Simple device stops disasters caused by frozen sprinkler line yet there often not installed

What you see to the left is a very simple $20.00 Low Temperature Switch which warns when a buildings temperature goes below 40 degrees F. which uses a simple therm o disk made by United security products

http://www.unitedsecurity.com/Website%20PDFs/F20.pdf

By NFPA 72 Fire Alarm code you are required to install these or similar manufacturers simple switches any time sprinklers are installed where the weather gets below freezing like where in Live in Western Pa. there are even more sophisticated units you can dial in exactly when you want notified when the buildings temperature drops or rises above what you want.
Yet how many times I go to take over a system or work on one as a sub contractor and there is no low temp switch any where.
there required yet there not installed and most inspectors do not even know there required so up to 98% of the sprinkler systems out
there in Pa and other states do not have them a simple $ 20 switch which can warn pipes are freezing vs thousands of dollars in damage yet no one uses them. Why many installers do not know they need them despite being certified by NICET or other agency and the reason no one mentions them. Too many company's think its the HVAC contractors job to install them wrong its the company's installing the sprinklers and the fire alarms to jointly make sure one or the other company has installed them. But as usual who ever reads a code book let alone owns one and these idiots are out there installing systems incorrect and AHJ are passing them because they have no proper training either. The result every year when the temps go down below freezing for a week or more all you hear coming over the Fire scanner is calls for broken sprinkler pipes, which are flooding buildings and damaging electric systems etc. dam shame but we go thru this every winter around here. Due to ignorance ,arrogance ,greed and stupidity.

Co Detector Saves lives Christmas Eve

My parents needed new Smoke Detectors and Carbon Monoxide Detectors in there home so being in the business I always get them for them wholesale priced.
I put in these new 10 year battery life smokes and she told her friends about it and they mentioned they have smoke detectors but not a Co Detector and asked if if could get them the same deal on the price as my parents and I said sure no problem there retired and can use a break so I got them one and my mom gave it to them 2 weeks ago .

Tonight I get a call from my mom that Co detector I got for them just saved there lives.
She had been cooking on her moms old stove all day and unknown to her there was a problem with the burners on the stove and it was putting out high amounts of Co.
The alarm went off so she took it outside and put in some new battery's in thinking maybe the battery's she put in where not good when in ten minutes it was going off again. She and her husband worried something was wrong called the gas company who told them they needed to get out of the residence and upon the gas company arriving they found the faulty stove which was putting out 90 parts per million PPM of Carbon Monoxide gas. Had she put the roast in the stove to night and let it bake like she planned and they took there evening nap they may never have woken up from having succumbed to Co Poisoning.

Carbon Monoxide is nothing to play with it is just not the car left running in the garage under the house or the furnace that can kill it the gas cooking stove and it could be the gas fire place.
Co Detectors can be gotten for as little as $20.00 and if you can not afford one many Fire depts will provide them for free or at reduced cost. get a co alarm the very life it saves could be your own.

How safe is that Elevator your about to get on? It depends

How safe is the elevator your about to get on? well for 99.9% of us the answer is no problem however approx. 27 deaths resulting in the use of elevators are reported annually in the USA.
Almost all of them can be traced back to poor maintenance practices by the buildings elevators owner and or company performing the maintenance and New York city which has more elevators than any city outside of Japan is having a crisis with old elevators not being properly maintained and 2 people have died there with in the last year with Criminal Negligent Homicide Charges being brought against one elevator repairman this year for an accident that happened last year which trapped and killed a woman when it suddenly went up with out warning because a safety switch had been bypassed on the door.
One New York Politician is calling for buildings to be torn down and replaced because there are so many old crumbling not well maintained buildings and elevators in NYC.

So what does it take to become a Elevator Mechanic as there commonly known in the trade.
well some states require extensive training and licensing and proved skills under a journeyman
while some states like Pa. just require repair company's not the workers to register with them, in other words fill out a piece of paper.

While many elevator manufacturers require you be certified by them to work on there elevators while there under warranty this does not stop any one from working on them because if they can they will.
This is why especially in states like Pa. you want to make sure the company you hire to do your work is properly qualified and insured.

If you get stuck in an Elevator will the Emergency Phone Work?

You get on the elevator to go up to the 4th floor Doctors Office when all of a sudden it stops you push the button ring the Emergency Bell no one hears you . Now what? normally you either open a small door or its already in open the Elevator Emergency phone box is standing there ready to work Really?
Well that all depends when was the last time it was checked to see if it even works? was it when it was inspected last year ?
Well as you can see this is a big problem especially when you cell phone will not work either. yes in fact late night workers and maintenance/Cleaning people have been trapped inside an elevator for as long as 72 hours on a long holiday weekend when the building is locked up and everyone has gone home.

This is why it is imperative that elevator phones be checked to make sure there working. the problem thou is there has been no code requiring it other than annual inspection. But that has all changed now that ASME ( American Society of Mechanical Engineers ) Yes the idiots who came up with the Elevator Shunt trip circuit which can trap you in an elevator during a fire has come out with a new standard ASME A17.1 which now requires all new elevator phones to be supervised similar to how we now supervise lines on Fire Alarms to insure the phone line to the elevator is actually working. The problem has always been the Elevator phone line must be dedicated just to the elevator no other phones on it so it will not be jammed . unlike a Fire panel which has a special relay which turns off the premise phone so it will not interfere and starts beeping if phone lines voltage goes out. with the line dedicated to the elevator you have no way of knowing if it works or not .
Why it took the code geniuses so long to come up with this excellent code is beyond me we should have had something like this all along.
But as usual it had to take tragedy's to have it put in place . There is no such thing as forward thinking in code panels and then when they do make codes they never ever think them thru to address local or gray area issues.

