaired, the thermocouple won’t release any gas into the system.

Regardless of the causes of common boiler repair problems, you want a repair service that knows what it’s doing to make it right. In Plattsburgh, boiler repairs can be made by the experts at Red Rock Mechanical: qualified professionals who can get to the bottom of the problem quickly and correct it with maximum efficiency. Pick up the phone and give us a call today. You’ll be glad that you did!

Continue Reading

Tags: , ,
Posted in Heating | Comments Off on Common Boiler Repair Problems

Why Delaying a Gas Furnace Repair May Be Dangerous

December 10th, 2013

Natural gas heating systems provide one of the most cost-effective ways of heating up your home during the winter. However, people sometimes feel a bit skittish about using natural gas because of safety concerns. We can assure you that modern gas heaters, such as furnaces, are designed today to operate with few potential safety hazards. If you take good care of your furnace with regular maintenance and timely repairs, there is little reason to feel concerned about any health threats to you or your family.

Still, no piece of equipment can operate perfectly 100% of the time, and gas furnaces can have malfunctions that will lead to potentially hazardous situations. Delaying repair on a furnace will make the potential danger increase. When you need gas furnace repair in Burlington, VT, don’t hesitate or let it slide: shut off the gas supply to the heating system and call a professional technician to repair it immediately.

Dangers of delaying gas furnace repairs

The main threat a malfunctioning furnace poses is from carbon monoxide leaking. Carbon monoxide is colorless and odorless, making it difficult to detect. (Some gas suppliers place an additive in the gas to give it a distinctive odor as a safety precaution.) Even a small amount of carbon monoxide inhalation will cause nausea, dizziness, and headaches. This is why we strongly suggest anyone with a gas burning appliance installs carbon monoxide detectors throughout their homes.

Here’s an example of one place where a furnace malfunction will create a carbon monoxide hazard: the thermocouple that detects if the pilot light is on might fail. Since the thermocouple’s job is to shut off the gas in case the pilot light goes out, if the thermocouple fails because of corrosion, unburned gas could start flooding the combustion chamber, creating a potentially dangerous situation.

Regular maintenance on your gas furnace will detect potential issues (such as a rusting thermocouple) and repair them before they become dangerous. However, the moment you notice anything about your furnace’s behavior that seems out of the ordinary—the pilot light going out or its flame changing color, strange booming noises from the burners, or hissing sounds—call in Red Rock Mechanical immediately. Don’t fool around with repairs to a gas heater yourself: its always best to call in a professional.

Continue Reading

Tags: , ,
Posted in Heating | Comments Off on Why Delaying a Gas Furnace Repair May Be Dangerous

What to Do if Your Heating System Breaks Down

December 3rd, 2013

We definitely know cold weather in upstate New York, and if your heating system goes down, your home could turn into an icebox within a matter of hours. You need to act quickly both to ascertain the source of the problem, and to summon a Plattsburgh, NY heating repair technician if the situation calls for it. Here’s a quick guide on what to do if your heating system breaks down.

In the first place, try to note any symptoms of the problem if you can. Heater damage can usually be spotted by any unusual activity in the heating functions: strange sounds, reduced air flow, lower heat or the like. If you notice any symptoms, be sure to note them, though you shouldn’t try to run a broken heater or recreate any specific symptoms. If you don’t notice the symptoms, simply move on.

A few basic troubleshooting steps might help you avoid a service call. Check the thermostat to make sure it’s set to the proper temperature, and look at your breaker box to make sure the breaker hasn’t been tripped. If it has, reset it and see if the heater runs as it should. If the breaker trips again, or neither of these things do the trick, then you need to play it safe. Shut off power to the heater and call a service technician: preferably one who can respond swiftly to your calls.

Red Rock Mechanical has served the Plattsburgh, NY area  for over two decades, providing all manner of support for homeowners in need of serious heating repair. Out trained staff is on call 24 hours a day and we pride ourselves on swift professional service in all things. If your heating system breaks down, give us a call and set up an appointment today. We’ll treat the issue with courtesy and efficiency, getting your household back up to speed quickly!

Continue Reading

Tags: ,
Posted in Heating | Comments Off on What to Do if Your Heating System Breaks Down

The History of Thanksgiving

November 25th, 2013

Thanksgiving is upon us: a time to get together with relatives, eat some great food, watch a little football or the parade, and stop to appreciate the good things we have in life. Beyond all that, however, there’s a fascinating history to the holiday and its traditions.

The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 in the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts. Records are spotty at the time, but indicate that the harvest was particularly good that year due to help from the local Native Americans. The meal was probably much different than the one we’re used to, with venison and fish more likely than turkey, but the general principle was unchanged.

It wasn’t a few centuries later, however, that Thanksgiving became an annual tradition. George Washington called for a “national day of Thanksgiving” in 1789, and again in 1795, but they were both “one shot” declarations, rather than a call for an annual tradition. Individual cities and states picked up the ball, but it wasn’t until 1863 that Thanksgiving became a national once-a-year event. President Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November to be a Thanksgiving “to heal the wounds of the nation and restore it.”

From there, it remained a tradition until Franklin Roosevelt signed a law in December of 1941 making it a federal holiday. The law also changed the date from the last Thursday in November to the fourth Thursday in November, making it a little earlier in some cases (which Roosevelt hoped would give the country an economic boost).

Wherever you celebrate the holiday and whoever you choose to celebrate it with, we wish you nothing but happiness and joy this Thanksgiving.  

Continue Reading

Tags:
Posted in Happy Holidays | Comments Off on The History of Thanksgiving