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Topics - jcc273

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1
General Discussion / Interesting take from an interesting source
« on: July 03, 2014, 12:21:33 PM »
Long article, but it makes a lot of sense.  Surprising it came from a wealthy person:

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/the-pitchforks-are-coming-for-us-plutocrats-108014_full.html#.U7WLffldWuM

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General Discussion / EPA - OWB's aren't the only thing on their hit list...
« on: February 28, 2014, 10:59:56 AM »
Got this letter mass forwarded at work the other day.  I work for an electronic's manufacturer and a big portion of our work is mining equipment and controllers.  We have taken some pretty bad hits from the recent down turn of coal.  It looks like its only going to get worse as the newest proposed EPA regulations will make it impossible to build a new coal plant : /.

Quote
Dear Fellow Employee,

As employees of a major company in the mining community, it is important for us to stay abreast of public policy challenges that face our industry.

Domestic coal production is facing many challenges.  While natural gas pricing has caused considerable dislocation in the burn at coal-fired power plants, another challenge is confronting US coal mining – a regulatory proposal from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that, if enacted, may prohibit the construction of any new coal-fired power plants.

The EPA has proposed that any coal-fired power plant built in the future – and only coal-fired, not gas-fired – must deploy or incorporate a yet to-be-proven carbon emissions capture technology.  This requirement alone will actively prevent the construction of any new coal-fired facility in the United States.

While technological advancements are, indeed, the key to climate change control, mandating technological solutions yet to be developed or commercially proven is not a good policy option. Our industry partners are making continued advancements in limiting and cleaning up the emissions from coal fired plants.  From 1970 to 2012, the utility industry has reduced the so-called “regulated pollutants” (nitrogen oxide, sulfur oxide, particulate matter, mercury) by more than 89%, having spent $103 billion to equip plants with emission control technologies.  For the period 2012 to 2016, the power industry is spending a further $35 billion in implementing additional technologies. Joy Global fully supports these initiatives as part of our commitment to be socially responsible in the world we live and work.
Probably the best example of our industry being proactive to reduce CO2 emissions is the FutureGen Alliance, a venture in which Joy Global is partnering with Alpha Natural Resources, Anglo American, Glencore Coal, Peabody Energy, and the US Department of Energy. Sean Major, Joy Global’s Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary is the current Chairman of the FutureGen Alliance. The project is located 350 miles south of Milwaukee in western Illinois.  It involves the repowering of a coal burning generating plant to test and commercialize the most advanced coal-generation plant in the world – coupled with large scale geologic CO2 storage.  The project’s goal is to prove the science of capturing CO2 emissions and burying the CO2 deep underground.  We are in the “build” phase of this project, with an eye towards project completion in 2017.
Today, though, EPA’s proposed rule is calling for a solution that is not reasonable and is not a path that makes sense for our country and development of its abundant coal resources.

I urge you to write to your Congressman and Senators and ask them to take action to stop this unreasonable EPA regulation.  A special area on JGN has been developed through which you can send an email letter to your representatives.  You can either send the prepared letter under your name or you can modify the letter as you feel appropriate.  You can also compose your own letter to send.  The portal also has an easy lookup for your Senators and Congressman.  Please click here, to go directly to the JGN Government Affairs and Issues page, click the “Action Alert” box located at the bottom of the page.  Follow the prompts to submit your support letter. 
In addition, I ask you to write to the EPA and state your opposition to these unfair regulations.  Our industry trade association, National Mining Association (NMA), has created a special online portal, www.countoncoal.org, which provides a direct link to EPA to record your comment and opposition to the regulation. 

Taking action is important for our company, for our customers, and for our country.  I urge you to join in this effort. Thank you for your time and attention, and I look forward to communicating with you in the future as important issues of public policy arise.

Sincerely,
Ted Doheny

So they will shut down coal then in a couple years after this huge upturn in NG they will decide to much pollution is coming form that and shut that down... then what?  We are supposed to live on solar and wind power?  We also make controllers for wind turbines and that business is dead, the cost vs. power production results is something that doesn't work into the black.  The only reason they were being built was because of government subsidies (which have now expired).  And before this job i worked in the Nuclear Industry, and that is some nice clean power production but all the red tape and unknowledgeable public fear makes it very expensive and hard to build a new one.  What a world we live in : /.