Well the good folks at Viking Electronics Inc. now make a new unit LV-1K which can be seen in the image at left which can be added to there emergency elevator phone units as you see in the image above . Which now supervises the elevators phone line. for more information on this and all kinds of neat telecom products got to.

http://www.vikingelectronics.com/

Do you Really Know where your Alarm systems signal is going?

Do you really Know where your Alarm Systems monitoring signal is going?

is it really local like with in yours or adjoining area code or is it going out of state?

Many alarm systems especially national alarm company's signals go to New York or Chicago or California.
with the advent of cellular and analog phone line communication your signal could be going anywhere. Often times even small dealers use out of state central monitoring stations regardless if they answer in the alarm dealers name.
This means your panel is dialing an 800 number service line. If the 800 service goes wacky guess what no signal delivered. unlike dealers like my self who use 3rd party monitoring services which are with in the region and who have programmed there alarm panels to dial both an 800 number plus a back up normal area code number such as 412,814,724 etc.
This way if the 800 service is not working properly the signal will get thru on the normal local area code exchange number.
How often does 800 service go out More often than you know. Regardless if the central station pays extra for " always Up service " from Verizon or AT&T .
800 service will go down. then also the central station operators who answer your calls are not aware what severe weather is going on or other issues a local 3rd party service would be aware .
of.
also do the national services keep an eye on panels not communicating and getting hold of the dealer when a 24 hr report is missed? don't bet on it.
After having worked as a sub contractor and seeing all the problems with delayed signals and no signals being received at these national services this is why my customers are all thru a regional 3rd party UL listed central and my customers know exactly where there signal is being received and can talk directly to the owners when required.
that's also another good point is the national service UL listed do they have proper trained operators etc etc etc.
Also smaller stations with fewer operators generally have there receiving equipment right near there work stations so they can watch and see the recivers and know if there working properly
while big centers have all there gear in racks off in a separate room and no one watching to catch any anomalies quicker than the big centers there by getting it corrected faster
If you have critical alarm needs you need to be asking questions where exactly is my signal going and should be able to visit the central station to satisfy your requirements are being meet.

Whats that single Headlight looking thing on the outside of buildings

Walking around almost all new commercial construction and you will notice a single headlight looking light on the outside of the building.
Whats that light for ? I often get asked when installing them.
what this light is used for is emergency lighting so that when the power goes out inside a building you can see where you are going when you are following the exit signs to get out.
For years only emergency lighting powered by back up batteries needed to be inside a structure except for certain buildings which had generators and where required to have outside lights working on fire Escapes etc.
But that all changed a decade or so back now all structures must have lights outside on buildings to light the exit path.
One of the main reason for this is to prevent panic as it has been found after catastrophic fires how peoples remains where found behind open exit doors stacked up all because they could not see what they where stepping out into.
While these lights are a good idea and are not very designer looking they do serve a very important purpose but unfortunately are often the target of vandals and of course if the emergency light system is not properly maintained they do not work either. You may also find these light heads being used in restrooms and elevators depending on local codes as well.

Tamper Resistant Electrical Outlets there now required in new construction

Every year small children are injured in homes when there curiosity gets the best of them and they explore that funny looking device in a wall. In most cases a child receives and bad shock and gets an early education in the monster in the wall ad after some crying and tears its a lesson learned how ever in other cases the exploration is fatal.
With this in mind manufacturers for many years have made plastic receptacle covers you inserted to keep children safe and they have been required in child care facility for many years. But there hard to take in and out and have to be replaced once removed.
Well now manufacturers have come out with a better idea. A self closing receptacle which works
to keep children safe while still being convenient to use.
They are now required by law in new residential construction in community's which enforce the current version National Electrical Code. Which is most but not all community's in the USA .
They must also be used where a receptacle in an older home is being replaced with a new receptacle or where new outlets are being added.
The new receptacles cost couple penny's more to the same as regular receptacles and are available at almost all places which sell electrical items.
The following links Provided by Pass & Seymor will provide a wealth of information plus code updates. have young children at home consider using these receptacles.

http://www.legrand.us/passandseymour/tamper-resistant-receptacles.aspx?utm_source=passandseymour&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=all-arts_20111216_holiday-electrical-safety

Welcome to Fire Technicians Network

www.firetechs.net

The Fire Technicians Network is a website maintained by Frank Kurz who is from Canada and has all kind of excellent resources for Fire Alarm Technicians he has put many hours into the effort and has been doing his part to help promote professional standards for technicians.
One thing you will notice in fire alarms in Canada vs. USA is that they have much higher standards to meet.

Mini Lithium Batteries still dangerous when depeleted

The little battery that could is what you might say about Lithium Batteries popular in all kind of wireless alarms , cameras etc along with bigger ones for computers these batteries pack a big amount of power in a small foot print but they also pose a very major fire and explosion danger when not properly handled and disposed of. Even depleted these batteries still pack a wallop, and can catch things on fire.
when disposing of these batteries it is best to recycle them at approved recycle center or dispose of them by wrapping them with some type of non conducting tape to prevent them from bumping against something metal and shorting out and heating up.
A recent fire in a gift/card shop at Pittsburgh Mills shopping mall has been attributed to these batteries in improperly stored cards which played music and its a major big time fine to ship them on passenger airplanes. for more information on proper use and handling of these batteries check the manufacturers web sites.

Why have these batteries not been recalled

These batteries manufactured by Ultratech have a very dangerous
habit of causing Fire and Burglar Alarm Systems to not function on AC power when they are depleted like normal batteries do.
Instead the overloads activate and the panels shut down. these batteries also bulge and in some cases have exploded.
The CPSC Consumer Products safety commission was notified of the problems with these batteries over a year ago and still no word the batteries in particular where manufactured in last 4 years and are as much as 2 pounds underweight compared to competitors.
I have stopped using these batteries along with UB Universal batteries for the same problem all together and have been replacing them with other manufacturers batteries.

