How to tell if your hose bib froze in the winter and is currently cracked

April 9th, 2010

Frozen hose bibs can cause a lot of damage to your home.

To find out if your hose bib froze over the winter, place your thumb over the spigot (or if you have small thumbs, use your hand), hold your thumb or hand tight on the spigot while turning the water on. If there is little pressure and you can mostly hold the water in, that means there is a crack where the water is leaking out. If the pressure builds up and the water eventually escapes your hand, there shouldn’t be a crack.

Ben Franklin Plumbing replaces hose bibs starting at $120. Give us a call at (801) 224-4545 to schedule an appointment today.

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Ben Franklin Plumbing on The Celebrity Apprentice!

April 9th, 2010

On Sunday, May 4th, our national company will be hosted on NBC’s reality show called “The Celebrity Apprentice“. Celebrities on this show will take on every-day work tasks in a competition where the winner is able to contribute money to their favorite charity. Tune in!

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The Latest and Greatest Water Heaters – New Water Heaters on the Market

April 5th, 2010

New water heaters are out and we’re here to give you the low-down on these models.

With the energy-efficiency movement growing stronger, technology is becoming more focused on how much energy water heaters — the greatest energy waters in your home — use. So here are the newest water heaters on the market and their energy efficiency ratings.

GE GeoSpring Hybrid Water Heater

This GE hybrid water heater is brand spankin new. An Energy Star qualified water heater (meaning you get an energy-efficiency tax rebate for it), this water heater is also very user friendly. This water heater has a compressor and evaporator that pulls ambient heat from the surrounding environment into the heater to heat the water. This process produces the same amount of hot water as a conventional water heater but saves up to 62% of the energy, sparing your utility bills.

The easy to use control system on this water heater features several settings for your needs: e-heat mode, hybrid mode, high-demand mode, standard mode and vacation setting.

GE Tankless Gas Water Heater

This GE tankless water heater saves up to 35% of energy while heating water and for that reason, this product also qualifies for the federal tax credit.

This tankless water heater provides unlimited hot water throughout the house. The GE tankless water heater has demand-activated technology so it only heats water when a hot faucet is on and hot water is needed. The tankless water heater has an electronic digital control that allows you to adjust the temperature easily. Last but not least, this water heater is freezeless, allowing it to work up until -30° F.

Ben Franklin Plumbing installs all energy-efficient water heaters and is bonded and insured to maximaze the safety of your purchase.

If you have any questions, write a comment below and we will be happy to get right back to you.

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Plumbing Utah – World Plumbing Day

March 15th, 2010

March 11th was World Plumbing Day!

This day devoted to plumbing around the world focuses on the health and safety plumbing provides to communities at large. Recently, the plumbing industry has been given world attention for their energy-saving capabilities as well. All in all, this industry can provide health and safety (as well as poor health and serious danger to many if installations and other plumbing work is done incorrectly) and also energy-efficient and green practices.

A good article on World Plumbing Day can be found here.

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Green Plumbing Utah – Energy efficient water heaters and tax rebates offered

February 19th, 2010

Green cars, green lighting, green everything. I’m sure you’ve heard it all.

But here you can learn about green plumbing.

According to Energy Star, your water heater makes up for 14-25% of the energy use in your home. Consequently, the type of water heater you have or the performance of that water heater can dramatically affect your energy bills. In this respect, energy-efficient water heaters redeem themselves over time when it comes to the initial cost of installation.

What are the energy-efficient water heaters?

The most efficient and popular option are tankless water heaters. For example, Noritz tankless water heaters have an energy rating of 0.82. These qualify for the federal tax rebate, take up less space in your home, and provide unlimited hot water. Noritz has dual-burner technology and has been the leader in tankless water heater technology. The average conventional water heater has an energy rating of 0.58 and does not qualify for a rebate. The energy rating must be greater than or equal to 0.82. You must choose the most energy-efficient water heaters from these brands.

