Simple Surge Suppressors often provided and not being installed on Card Access Systems Spells Big Trouble in the future

If you buy a  Card Access control unit from the major manufacturers like Honeywell  they often provide right in the kit a set of special surge suppressors  you place across the lock and the access units releasing contacts  to prevent the surge that is created when the magnetic field collapses when a mag lock or solenoid lock
 d energizes.
 Failure to install these surge suppressors which cost about $20.00 a set will lead  eventually  to the early failure of the lock and and control unit. Yet when I service Card Access units put in by others I rarely ever find them being used ,even when they are provided right in the kit. Honeywell / Northern  provides them with every Vista Key Starter Kit  and Net Axcess 123 Kit  as you can see in Cut sheet provided with the controls in picture bellow .

Why Technician and installers do not use them is shear laziness  but also in some cases they want problems so they can come out and charge you an excessive amount of money to fix it. That's why so many company's do not use surge suppressors and UPS units etc or hook up grounds properly so you the end user have to pay for service calls and then all these same company's and there techs wonder why I have grown my business with high end customers its not that I am cheaper its because I provide good service with excellent installs to prevent future problems and that includes surge protection. Properly installed  and maintained only service needed on Card Access is replacing solenoid lock after 10 years of heavy use  and battery's every 5 years.

Surge suppressor  installed on main unit 

ADA Regulations on counter Height putting Store clerks lives at risk when there is no clear place to hide Panic Buttons

Yes it is nice that they have lowered counter heights to serve the Disabled and Handicapped  but in too many cases it has caused another issue to develop which could put that store clerks life at risk during a hold up or other criminal intent.

As you can see in the above picture right under the counter top  next to place the clerk stands is a small white recessed button box with black button   . This is a silent Panic / Hold Up button and while this counter has a partition so you can not see clerk hit the button .
But on too many counters there is no partition or other way to block some one from seeing clerk hit the button because the counter top is too low and the taller the clerk the harder it is to get to and hit the button and not be seen. Yes there are Bait bills you pull and foot pedals and wireless pendants you carry  but there all  fallible and cause false alarms  when floor is mopped or cash register drawer puled or worked on or battery on wireless go dead or clerk walks out and forgets to leave unit for next clerk  so this is  something you do not want .
The plain old recessed button has proven to be false alarm resistant and helped save many lives . But now the most effective method we have to protect clerks is no longer viable at stores counters in too many cases .
Because of ADA height rules particularly in fast food stores. Hopefully something will come on the market to overcome this problem  but till then clerks are at risk.
But once again common sense has been ruled out and some genius who did some supposed study this is what needs to be to accommodate the handicapped has caused an even bigger problem.
and another major law suit waiting to happen.

Providing 480 Volt 3 Phase power to a design build project where only 230 volt 3 Phase is avalable

Electrician friend of mine referred me to one of his friends a semi retired electrician who has been getting involved with industrial electrical power jobs and who needed my skill set with help in a few projects at a plant he is installing power for some new equipment  where they make all kinds of organic soaps and lotions.
One of the problems the plant was having was getting enough hot water to fill kettles of 300 to 1000 gallons  of water at temperatures as high as 160 F  degrees .While Joe is a very skilled residential and Commercial electrician he was not as familiar with motor controls and transformers as I am  so I agreed to help him and Joe has picked up some pointers along the way as we have worked on several major projects ,including installing a Rotary Phase converter  to make 3 phase 230 volts out of 230 single phase at the plant auxiliary building .

Converter in process of being wired 

Capacitors used to balance load 

After getting together with the Professional Engineer the plant hired he wanted to be able to run an instantaneous pulsed water heater  that needed 480 volts 3 phase at 200 amps the problem the 480 volt  3 phase delta  available  was being provided by a step up transformer  from a 1200 amp  230 volt 3 phase delta  service and was already at its maximum use So we would have to come up with a way to determine if we either had to install a new service or copy what was already in place. After a complete examination of the power system and its use we determined we could put in  another step up transformer as well.

Transformer in process of being wired 

We chose a special designed transformer from Eaton Corp that is specifically designed to do step up duty but the problem is stepping up  power from 230 to 480 means we would need more than the 200 amps 480 volts required because to step voltage up you need to feed in approx 1 -1/2 to  twice what you need so on this case we feed the transformer with  400 amps of 230 volt to insure we would not have a voltage drop and we up sized by one size all wiring .
Joe had his relatives who work with him do the heavy work  and I made all the connections etc. to make sure they where done properly one wrong connection could result in serious damage to equipment and any one near by it could be injured when we tested it .

We got the Transformer and heater in place  in preparation for adding on the pump and Variable Speed Drive  and control panel I would have to build to control the pump.

Since the Drive unit for pump was not included in the heater package I then had to build a  water resistant  set up for the pump controller which allowed it to be viewed and I found a perfect enclosure with view window for the job to allow it  and the building of the switch control stay water proof  .