The Cellular back up game

Cellular back up has been around since late 80's which allows the backing up of a phone line to a Burglar Alarm in case a thief cuts the phone line, trying to keep the signal from going to Monitoring Station. It runs on the side channel of a cellular signal known as side bands Type a and B which allows signals to go thru with out busy and other signals getting in the way since only data not voice is being sent.
Over the years the units have evolved from a large suit cased size unit to a small compact board and now instead of back up there now also being used as the primary way to communicate an alarm since so many homes have no land line or a business is running all VOIP ( Voice Over IP ) instead of traditional dial tone .
How ever almost all units run on AT& T's GSM ( Global System Management ) cellular network while other carriers like Verizon use a technology Known as CDMA ( Code Division Multiple Access ) so if your out a ways from the city you may not be able to get an AT&T signal but a Verizon CDMA signal may be available .
So to bridge this problem UPLINK has produced a cell unit capable of running on CDMA instead of GSM to solve this problem. There a few bucks more to install and they work just as well if not better than the GSM networks .
So your thinking to your self fine, but they sell Cell Phone Jammers illegally which a burglar could use. This is true but because of supervision techniques and fact units run on side band it takes specialized knowledge to stop the signal from being blocked. Which only the most sophisticated burglars have and even if they do jam the signal the burg panels still activate there local sounders which you must deal with and depending on supervision the monitoring center knows your jamming as well. so it is not like you see in the movies. there are even units which attach and use the internet as primary signal and cellular as back up again which is fully supervised no signal and monitoring station starts investigating.
If your home or business is a high risk install for either a Fire or Burglar system due to high ticket life safety value it would be very wise to install a cellular back up unit especially if your using any of the newer digital phone networks which require power from both ends to operate.
Check out up-link cellular service at

www.uplink.com

Which is available thru your local alarm dealer

Many Fire Sprinkler Systems are not monitored why you should call 911 when you here a sprinkler bell ringing

They sit there on the sides of buildings usually round some oblong
almost always painted red and in rusty condition.
There sprinkler water flow bells which sound when water is flowing thru a sprinkler system .
There purpose is to warn the sprinkler system has activated due to a fire or broken pipe some are mechanical bells operated by the water pressure itself some are electrically operated from 6 volt -120 volts AC or DC and often times they ring and no fire engines are arriving because the sprinkler system is not tied in to a fire alarm panel with dialer or a stand alone DACT
which notify a monitoring center that the sprinkler system has activated.
Strange as it may seem there are many sprinkler systems which stand alone and do not report.
This is why if you are passing a building and one of these bells is going off and no authorities or any one else is around the structure you should notify 911 the bell is sounding so it can be investigated.
In Ambridge Pa. in a shopping plaza with a dollar store there was a small fire in an office where a computer caught fire and stand alone sprinkler system activated and flooded the store for several hours till police on patrol came by and heard the bell despite the fact the plaza is next to busy Rt 65 .
Every one assumes they here an alarm on a building and police are automatically notified and there wrong.
Despite building codes because these systems are grandfathered they are not mandated to be monitored by code and even new systems in some cases are not required to be monitored all they have to have is a visible bell or strobe /bell horn combo and systems with no monitoring and no mechanical bell and rely on power always being on to ring a 120 VAC bell are still being installed. Yes it sounds crazy why they would allow non power backed up non supervised sprinkler systems and why a property owner would not pay for sprinkler monitoring to prevent thousands in damage . But if they do not have to they do not. It often comes down to there insurance carrier mandating it.

Low Pressure device on Fire Sprinkler fails to do its job.

I get a call from the Central station I use early this morning and there receiving a
Water Flow alarm on a sprinkler system at a local shopping plaza I service.
Its a dry pipe system which has given us frequent problems over the years but since I put in proper controls and started frequent bleed offs of the system drip drums of moisture in over 3 years we have not had a problem till this morning.
As i am getting dressed to be able to respond to the plaza the local fire chief calls and tells me where just leaking in pump room there's no damage . Good ill be up in few minutes and they lock up and I arrive and shut off the system valves and begin draining the water down out of the dry pipe system.
the Fire dept should have shut off the OY&S valves but did not but other than a waste of water there was no damage done.
I start looking things over what went wrong I should have gotten a call the air compressor was not working after the system looses 10 pounds of air before the system filled with water but the
Potter Electric Pressure switch that was installed by sprinkler company never activated.
I find after looking thru the panels log there was a power failure which is why the compressor is not working apparently there was a wreck nearby and power went out causing a single phasing condition which tripped its overload I reset the overload and the compressor is back on line no problems compared to when I first took over this plaza an ass of an electrician installed the compressors 3 phase motor with out proper motor starter combo switch and in days past they have had to replace the motor at least 4 different times till I found out the control was missing.
and installed proper unit. so at this point all the water is drained out of the dry pipes and the technician from sprinkler company has arrived and resets the flapper valve and we test the low pressure switch and find it works which is strange why it did not do its job previously but he agrees as I do that Potter Electric is not turning out the high quality of sprinkler products they once did I personally refuse to use there products I have had so many problems with them seems that ever since they changed management and started making things over seas decade ago there products are very inferior and cheap pot metal they use cracks very easily .
Its a shame they use to be the premier provider of sprinkler products but many dealers like me are no longer using them.
Well the system pumped up we readjusted the low pressure switch put everything back to normal and called it a day. But had the Potter Electric low pressure switch worked the way it was suppose to it would have taken 10 minutes to fix things vs all morning.
Unfortunately Potter electric is one of the few company's that make it, so your stuck using there products.

