Fasco Motors have arrived at SupplyHouse.com just in time for the heating season! Fasco Motors manufactures top of the line OEM replacement Motors and Draft inducers for the biggest names in the HVAC industry. Here you can find replacements motors and draft inducers for Lennox, ICP/Heil Quaker, Trane, York, Goodman, and many more.

A draft inducer is a fan that operates when there is a call for heat. It blows air into the vent at the beginning of the heating cycle to ensure the vent to the outside is clear. If the vent is not clear, combustion gases will get inside the home and cause problems. The draft inducer starts operating before the flame is lit and continues running while the flame is burning. If the draft inducer is supposed to be running and the furnace realizes it is not, the furnace will shut off. A furnace will not run without the draft inducer, which means you will not have heat. Don’t get stuck without heat this winter. Fasco Motors are in stock and ready ship today!

Looking for a comfortable even heat throughout your home that is both cost-effective and energy efficient? Consider the benefits of a radiant floor heating system to do the job.

Drafts got you down? If your goal is to achieve even, comfortable heat and warm floors, then you may want to look into installing a radiant heating system for your home.

Radiant heating systems are installed in or below the floor of your home, and distribute heat evenly and comfortably. The heating coils first warm up the floor, and then the heat rises gradually throughout the room, warming the air and all of the furnishings so that the entire interior becomes snug and toasty.

“Radiant heat holds many advantages over typical convective heating methods,” notes Daniel O’Brian, a tech team member here at SupplyHouse.com. “Radiant heats the whole room evenly, so there is no ‘cold at the floor – hot at the ceiling’ effect. It will even heat the surface of the objects in the room, greatly increasing comfort.”

“Because airflow is negligible in a radiant system, there is less heat loss due to drafts, and in general the thermostat can be set lower while remaining comfortable,” O’Brian continues. “On top of that, the water temperature required for a radiant system is much lower than traditional systems. A properly configured radiant system can save you big bucks on utilities.”

In addition to comfort, radiant heat is aesthetically pleasing, because all of the components are tucked away out of sight—there are no radiators, baseboard heaters or hot air returns in view. Radiant heat is also silent, eliminating much banging, whistling, creaking, popping, rattling and humming of conventional heating systems.

There are two primary types of radiant heating systems, hydronic and electric. Hydronic systems are the most common and use hot water passing through PEX tubing to heat a space. Electric radiant heat uses electric cables or mats to heat a space. Radiant heat can be installed in both new construction and in existing homes, and there are several different types of installations, depending on what type of home construction is used. Hydronic tubing can be installed in a cement foundation when it is being initially poured; or the tubing can be installed in an “over-pour” on an existing foundation. Tubing also can be installed in between the floor joists with or without plates; or it can be installed above the subfloor using a specialty product such as Quik Trak.

Radiant heat is also an energy-efficient option for many homeowners. Although the initial installation cost may be 10% to 25% more expensive than a conventional heating system, a properly designed and maintained radiant heating system can cost 25% to 50% less to run and maintain. Also, the life expectancy of a radiant heat system is typically 30 to 45 years, double or even triple the 10 to 25 year life expectancy of a traditional forced air furnace. Radiant heat also can increase the value of your home at resale, since these systems are considered a highly-desirable option among home buyers.

SupplyHouse.com offers a large selection of products and packages for installing radiant heating systems from the top manufacturers in the industry.  For more information, including a radiant heat calculator, visit SupplyHouse.com.

When you’re picking a new bathroom ventilation fan, you will often come across the term ‘CFM.’ An abbreviation for cubic feet per minute, CFM quantifies the amount of air that a fan can move. Larger bathrooms require fans with higher CFM ratings.

According to Fantech, the Home Ventilating Institute recommends 1 CFM per square foot in bathrooms up to 100 square feet. Larger bathrooms should be sized based on fixtures. All standard tubs, showers, and toilets add 50 CFM each to the the total. Large tubs and whirlpools require 100 CFM per fixture.

Visit SupplyHouse.com to find a large selection of bath fans from Fantech, Panasonic, Broan/Nutone, and Air King.