Control ready for labeling 

 cabinet allows  drive LED output to be viewed 

The VFD Pump Drive the Engineer selected from Baldor  allowed for many options and we found the perfect set up which allows for 4 different speed settings as well as a maximum speed setting which can easily be run by employees by just adjusting a couple switches instead of having to do complicated programming each  time of the VFD  like they have to with other units they purchased .
 We set the unit up and I ran the initial programming and then tweaked it as engineer stood by and observed the settings to see how much water at what temperature was coming out .
The engineer also designed in an auxiliary water flow monitor which will allow employees to set how many gallons they need  I wired in to automatically shut off pump to prevent over filling. We had to do this work over a series of Saturdays  so as to not disrupt normal production in the plant and we had to observe
GMP practices for sanitation purposes to insure no products would get contaminated by what we did '

http://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/guidancecomplianceregulatoryinformation/goodmanufacturingpracticegmpguidelinesinspectionchecklist/default.htm

This  included wearing  lab clothing and hair nets  and making sure we carefully cleaned up after ourselves and make sure no stray wire pieces etc got into equipment. This was a very demanding job but in the end it all worked just as engineer designed it  and we wired it  and we have several more projects to complete.

Discount Store selling expired Fire Extinguishers and Powder Actuated tools which require a license a very common problem items in stores and Flea Markets that should not be there.

I was in  Koppel Beaver county when I had some time to kill between jobs and stopped at a discount store which has all the usual crappy stuff from China   and some used tools etc. when my eyes came across a dozen boxes of Flame out Foam Fire Extinguishers. marked $3.99 a piece these units normally go for $20.00 retail so they would have been a deal had they not been expired  in 10/08 .

Needless to say the store owner could care less they still can be trusted there still sealed ?
Really ! sorry the answer is no.
 Yes they may very well work but there almost a decade old and when it comes to your life on the line do you want   to trust them.
Since there was no local AHJ to notify I contacted the manufacturer who will hopefully follow thru and get them off the shelf.
While I was there also they had used Hilti Powder Actuated Fastener guns which should only be sold to those 21 years old and to use them on the job requires a special license and training .
Needless to say had I looked harder there would have been other items as well they should not be selling but that's the problem these discount stores and Flea markets have very little regulation and AHJ  are slow or never ever get involved in what is being carried and sold including illegal switch blades, Recalled products  and other dangerous items  despite there being laws against selling such things .
Unless individuals like my self get involved  and get it stopped it just continues. When it comes to knives and guns , veterans grave markers etc police will some times get involved but often times are hesitant.
The result people get injured regularly by items they never should have had access to in the first place. The persons selling can face stiff fines and penalty's but it usually does not happen till some on gets hurt and there's an investigation.  Which is a dam shame but the truth.  Before you by something used do your due diligence and research the item and make sure to check for labels etc so you are not buying something illegal or expired or recalled.

Not using proper Filters results in severe damage to Oil Pump and Heater for company

I have a  large Oil Company  that provides field lubrication services I work for and have designed and built  numerous pumps and heater set ups for them they use in the field to do Hot oil flushes to clean out newly installed piping and for the recycling ,recovery and cleaning  of dirty oil   for large industrial clients like Natural Gas Pumping Stations and Electric Power Plants. I got a call late one morning  from one of the crews working on their latest job there on a $30 Million Gas Compression facility under construction in West Virginia where they are doing a Hot Oil Flush to clean out pipes after they have been installed and  joints welded .

Typical gas plant piping  that gets flushed after its installed 

Seems they are having trouble with 2 of the elements on the 3 element  480 volt-3 Phase - 90 amp- 800 Lb   Heater I designed.
 When the tech on site tells me whats going on and gives me readings he is getting from his meters  it sounds bad .
So I get to the Oil Company  office/ plant  fire up a  company  1 ton 4x4 pickup  which I will need to get back into this very rural area and fuel it up along with auxiliary tank and  load it with another back up heater and enough tools and fittings to get them back up and running plus survival gear pack god forbid I should get stuck overnight on the road always a possibility when travelling back roads in bad winter weather .
After 4 hours I am on site  its bad there already running a week behind schedule and can not get oil up to 160 degrees it needs to be to properly flush.
After looking over the heater for sure the elements that cost $750.00 a piece are shot.
Not going to be a good day.
We had two options empty all the equipment off  the truck pull trucks beside each other get an onsite crane/forklift  to lift the units on and off trucks or try and rebuild it on the truck. I opted for option 1#
We opened up the heaters top element to find it destroyed and melted.

We also find jammed in the heater  outlet a piece of what looks like window screening and plenty of rocks and debris ,which stopped the flow of oil which allowed elements to overheat .
This would not have happened had they been paying attention to the pump as it was defiantly giving indications there was a problem along with pressure gauge.They had already damaged a pump the week before when a rock got in the impeller and damaged it because they where not paying attention  .
When we opened the filter unit on output of heater we found the filter units which used that screening material had been ripped apart by the rocks  and that's where screen came from it had traveled thru pipes back thru pump and into heater . Thank God it jammed there and not in the piping some where .
To make maters worse elements 2# and 3#  where melted so bad even with a big  hammer they could not be dislodged so we had to unpack truck and move in the new unit as it was getting dark.
Its after we start hooking lines back up I notice there is no filter on the pump heater inlet.
Had there been a course  filter on the inlet side  the rocks pebbles etc would have been captured and allowed oil to still circulate  but since protocol was not followed it created a very big problem and massive cost . Needles to say more training and precautions are going to be put into effect to prevent future problems. Almost every pumping system you will ever find has a filter screen of some type on the input of the pump to prevent these problems that/s why swimming pool pumps have the plastic basket filter in front to catch leaves, The workers on site thought they did not need to do it and will now face the consequences of there actions.