Various tankless water heaters that qualify are found in these brands:

  • Bosche
  • Bradford White
  • Eternal
  • Navien
  • Noritz
  • Omega 2000 Group
  • Quietside
  • Rheem
  • Richmond
  • Rinnai
  • Ruud
  • Takagi

Click here for a full list of tankless water heaters and model numbers with an energy efficiency of 0.82 and above.

What are the tax rebates offered for energy efficient water heaters?

Federal tax rebate

The federal tax rebate will cover 30% of the cost of the water heater (including installation costs) or up to $1,500. This rebate expires December 31, 2010. More information and the forms can be found here. Instructions on how to apply for this rebate can be found here.

For gas, oil and propane water heaters, the units must have an energy rating of 0.82 or greater or a thermal efficiency of at least 90%.

For an electric heat pump water heater, the unit must have an energy factor greater than or equal to 2.0.

Questar Gas rebate

The Utah rebate from Questar Gas for the installation of an energy-efficient water heater is $300. For this rebate, you must have a tankless gas water heater with an EF rating of 0.87 or above. Click here for the rebate application.

Hopefully you found this information useful, if you should have any questions, please leave a comment and we will get back to you with an answer. Ben Franklin Plumbing has tankless water heater experts who can outline your options and install your tankless water heater for you.

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Plumbing Utah – Joe the Plumber says his life has been ruined

February 18th, 2010

Unfortunately, Joe (Sam Wurzelbacher) has faced hardships since he stepped away from his daily plumbing routine to speak up about politics. Politicians began using his words for good and bad and rumors spread that he wasn’t a licensed plumber. The article can be found here.

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Choosing a Plumber For Your Utah New Construction Project: 5 Easy Steps

February 12th, 2010

If you are a Beehive State entrepreneur who is formulating plans for a new facility, or if you are a homeowner who is remodeling a house, you will need to find a Utah plumbing contractor who has extensive experience with installing brand new systems. There are many plumbers in Utah to choose from, but not all of them have the knowledge, credentials, and manpower necessary to do more than just rudimentary repair jobs; so you’ll need to choose your Utah plumbing contractor extremely carefully to make sure the job is done correctly the first time. Here is a step by step guide on how to make sure you hire the right professional.

Step 1

Use your networking resources to ask business associates, family members, and neighbors for a reliable referral. Be sure to be specific with these contacts about whether or not they used the plumbing contractor for a “new construction” job. If they had a good experience, that is a great place to start.

Step 2

 

If you are not going off a referral, you’ll need to start from scratch. Do internet searches for new construction plumbers in your area, then glean all the relevant information you can from their websites:

  • How long they have been in business
  • Their level of experience with new construction plumbing projects
  • If they are licensed, bonded, and insured
  • Whether they have an excellent BBB rating
  • Anything else that’s important to you

Pare down your list by weeding out those candidates who don’t meet the above criteria, then you’re ready for the next step.

Step 3

Interview candidates: they may come to your home or office or you may want to visit their facilities to better gauge their business. Get into details about what you are looking for, and then let them “sell themselves.” Once bids are in, you’ll be better able to compare what each has to offer for the money.

Step 4

Once you have settled on two candidates, do a little more research. Contact prior clients and see if they were happy with the performance of their Utah plumbing contractor. You may also want to call the State Division of Consumer Protection to see if there are outstanding complaints against the contractors.

Step 5

Once you have settled on a contractor, make sure to get all pertinent agreements in writing including an estimated time of completion.

Choosing the right Utah plumbing contractor for your new construction project will yield better results if you take the time to follow these 5 steps: it’s an investment that’s well worth it.

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Leaky Sink Utah – How to fix your leaky sinks and faucets

February 8th, 2010

A great article on how to fix a leaky sink or faucet whether it’s in your bathroom, shower, kitchen or elsewhere can be found here.

