Fuel Oil News articles from February 2001

Fuel Oil News archives from February 2001

Utilities struggling with cost increases.
February 1, 2001... The spiraling price of natural gas and electricity has utilities scrambling to recoup losses in states where rate increases must be approved by state utility commissions. California seems to be the worst-case scenario as that state's largest...

Holohan, Fey headline NAOHSM Show.
February 1, 2001... Respected industry instructors Dan Holohan and Carol Fey will headline the educational seminars at this year's National Assn. of Oil Heating Service Managers Convention in Hershey, Pa., May 13-17. Organizers expect attendance to surpass last...

Technician shortage a continuing concern.
February 1, 2001... The severe shortage of qualified service technicians continues to be one of the major issues confronting the heating oil industry. This problem not only confronts the oil heat industry, but many other trades as vocational schools across the...

N.Y. telemarketing law a blueprint for other states?
February 1, 2001... Two anti-telemarketing laws were enacted last fall in New York that could spread to other states. One law, the "Do Not Call" legislation, establishes a registry for consumers who do not wish to receive unsolicited sales calls. It makes it...

Hydronic Conference slated for Toronto.
February 1, 2001... Hydronic heating industry leaders in Canada are inviting contractors, homebuilders, architects and real estate agents to participate in technical seminars and industry exhibits at the first Great Lakes Hydronic Conference being held April 5-6,...

Isenberg retires from ICPA.
February 1, 2001... After 43 years of dedicated service to the Independent Connecticut Petroleum Assn. and the petroleum-marketing industry, Charles Isenberg has stepped down as executive vice president and CEO of ICPA. Isenberg stunned the crowd at last year's...

Large North American trade show planned.
February 1, 2001... The Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Assn. has been successful in its efforts to consolidate industry trade shows. PHCC, its North American Exposition (NEX) partners, and international trade show manager Messe Frankfurt, Inc., have...

Radiant Panel Conference has a new name.
February 1, 2001... The Radiant Panel Assn.'s annual conference has been renamed REX (Radiant Expo). This conference has grown every year since it began in 1995. This year's REX will be held May 9-12 at the new Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City. It is open to...

It's the gas industry's turn to cry.
February 1, 2001... Last month, I complained about artificially high oil prices and since then wholesale heating oil prices have dropped more than 15 cents per gallon. This decrease occurred despite the fact that the entire Northeast was much colder than normal...

New diesel-sulfur reaulations enacted.
February 1, 2001... New diesel-emissions regulations were signed into law by President Clinton in December. The new regs call for a 97-percent reduction in the sulfur content of on-road diesel, resulting in a 95-percent reduction in particulate-matter emissions...

Gray, Gray & Gray tax seminars benefit charity.
February 1, 2001... The accounting firm of Gray, Gray & Gray, LLP raised over $3,000 for The Brain Tumor Society at the firm's 13th annual year-end tax seminars. The two seminars, held separately in Boston and Westwood, Mass., attracted more than 100 business...

Tuthill Transfer Systems reorganizes sales organization.
February 1, 2001... The Electronic Products Group of Tuthill Transfer Systems recently reorganized its sales organization to include manufacturer's representatives. This change provides more thorough geographical coverage and improved focus on customers'...

New Web site for GeneralAire.
February 1, 2001... GeneralAire dealers recently gained a competitive edge with the introduction of the new GeneralAire dealer Web site. Located at www.gf-dealer.com, the password-protected site was developed to provide dealer-specific tips, sales tools and other...

ASHRAE Handbook chapters now available online.
February 1, 2001... ASHRAE Online now has individual chapters of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and AirConditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Handbook series. The chapters, peer-reviewed to ensure the accuracy and thoroughness of information, can be...

Honeywell and Sid Harvey's to distribute Perfect Climate.
February 1, 2001... The Long Island-based HVAC/R wholesale distributor, Sid Harvey Industries, Inc., has been named by Honeywell Inc. to distribute the Perfect Climate line of Indoor Air Quality products and accessories. Primary components of the Perfect...