Air Plenum ceilings using the entire ceiling as an air return is suppose to save money ,when building ? A look at the myth and dangers this construction causes

Your building a new office  addition when the contractor tells you he can save you all kinds of money by eliminating the return air ducts on the H/VAC system and use the entire ceiling  as an air plenum return  system . Really?
This is the last thing you want to do because you are setting your self up for many more expenses and even your personnel health  with this type of construction.
With 35+ years of working in ceilings I have seen the deadly results these ceilings can lead to.
First off when you use a ceiling as an air return it doubles and triples the cost of installing low voltage electrical wiring in this ceiling because  air is moving past the wiring it must now be either installed in steel conduit or  fire resistant Plenum wire must be used so smoke from wire if a fire would break out in building is not spread. This also means you can not use  plastic romex type wire either for 120/240 volt wiring  if the building code  would otherwise allow it . This wiring also has to be in steel piping.

So wheres the savings the answer is there is no savings it actually cost more in the long run.

Then there is the issue with dirt and filth which these ceiling attract as you can see in picture below

This is the typical plastic Egg Crate  intake which is laid into an air plenum ceiling   and as you can see look how filthy it gets and that means all the ceiling tiles above your head look just as bad and any time you have to remove those tiles for any kind of maintenance work that dust and filth gets all over the office.
Every time I work in Air Plenum Ceilings I have to put on filter masks and still end up getting sick  as well as workers around me do to the build up in these ceilings which leads to sick building syndrome which sends hundreds of thousands of workers home sick every year .
Then if your roof leaks and it gets into these dirty ceiling tiles it can lad to deadly black mold forming . Walk into any office building with these air plenum ceilings vs regular ceiling with duct work and see for your self the air quality. If your in there all day working then you know why so many office workers get sick in the winter time.
If there going to do these type of ceiling they need to design these egg crates with filters in them that can be easily changed to keep all the dust and filth in the filter instead of up in the ceiling .
But until they decide to do this sick employees will be the norm .
No one wants to address this issue  and even admit these ceilings are such a problem but those of us who have to work in them know better.

The Fire Service keeps losing volunteers and wonders why? Maybe when they start acting like firefighters they will have more members by getting rid of bully's and low life's

Yes I have said it for many years "The Fire Service is its own worse enemy " unfortunately they prove it in this country every day .
Take the latest brew ha ha in Cleveland where up to 12 firefighters are facing suspension and loss of there jobs  after they where caught urinating on a former fire chiefs picture.

http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/2013/11/prank-could-cost-12-cleveland-firefighters-their-jobs.html

Yes it seems boys will be boys but there is no place for it in the fire service professional or volunteer.
I know myself and others  filed a discrimination lawsuit  against Penn Hills  Pa.  Point Breeze station 224# because it got so bad trying to serve your community and having to deal with jackasses , bully's ,low life's .lost souls etc.
One firefighter actually put small nails in one of my fire boots which injured my ankle which I have circulation issues with causing a pressure wound that took months to heal .

Of course this is not the first time this dept has gotten it self in serious trouble  there was the infamous inner tube  tube ride in the park which injured a fire fighter

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qddRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=bW4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6473,294911&dq=penn+hills+fire+dept+4&hl=en

Yes at one time being in the fire service meant a brotherhood and comradely between firefighters who worked together for the betterment of the community . But in far too many stations and halls this is no longer the case. Instead of working together as a unit its doing everything you can to keep good members from belonging and staying .

With so many people having to work 2 jobs and other obligations the ranks have thinned it started mainly after many of the steel mills went down and the loss of men who worked shifts to be able to have adequate staffing 24 / 7 Here in Penn Hills like in  many community's it takes several fire company's to be notified to be able to get enough fire fighters to show up and answer even  a simple  day light call.  

Add in all the fund raising one has to do all the training requirements and it leaves precious little time for family and work.  

The result is you have stations full of people mostly young who are unemployed  or under employed hanging around stations with other low life types who have gotten into the fire service because help is needed and stations where not properly checking out people and  with too much time on there hands they get into trouble and pick on other members who are vulnerable .This  also leads to Arson fires when they get bored as well .Which also happened in Penn Hills stations when members where arrested for a series of Barn fires in neighboring Plum Boro. It was so bad at 224 one former chief actually allowed a young man who had set a fire come down to station and show video in the fire station of it.
Then there was the fireworks incident where Penn Hills 226# with company vehicle in  there uniforms went to Ohio to buy illegal fireworks and the bragged in a newspaper article there Friends with police and did not see it being a problem. I could go on and on the story's I have seen in newspaper  and heard about depts. all over this area. 
The other problem since no body wants the officers jobs some one would get stuck with it and does not do the job properly there just filling the position and all too often those filling the officer positions in these problem fire company's  are lucky to have graduated high school  and this lack of proper education hurts them and there fellow firefighters  to the detriment of the community and it often leads to theft of funds .Because they lack the required education to put in place proper practice to prevent it and to make matters worse these same company's after being ripped off by a member allow them to rejoin the fire company instead of banning them from the fire service period. 
In one case a Fire dept officer who was in fact a convicted arsonist was sent to jail over skimming money from a bingo game .
Yes Pa. finally passed a law forbidding convicted felons from serving in fire service after that and several other embarrassing issues. 
But the thefts and arson's continue  you here of one at least every week some where in the state  a volunteer fire fighter arrested for theft or arson and if it is happening in Pa. its happening in other states with volunteer forces. 

You can see why too many stations have deteriorated to point no one wants to belong . I have seen way too many excellent men driven out of the fire service by low life's . 