Low Voltage Wiring it can Catch on Fire

A long time customer of mine who loves making his yard look great with land scape lighting asked me to look at something the other day that puzzled him.
Seems he was smelling smoke the other day and came out to find his mulch on fire and smoking and that his land scape lighting had caused it.
He thought that low voltage wiring 50 volts and below could not cause a fire.
Well the answer is it depends what type of wiring is being used where it is being used and what wiring class and size of power supply being used.

Low voltage wiring is divided into 3 classes in the NEC National Electrical Code

Class I Class II and Class III

Class I -wiring- is wiring used in safety and essential circuits to make sure a piece of equipment operates properly like a furnace or boiler

Class II wiring is used primarily indoors and is designed to minimize fires and electrical shocks this includes door bells burglar ,fire alarms energy control etc.

Class III wiring is generally found outdoors includes outdoor lighting , and signalling
again it is designed to minimize fires and limit electrical shock
But no low voltage wiring is totally immune from it and it can cause fires, explosions and shocks under the right conditions when several things line up and goes wrong.

Such as power surges and lightning or when indoor rated system get soaked with water etc.
As you can see with the fire panel at left which was struck by lightning.

In my customers case he was tired of the wimpy out door power supply's which came with the lights so he bought a 900 watt commercial grade power supply that's well over 30 amps of power so yes you will get a significant spark if the wires short and in his case a loose connection filed with water caused a high resistance hot spot which eventually allowed the mulch to catch fire.
Well why did the fuse not blow? Well that's a good question because the short and arcing that occurred below the rating of the breaker on the unit the heat was allowed to build till it finally blew thru a process known as Pyrolysis.
here is a classic case of why Arc Fault breakers are such a good idea.
now luckily since the much is slow to burn there was never any danger to the home made of brick yet under the right circumstance of the home being wood etc. yes there could have been a disaster.

This is why it is important to install low voltage circuits to manufacturer and wiring codes so that the systems will self limit and prevent problems.

FIOS Installer puts 125 lives at risk because he is lazy

Yes once again lives put at risk because of poor training and poor attitude of a telco installer.
this time it was a 5 apartment building complex in Penn Hills where 125 individuals lives where put at risk because this lazy ass hole failed to even ask if there was a fire alarm connected even though he had to walk right past it. and was installing new FIOS service which is phone and internet lines in the management office. With the fire alarm remote keypad beeping in the lobby he walks out and never says a word to management because it was 3pm and time to go home . What a LOSER.
But then again what do you expect. with the break up of AT&T in the 80's they offered buy outs to all the older high paid installers who where well trained and instead hired a bunch of young guys give them 3 weeks training and send them on jobs so multiple installers have to go some where and fix things till it is done right. If you have older style phone lines servicing a complex forget getting any help none of the newer installers have any ideal what a ISDN or Serial Data Line or 46K line is let alone have any ideal how to fix it.
No all the telcos want to pay and train as little as possible so they can maximize profits. The result thousands every night put at risk all over the country when installers do not hook fire and burglar and medical alarms back in correctly and its not discovered till trouble signals sound or a an alarm goes off and theirs no response. What a way to run a company. full of corporate pukes.

COMCAST INSTALLERS STAY OUT OF MY FIRE PANELS

Why is it that COMCAST Cable Installers have in the last 3 years been snooping around in my fire panels .
Good question because they could be facing felony criminal charges or risking a catastrophe
for messing around in these panels should they cause one not to work and there's a fire

It does not matter if I have the panels locked or not because many COMCAST Installers and there Sub contractors where former Alarm System installers who have the generic keys which can open a panel makers line of product.
I have filed complaints with fire officials in Penn Hills , Emsworth and Wilkinsburg after responding to panel troubles to find out a COMCAST Installer or Sub has been in the room the panel is located doing work.
No installer or tech or handy man of any type should be opening a fire panel and even looking inside only the company that services and maintains the panel is permitted under law in most states. even if your trying to figure out a telco problem you should never enter a panel unless an alarm company tech is present.

I just recently had to respond to an apartment complex in Penn Hills to fix broken wires in a fire panel after a Comcast installer was working in the room and all of a sudden the panel now has problems.

This is a warning to Comcast and all Cable and Telco company's keep your people out of my and other alarm company's panels or face the consequences of being sued by one of my customers or there insurer and your installer being arrested .
This is not a game this is life threatening if something goes wrong.

Private Career and Trade Schools Most are nothing more than a Government RIP OFF

Be an Electrician , Welder etc etc in 18 months the commercials tout WRONG
the Big Secret no one wants to talk about is the vast majority of for profit career and Trade schools are nothing but a big rip off. They fill young guys and gals heads full of mush how there a trained and certified professional when they come out of school and there going to make all this fantastic money.
The truth they get you ready for an entry level job and even that is not even true some times your training is completely worthless.
How do I know this because I once taught for a short period at one of these for profit schools and left after being totally and completely disgusted with all the lies and poor training going on.
I saw many cases where students where excepted that never should have been and this worthless schooling costs big bucks as much as $30,000.00 or more to go to these schools. There is no way these loans will ever be repaid and now the Federal government is going ofter several schools here in Pittsburgh.
Then there's the instructors who for the most part are individuals who have been kicked out or otherwise forced out of the trade because there work skills where very poor or they where just plain lazy . One of my customers a large welding fabricator recently hired one of these so called welding instructors for his plant thinking he would get an excellent welder WRONG his welding skills are so bad he works as a helper laborer in the plant , and this guy was teaching others how to weld.
The truth is if you really want to learn a trade you need to go to a trade school run by a school district or community college where you will get the basics and then go to work as a helper till you learn what you need to become a journeyman with your skills this takes up to 5 years not 18 months there is so much that must be learned including how to think on your feet and good mechanical and fitting skills,
I am not saying all for profit schools are bad but way too many are out of all the 100 plus schools that are for profit here in Pittsburgh there are less than a dozen I would even recommend going to.
Go to a community college where the fees are much less and affordable and you get better instruction and a better chance of getting an entry level job or apply as a laborer some where and work your way up under a well trained journeyman.