3
Fire Wood / Block Wood or Slab Wood
« on: August 30, 2013, 11:01:54 AM »
Alright so i do cut most of the wood i burn between my land, family land, and a permit to cut dead trees in Oil Creek State Park.  But there is place real close to where i live that delivers slab and block wood, was thinking about getting a load and trying it out:

Hardwood blocks . 4x4 , 4x6 , and 6x6 mixed sizes and lengths upto 20". Tri-axle load $550 delivered
Heavy all premium hardwood slabs cut 16-20" long. No edgings,nice pieces.Huge tri-axle load $440 delivered.
Loads average 5-6 cord. (4'x4'x8')

Anyone have opinions on these?  the blocks are more so im assuming they are better burning?  thoughts?  If this works out well i might be able to save close to the same in gas for my truck to haul haha.

Here is craigslist if you wanna see image:
http://erie.craigslist.org/for/3949754701.html

4
Plumbing / Fitting Fiasco
« on: December 28, 2012, 07:43:57 AM »
Just wanted to vent and share my frustration from yesterday.

I purchased my house about 2 years ago, but it was built in 86.  So alot of the plumbing in this house is Qest Polybutylene (yep, the stuff with all the lawsuits in the 90s).  I have already redone my water/laundry room and swapped alot out, so the majority of it is contained within the access hole (house in on a slap no basement), with the exception of a line that runs to my kitchen sink and a line to my bathroom sink.

Unfortunately this piping is also used to run from the OWB to my baseboards : /.  i have 2 zones, so 2 lines run from OWB to house, then 2 from downstairs to upstairs, then 2 from upstairs to downstairs, and finally 2 back to the OWB.

I got up a little before 6am yesterday and went to the bathroom.  I could hear water running, so i tracked down the noise to under the bathroom sink (this is where both zones enter the house).  I found that the Qest fitting that attached the Polybutylene to copper for one zone had cracked and burst open just like they are known to do.  AND not only did it break, but since this stuff is no longer used it was damn near impossible to find a new one.  I finally found that this stuff was used in alot of mobile homes, so i had to track down a mobile home supply house to find them.

It was a huge mess, thankfully the one that burst was in the bathroom.  Since the OWB was installed when the house was built the lines run through the concrete slap itself, so replacement of all lines would be a major pain!  After this though maybe i'll at least try to replace the lines that run between floors.  For now i just bought a stock of fittings from the mobile home supply house in case it happens again.....

5
Plumbing / Furnace doesn't stop filling
« on: June 27, 2012, 07:07:42 PM »
Hello All,

I recently purchased a home that has a Hardy outdoor wood furnace.  Unfortunately the prior owner passed away before i purchased the home.  I took off the back and went to work seeing if everything was functional.  Electronically everything seems functional.  the small copper fill line had burst im guessing from freezing during the winter while the house was unoccupied.  I replaced this line then turned on the water to fill the furnace.  it filled fine with no leaks, but it did not stop filling and oveflowed out the top and all over.  I though that maybe the electronic solenoid that shuts off the water when full was shot, so i turned off the valve right before the solenoid and it still continued to overflow!

The cold water line splits once it gets to the heater, one line goes through the solenoid and fills the tank, the other i am pretty sure is the domestic line that runs through the system then back to my hot water tank.  I am guessing this domestic line is the source of overflow since turning off the fill line has no effect.  If i read the manual correctly i believe the domestic line SHOULD be closed to the water within the tank and should simply run through the tank to heat up the water.  Does this sound correct?  If so i guess that would probably mean the domestic line within the tank has burst open : /.

Can anyone verify my conclusions above?  or provide me with any other possibilities?  If I am correct then does anyone know how i would go about fixing the domestic line?  is the tank within the furnace open on top that i could access and fix the line if i pulled the outer casing and insulation off?  Or will i have to torch off the top fix the line and reweld the top back on?

I would greatly appreciate any suggestions or information anyone can provide!

Thanks,
Jarrod

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