I would hear it all the time about not being a real firefighter  because I am disabled I did not go in and fight fires I worked as a driver /pump operator / Engineer maintaining the trucks so the able bodied could go in and do there job and after all that's what everyone wants to do is go in and fight the dragon not be stuck outside . But no they always had to run there mouths.

So now when the fire whistle goes off I no longer respond to it and many times I  hear how they had to punch out another company out for a call since  they had no driver. Too bad you caused it your self.

Now there are some very excellent run stations , but there the exception not the rule these days. 

There are many very dedicated men and women in the fire service who give it there all but they can not do it all themselves and when you get into a company of misfits and malcontents  they soon get disenchanted and leave.

Yes the fire service wants to talk all about how there losing members and funds but they never mention  why one of the big problems is the very way they behave.
Dr. Harry Carter recently wrote in Pa. Fireman's magazine about Honesty is best Policy  in the fire service.
and he is so right . But there will be no honesty till the fire service is ready to sit down and address the bullying and lowlifes situation in departments  that is slowly eroding it. I would rather see a station shut down and replaced by professionals than see a station torn apart and cost some one there life.
Its times community's start cracking down on bad fire dept's like they did in Dorseyville when they shut the dept down

http://www.firefighterclosecalls.com/news/fullstory/newsid/30355

Just like in Fox Chapel where they forced a station closed because they forbid them from answering calls when they refused to operate under the new rules set up in the community .

Have a Verizon Cell Phone ? Did you know you need to update its software occasionally ? Works better when you do.

I travel around the Tri-State a lot and people always wonder why my Verizon cell phone is working when theirs is not  so I have to end up telling them about how  I keep my Verizon Smart phones roaming capabilities up to date by simply  dialing *228 every few months to keep it up to date and current .
If you do not do this it keeps your phone from being able to stay properly connected to the Verizon phone network. yes its that simple . almost all Verizon cell phones need to do this update and you will find it in the instructions which came with your phone so update and ready to roll

Here is the text from Verizon web site which discusses this issue.

Why do I need to perform this update on my wireless phone?
By performing this update your phone will stay on the Verizon Wireless network and/or digital service whenever possible. Also, for most price plans after 2/1/2002 the phone roam indicator will turn off/on in accordance to the price plan you have chosen.

What are the steps I need to take to complete this update?
The following are the steps you need to take to complete the update:

1. Power on your Verizon Wireless phone
2. Dial *228 from your home digital coverage area, followed by the SEND key
3. When prompted, press option #2, to update your phones roaming capabilities (This process may take up to 2 minutes)
4. Once completed, a confirmation message will be played, and a message will display on the phone screen.

What if the update fails to complete successfully?
If for some reason the update does not complete successfully, please try again at a later time. If the problem persists, your phone may not be capable of this update process.

What benefits will this update provide?
Benefits of this update may include:

Longer battery life
Fewer dropped or blocked calls
Clear, crisp connections in even more areas across the United States
Roaming indicator will reflect the price plan you have chosen (available on most price plans after 2/1/2002).

How often do I need to perform this update?
This update should be performed every three months, and/or after changing price plans.

How much will this *228 call cost me?
This call is offered FREE of airtime charges from Verizon Wireless.

When can I perform this update?
You may perform this update at your convenience. This FREE software update is available to you 24 hours a day, seven days a week!

A controversial Fire Official Who while doing Good caused a lot of Bad Problems that linger to this day.

Monroeville Pa was the community where the late  Dan Aston held court as Fire Official  for many years you either loved him or hated him. He was a fire official not a Fire Marshal like every other community.
I hated him because of all the problems he caused my self and other Fire Alarm Installers and property owners there.
Instead of solving problems he caused them.Yes he was very educated and came up with formulas still used in fire service when dealing with calculating fire loads for sprinklers etc but he has also caused a deadly legacy as well because he refused to even except he could be wrong on something .Especially with electrical he was like a fish out of water and was making bad rulings which I had to have him overridden on several times .

The first dealings with Dan
where with the Blue Moon Motel a seedy place along Monroeville blvd now bulldozed and a shopping center .The old AC only Faraday  panel had to be tied to the dispatch center via leased line . I figured out how to do it and it took forever to get a call back from Dan my uncle a fire capt in Crafton finally interceded and got hold of him for me and any time you talked to Dan it was like an interrogation it was one way and one way only even if he was totally wrong about the code  he was God .  Dan was a big pusher of NFPA and then what would become the ICC codes  known as BOCA in an attempt to make Monoreville safe from fires as the community was greatly expanding its commercial and retail area. Although he succeeded he has left a legacy of very bad issues behind him , still haunting to this day.  Of course there are still those who idolize him not realizing the problems he has caused.

Take the Demarco Durzo Building  on Mosside Blvd. I Installed the fire alarm and took care of  it for many years  till a very rude management company came in and got rid of  all existing service providers including me they where using there own people.
One of the first issues  with Dan was since the IRS had a service division  in the building they required the sprinkler system   shut off valves and fire alarm send a trouble signal to the receiving authority  and this was done by way of a leased line reverse polarity circuit to the dispatchers in monroeville municipal building.
Dan said NO  .
The NFPA code only required him to take alarm not trouble signals. A very big and very wrong dissension  on his part . Because he would not except those signals any arsonist or any one else with criminal intent could disable a fire system and destroy a building.
Well I had to go and tell the IRS agents he would not except trouble signals. After they and GAO office got hold of him he begrudgingly said yes . Now this was before UL listed and recognized digital Phone dialers with a daily test on dial up phone lines where all signals had to go to Monroeville.

