Coming into your home is about 100 PSI of water. Without a valve placed on that line, there would be no stopping that pressure and volume of water should there be a leak. You might know where you valve is and how to operate it, but some people don’t. The purpose of this blog is to educate our customers and explain the risks of not knowing where it is, and also the benefits of knowing where it is.

Why you need to know where your main water shut off is?

1. Emergency situations: In the case of a plumbing emergency, such as a water leak, knowing where that valve is could save you tons of money on your restoration bill. Just imagine water leaking in your home, and you scrambling around not knowing where to shut it off. Now your waiting for someone from the city or your plumber to come out and shut your water off from the street. Now you’re having to deal with huge water damage restoration, an insurance claim, and a big avoidable mess.

Another situation is you have a water leak, you go to your main water shut off; subside the issue until your plumber comes to fix it. The potentially huge water damage is minimized to a small drywall repair and a small plumbing bill.

 

2.  Easy for plumbing upgrades: If you have a plumber at your house, it’s a huge relief for us when we don’t have to go searching throughout your house to find your shut off.

So where is you’re valve and does it even work?

You’re main water valve usually located on the ground floor or in you’re basement, or near you’re hot water tank. It will also be beside your homes Pressure Reducing Valve, which reduces down the city pressure of up to 150psi down to about 70psi.

Even though you have a main water shut off, and you know where it is, doesn’t mean it works! We come into a lot of situations where these valves actually wear out and don’t work.

Types Of Valves

1. Straight stop valve

This type of valve isn’t as common as valves replaced in residential homes today. This is the valve more commonly found in your home if it hasn’t been replaced yet. It’s harder to turn, and commonly fails after a long time.

2. Ball Valve

This valve is the most common valve that replaces straight stop valves. It is more effective, easier to use, and less likely to wear out and fail. The reason we use this valve for the main water sut off valve is because it wont stick and its so easy to turn off in the case of an emergency.

Conclusion

I hope you found this blog educating and valuable, as knowing where your main water shut off is can save you thousands of dollars. If you need help locating your main water shut off, or want a 1hr home evaluation on your plumbing and heating systems, give your local experts a call!

Norms plumbing and heating is a family owned and operated company. We have been operating in Nanaimo since 1971 and are Nanaimo’s largest residential plumbing and heating service crew.

Have you heard about a tankless water heater? Wonder what it is or how it works? What are the benefits of a tankless water heater are?

Then this blog is for you!

Tankless water heaters, or on demand water heaters, are simply a home water heating appliance that doesn’t store your hot water, however, heats the water as it passes through it.

Tankless water heaters are very popular, and they should be. They have so many benefits and last twice as long as a conventional tank; more if maintained properly.

How does a Rinnai Tankless Water Heater Work?

• When the need for hot water arises by turning on a shower, washing machine, dishwasher or faucet, cold water flows into the Rinnai Tankless Water Heater from the inlet pipe at the bottom of the heater.
• The flame is ignited and heats the two heat exchangers that are included in the Super High Efficiency models.
• Water is preheated as it passes through a stainless steel heat exchanger, capturing any extra heat (or latent heat) before it escapes into the vent system.
• Water continues to be heated as it passes through the heat exchanger, and exits from the hot water outlet pipe to travel through the pipes of the home to the water fixture where hot water is needed.
• The tankless water heater will adjust flame output as needed to ensure the temperature set point is maintained.
• As the hot water fixture shuts off, cold water stops flowing into the tankless water heater and the flame extinguishes. The tankless water heater is now off until the next time hot water is needed!

So what are these benefits of a Rinnai Tankless Water Heater

1. Endless Hot Water

When demand is high, a traditional tank can leave you cold, or having to wait 1 hour before getting hot water again. The Rinnai Tankless Water Heater heats water as it passes through the pipes, allowing you to have endless hot water. Plus, Rinnai’s technology allows you to have no tank, no storage, no pilot light, but gives you ultra-efficient heating coils – you have the power to use up to 40% less energy than a traditional water heater!

       2. Save Valuable Space

Traditional tanks take up valuable space is closets, garages, attics, or basements. With the Rinnai Tankless Water Heater you get that space back. The Rinnai Tankless Water Heater is about the size of a suitcase and gets hung on the wall, conveniently, safely, and out of sight.