DO NOT GET RIPPED OFF BY A WORTHLESS FOR PROFIT SCHOOL

Changing Phone service could have been disasterous for this business owner

A customer of mine a very high end restaurant in Butler county
recently decided to change there phone service from a hardwired phone service provided by Consolidated to Armstrong cable digital IP service. and it could have been disastrous as unknown to the owner and the cable installer the Fire Alarm was not properly wired back into the new phone service instead when they walked in this morning the Fire and burglar alarm panels where in trouble because they had not sent in the daily test which is required by NFPA 72 fire code.
This restaurant experienced over $3000,000.00 in damaged last winter when a valve was bypassed on a sprinkler system which should have been tampered and was not and luckily the burg system caught the leak and triggered getting the police and owner there . But this might bit have been the case this time as both alarms had no phone service. Now as a back up on Fire and burglar alarm systems that are high risk I always install outside sounding devices and strobes to get attention should the phone lines go out and alarm not transmit and this has saved my customers several times over the years but there is always a delay getting a response from time the alarm goes off to some one hearing the alarm and notifying 911.
so once again as a precaution I will be installing a cellular back up system on these alarms as a back up precaution .I always encourage customers to install cellular back up but it costs extra and I understand when they do not want to do it but as you can see it can be a very valuable service and prevent needless tragedy and heart ache. In one case a previous customer of mine switched phone service said nothing and then had a process line freeze up and cause over a million dollar loss in productivity.

There needs to be a law mandated that cable and phone company's be required to notify alarm company's when phone service is changed to prevent these problems as I have already had customers over the years change phone service not tell me and fires and flooding due to broken pipes etc has caused major issues with major dollar damages. all because people are trying to save a buck.

40 years later a Phone Call from a Bully

That was surprising last night when I got a phone call from some one who bullied me back when I went to St. Basil s Grade school in the 60's.
He was calling to apologize for having done it and was worried it had hurt me all those years ago.
Well I forgave him and told him how it actually made me a better and stronger individual as I will not put up with it when I see it on a job site.
He explained he was bullied and in return since he could pick on me that's why he did it.
You have to remember I was very skinny and sick as a child but grew into a 6' 2" -225 LB individual so yea many of those bully's had lots to worry about if they ever unfortunately crossed my path and several paid for it the hard way just like they bullied me. Some just got the shit kicked out of them etc. wasn't so funny for them after they where on the reciving end of it.

Like me he also has fought and is winning his battle with cancer and I explained to him how many old ghosts and skeletons have come out of the closet when I got the cancer and he said that's part of what prompted his calling me. He has mellowed out and become a man and confronted his old ghosts . Its a shame it took this long to learn just how precise life is as it can be here one day and gone the next . But I wish him well and he finally have peace in his life because so many I grew up with did not either dead by there own hand , in Prison ,addicted or just living a horribly miserable and tragic life. We learn by our mistakes and I have made more than my share and if I have offended any one it was not intentional . May we all learn , love and lead
good lives and be able to handle the speed bumps we encounter. It makes you a better human being. It starts by treating your fellow man the way you want to be treated.

Note: Since writing this article My younger brother tells me he has gotten several of these calls over the years when he did further research why it is some times because an individual is going thru one of numerous 12 step programs for an addiction. How ever after 40 years I find this not the case .

This is no way to wire a building

Yes once again an Excellent Job by the so called " Fire Alarm Experts in Pittsburgh"
It was back in the  early 80's when the Downtown Pittsburgh  Investment Building experienced a fire on the 12th floor  of a 21 story building and it made all the papers and TV news how the system failed to operate.
How when Office workers tried to activate pull stations they fell out of the wall and no signal came on.
How my late neighbor a City Fire Lieutenant Tom Davis carried a wheel chair bound worker down 15 floors
on his back. Luckily the building was well built with lots of concrete and steel and fire never got out of the Violin Repair shop but smoke got everywhere. Yes it was a very bad day in deed after a complete investigation it was found that even thou the city required metal encasement on all fire wiring only 3 of the floors where so encased the 3 floors the inspector looked at and all of the trunk wires etc where run down a utility shaft attached to a length of Bull Rope .
Although the Guys where cited for not doing the work properly . The reason the fire alarm did not work properly is because a maintenance man reset the fire panel from a previous false alarm and the Edwards 5700 Panel had a slide switch which did not fully slide back to its proper position and the panel did not give any indication it was not functioning properly . Needless to say after that they always had a technician to do it. I took over servicing the panel for a new owner and when they started the process to go to court over the system not working properly it was found there was problems all around including the city approving a wiring schematic that showed the wrong wiring connection
for the bells using 3 trunk lines and it was also claimed the individual who sold the owner the system parts from Edwards had stolen them from Edwards. Needless to say it was a mess and after this fire the city started to crack down on permits and inspections which they where doing a good job as till a few years ago and it is again now sliding as they have only 3 inspectors for the whole city and some Inspectors do there job exceptionally well while others do not and it is just going to be a matter of time till once again we have another tragedy. Luckily no one got seriously injured in this early 80's fire but it is going to be just a matter of time till something does go wrong in a city which I now here techs saying is going to turn into hooter ville .