Today the NFPA still does not require you to transmit sprinkler shut off valves  signals you can just lock them with chain and pad lock but the ICC codes require it realizing all the arson fires and alarm systems in general which are not being properly maintained.
Every Fire system I have ever installed and still maintain send trouble signals and it has saved lives.
This would not be the only D&D building issue with Dan. when they added on the new addition the new ADA code was now in place in all new construction  and as I figured out the plans and submitted them I did them to ADA standard
Like I told the building owner Dr. Durzo we need to follow this code  and I am sure Dan will be enforcing it since all the other fire Marshals where looking for it. Well it was a sunny afternoon where standing outside the building addition being put in and up rides Dan to look at the plans and check work and he starts mother fucking me out in the parking lot about he does not enforce ADA and will have nothing to do it and why did I tell doc he did. When I told him I thought he would , as every one else was following it  and we needed to do it here because  we had federal offices inside.  He said he was not everyone else and to hell with ADA that's up to feds to check not  him. Fine I said and when it comes back and bites you in the ass remember who told you so.
 He stormed off the lot and left in a huff. What he did not realize was an GOA inspector was on property and heard the whole argument. He came down wanted to know who this individual was I told him and later that week a GAO inspector in a wheel chair was sent around Monroeville and a bunch of new buildings where found not to be in compliance and owners where forced to make expensive retrofits all because Dan did not agree with the ADA laws. Yes he was right he did not have to enforce it but he had an obligation to tell them they needed to follow these rules and check them out  after that incident all plans where stamped approved only for fire and to check that ADA rules may be enforced by others.  It was shortly after this he left his position for a while as all the ghosts where now coming and haunting him .He even had some one plant an explosive under his Fire officials car and blow it up. That's when he was having a feud with the late Al Monzo  over his unapproved helipad at his hotel and everyone said Al was behind it but no one was ever charged I do not think Al had any thing to do with it he was too classy a guy to do something like that. .  He had so many building owners mad at him at that point it could have been any one of them. . There was also the issue with him wanting a sprinkler head over an electric furnace in the  building which an electrical inspector overruled him and they made him move it.The electrical inspectors where always arguing with Dan as well. I remember the day him and late Harry Kwalick got into it at a Dr.s office I was doing which was built like a Igloo. Dan wanted a sprinkler head over the electrical equipment and harry said no and overruled him.

But as I finished  D&D building that winter
I would soon butt heads again with Dan and this time it would prove to his detriment .
I was Hired to Install the fire alarms and do  Electrical repairs at Strafford village which was to become
Birnam Woods.
Well things went smooth and Dan actually liked the idea I came up with to use the McCullough loop instead of the Main Annunciation panel which would slow Fire fighter response first having to go there to find out where the fire was but yes Dan was back at it again. We had to drill holes in cinder block fire walls for some hook ups and when you drilled the holes we put electrical putty around them to seal them to stop fire spread we did this every where but no this was not what Dan wanted he made us run the wires thru a piece of pipe  which was run thru the hole in the wall and no back filling with fire proof  putty. We did this in all the buildings and as study's have proved this putting wires thru a pipe first was the wrong thing to do.  Yes there are pipe seals for fire walls available today but they have special fittings which expand and choke off flames what Dan did in effect was to create a Flame Thrower by making us run wire thru these pipe sections and not back filling them with either putty or fire proof cement.

Then there was a problem with the  8 upper apartment units which where all electric  no gas heat.
This was a big issue several times during the project we had problems where electric furnace heaters overheated and started fires. Dan's answer put 3/4 drywall around the units to protect the apartments if they malfunctioned. This was not a solution it created an even bigger danger the problem was these units where improperly installed they should have had a fan sail switch which would only allow heaters on if fan was running and there should have been fuse links in heater line to open as well if unit over heated  I went to refrigeration and air conditioning school and pointed this out to Dan he would hear none of it  put in the dry wall  even thou it violated manufacturers rules it was too close and a very fateful decision as an apartment building up there would have a major fire  that would require rebuilding the buildings and he was faulted with not doing a proper job of preventing the fire.I read the report and it was very critical of Dan's Decisions with the property they also cited the pipes with wire thru them as allowing fire to spread.
Ken who helped me during the renovations stayed on as a maintenance man and would give me updates on the property after we finished and all the problems caused by Dan that kept showing up and he showed me the report he got a copy of it  from management.

Then one day a customer  of mine who owned apartments in Monroeville was told he needed fire alarms . I found a 4 zone panel made by NAPCO which would work perfect submitted plans  etc to Dan's office and I get a phone call no this panel is no good is not commercial fire UL listed etc. I am like what the hell are you talking about .I had to call NAPCO and there chief engineer had to call and berate him for saying the panel did not pass got a follow up call everything was OK. Dan was gone from office by time we got complex finished and the officials who came out  where very happy with the work .

I thought that was it with Dan till I ran across him at a Fireman's Parade in Kittaning  where he starts yelling at me about getting him sued over allowing ADT to use phone lines in the Birnam woods project
I am like Dan what the fuck are you talking about  I have not serviced Birnam since they sold the property.
Bad place for him to start his shit with me a bunch of my friends from Kittaning Area came over and where ready to pound him but he apologized got in his car and left in a huff.