       3. Affordable, Efficient Savings

Trading up to a Rinnai Tankless Water Heater is an investment in your home and your comfort. Thankfully FortisBC is offering grants regarding installation of a Tankless Water Heater in replacement of a traditional tank. Plus Rinnai’s Tankless Water Heater is energy efficient and cuts CO2 emissions compared to a traditional tank. Since it only heats water when you need it, it saves you tons on your water heating cost, especially if your upgrading from electric.

      4. Total Confidence

You expect the best for your home, so it makes sense to trust the #1 selling gas tankless water heater brand in North America. With a Rinnai Tankless Water Heater you’ll enjoy the total confidence that comes with over 30 years of innovation, support, and integrity. Plus, when you choose Norms Plumbing and Heating, your choosing a Rinnai Ace Dealer, specialized to install and service your Rinnai Tankless Water Heater.

 

Why Rinnai Is The Leader In The Industry!

• Fully Stainless steel Heat Exchanger = No Rust, Ever!
• Self Developed Gas Valve Resulting In Not Needing A Buffer Tank; And Eliminates The Water Sandwich Effect
• Each Unit Can Meet The Demand Of 1-24 Bathrooms
• An Impressive 15 Year Warranty (Plus 5 More When We Install It)
• Endless Product Innovation & Expertise

As always, Norm’s is a family owned and operated company that has been serving Nanaimo and area for over 45 years. We strive to lead the industry in expertise, product knowledge, and customer satisfaction.

 

Link to Rinnai’s Webiste

FortisBC rebates page

 

 

 

 

 

During the cold months, your furnace is your best friend, but that doesn’t mean you should neglect it during the rest of the year. The purpose of this blog is for customers to better understand why their furnace isn’t working properly, or at all. Its also to educate homeowners and can also provide good information so you can understand what the technician is talking about when we come to fix your furnace.

Since oil is still prevalent on Vancouver Island, ill cover those furnaces. Since most homeowners are either on gas or switching to, when possible, ill cover that as well.

Gas Furnace

1. Lack of maintenance: Just like a vehicle, maintenance is the pinnacle of a properly working furnace. “Maintenance” is a very broad topic though, so lets go into detail.

• Air filer: Surprisingly enough, your furnace filters the air through the return air duct, making your homes air cleaner. But for it to do this properly the filter needs to be changed every 3 months. Since the filter is on the return air side, it is also important that the air coming back is at proper flow. If your furnace filter is clogged or dirty, your furnace is going to run improperly. Most of the time a no heat call or lack of heat is simply due to a clogged filter [Click for image of dirty vs clean filter]. Our technicians cannot stress enough – Replace your filter!
• Thermostat: Just like replacing your air filters, another common issue that homeowners can fix is dead batteries in their thermostat. Upgrading your thermostat too can improve the operation of your gas furnace. New thermostats can be programmed to your lifestyle so your furnace can run more efficiently.
• Hot Surface Ignitor: A hot surface ignitor is just what it sounds like. It’s a hot surface that ignites the gas flames during the initial start up of your gas furnace. The most common reason for a faulty hot surface ignitor is simply age. Another reason is because of the installer. When installing a hot surface ignitor, your fingers cant touch a certain part of it because of the oils on our fingers. Unfortunately these products aren’t life proof, and they do need replacing. With a faulty ignitor the gas is simply not being lit, resulting in no flame.

Essentially, a properly running furnace is because it has a service done annually. Obviously they are more complicated then what is above, but I’ve outlined the most common issues and the issues you can even manage yourself.

 

Oil Furnace

1. Lack of Maintenance: That’s right, just like gas furnaces, oil furnaces need annual maintenance.

• Air Filter: Who saw this one coming? I think you get the gist of it. Proper air flow results in proper furnace operation.
• Oil Pump: During operation, oil flows from the tank to the pump to which the pump pumps the oil into the furnace. If it’s not pumping enough oil then it wont spray enough oil into the blast tube. These are a common replacement part, which we stock for your convenience.
• Transformer: A transformer on an oil furnace uses electric voltage to ignite oil spray. When a transformer fails its not producing enough voltage to ignite the oil spray, resulting in no heat. We also stock these.
• Nozzle: The nozzle on an oil furnace sprays the oil in a certain angle [to match the burner requirement] into the blast tube. As much as we want our oil to be perfectly clean, it isn’t. As the oil passes through the nozzle, particles also pass through causing it to clog up. This is the most common issue we find with no heat oil furnace calls.
• Oil filter: Because your oil tank and the oil you receive is never perfect, it is imperative that your oil filter gets changed every 3 months along with your air filter. You would be surprised how dirty your filter can get.
• No oil: It is surprising how many no heat calls we get just for us to show up to the house simply having no oil. Please double check you have oil before calling us out to fix your furnace, it will save you money.

