You Want a Wood Burning Stove. . . You Just Didn't Know it Yet

            If you’re like me, you’ve recently started considering buying and installing a new wood burning stove for your home. While they may seem antique and rustic, it’s that very feature that will add an air of elegance, sophistication, and coziness to your home.

            If you’re considering getting a wood burning stove but aren’t too sure about it, here are the top 5 reasons why you should invest in one:

A wood burning stove can complete any living room.

Wood burning stoves can come in a large range of different colors and finishes.

A more modern look at today's newest wood burning stoves.

            5. Wood burning stoves are more economic and budget friendly – Imagine what you’re paying for heating now and cut that by at least a third. Wood that is bundled for sale and ready-cut costs about a third of the cost for natural gas, electricity, or oil. Because wood is more affordable, warming your home will also be more affordable since the only thing you need to do this is wood, a match, and your stove.

            If you can’t afford the price of wood all at once, you may be able to find enough scrap wood to fuel your stove. Using “free wood” means you’re collecting wood from the ground or woodlands but not actually cutting anything yourself.

            Additionally, once you have that wood and your stove is in use, you’ll notice a huge drop in your heating bill because of just how much heat a wood burning stove gives off. If a fireplace is 20% efficient at keeping you warm, a wood-burning stove is 3 times more effective, working at an incredible 80% efficiency. This means that 80% of the wood’s energy is released as heat for your home. The difference between this and your average fireplace is that most of the wood’s energy just goes up through your chimney as smoke before every getting a chance to heat your home.

            4. Wood burning stoves burn cleaner – You may think that just because you’re burning wood, you’re releasing more carbon dioxide into the air, which is bad for the environment. The truth is that you’re burning cleaner. How? Well, if you look at the origin of the wood, the tree that it was a part of naturally consumed CO2 as it aged, releasing oxygen as a byproduct of photosynthesis. By the time the tree is cut, the same amount of CO2 is released into the air, regardless of whether you burn it or it rots.

            If you then look at the path for fuel alternatives such as propane, natural gas, or oil, you’ll notice that these fuels don’t play into the carbon cycle by taking carbon from the environment. Because of this, burning these fuels will actually add more CO2 into the air than burning wood.

            3. Wood burning stoves are great backups – Imagine you’re at home, using your heater and watching tv when all of a sudden the power goes out. Since your heater runs on electricity, it stops working. Your tv goes out and none of the lights work, so you can’t see. Imagine the power is out for a few days, so as the days go by, your home gets colder and colder and the only light you have is the sunlight during the day. On top of that, your kitchen stove is electrical, so you can’t cook. Thankfully, your fridge is plugged into a backup generator, so your food doesn’t go bad.

            Now let’s image this with a WBS. The stove is in use when the blackout occurs, and since it runs on wood, the heating stays and you have a circle of light. During the day, you use the sunlight to see and cook on your stove, and during the nights, the stove provides continuous heat and light.

            While this scenario is a little far-fetched, owning a wood burning stove is a great backup in case you ever lose power, especially if you’re relying on electricity to heat your home.

            2. Wood burning stoves provide necessary psychological comfort – You may think that WBS are simply fixtures used to heat your home, but in reality they are so much more than that. They provide humans and even their animal companions with a great psychological comfort. There’s just something about that rich aroma that instinctively calms us down, and looking into the flames can bring us a sense of peace, relaxation, and safety. It is believed that our most primitive human ancestors used wood burning to provide warmth and a feeling of safety, instincts that we still feel today.

            1. Wood burning stoves are beautiful and can bring your family together – Wood burning stoves are gorgeous fixtures which make your home feel more complete and cozy. Nothing hints “cuddling” better than a toasty fire, and people instinctively gather where there is warmth. Having a WBS is more than just for good looks, as it can encourage family bonding and time spent together, meaning your family may come together and do a family event, such as watching a movie or playing a board game.