Fuel Price Index 02/01.
February 1, 2001... Fuel Price Index 02/01 CURRENT CHNG FROM CHNG FROM PRICE LAST MONTH LAST YEAR CASH/SPOT PRICES (DAILY AVERAGE) LEADED GASOLINE ...

Radiant comfort.
February 1, 2001... Wisconsin homes employ radiant paneling with whole-house Taco zoning New homes equipped at the outset with radiant heating and zoning controls are becoming more and more common. This is because the building industry and associated trades...

Burnham V8 boiler.
February 1, 2001... Burnham's V8 series oil-fired boiler features a new jacket design, redesign of the heat exchanger and a full-size burner swing door. The jacket has a sturdy frame design to make it stronger to resist damage during installation and give it a...

Tekmar reset controls.
February 1, 2001... Tekmar reset controls feature quick-control setup, easy to read liquid crystal display and flexibility. The controls include #260 one-stage boiler and DHW, #261 two-stage boiler and setpoint, outdoor reset boiler controls, #360 mixing control...

Williamson water boiler.
February 1, 2001... Williamson has a new cast-iron, OWB oil-Fired water boiler. The OWB has easy service capabilities via a swing-away door and top access cleanout cover, a high - efficiency flame retention oil burner, with PSC motor, solenoid valve and...

Kerr Comet boiler.
February 1, 2001... Kerr's Comet oil-fired steel boiler features a small footprint, said to be ideal for new-home construction, electric-heat conversions, in-floor heating and direct vent applications. Capacities range from 71,000 to 145,000 Btuh, and the unit is...

Honeywell Sparco mixing valve.
February 1, 2001... Honeywell Sparco's patented Sparcomix AM Series mixing valve has dual certification -- ASSE 1016 and ASSE 1017 -- for point-of-use and source of hot-water installation, which cuts inventories in half. The design perfects the mixing process for...

Peerless WBV/WV boiler.
February 1, 2001... The Series WBV/WV oil-fired boiler from Peerless Heater Co. is a residential boiler for hot-water or steam systems. Standard components include a full-plate swing-out door, steel push nipples and a deluxe insulated enameled steel jacket that...

Grundfos UP circulators.
February 1, 2001... Grundfos' Up 15-42 FG Brute circulators contain a built-in check valve, to provide installers with a cost-effective hydronic heating system and reduce labor costs. The built-in check valve protects against reverse or counterflow in zones when...

Crown boilers redesigned.
February 1, 2001... Crown Boiler has redesigned the jacket on the popular Freeport series of CT and ODV three-pass scotch marine boilers. This redesigned jacket features a cleaner look with a new two-tone, pebble finish. It also has a front burner door cover that...

Radiant sizing calculator.
February 1, 2001... The new RadPad radiant floor system sizing calculator is now available from the Radiant Panel Assn. The tool makes radiant floor system sizing tasks quick and easy. It is not an electronic computer but is simple to use and will provide tube...

Enerjet boilers in five sizes.
February 1, 2001... Enerjet water and steam OB cast-iron oil-fired boilers are available in five sizes ranging from 0.7 to 2.15 gph, with or without tankless coils. The wet-base boilers are said to be highly efficient, and their small size makes handling and...

Weil-McLain burner control.
February 1, 2001... One of the most advanced burner-control technologies available for residential oil burners is now standard on all Weil-McLain Gold oil boilers. The QB-180 and QB-300 residential oil burners with advanced-control technology are standard on...

Slant/Fin Liberty II boilers.
February 1, 2001... Slant/Fin's Liberty series cast-iron oil boiler has been updated with new features. The Liberty II features a wide swing-out burner door for easy access to the combustion area. The door also lifts off to make it easier to move the boiler. As an...

Enerjee mixing controls.
February 1, 2001... Automix 20 is an advanced electronic-temperature control with night setback designed to actuate three-way or four-way Termomix valves for radiant floor heating and new or retrofit radiator or fin-tube baseboard applications. Automix 20 includes...

Viessmann Vitorond boiler.
February 1, 2001... The new Vitorond 200 from Viessmann is an economical, triple-pass boiler series in a compact cast-iron sectional design. A long service life, low emission combustion and faster installations are claimed for the boiler, which is available in a...