Smart Emergency Lights they let you know when the back up battery needs serviced

You see them in almost every commercial building back up emergency lighting units whose 2 lights come on and light the way for you to find your way out if the power goes out . but how many when the power goes out how many actually work?
Well up to 50% or more do not . Why? because there is a
a sealed lead acid battery which must be replaced every 3-5 years and they are suppose to be tested at least annually in some cases monthly but it never gets done and the 45 minutes of emergency light your suppose to have is not there and your stuck in a dark building not fun .
How many times when I have opened up and checked emergency lights I still find the original battery's in them just last week I found one which had never been changed from 1984 as it was hiding in a ceiling in a restaurant which called me after there lights went out and most did not work. Well one way to avoid this is with new Smart Packs which warn when theirs a problem with the system but at 2-3 times the cost of a standard unit you can be sure there not a big seller .
That's why it takes vigilance to make sure there tested and even set up for a service to come in and do them when they check the fire extinguishers which many places have started to do.
Yet you would be surprised how many buildings in Pa. I can walk into including day cares , personnel care homes etc and no emergency lights or lighted exit signs. But that's the way it is when local fire and building officials do not inspect properly . But then again this is Pa. do what ever you feel like. I just found a Head start Program in Armstrong county where they some times have night party's and sessions and no exit lights and no emergency lights and a steep pair of steps from 2nd to first floor. The director gives me the bull shit this is an existing structure.
yes for an office not a day care the new laws must be followed.Will see if they do or not now that every one has been put on notice.

Standard CFL Bulbs can not be used with Dimmers

One of my customers called me the other day her dual dimming switch (top) for her lighted paddle fan stopped working. I stopped by and took a look and you could see the dimmer switch was slightly melted. So I went to the supply house and got a new dimmer at $42.00 since it was special dual dimmer compared to standard dimmer (bottom ) and put the new dimmer in and notice the fan works fine but the lights do not dim?
I take one of the bulbs out and instantly know what the problem is. The bulb is a Compact Fluorescent Bulb CFL made to look like an incandescent bulb and 99% of the compact fluorescent bulbs can not be used with dimmers in fact it can lead to a fire if continued to be used constantly this also goes for regular straight florescent bulbs as well which require a special dimmer.
If you have a dimmer switch you must buy a fluorescent CFL which can be dimmed and it must be compatible with the dimmer you are using. Of course they cost 2-3 times what a regular CFL runs as well.
But if you want to dim a fluorescent the dimmer and bulb much be matched properly or you risk a fire. So needless to say my customer had a discussion with here husband when he got home because he has put the CFL bulbs all over the house to save money.
So your saying to your self should they not warn on the dimmer or bulb package not to use fluorescent bulbs? Well some do some do not and the ones that do the writing is very small and hard to read.
So once again a perfect storm caused by energy saving devices with packaging not well thought out. to warn against a fire danger. but then again what do you expect from manufacturers overseas.

New line of Electrical Safety Gloves

From time to time I get asked to evaluate a new alarm or electrical product , in fact I do beta testing for several company's who want an honest tradesman's opinion on there product.

The latest company to ask me is Magid Glove & Safety manufacturing Company LLC located in Chicago Illinois
I have used there Work/Welding gloves at various plants I work at where the plant has provided them and they have always been hard working so I knew I was not going to be disappointed when I was asked to look over and evaluate a new line of electrical Rubber Insulating Gloves known as there " Magid A.R.C. " Line and I have found them to fit ,flex and wear extremely well .
First off the gloves are much more flexible than normal Class I gloves. which allow you to work up to 7500 volts I work up to 480 volts so these gloves might be overkill but when your working on industrial voltage or changing an electrical service tap you want all the protection available to you.
The problem always thou with these gloves is flexibility while trying to perform a operation like connecting a nut and bolt together. The entire protective glove system properly worn includes a first layer of a cotton type glove to absorb sweat then the rubber gloves and finally a over set of leather gloves to prevent the rubber gloves from being torn.
Needless to say with 3 layers on its difficult to due a task so any extra flexibility is important and that's where Magid A.R.C. Gloves deliver. So many times I have put rubber gloves on and found there is just no flexibility to them this was not the case with the Arc Gloves I was easily able to put together a nut and bolt with washers on a Industrial Buss with no problems. After 2 months of using the gloves on projects several times a week there just as flexible as the day I received them as you can see in the picture on left .I had the gloves blown up with air and tested as well and no signs of holes or tears or other deterioration which can be detrimental to your health.
I have showed them around and let other electricians try them as well and they agree on the flexibility of these gloves compared to what there currently using and the gloves are very competitively priced as well. and they come in half sizes.
If your going into protective gloves for the first time or need to replace your current set take the time to check out the Magid A.R.C. rubber insulating gloves

www.magidglove.com

The Dangers we all face on Holiday weekends

Holidays and Long Weekends

The dangers our country faces every time we take time off to celebrate?

Its time to turn off all the lights. Lock the doors and gates and take off for the long Holiday Weekend. Be it Memorial Day, Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Many places close up and enjoy the time off and places which must be staffed like Hospitals ,Police depts. TV Stations Etc . Are running with very limited staff and this is where the problems can begin.

Many businesses now rely on technology to warn if something goes wrong to notify on call personnel to problems and with such reliance on technology we are leaving our selves very vulnerable to not only things that can go wrong naturally like broken water pipes and accidental fires .But we leave our selves open to major criminal activity and possible terrorist attack.

Take for instance the local AM/FM radio station at one time some one had to be always on duty to make sure the station was running properly and to make sure any emergency weather or other messages where gotten out to the public. Today many stations are fully automated no one is on site and if you needed to get a emergency evacuation message out to the public due to a accidental release of dangerous chemicals you could not do it.