            If you’re interested in investing in a wood burning stove this Christmas season, make sure you check out https://www.plumbersstock.com/category/427/ for some great deals on a huge variety of brands.

The Wonder of the Rain Bird

            Good afternoon, everyone!

            As you get ready for winter, remember that the winter season affects more than just your home. The cold and biting weather will also have an adverse effect on your trees, lawn, and garden. Thankfully, having a good sprinkler system can help you nurse your outdoor oasis back to a green and stunning health.

            If you’re looking to replace your old sprinkler system, I recommend Rain Bird. These systems are affordable and easy to install and often get positive reviews from homeowners all across the United States. To help you learn a little more about Rain Bird and what makes them stand out from the competition, I’ve made a short list describing all the good (pros) and the bad (cons) characteristics of owning a Rain Bird Sprinkler System.

A beautiful and precise Rain Bird sprinkler head.

THE GOOD:

• Aesthetically pleasing – The sprinkler system by itself is beautiful and elegant. Powerful, accurate, and sleek, these black sprinklers will add a touch of sophistication and luxury to your home.
• Individual programming – Each Rain Bird valve can be set to start at different times from each other. Not only can you program individual start times, but you can also adjust different watering durations for each valve. This allows your maximum control of your watering schedule and zones.
• Easy to use dial – The Rain Bird valve allows you to quickly and conveniently switch between watering functions. The dial is easy to read, understand, and program.
• Quick installation – Great for beginners to novices. Like all brands, you’ll need to connect the individual wires to the device, but unlike other brands, this is easy. For most brands (DIG, Orbit), you need to press hard to insert the wire into the connector. Not for Rain Bird.
• Built-in RAM – If you’ve ever been through a blackout, you know that most smart electronics, such as plug-in clocks, game systems, and tvs, “reset” themselves. To prevent against this, Rain Bird has a built in RAM which stores and saves your watering schedule in case of a blackout.
• Friendly user-interface – The information panel is clear and easy to read and understand. The information panel also informs the user of the next station that is going to be watered and provides the date and time it will start.

THE BAD:

• No “Water all Zones Now” feature – For a modern sprinkler, this oversight is hard to believe.
• Fixed time watering cycles – If you’re looking to water your lawn more than once automatically, you’ll be disappointed to hear that the Rain Bird system is not currently capable of doing this. Instead, it runs on a “fixed time” cycle.For example, pretend you wanted to water your lawn three times a day, starting at 6am, 5pm, and 8pm. While your first start time would go off without a hitch, the internal computer of the sprinkler system would compute the following algorithm:
  12 hours / number of cycles = time between each cycle.
  Thus, your lawn would be watered at 6am, 10am, and 2pm. There is no way to override this but watering your lawn manually each time after the first cycle.

THE OVERALL VERDICT:

            If you’re looking for a great and affordable sprinkler system, Rain Bird is one of the best options. With plenty of user-friendly features on hand, Rain Bird provides a satisfying experience for the average homeowner, assuming you don’t want to automatically repeat your watering cycle twice or more in one day.  Add to that the sleek and polished design and you’re looking at one of the nicest sprinkler systems available on the market today.

            If you’re interested in purchasing a Rain Bird sprinkler system for your home, make sure you take a look at www.plumbersstock.com for great deals on the sprinkler system you want at an affordable, discounted price.

~ Sam

Stay Warm WITHOUT your Heater this Winter

We’ve been talking about prepping your home with plumbing appliances for the upcoming winter season lately, but today I wanted to take a break and talk about how to STAY WARM IN A COLD HOUSE. You may be cold due to the fact that your new heating system hasn’t yet been installed, or perhaps you can’t afford a high heating bill. Whatever the reason, I’ve compiled a list of some ways to stay warm this season WITHOUT the high heating costs.

·         The best and easiest way to stay warm is to dress warm. For times like this, a hat, particularly one that covers your ears, is going to be useful. The reason for this is that a large amount of your body heat escapes through your head, so keeping your head covered is crucial to staying warm. Also consider dressing in layers with wool or cotton clothing and carry a blanket around with you if it’s still not enough.