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Plumbing Problems Utah – How to prevent plumbing problems and expensive plumbing repairs

February 3rd, 2010

If you’ve ever had a plumbing problem, you know that it’s expensive.

And it’s times like that when you wish you would have been more careful with the plumbing in your home.

There’s good news, there are ways to prevent those expensive plumbing repairs and they don’t take very much effort. Here are some simple ways to avoid those expensive plumbing problems:

  • Don’t pour grease down your sink. This will inevitably cause your drain to close up and a professional plumber will have to come clear it for you. This is easy to avoid. Don’t dump the grease down the sink, no matter how hot the water is that you’re pouring down with that grease.
  • Buy a strainer for your drains, especially in the bathroom. From hair to that wedding ring, a strainer is a very cheap investment for the money it will save you.
  • In about October, disconnect all the hoses to your home to prevent freezing and breaking. You can also invest in a freezeless hose bib which could spare you a flooded basement.
  • Insulate the pipes in your home that are exposed to cold air or drafts. Frozen pipes create cracks in those pipes when the ice expands and this not only calls for expensive plumbing repairs but can also cause water damage.
  • If you have an older home or live in a very cold area, open all cupboards at night so the warm air can reach the pipes. If you know of any pipes in a crawl space or otherwise that would be exposed to cold air, place a heater next to them or insulate those pipes.
  • When going on vacation, set the water heater to “pilot” or “vacation” mode and make sure the furnace is set to at least 55° to prevent freezing. Frozen pipes are some of the biggest business plumbers get in the winter.
  • Draining your water heater once or twice a year will help it last longer. You should especially do this routine maintenance before winter as winter is hard on your water heater. Instructions on how to drain your water heater can be found here with a video included.
  • Never put anything down your garbage disposal that you think your disposal would possibly be unable to handle. If you question, just throw it away instead. Fruits and vegetables with thick skin, grease, rice, bones and others are among some of the things you should never put down your disposer. For a list of  what you shouldn’t put in your disposer and instructions on how to fix the disposer if jammed, click here.

We hope you find this blog to be helpful and if you should need any problem fixed, don’t hesitate to give us a call.

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Home Humidifiers Utah – How dry air affects your health and what to do about it

January 28th, 2010

Dry air isn’t fun.

There are many annoying little health issues that come with dry air and the truth is, that dry air is easy to fix.

Especially when it comes to Utah, and even worse in a Utah winter, dry air is a classic neusense. As the cold temperatures kick in, we kick on our furnaces and heaters. Unfortunately the warm air you need blowing through your home is very dry and irritating.

Dry air causes many ear, nose and throat problems. According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s report, dry air can contribute to asthma and hypersensitivity pneumonitis. Dry air also creates dry, irritated eyes, chap lips, flaky skin, dry mouth and itchy, dry throat. Bronchitis, sinusitis and nosebleeds are also products of exposure to dry air, not to mention that annoying static electricity that follows you around and creates a shock every now and then.

According to Consumer Reports and the National Academy of Sciences, the flu virus is able to survive longer in environments where the absolute humidity is lower. According to Oregon researchers, the common perspective on the widespread flu virus during the winter is that of the increased time spent indoors creating a greater opportunity to “share” the virus. Now they are proposing that the greater reason behind the increased spread of this virus during the winter months of January and February is because of the decreased absolute humidity indoors and outdoors, an environment where the life of the virus is prolonged and consequently, it’s ability to spread is greater.

A great way to escape the misery of dry air is to invest in a whole house humidifier. This will increase the humidity throughout your home and can be hooked to your furnace so the air blowing through the vents in your home contains air with a greater level of humidity that it otherwise would not. In some of these humidifiers, the percentage of humidity can be controlled by you. Plumbing and HVAC technicians can install these units for you (which can be tricky) so if you wish to get a whole house humidifier, call a plumbing or HVAC technician and ask if they provide that service.

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