This even goes for many Low power TV stations which are fully automated and with so many people on MP 3- Ipods – XM /Sirrius radio etc. Cable TV or satellite dishes getting there attention is almost impossible.
Many communities in addition have shut off there fire depts. emergency sirens and dismantled them as well to. One possibility to get the message out is to have the local National Weather Service office send out a signal which activates emergency weather and disaster radios but many Responders do not know you can do this and not everyone has one of these radios. Even if your successful in getting the message to the weather service and they activate the emergency signal tones at the fully automated radio and TV stations your depending on the technology at the station to pick up the message and retransmit it ,some times it gets thru some times it does not as the recent nation wide test on November 14^th proved .Even the manned stations have to have some one who is paying attention to retransmit as well and many times they can miss the signal if they are busy handling another problem, and a signal can be delayed for several minutes before it gets out.

But let’s talk about what caused the release of the dangerous chemicals’ in the first place.

Many company’s have eliminated there weekend Guard and maintenance staff and instead are relying on automation systems and alarms to take there place again some are installed properly and work well some do not and even if an alarm system picks up the signal getting the signal from the plant to the people who need to respond is another problem, since many plants to save money use internet based phone lines to get signals out and these phone lines unlike traditional phone lines are them selves very vulnerable to not working when needed becuse they must be powered from both ends unlike traditional phone lines.

So that simple power failure in your community has now turned into a disaster because everyone is trying to save a buck.

Of course having guards and maintenance staff in place is not a 100% guarantee there will not be problems but at least some one is on site to react and make sure proper people are contacted even if they have to get in a vehicle and drive down to where they can notify emergency personnel. That is if emergency personnel are at there stations. Many communities no longer staff there police/fire stations after 5pm and 911 centers handle all the emergency traffic. Many smaller communities do not have local police on after 5pm or weekends either leaving the emergencies up to state police and sheriff depts. that have very large territories to cover with 2-3 officers for an entire county. Some times only 1 officer available during a shift.

Then the other problems faced on holiday’s weekends is getting hold of people on the “on-call” call list especially on the weekend in Pa and other big hunting states have there opening of Buck Deer season where an entire work staff could be gone for the weekend and no reaching any one.

This is why weekends are so dangerous too many places in this country do not think out there emergency and back up plans and this is why we are seeing bigger problems as preventive and predictive maintenance programs are cut or abandoned.

Yes technology is a wonderful thing when it works but when it does not all hell can and does go wrong. It is not just weekends but any time after 5pm in this country.

Yes we all need a break to relax but before we do relax there needs to be some serious due diligence to make sure if things go wrong when we take off do not get out of hand.

If this article has made you uneasy it should because I am one of those people who are On-Call on the weekends and I get to see all the things that can and do go wrong.

I am very worried as more and more automation technology is being brought on line and there is no human interaction. Technology is a good thing but it can come back and bite when not handled properly.

When is Ceora going to get a new roof when is Pa. going to get off its ass and crack down on bad contractors

My Friend Ceora who Lives in Erie County and is on Disability and needed a new roof for her trailer was able to get a USDA backed loan for $30,000.00
to replace it she found a local contractor who was suppose to be insured and registered with Pa. and USDA supposedly checked him out and while his initial work was good he changed from a wood and shingle roof to a metal roof which was fine if it was put in properly but it never was and now going on the 2nd winter Ceora is dealing with federal and state agency's who are worthless toothless tigers who will not take the bull by the horn and get this smack off of a contractor to fix the roof properly by putting down proper wood underlayment and using proper screws to secure and seal the metal.
I have been trying to help her out because she has water pouring into the trailer due to ice buildup since theirs not proper insulation and roof underlayment . She becomes a virtual captive in her trailer due to all the ice.,as the roof sweats and drops water by the bucket load onto here ceilings etc. no senior citizen should be going thru this. especially one who has gone thru stage IV cancer .

First off I find out this contractors does not appear on the registered list for Pa. his name shows up no where. then USDA says they can not help other than to scare him they have no enforcement powers attorney generals office is useless and local building inspector says he did not sign off on that part of the work. needless to say the 3rd party inspector is going to loose his license to inspect after this as Ceora has prepared a formal complaint against him and is going to go after his insurance carrier. Local newspaper called and looked into a possible story on this clown contractor but it has gone no further and once again Ceora will be in a wet leaking trailer and freezing cold because all the air leaks. Once again Pennsylvania at its finest.
When you really do need help Pa. government is toothless. and thousands of Senior Citizens are getting ripped off year round by bad contractors who just laugh at what little state and criminal rules there are.

Bad install comes back to haunt 30+ years laters

I had one of my customers who owns a swimming pool sales store call me this summer to tell me the lights where blinking in the store occasionally and at one time they thought they heard a buzzing sound like bees ?
I immediately drove up to the store worried there was some thing more to this story and there was after checking inside and not finding any problems I went outside to check the main service and found a hole burnt thru the trough box for the electrical service. I immediately called Lawrence county 911 and told them the situation I had and the got hold of Penn Power for me and sent a Fire unit to stand by till the service could be safely shut down Lawrence county 911 is an excellent service compared to my home county of Allegheny where I could fill this blog full with horror story's. A Penn Power Trouble Shooter was on scene in 30 minutes and shut down the service which also shut down a vacant buildings power next to us and we opened the trough and found that the split bolt knuckle had been rubbing up against the Auxiliary Gutter as it is some times called and that the proper splicing layers of rubber , plastic and friction tape had not been installed and that excess pressure was being put on the lid. We re-taped and layered all the connections then shifted the wires around and had power back on in an hour. taking the pressure off the wires. This is not the first time I have had Penn Power there previously a fender washer used to secure the main panel to the wall came loose and past the screw holding it and it made contact with the main power lug. How ever installed this service at was once a used car lot and who ever inspected it from Mid Atlantic inspections never did there job and as a result my customer has now had several major and expensive service calls due to people not doing there jobs. Thank god has not had a fire as a result of there negligence. Plus remember this is Pennsylvania a state with no Electricians license any one can be an electrician outside the major city's that require you to be registered and that's no guarantee your going to get any better work. It is definitely buyer beware in Pa. when it comes to hiring a contractor.