·         Another great way to keep warm is to drink hot drinks or soups. Things like hot chocolate, tea, or coffee will raise your core temperature so you may find yourself feeling warm and fuzzy on the inside. As an additional bonus, drinking hot beverages when you’re anxious or stressed can be a very relaxing thing.

·         Use hair dryers. After a nice, hot shower or bath, using a hair dryer over your body, clothes, and shoes will make you feel toasty warm. Drying your hair will also keep the water in your hair from frosting (and as we mentioned, this is important as heat escapes mainly from your head).

There are a couple of quick tips on keeping warm this winter. If you’d like more guidelines, make sure you check out http://www.wikihow.com/Stay-Warm-at-Home-Without-a-Heater for more easy ways to say warm!

What's that? A New Thermostat you say?

            Hey there folks!

            If you read my last post, you’ll be familiar with the topic of heating systems. Last week, I mentioned that if you were looking to upgrade your forced air heating system for a hot water boiler heating system, you could save costs in energy as well as time on maintenance while receiving a better distributed heat with no drafts or cold spots. As with any heating (or cooling) system, you’ll need a thermostat to regulate and control the temperature in your house. Today, I’ll talk about the top 2 thermostats available on the market if you’re looking to upgrade your old rinky-dink thermostat. If you’re sincerely interested in upgrading, definitely make sure you check out www.plumberstock.com for some fantastic deals on thermostats.

            Number One: The Nest

            This jewel of a thermostat places first in almost every top 10 thermostat list, and this list is no different.

            The Nest is a learning thermostat, meaning it learns what temperatures you like when by paying attention to the adjustments you make. After roughly a week of use, this thermostat will create a program for your home based on your personal heating and cooling habits but do so in a way that saves you the most energy possible.

            Wrapped in a sleek package, this thermostat packs a huge punch when it comes to beauty and innovation. The Nest begins to learn as soon as it’s connected to the heating and cooling system and you make that first adjustment to the temperature. Once done, it will take note of how many times you adjust the temperature and when you adjust the temperature, faithfully keeping track of your habits during the first week. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, the Nest doesn’t stop there. It takes it a step further by reading the light sources around it, the humidity of the home, and any motion that is taking place. In this way, the Nest can “sense” if you’re not home and adjust to “Auto Away” mode, turning itself (and thus stopping the AC or heater) off and therefore saving you on your energy costs.

            Want more? The Nest can be programmed from anywhere as long as you have some sort of wireless connection. This means that you can be on your way home from work and turn the thermostat on from your smartphone, tablet, or laptop so you come home to a warm (or cool) house.

            Have multiple Nests? If your home offers a wi-fi connection, the Nests can communicate with one another and coordinate a temperature schedule for the individual rooms they occupy, thus creating an ideal temperature schedule for your whole house.

            Priced at an average $260, you’ll get all the best technology and heating advancements with the Nest.

Number Two: Honeywell’s Prestige 2.0 Comfort System

Looking for a nice thermostat without paying extreme out of pocket costs? The Honeywell system is for you! Similar to the Nest but without the ultra-extravagant price, this thermostat learns your personal heating and cooling habits. However, unlike the Nest, this system doesn’t learn them intuitively—instead, the Prestige asks you a series of questions about your usage habits and then programs itself according to your answers to provide you ultimate comfort and convenience in temperature while saving you the most energy possible.

Like the Nest, this system also allows wireless control from any smartphone, tablet, or laptop. Also, depending on your current heating and cooling system, the Prestige has the ability to control indoor humidity as well as view outdoor humidity and temperature.

If you’re looking for a smart thermostat but don’t want to spend $260, this system retails at an average of $220 and offers just about the same things as the Nest.  