Of course, other parts of your oil furnace can fail, but these are the most common reasons why your oil furnace isn’t working.

 

The moral of the story is this: An annual furnace service will save you time, money, hassle, and cold winter nights. We recommend you service your furnace at least once a year, preferably in September so you beat the cold. Here at Norms plumbing and Heating, we have 4+ gas specialists and 2+ oil specialists ready to serve you. If you are experiencing no heat, dot hesitate to call us. We make no heat call a priority, because comfort and warmth is essential for our client satisfaction.

 

As a small business in Nanaimo, we might not be thinking about BC’s long term goals or political/economical legislature. However, to be successful and forward thinking, we must consider the economic changes throughout BC and even the world. We saw this change directly when the US put extra tariffs on Canadian steel. This tariff didn’t just affect the 30,000 people who rely on the steel industry in Hamilton Ontario, as per Katie Dangerfield. This tariff also caused the manufactures of hot water tanks to increase their cost to our wholesalers, who in turn charged us more for buying the tanks. This was shown in an increased cost for you, the consumer.

In this blog, I’ll be outlying the potential benefits of BC’s new climate action plan, and what it means for us at Norms and other local businesses.

BC’s premier John Horgan outlines the main goal of the new plan in the following statement:

“The low-carbon economy we build together will bring opportunities and jobs throughout the province[.] By moving to clean, renewable energy — like our abundant supply of BC electricity — we can power our growing economy and make life better and more affordable for British Columbians.”

Within this plan are several defined goals in which Horgan would like BC to accomplish. These goals are as followed:

• “The requirement that every new car sold in BC will be a zero-emission vehicle by 2040.
• Speeding up the switch to cleaner fuels at the gas pump – with further reductions to the carbon intensity of transportation fuels: 4.0 Mt of carbon pollution reduced by 2030
• Every new building constructed in the province will be “net-zero energy ready” by 2032.
• Helping BC to reduce residential and industrial organic waste, turning it into a clean resource: 0.7 Mt of carbon pollution reduced by 2030
• Helping industry lower its emissions and reduce its pollution: 8.4 Mt of carbon pollution reduced by 2030.” (John Horgan, 2018)

To assist with the implementation of this strategy, BC needs labour. Not just any labour though, we need skilled labour. By encouraging skilled labour training and an abundant of workplace opportunities for this skilled labour, John Horgan’s plan is to increase our economical strength.

So what does all this mean for a plumbing and heating company in Nanaimo. First, it shows speculation as to where the home services industry is going. In the past ten years we witnessed a change in efficient products. Now, every furnace sold is a high efficient furnace. Consumers are demanding more efficiency and energy saving products, and their willing to pay for it. If a company didn’t invest in training and hiring good employees, they didn’t last or barely made it.

Our speculation is that solar panels will be on every home. In the Netherlands, solar panels cover the homes and supply electricity for home heating and water heating to supplement the natural gas. Could BC be following what the Netherlands is doing? If so, I suggest consumers start saving for it now and prepare your home for changes that will arise.

So will you see Norms’ employees at solar panel training sessions? You just might! You might also see us driving electric service vans too in 10 years. These changes in my opinion are forward thinking and greatly beneficial for everyone. More jobs, less waste, stronger workforce, and a province who will be imitating the Netherlands, who is a leader in energy savings and a powerful workforce.

Plumbing and HVAC companies around the province may opt in to hiring the skilled workforce to install these solar panels, or they may choose to stay out of the game and not invest in the extra labour. Either way, forecasting the potential benefits is worth your while, because change is in our horizon.

 

 

 

Referencing:

http://dailyhive.com/vancouver/bc-government-climate-action-plan-2018

https://globalnews.ca/news/4244395/aluminum-steel-tariffs-canadians/.