Bricks under the furnace?

[Oren]

Even today my NNTP server has some lag. Now and then they burp...

[HeyBub]

As some have pointed out, some faucets act like fireplugs with an output of

65 gallons/minute. If you live in one of these homes, the 7,000 gallon level would be reached in about an hour and a half.

The point is, however, leaving the furnace on the floor would subject it to ruinous 1/4" of water in the original calculation in a bit less than ten hours. Living in the water-hell home, the critical level would be reached in a mere four minutes.

Bottom line: Depending on your water pressure and delivery pipe, by putting the furnace six inches above the floor, you have between 90 minutes and ten days to recognize the problem. If the furnace is left on the floor, you've got between four and 90 minutes to sober up.

All that aside, a concrete floor can sometimes act as a wick to elevate ground water to its surface.

[krw]

I think that's the key. If the furnace is put directly on the concrete floor it could be constantly damp. Cement blocks are cheap, and don't burn well.

[aemeijers]

Some sort of spacers would make sense. I would use something made out of concrete rather than a brick made of clay, though. Sometimes those turn to dust at inconvenient times. I wish the people who installed my furnace had put it up on blocks. No flooding issues (knock on wood), but that filter housing is a knuckle buster right next to floor. A couple of inches up would have made it easier.

-- aem sends...

-- aem sends...

[krw]

In my previous house the furnace (boiler) was on 4" solid concrete blocks. The filter was on the tank. ?? I never worked on it, so don't remember too many details.

[mm]

My furnace filter was easy to change for several years. I don't know when it changed, but it's not anymore. And I cant' get in there to look at what's stopping it.

A typical cardboard-frame filter, it's hard to get started** and even after I start it, today I had to force it in a little at a time for the first 12 inches, before it slid in okay. **To get it started, I usually end up pushig so hard the bottom carboard edge crumples. That's just makes it harder to push at all later.

An inche or two underneath would help get it started, but that's not the whole problem at all.

[hallerb]

might be a good idea to fix the root cause of wet basement, the ideal time to install a french drain is when the old furnace has left the building.....

at least install the french drain in the area where the new furnace is going.

its hard to work around a existing furnace

[Earl]

It's better than nothing!

[aemeijers]

Or do it the proper way, and fix it OUTSIDE the house. Bailing a boat is a poor substitute for fixing the hole in the side.

[aemeijers]

I WISH a had a typical cardboard-frame filter. No, like an idiot, I had to buy one of those damn fancy air filters, with a 3" thick filter you have to assemble before you can put it in, reusing the frame of the old filter. And it costs 15-20 bucks a pop. Takes forever to get the plastic comb things (3 of them) stuck down between all those folds, and when assembled, it has to go in the box (sitting right on the floor) just SO, or it jams. I don't notice the dust-bunnies growing any slower since I got this thing, or any improvement in my allergies, even with a fresh filter in place. Probably overdue for a change again, now that heating season is underway. I could change a disposable thin filter monthly for probably less money, and certainly a lot less aggravation.

-- aem sends...

[clare]

The VAST majority of brick today is concrete based, not clay, at least in our area. Autoclaved concrete brick can be as attractive as clay in the lighter colours, and stands up better to our climate. I've not seen many spalled concrete bricks, compared to what I see in clay.

[Jim Elbrecht]

-snip-

Can't you just slide a regular filter into the same space?

I slide a clean BoAir in every 100 hours- I *did* notice a marked difference when I went from the regular filters to the BoAir. I tried a similar looking but much cheaper one and it didn't catch as much junk.

Now I have 2 BoAirs that I swap out.

Jim

[hallerb]

after having installed a exterior french drain, new downspout drains, new sidewalks and steps, and regraded a entire yard...... cost near 9 grand I was the laborer, it took months. 9 grand was supplies like 20 tons of gravel, concrete, supplies and backhoe contractor.

all to fix a wet basement that within months was wet again:( water percolating up thru floor:(

then did the only thing left, $3600.00 for interior french drain that made it bone dry....

if you had tried doing it right only to fail you might better understand my suggesting interior french drains..........

[hallerb]

I might add you CANT seal water out of a basement, ther best you can do is redirect it......

basements have too many joints and seams they arent a boat:(

[Han]

" [e-mail]" wrote in news:5c8081c1-af39-4247-9143- [e-mail]:

Silly Dutch. Half their basments are ower than the ground water table, none are wet. They must have suspended the laws of nature, or might they know a trick?

[clare]

A razor knife or box-cutter makes short work of it. Just slice the joint - tape over it when you re-assemble - no need to ever remove it, really.

[mm]

That's for sure.

I think it strange that the filter started going in easy after 12 inches. All the way to the end. I can imagine the first inch or two being hard, but 12 inches seems strange.

Because of my work bench, I couldn't look in very well, but I coudl get my fingers in and I didn't feel any obstruction at the bottom or top of the filter slot. I thought there might be a big piece of flaking rust, metal that became mostly detached because of rust. But there was nothing like that, and in gneeral there's only a little bit of rust on the bottom of the furnace. Water doesn't seep up through the cement and it's only been wet there a 10 or 20 days total years ago. Still, maybe it's a thin layer of rusty bubbling metal on the bottom of the slot. Which I could scrape or file or chisel off.

I'll take a tape measure with me too. This last time, I was so tired from bending over in a strange way, I just quit when the filter was in.

[clare]

Houses should not be built in swamps. If the water table is below the basement floor level you will not have "perculation" problems.

[mm]

Don't even boats have bilge pumps? What are they for?

Wikip The bilge is the lowest compartment on a ship where the two sides meet at the keel.[1] The word was coined in 1523.[citation needed]

The word is sometimes also used to describe the water that collects in this compartment. Water that does not drain off the side of the deck drains down through the ship into the bilge. This water may be from rough seas, rain, or minor leaks in the hull or stuffing box.**

[So it's usually mostly NOT from leaks. I guess that's reassuring. ]

The water that collects in the bilge must be pumped out to prevent it from becoming too full and threatening to sink the ship

**Where the propeller comes in.

[Bill who putters]

First time in 60 years my dads and brothers home flooded last April. Normally about 20 foot down but about 11 caused flooding. Missed me by about 2 o3 feet. Sump pumps can't handle it btw.