The Tale of the Knight (and the boiler)

            I don’t know about you folks out there, but it’s certainly getting colder by the day! If you live in Utah (where I’m originally from and currently visiting), you’ll know what I’m talking about when I say Utah only has 2 seasons: winter and construction. While this is especially true for Northern Utah, I suppose it can apply to other states.

            But, especially because it’s a weekend, who doesn’t want to come home to a nice, heated home and relax after a long and tedious week of work? If you have a good heating system, you can do just that. If not, you may need a couple of extra blankets to wrap yourself up in. If your position is the latter, maybe because your furnace burned out or your boiler just doesn’t heat up the way it used to, it sounds like it’s time for a new heating system.

            You always have the choice between a forced air heating system and a boiler heating system, and while these two types of heating systems have their own individual pros and cons, today we’ll only be discussing the boiler heating system.

            If you’re familiar with how a boiler works, this will be a quick recap. Boilers work to heat your home by heating water and then transporting it through the home in a series of tubes. Between this and a forced air system, boilers are unique as they can heat up single rooms at a time instead of the whole house, which is especially convenient if you’re going to spend most of your time in the one room.

            If it’s time to get your heating system replaced, now’s the best time to do it before the cold really kicks in. Consider a Lochinvar Knight heating boiler for your home if you haven’t already.

            Lochinvar is a world leader in the boiler industry and offers plenty of different kinds of boilers for your home and budget. Being a leader in the industry for over 3 generations, Lochinvar has continually shown their commitment to innovation and energy efficient machinery by applying the most advanced technologies to each new Knight boiler in the lineup.

            The Knight offers up to 98% thermal efficiency, meaning you can have peace of mind that heating your home won’t cost you an arm and a leg this Christmas season. The Knight also offers a smart system operating panel which tells you all the different heating zone temperatures and information you need to know, right on the screen. This family of boilers comes equipped with combustion air, specific venting technologies, and a precise heating control which is meant to keep your home green and eco-friendly without sacrificing the warmth.

            When we look under the hood, the Knight becomes more than just pretty piece of machinery. The Knight is a fully condensing modulating boiler, meaning it uses a state-of-the-art electronic control to optimize the energy efficiency for your home while smoothly regulating the temperature of your home through the seasons.

            The truth is, winter is approaching fast and either your home will be aglow in warmth, or it won’t. If you’re looking to replace your heating system and think that a boiler would be a great match for your home’s lifestyle, make sure you check out www.plumbersstock.com for some great deals this Christmas season.

            Until we meet again!

FUEL your Desire for Power Tools

            Hey there everyone!

            Today we’ll take a break from all the previous plumbing talk and talk about something else: power tools.

            While this subject may seem entirely unrelated, keep in mind that power tools are commonly used for renovations throughout the home, including the bathroom and kitchen where plumbing is most prominent. Because power tools are used in larger projects, I thought it would be a good idea to let you take a breath from plumbing and think about something different.

            This article will talk specifically about the Milwakuee M18 FUEL line, an exclusive line of extreme-performance cordless power tools.  If you think you might be interested in purchasing a Milwaukee FUEL product after this, make sure you check out www.plumbersstock.com for great lineups and discounts.

            In late 2011, Milwaukee announced that they were unveiling their new M18 FUEL lineup which integrated 3 advanced technologies to bring about a super-powerful power tool. The three features of the FUEL line are the POWERSTATE brushless motor, the REDLITHIUM battery technology, and the REDLINK PLUS Intelligence. The integration of these three technologies were meant to provide a new standard for durability, total runtime, and performance.

            The new POWERSTATE brushless motor works harder and has an extended lifespan when compared to the leading competitors, all the while reducing noise and cooling down faster to give the user years of heavy-duty and reliable maintenance-free performance. This motor also has the ability to convert energy into power and torque faster and more efficiently for superior performance.