SharkBite push-fit fittings revolutionized plumbing and hydronic heating, making installations and repairs faster and easier for professionals and do-it-yourselfers alike. Previously available in sizes only up to 1”, SharkBite now makes fittings for larger pipe. SharkBite 2XL fittings work with 1-1/4”, 1-1/2”, and 2” PEX, copper, and CPVC.

Use PEX stiffeners for PEX connections and “Shark Shifter” De-Mount Tools to remove any 2XL fitting (both available separately). Find the complete line of SharkBite fittings on SupplyHouse.com.

Unlike many local supply houses, SupplyHouse.com stocks and has access to thousands of replacement HVAC parts from the most popular brands in the industry such as Carrier, Trane, Barber Coleman, Lennox and Furnas Controls among many others. We recently added 2 popular brands to this huge collection. ICP Heil Quaker replacement parts include Limit Switches, Thermal Expansion Valves (TXV), Circuit and Control Boards, as well as Blower Motors, Fan Parts and Valves.  You can find these and many more in the various categories here.

We have also been adding a variety of Nordyne parts to the site, and these items and many other replacement parts can be found here.  You will be able to find items ranging from Pressure Switches to Ignitors and Burner Parts.  Don’t forget to check out the Miscellaneous Parts!

Remember, if you cannot find the part you are looking for, contact our exceptional customer service team and we will do our very best to locate that part for you.

Ever wonder why so many of the old radiators you see are painted silver? Back in the day, they were mostly plain grey metal, but then the Spanish Influenza arrived during the winter of 1918-19 and that changed everything. So many people died from this airborne virus that the Board of Health came out with a rule that we had to keep our windows open to prevent disease. Open-window ventilation led to huge radiators. When the Great Depression arrived, folks looked for ways to tone down those oversized radiators. Paint that contained flakes of metal (aluminum or bronze) had a way of cutting a radiator’s output by 20 percent so they started painting radiators that distinctive silver color. Funny thing is if you add a coat of ordinary paint on top of this, the radiator’s output goes right back to what it was. It’s true!

Make sure to use oxygen barrier PEX in any closed-loop hydronic heating system that includes PEX tubing. New water is not routinely introduced to closed-loop systems. The same water cycles through them, under pressure, continuously.

Oxygen corrodes ferrous metals. Any system components made from iron or steel will rust over time if the system contains fresh oxygen. Since water contains oxygen, the purpose of the barrier is not immediately obvious. The oxygen initially present in the water chemically reacts with ferrous equipment to form iron oxide. Once this takes place, all corrosion stops. This type of mixture, which no longer contains oxygen, is ideal for closed systems and will gradually develop a black or brownish color.

PEX without an oxygen barrier actually allows oxygen from the air to permeate it. This happens even if the PEX is embedded in concrete. Cast iron circulator pumps will rust when oxygen is present in the water. Bronze or stainless steel circulators are necessary when this is the case. Many hydronic heating sources cannot handle fresh oxygen and would need to be isolated from an open-loop system or any oxygen exposure with a heat exchanger.

The oxygen barrier on standard PEX is normally a layer of ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) applied to the outside of the tubing. The aluminum layer of PEX-AL-PEX serves as its oxygen barrier.

 

In Episode 15 on PexTV we highlight our selection of Aquastats.

We also update you about our MOVEMBER campaign.

Finally, we talk a bit about our upcoming site wide sale TRADE TUESDAY where you can get 5% off everything on teh sire for one day! It’s great, and we even got a video from a customer!

New to SupplyHouse.com are Viega’s Pex Press Plastic Manifolds.  These plastic manifolds are economical and save time with the help of the Smart Connect feature. They are NSF-61 approved for use in potable water systems, and come with outlets numbering from 2 to 8. Models are available in Flow Through and Close End varieties. The PLS polysulfone plastic resists aggressive water and corrosion. These lead free manifolds when combined with Viega’s existing PEX Press fittings can form a complete system solution. This system is designed to provide a 40% increased flow rate compared to the U.S. standard PEX insert fitting.

Smart Connect, which is a unique feature only offered by Viega, allows installers to easily identify unpressed connections. The Smart Connect feature allows reliable connections in up to seven seconds, and eliminates the need for solder, flux, flame and fire watches.  It can also make secure connections under the flow of water.