Thought that was it he was no longer in Monroeville  but was now working in nearby a town I never did work in. but an electrician friend called and said he needed help with an alarm yes in that town I told him yes I would help but keep my name out of it I drew up plans etc got them stamped but Dan made him put system smoke detectors in each of these section 8 apartments something I tried to tell them was bad news there would be constant false alarms and besides the buildings sprinklered but acting on Dan's insistence this was way to go we did it and this site has been nothing but headaches with false alarms from pull stations being maliciously pulled which we wanted to eliminate code does not require them to  smokes going off from cooking and illegal pot smoke  . Yes what a mess. But that's what Dan wanted and Wilkinsburg wanted and now regrets. But they still want them that way. I have proposed eliminating the system smokes in apartments change them to system heats and putting in 10 year battery units  to help stop some of the alarms  but no dice. Now that major changes have  has taken place in the  dept and is constantly running there hopefully they will change there minds.
and allow me to reduce calls  for them. Funny how Pa. Fireman's ran an exact article about how bad an idea it is to have system smokes in apartments by Retired Chief Angone

Dan ended up back in Monoreville where he retired  from and he has since passed away.

While Dan had many good ideas and did a good deal to protect Monroeville as It grew  he has also left a legacy of problems behind him. some people claim he was on the take when he allowed so many things to be passed at Birnam Woods and signed off on the problem ridden project but I never saw proof of it.
You still hear plenty of story's about Dan even to this day  from older installers and building owners.
When Dan held Court.

Hard to believe almost 40 years of work experience in so many places and locations the Good the Bad and the Ugly places I worked

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Counterfeit GFCI Outlets Danger await those who buy these cheap units

Had an electrician friend  call me today about one of his machines in the  plant  he installing new electrical feeds for  I was at couple weeks ago with a grounding problem  with a new problem on a different machine  . One of the machines kept tripping out the GFCI Outlet when it was turned on yet when plugged into a certain GFCI outlet it did not trip.

Well after some investigation work including using a meggar meter  on the suspect machine we had our answer. Yes there was a slight ground in the machine which was enough to trip a GFCI and the GFCI units he installed where working properly but when we went to examine the GFCI installed by Electrical Contractor when building was built earlier this year there was a big problem when tested the GFCI did not trip until well over 7 Milliamps of leakage far in excess of allowable 5 milliamps. It was then at first thinking a bad GFCI that I started looking it over and noticed UL mark was not the new reflective mark and other issues with stamping s etc. Ends up this GFCI is Counterfeit that UL and US Customs  has been warning about from China and this electrician never should have installed it. which is one of many things I questioned about his work including why did he install residential load centers instead of commercial bolt down breaker panels knowing what this building was being used for. The electrical inspector should have never passed it either knowing manufacturing would be going on in here. When 400 amps service  was put on building instead of 100 or 200 amps for warehouse use. 

 This company who made this GFCI General Protecht  Ltd  of China has been embroiled in several trademark infringement lawsuits and has had UL and CPSC looking at them yet there dangerous and illegal products have made it to our shores and there are enough Whore Electricians who will take the risk and knowingly install low cost generic GFCI knowing full well the danger they pose. 

So for now the GFCI is changed and my friend is tracking down the slight short in yet another machine more than likely caused when it was moved and handled roughly.

UL Label is invalid  and not reflective 

In this case two was not better than one. When it came to controlling a machine

I am currently in the process of repairing a  Sheet Metal Shops  Shear machine which has a electrically controlled Back Gauge which moves forward and backwards to allow for exact proper cut each time when you feed in sheets of steel for a project. Its a pretty simple set up except who ever did the initial repairs on this machine when the gauge broke down  did the wrong repair and instead of installing a  specifically single forward and reverse controller which has mechanical safety interlock to prevent both coils from energizing at same time and moving  they took 2 single motor contactor controls and tied them together .Thou it works it is illegal to do this and presents a major electrical and OSHA codes violation. as both coils could energize at same time overloading motor circuit and causing injury and fire. Needless to say I have ordered in correct parts and will be repairing it properly. So your probably asking your self how could a machine go for years like this then be sold to a second shop and never be caught and corrected. Its because there was not a problem up till this time  and machine was never properly inspected when it was re-installed or it would have been caught by the electrician wiring it. That is if the electrician was properly trained in industrial electric which in this case I know he was not properly trained in industrial work. needless to say his services are no longer being used by this facility. as this is not the first time he hooked something up and did it wrong. and shame on the electrical inspector as well who looked the shops electrical system over for not catching all the problems they have had so far as well.

If you have this PAMA Co Detector you need to check it for problems

I installed this PAMA Carbon Monoxide Detector manufactured in Israel  a few years back in a customers home the nice thing about it was it had a permanent Co sensor which did not need changed every 5-7 years like current units on the market  unfortunately thou the units where not supervised either for proper operation like new units. Either way the units been preforming flawlessly that is till couple days ago when customer complained it was going off constantly .
I opened up and examined the units and found it extremely hot and inside of case all smoked up .I took unit out of service and I am in process of getting hold of manufacturers rep and CPS C as this could result in a very serious problem this unit could have gotten hot enough to cause a fire despite fact its only a 12 volt DC unit wired with Calls 2 wiring. Which i have talked about in previous articles just because its designed for class II does not mean its 100% safe from possible fire or shock.

Ignorant Lazy Fool almost causes a fatal Electrocution when he improperly wires a Plug on a machine

I was recently called by an electrician friend who was having problems with a machine at a manufacturing plant in a rural Pa county
For months the machine was being run with out the ground wire attached to the machine and when they moved it down to the new building  for him to hook up he noticed the ground wire was off and when he attached it the breaker immediately popped . Concerned there was a major issue and not being familiar with the electronic drives in the machine he asked me to look at it when I got a chance in mean time he marked the machine not to be used . But before I could get to the plant that morning a supervisor received a nasty electrical shock when he touched the machine and a metal air supply line. after ignoring the warning.