            Milwaukee’s REDLITHIUM batteries provide a significantly longer runtime and faster recharge time while affording the user with more power when in use. This battery also delivers better overall performance when working in harsh conditions such as extreme cold or heat. Packed with Milwaukee’s amazing durability, the REDLITHIUM battery can perform in climates as low as -18 degrees Celsius with no problem.

            Finally, Milwaukee’s REDLINK PLUS Intelligence external hardware and internal software is one of the world’s most advanced systems for cordless power tools. This technology is meant to maximize performance with a best-in-class communications system between your tool, battery, and charger.

            If that weren’t enough, the new M18 FUEL line bundles all of these incredible and integrated technologies into tools that are lighter and (slightly) smaller in size than the leading competitors.

            If you’re looking to replace some old tools or simply looking to invest in better quality tools, the FUEL line might be for you. Made with the professional in mind, these tools will pack a hefty punch in performance and, due to their nature, should be used often to make them a truly worthwhile investment.  

A Beautiful Pond

             I wanted to start today’s article by showing a picture of something that isn’t incredibly common, but is incredibly beautiful to have in your backyard: a pond.

            A pond has the ability to turn your backyard into more than just a patch of grass with a tree in it—a pond can add layers of depth and definition as you add fish, aquatic plants, and even waterfalls or streams flowing into it. Ponds are gorgeous and small ecosystems which truly show the diversity of life in the world around us.

            Last week, I visited a close friend of mine at her home. When I arrived, I noticed that she had renovated her backyard by adding a small, circular pond. I was pleasantly surprised, as the pond was a biological wonder to behold, and asked her plenty of questions about it, like what kind of aquatic life lived in and around it, what kind of mechanism she used for the waterfall, and how hard it was to maintain. Naturally, I was interested in the plumbing aspect of it all, so I bombarded her with question after question about the pumps she used (since I knew that a pump would be necessary for recirculating the water). She, as most of my friends are about me when it comes to plumbing, was naturally dismayed after the third consequetive question, but to her credit, she did answer all of my questions to the best of her ability.

            I came to find that she used a Grundfos submersible water pump inside her pond to circulate the water. Another Grundfos pump powered the waterfall, and combined, the two pumps worked together to ensure high-oxygen levels in the water and prevent stagnant water.

            As the plumbing portion of this, I admit that even pumps are considered plumbing and are vastly important when it comes to outdoor or underground assistance. Submersible pumps, specifically, can help boost the water pressure in your home, channel water effectively in an irrigation system, and work wonders for a backyard pond.

            About the company now. . . I wasn’t excessively familiar with Grundfos and their products simply because they dealt with pumps and products for projects I hadn’t ever tackled, like boosting my water pressure, adding a pond, or recirculating and transporting water from a well to a home. As it is, I did a little bit of research on the company and found the following cool information:

·         Grundfos is a world-recognized leader when it comes to their products, especially their pumps. Grundfos services industrial and private customers in places all around the world and offers the latest hydraulic equipment to satisfy their customer’s needs.

·         Grundfos slogan is “Be – Think – Innovate.” They truly live up to that slogan by providing energy-efficient products (which in turn can save you thousands of dollars over the lifetime of the product) coupled with high-grade corrosion-resisting stainless steel. Their biggest areas of importance are efficiency and durability.

·         Grundfos manufactures it own personal line of motors, so you can have the peace of mind of knowing that your motor is built to their high standards. Because of this, the chances of overheating or burning out are much less decreased than they would be if it were a lower-quality motor.

·         Finally, Grundfos offers al their products in a variety of different sizes and volts. Depending on what you’re looking to do with it, a single submersible pump can comfortably circulate over 1,000 gallons per minute.

If you’re looking for a pump you can trust, look no further than Grundfos. You can feel comfortable knowing that you're trusting a company has been around for over 60 years and is recognized as one of the best when it comes to pumps. Click on the following picture of a Grundfos submersible pump to be redirected to Plumbersstock.com, where you’ll find a large selection of pumps at discounted prices.

As always, shop smart and renovate away!