The fire experts in Pittsburgh never due this correctly

Small plug in type transformers

Is Un acceptable in

Commercial Fire Systems without protection?

And other bad AC Power Practices

Many of the modern Combination Commercial Fire and Burglary Systems available on the market today I.e. Napco, Radionics /Bosch , DSC, Morse/Optex etc. come with a small plug in transformer which is designed for use only when the panel is being used for Burglary Only.

To use that same transformer to power the panel when it is being used for Commercial

Fire service it has to be No # 1 sized correctly for the load expected to be drawn thru it. And no # 2 it has to be UL commercial Listed and No # 3 it has to be physically protected from damage and the wire from it to the panel as well.

To meet the physical Protection requirements of a commercial system using a plug in transformer there is a special steel enclosure kit, which is to be purchased separately

Which is vented and totally covers the transformer and outlet , as you can see in the picture a proper transformer set up with one open on left and one closed on right

I was actually shocked to see this out of 98% of all combos I see done wrong this panel was done correctly

A piece of electrical conduit is then attached from the transformer enclosure to the combo panel there by protecting the power to the panel. Rarely have I ever seen this protective kit used were it was required. Ademco got around this problem by supplying the proper

Sized transformer and enclosure. With there panels. Which I still see being put in wrong.

It comes back directly on the backs of those AHJ’s who refuse to take seriously the Fire alarm Inspections they are doing. And refuse to get there training upgraded.

The AC power supply to a life safety system is one of the pieces to a total fire System

Additionally the circuit supplying the outlet the transformer is plugged into is to be dedicated just for that outlet and the breaker is to be marked with a red marking to prevent it being accidently shut off and the breaker panel is to be clearly marked which breaker supply’s the Fire panel this also goes for direct wired Fire panels.

Plus in the Fire panel it is to be noted which breaker is supplying it.

This brings up another dangerous situation I have been finding, involving the AC power coming into new fire panels which are replacing older AC only bell and pull station panels. Typically the installer pulls the old panel out puts the new panel in place and gets his AC power from the old switch or breaker supplying the old AC system which is

Acceptable, but they then hook up a 14# gauge wire to the 30 amp fuse or breaker which is an overload situation and fire or accident waiting to happen ,when they should have changed the fuse to 15 amps. In the old days they took the AC power supplying Fire Panels and pulled it directly from the services main lugs this is still legal today but all NEC rules have to be followed , which they are not most of the time.

We keep coming back to the same question who is training who.

The Fire Alarm experts in Pittsburgh prove there no communicators

Yes once again the so called" Fire Alarm experts In Pittsburgh "
show there technical brilliance to get around a problem of a older Silent Knight 5207 Fire Panel not communicating over Digital phone lines.

I found this out when a customer of mine who demolishes buildings called me the other day to make sure all the power and other energy was off in a restaurant which was to be torn down so it was safe for his workers to cut out piping etc.
While I was there he said there was a Fire panel in the back could I use it for parts I said sure I have plenty of SK panels out there always good to have a extra board as they no longer make the 5207 as it has been replaced with the 5208 .
Well I get ready to start removing it and look to take the 2 required phone lines off the panel except there not there Ok whats going in instead I find the fire panel has been wired into a Honeywell Vista 15 P Burglar Alarm panel which is not listed to be used as a Commercial fire communicator. Note the resistors across the relay terminals on the 5207 in the picture. So I am scratching my head why did they do this as I called the local Fire Marshal to let him know what was going on if the Fire experts did it here they have done it other places in town.
Well as I am waiting for him to arrive I notice they had Comcast Xfinity digital phone service
which was then switched to Verizon FIOS digital phone service and then I had my answer you see because the so called technicians the experts hire tell people they can not use FIOS on a fire alarm because it will not transmit which is total bull shit I never have a problem with it. We had the same Bull shit problem with them at my wife's church for over a month they could not get the panel to communicate correctly on a phone line with DSL service on it and all it took was a $20 special filter to correct it. Some thing the experts told me they did not know existed. Of course they still program panels to dial rotary dial which most phone lines no longer understand and keeps panels from communicating as well but the people who program for the experts never pay attention and just program in rotary and then wonder why a panel will not dial consistently
So this is why they wired the fire alarm to the burglar alarm because the Vista 15P has Contact ID which will work on FIOS so this is how they got around it when all they had to do is program the panel to either SIA or SK4/2 not BFSK 4/2 there usually programmed to and it normally goes over FIOS no problem when it is wired in correctly something the experts just can not seem to get working.
Once again these G-uys prove there worth.The other way they could have handled this was put a 5128 communicator board in the panel which does contact Id and problem would be solved. But since the experts will not properly train there people on Phone communications you instead get this mess and nothing but excuses. Once the Fire Marshal arrived I showed him the problem and needless to say he will be making phone calls and watching for this in the future any time he has a system installed by the Fire Alarm experts.

Now in theory you hook a fire alarm to a burg panel out put yes as long as it is done with permission of AHJ but this is not seen with newer installs it is with old local only fire alarms which did not have dialer built in before modern rules came into effect, and system is voluntary not mandated but this was not the case.This was a mandated reporting system so it must follow NFPA guidelines.

But hey as long as you go around telling everyone your the " fire alarm experts in Pittsburgh" and have a great line of bull shit to back it up everyone believes you that is till they realize they have been burned.