I got on site and started testing and got shocked my self when I went to kneel and used the machine to hold on to. Yes there was something very wrong with this machine this never should happen worse yet the GFCI Ground Fault Circuit interrupter did not trip like it should.
  After about 20 minutes of testing and checking wires in the machine thinking I had a hot wire pinched in the machine and not getting the expected results on my meter I then unhooked the incoming wires and to my surprise the machines metal case was still hot it was at this moment I knew what had happened .
Some Idiot machine mechanic wired the plug on the machine wrong .

he wired the hot and neutral conductors backward and was feeding 120 volts directly into the machines frame. White should be on silver screw and black on brass  but as you can see in picture this is not the case  when we confronted this ass hole as to why he had messed with the electrical wiring on the machine as he has no training or certification to do so he said the machine came in that way . Sorry this is not the case.
We spoke to his supervisor and he will be losing his job for what they pay him he can be replaced with a tech that knows what he is doing . He had no business going anywhere near the electrical devices on the machine he could have gotten some one killed as water is often splashed about  and some one stepping in the water and touching the machine could have been grabbed by the electric and not be able to let go.  But since the plant does not have a full time electrical repairman this is a very common problem I see all the time non qualified individuals doing repairs they should not be doing.  . Had some one gotten shocked bad enough to receive hospital care and OSHA would have been notified the plant owners could face massive fines of hundreds of thousands of dollars and
the plant could end up out of business because no one would want to write an insurance policy for them due to there negligence not to address this issue earlier on. OSHA rules demand only qualified individuals due machine repairs.

Cleaning up old wiring on Sprinkler system results in finding some very critical code issues which could lead to there failure.

I am currently working on a very large fire and security project in a  warehouse with a licensed master electrician who is a young 75 years old and still loves doing his job every day.
we finnaly the other day got around to cleaning up all the wiring mess in what was the old sprinkler room which they took the walls down  around it to allow it to be open and visible instead of hidden.
Upon closer inspection after we started to remove old un needed wiring I noticed 2 very critical problems with this system where major mistakes where made and could result in it not functioning properly.

First problem is the 1 1/2" pipe on left riser pipe which runs to maintenance room  it is below the flow valve if the heads on this pipe would activate there will be no alarm and building could easily flood because water is not going thru flow vavle but the most critical problem I found was that this was originally a dry system which was converted to a wet system when it kept leaking air and the main dry release valves where left in place instead of being converted to wet valves . The flapper in the valves could malfunction and prevent flow of water at needed rate. The individual who did this is no longer around but if he where there would be serious rep-ructions from the fire marshals office.
Luckily I have some sprinkler training and caught this problem  which there have been how many professionals in doing annual tests and they never caught it after almost 15 years or just chose to ignore it. Which tells me they where not doing there job and needless to say my customer is now using a  new company to do there work.

New Carbon Monoxide Signal Alert talk about confusing was that 3 for fire or 4 for Co

Yes once again the great folks at NFPA have come up with another fantastic screw up .
Co detectors  now have a 4 beat to them while fire systems have a 3 beat great so now you hear a sounder going off especially at 3 am while sleeping  and need to figure out is it Co OK need to get out to fresh air  or 3 beats my ass is on the line may have to jump out the window to escape.

System Sensor Co Detector 

Now manufacturers like System Sensor above must follow what UL and NFPA want in the code. and if its 4 beats its 4 beats. They have no choice.
 Now you would think NFPA and UL   would make the sound completely different to eliminate confusion  nope same beat 4 instead of 3 and who is going to take the time to count  thinking there is a fire instead of Co.

The confusion could in fact lead to further death and injury when individuals go looking thinking they have a fire instead of Co leak and go into a basement etc. and encounter a high level of Co and pass pout from it. now Co units are suppose to pick up a low enough level to warn and get out but if unit is on first floor and not in basement  by time the co gas gets to first floor dangerous levels are already building in the basement. But your suppose to install one on all levels they encounter great what if my installer did not and what if lower level unit malfunctions. Something those who wrote this new code requirement for 4 beats never thought thru. They think they can just cookie cuttter a rule and everyone and every situation follows it wrong.
Yes it is just a matter of time once again I get to say I told you so and once again hand to plaintiffs attorneys a copy of my articles warning of a problem and getting ignored by those in charge.
Once again the fire service and prevention  proves there own worse enemy.