Sid Harvey hydronic products.
February 1, 2001... Sid Harvey's offers a full range of Rehau radiant heating products, Crown, Peerless and Thermo-Dynamics boilers. The company's hydronic line includes a unique combination of many products, both new and remanufactured, to fill all customer...

Haydon baseboard.
February 1, 2001... Haydon's Hi-Output 958 baseboard provides 850 Btu/ft. (one gpm @ 180-degree water temperature) using a standard 3/4-inch copper tube element with 2-1/2 x 3-1/4-inch fins. At 9-1/4 inches high, this low-profile enclosure provides great...

Vanguard piping systems.
February 1, 2001... Vanguard's Simplex plastic modular manifold for the radiant heating market can be purchased in components specifically suited to each radiant application. Used with Vanguard's Vanex and/or Vanex BPEX oxygen-barrier tubing for hydronic radiant...

Ultimate boilers.
February 1, 2001... Offering efficiencies to 87.6 percent, the Ultimate boiler is said to also be the most versatile boiler on the market. It can be either through the wall or chimney vented, installed indoors or outdoors (the outdoor model features double...

Taco power controls.
February 1, 2001... Taco has a line of power controls designed to provide complete system control and monitoring by regulating the supply-water temperature to a heating system based on outdoor temperature. The control wiring is as simple as plugging the interface...

Utica Starfire III boilers.
February 1, 2001... Utica Boilers Starfire III is said to be an efficient, reliable and easy-to- maintain oil-fired water boiler. The SFH boilers feature a wet-base design, and cast-iron heat exchanger and push nipples. Efficiency ratings to 86 percent are...

Jomar ball valves.
February 1, 2001... New second-generation PTFE packing and seats has allowed Jomar to offer its T&S-100N, 100-percent full-port ball valves with true low-pressure steam rating. Valves are now approved at temperatures up to 366 degrees F, utilizing low pressure...

Dunkirk boilers.
February 1, 2001... The Empire II water boiler features a wet-base design, cast-iron construction and efficiencies to 86.4 percent. The full swing-out door allows easy access for burner setup and service, and the exclusive isolation valves enable the circulating...

Aero combo system.
February 1, 2001... Aero's Aqua Air combination space-and water-heating system combines an efficient Aero oil-fired water heater with an air handler. A CF-32T oil-fired water heater combined with an air handler can supply both domestic hot water and space heating...

M&M low-water cut-off.
February 1, 2001... McDonnell & Miller ITT has introduced an innovative series of low-water cut-off/pump controllers featuring environmentally friendly mercury-free snap-action switches. The new 42S series is said to be ideal for installations with operating...

Hacker radiant concrete.
February 1, 2001... Gyp-Span Radiant is a high strength, non-structural gypsum concrete formulated specifically to be poured or pumped-in-place over hot-water tubes or electric cables. It has what is said to be the ideal thermal mass to provide even distribution...

Monitor oil boiler.
February 1, 2001... The FCX boiler comprises a steel boiler shell linked to a special stainless steel condenser and has a burner with integral line heater, all contained in a highly aesthetic cabinet. High levels of combustion and performance are achieved and...

The Oil Heating Industry 2000: The winter of the spike Part III.
February 1, 2001... Our 23rd annual profile of marketers We still have some statistics to share generated from our comprehensive industry study. This includes the types and average number of various heating products marketers sell and install, service...

Miracle in Oyster Bay.
February 1, 2001... Cooperative effort leads to major facility upgrade for boys and girls club In the town of Oyster Bay, Long Island, made famous by its favorite son, Billy Joel, stands the Oyster Bay Boys and Girls Club. It was a oneroom building that only...

A circulator's job.
February 1, 2001... When you are installing a new circulator, consider pumping toward the system and away from the compression tank. It still amazes me to think as we enter the year 2001 that people are still saying the job of the circulator on a boiler is to...

Zoning a series loop.
February 1, 2001... Over the years I am sure we have all had the occasion to use non-electric zone valves to provide better comfort and balancing on a hot-water heating system. The installation is relatively easy if you were dealing with a direct-return,...