View Single Post
Old 12-01-14, 01:48 PM   #12
AC_Hacker
Supreme EcoRenovator
 
AC_Hacker's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 4,004
Thanks: 303
Thanked 723 Times in 534 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by oil pan 4 View Post
Have you ever seen a GFI fail?
Yes, I had one fail. I had placed it under the kitchen sink, and a 'leak situation' caused it to fail.

Since then I have learned that normal GFIs are not meant for wet area use, and that if you want to use a normal GDI, you need to locate it in it's own box, in a dry area, and then run lines to the area that could be wet.

Wet Area GFIs are also available.

Quote:
Originally Posted by oil pan 4 View Post
When they fail catastrophically they put out a lot of heat then.
I didn't notice that but I don't doubt that it would be true.

Quote:
Originally Posted by oil pan 4 View Post
I have found that even after you turn off certain AV toys they still continue to suck down just as much power.
About like a wall warts power consumption when its unhooked versus actually charging or powering some small item.
Yeah, that was my insight too, when I saw the Flir pix. It's horrible. I think that they were designed before "energystar" ratings happened, and that the very same functionality could be had at a small fraction of the wasted energy.

Quote:
Originally Posted by oil pan 4 View Post
I am thinking about buying one. The price on their base model units has just about been cut in have over the last 8 to 10 years.
I see anything from electrical trouble shooting, bearing health monitor, automotive, welding preheat and post heating, HVAC, energy use and conservation, security, extermination and hunting.
Great! I think that they are extremely useful.

But I rented mine specifically to check out house leaks, and I certainly got a To-Do list out of my experience.

For my use, it would be better to rent a unit and spend the money that a purchase would consume, on materials and time to implement the changes that I now realize need to be made.

Best,

-AC
__________________
I'm not an HVAC technician. In fact, I'm barely even a hacker...
AC_Hacker is offline   Reply With Quote