Why did CPSC not demand a recall of these defective Heat Detectors

For many years Chemetron  not to be confused with a chemical company with a similar name where the chief provider of Rate of Rise and Fixed Temperature Heat Detectors used in Fire Alarm Systems all over the USA.
But something happened there for a while in early 2004-05 they where limited or  just not available on the shelf's of supply houses .
Then in 2006 I started to get some real problems with them where the wiring terminals would snap off the units rendering them non working

As you can see in the above picture. I immediately notified the CPSC Consumer Products safety Commission after notifying local  Penn Hills Fire Marshal now retired Jack mason of the problem  and he put me in touch with agent Hank Glowgowski who forwarded on to his superiors who conducted and investigation made sure manufacturing process where being done properly  by the manufacturer but a recall was never issued for bad products infield which i am still finding when I inspect the heats.
Now where not talking a lot of money the heats are less than $10.00 each and should be inspected annually and changed out after so many years but how many places do not do regular inspections especially in attics where I found this bad unit so lives are being put on the line when not inspected properly which is well over 50% of the systems out there not getting annual inspections.
Now there are those who argue they  are of limited value for fire protection in first place and they have never seen one tripped during a fire investigation because most fires are smokey and do not put off enough hat to trip units . I beg to differ with them . I have in fact had customers who had fires where the heat detectors did operate .These are one of the very few cost effective detection systems  you can use in many areas where conventional smokes can not be used like above ceilings , attics kitchens etc. despite what limited value naysayers say they have. So once again we have ticking time bombs out there and while good professional techs are looking for and replacing these bad units there are many who have no ideal such a problem even exists in the field and plenty more who could care less at this point I do not think there being made by Chemetron any more and they sold the product  to another manufacturer but in mean time System Sensor has come out with a fantastic heat detector which is of superior design and which I now install exclusively on my customers systems.  

Honeywell Tuxedo Keypads be careful before you buy the wrong one and get screwed not being able to do remote automation.

When the Honeywell Tuxedo Keypads came out early on 2012 everyone thought they where great until they found out you could set automation scenes but then did not have remote control and override of them. What a bummer.
Well they did some work and if you bought the WiFi version  of the keypad after downloading new firm ware you can in fact now remotely control locks and thermostats exactly as you wish.

as you can see in the above picture but if you bought the hardwired version your screwed.
They have failed to do anything about the hardwired tuxedos and have offered no programs to help replace them and considering they cost almost $400.00 a piece my customers feel ripped off and are very angry they are not getting answers about there hardwired tuxedo keypads being able to do remote automation..

But to make matters worse Honeywell has still failed to address a technical issue  with the tuxedo keypads going dark and not taking commands in particular its a problem with the WiFi version you put them in and 2-3 weeks out hey go dark and take no commands and I have had the same problem with hardwired ones as well. You have to power them down then back up to get them to work.
Honeywell has also failed to answer why they rolled out Total Connect 2  when they knew the  2G communicators would no longer work after 2015 yes Honeywell has a lot of explaining to do and they are no longer my partner of choice when it comes to burglar alarms and they better get there act in gear or there will be no more purchases of Honeywell and I am not the only dealer saying it. 

The fire alarm work this intergation company did in a fire station could actually cause a fire

Amazing how an integration  company that goes around telling everyone how expert they are at installing integrated systems can do some of the worst work I have seen in 35 +years of doing this kind of work.
Recently I was called to a Volunteer fire company in Butler County Pa. to tie in a new kitchen exhaust hood they had installed to the fire system  by an electrical contractor I work with. Normally its simple enough tie in wiring and program the point except when I opened up the fire panel it was horrifying what I found .

It was a Honeywell vista 128 FB panel which is a combo commercial fire burglar panel  which requires and comes with a separate power transformer enclosure which the 120 volts ac is hooked to and 16 volts ac is then conected to panel all by means of EMT conduit or metal flex wiring . But thats not what they did instead they tore the transformer out if its enclosure  and drilled 2 holes in the vista panel and mounted it as an open frame transformer with out a proper enclosure to prevent an electrical shock and as you can see just taped the Leeds allowing for an electrical shock or fire  . A total fire code and electrical code violation done in a fire station of all places. needless to say the chief was upset and this company was called back and told to correct the situation. Of course I should not have been shocked this is the same company one of my instituional customers booted off there property after they ran an orange exstension cord wire in a wall for a fire system in a youth group home.  This company needs put out of business but as usual they getaway with what they do becuse they never get there work inspected doing it after all the inspectors leave the job and this kind of dangerous work is what you get. A local university got so upset with there work they are forbidden to ever work on its buildings ever again.

Why keep an old and new fire system operating at same time when doing a major building addition . Instead eliminate the old one and combine them.

It absolutely amazes me how many alarm company  specifiers when designing a new fire system for a building addition will install a new fire panel and system and then keep the old  fire panel still operating in the original section instead of eliminating it and combining old and new technology together into one comprehensive operating system.
I just did this at a major food distributor  when I installed an addressable5808 Silent Knight  fire system and then eliminated the old traditional  Edwards panel they had and I added those 10 zones to the fire system . Why would I keep the old Edwards system still operating it makes no sense.
But how do you do it you might ask . Very simply use your brain for something more than a hat rack.

 So lets look at a conventional panel a 10zone panel has 10 zones of smokes pulls heats etc and 4 audible loops. OK how do I combine them.

First the audible loops  these can be made to work by means of a simple NAC extender  Booster like a SK 5495
power supply which has 4 loops in it.  attached to one of  the addressable  panels  audible loops so first problem solved . In the picture below you can see on left 2 new boxes to take the old fire panel on rights zones and horn loops as I was in process of transferring wires testing circuit and then cutting them down and dressing them once I was sure they worked properly

OK what about the 10 zones some with smokes . OK Silent Knight makes a SK Monitor10 a 10 zone module you can put the pull stations and heats on  for the

 2 wire smokes they make a special single  SK Zone or  multi zone  monitor module SKZone6  . which allows 2 wire smokes to work on the addressable system as well

Yes you will need to add some extra power wires to work with these modules but you can pick it up directly from the Fire signal booster panel so there you have it problem solved. old system gone ad old components working on new system and as the old stuff goes bad it can be updated later just like I am doing.