You know what's funny? No one comments on the "funny" things I put in my videos like the KFC glove thing... 🤣🤣🤣

@chippydog2

8 ай бұрын

Ben, do you have an open forum in which we can ask your opinion on things?

@BenjaminSahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

@chippydog2 Other than comments, not really. I suppose I could work towards adding forums to my website. Not sure how hard that would be to implement.

@chippydog2

8 ай бұрын

@@BenjaminSahlstrom that would be a big help to a lot of DIY rs

In Colorado (and Utah, Nevada, New Mexico etc) many people use swamp coolers for AC. This has the effect of blowing huge amounts of air through the house, dramatically reducing the indoor co2 levels. It’s really nice, low cost option for AC in dry climates

@BenjaminSahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

Would be awesome to have dry air like that! So cool that swamp coolers are effective in those climates.

Nice family there Benjamin...lucky you two.

This has been incredibly helpful. I am an HVAC apprentice on Vancouver Island and this helps both my house (and the people & animals within) as well as my career & customers. Thank you Benjamin

The amount of make up air needed for running high cfm range hoods is significant. Matt Risinger did a great video just for this on the size needed vs motorized etc. Great video really have learned alot from you over the years. I'm getting close to finishing my house and plan on trying to incorporate several of these.

@BenjaminSahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

Such an overlooked topic. I think I've seen that video actually. That system he has is definitely top of the line with that Fantech variable speed makeup air system.

Man your content has only gotten better. Everything is explained so well. Thank you for another great video.

Great job! You cover the various topics well.

I highly recommend getting a co2 monitor. I purchased a Temtop air quality monitor and discovered my home's co2 levels frquently spike after someone showers. After some troubleshooting, I discovered the water heater back drafts whenever the hvac blower is running. It has been this way for years and I never realized it! The Temptop model displays a graph of co2 over time making those spikes really standout.

I haven’t looked you up ina awhile. Your growth is astounding. Good video.

@BenjaminSahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

Welcome back! Slow but steady! Trying to do a better job with posting regularly. My editor hasn't been available for several months so I'm doing it myself again which I'm not super great at. Just gotta keep at it.

Your channel is very educational, thank you for all the information.

@BenjaminSahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

I'm thankful for the opportunity to help where I can!

Thank you Ben for this very informative and helpful tips video,on improving air quality in the home. Our HVAC has the 15 mins/hr fan Circulate mode and we keep it on 24/7. My wife and Son don't like running our bathroom fans because they are too noisy, I always run the fan when I'm using 1 of 2 bathrooms. Our stove is a Jenair with the exhaust between the elect burners.

Cool video, this was really interesting!

@BenjaminSahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

Thanks!

Excellent, Ben!

Your spouse is very intertaining / humor

I love YOU your videos 🎉🎉🎉

Interesting! 🙂

oooooh you should do a video on that New Holland skid steer at 8:20.

@BenjaminSahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

Nice catch! That one is actually dads New Holland L175. I have an old New Holland L250. Sweet little rig. Can drive it through 36" doorway I believe. 😂

The makeup air system through the HRV is a genius idea. You also get to temper the incoming air before distributing into the HVAC system

a major problem with ranges hoods as installed commonly is the exhaust pipe is only 4", restricting flow. Contractors think they're like bathroom exhaust fans and automatically use 4" and never bother to read the instructions. most need 6".

@BenjaminSahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

6" is a must for sure!

@Jon-hx7pe

8 ай бұрын

if it's a smaller hood like 100-150 cfm and run is short, 4" can work fine but still not recommended. Across the board, I wish contractors would read and follow the instructions and spec sheets for the stuff they install. @@BenjaminSahlstrom

@MAGAMAN

8 ай бұрын

Why would you use a 4 inch pipe on a 6 inch vent? If the range hood connection is 6 inches, it obviously should be 6 inches the entire way. Contractors that do this aren't ignorant, they are lazy and cheap. These vents also need to be rigid metal piping, not flexible piping or plastic piping.

@Jon-hx7pe

8 ай бұрын

the duct connection on most range hoods it a rectangle, and it takes a rectangle to round adapter /boot which contractor supplies.@@MAGAMAN

Have you looked into any smart home automation? I have recently started using Home Assistant, which is open source and can be run locally. So you do not have rely on cloud services that may discontinue service at the drop of hat or sell your personal information. With some kind of whole house automation, you have a lot more control over temperature, humidity, air quality monitoring, power usage etc, For the winter, I just added some temperature sensors to afew places in my house where I have had problems with pipes freezing in the past. I can have the automation give me a warning if temperatures are getting close to freezing in those locations.

Back drafting off line? Position the ductwork higher than the outlet! All venting ,( clothes drier, bath and kitchen vents) used to do this till I redesigned my ductwork! Remember, cold air sinks, warm air rises.

Quiet range hoods are fitted with squirrel cage fans/motors vs. cheap low cost fan blades that make most of the noise and move the least amount of air. Squirrel cage blowers are the best when it comes to moving large amount of air with the least amount of noise. The only way to go and yes, the remote installed fans are good for even less noise but I'm unsure of their cost/value and maintenance needs.

@BenjaminSahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

I definitely agree that squirrel cage is a must.

Putting up a thumbnail reminder video with the video in the tagline also helps you get traffic😊

@BenjaminSahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

Putting the title in the thumbnail?

@kurtzxcvb3481

8 ай бұрын

@@BenjaminSahlstrom after you post the video you can post just a thumbnail with a link in it that way you get double the impressions and allows people to have a pop-up in your feet twice you can say something like just in case you miss my last video and have a picture of the thumbnail of the video and then in the link put the video helps people see it more

So true on the range hoods. However, there are those who have purchased hoods that RECIRCULATE the air and have charcoal filters that are supposed to help with the smells/stench but they will not take out the heat, the smoke, all of the smells and they will not collect as much of the grease particles that float throughout the air above the stove. The most guilty kitchens of this type of hood are those with the microwave over the cooktop/range even though they have an option to vent outside, most builders leave them in their default recirculate mode. Whats worse, the local ordinances/building codes do not demand hoods that vent outside. Same b.s. with bathroom vents...codes allow vents so useless in function to be used.

@BenjaminSahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

Range hoods that recirculate are garbage. I didn't even think to mention that in the video but I think I got the point across that it should vent outside hopefully.

@Garth2011

8 ай бұрын

@@BenjaminSahlstromYes Yes, they are a complete fake. Air going to the exterior is the only way to make it happen.

The data is interesting, but not too personate to my mobile home, but still quite interesting. You mentioned that you have had some issues with KZread not ranking your videos well... suggestion: Make more, but shorter. I love some 5 minute videos about gardening. 5 Minutes of how to plant this or that, the sun & water the plant needs, then we are done... You had 8 items, 29 minutes, could have been 8 videos less than 5 minutes each. Easy for someone to forward one to a friend that may have an issue with that item, but forward a 30 minute vid for a 5 minute watch??? not likely. I do like your videos, fun to watch, informative... hope this helps. :-)

What is your top recommendation for improving IAQ?

@Jon-hx7pe

8 ай бұрын

central vac vented outside.

@BenjaminSahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

@@Jon-hx7pe My dad actually has one of those! Worked great until something big got sucked up and disabled it. Was awesome while it lasted!

@Jon-hx7pe

8 ай бұрын

yes, blockages are a problem - you unclog by putting a shop vac in the outlet - sometimes while the central machine is still running to move the clog back and forth until it frees.@@BenjaminSahlstrom

Do you still do passive when it is cold outside? Does that make the basement the same temperature as the outside air?

@BenjaminSahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

Still do it in cold weather. It just takes more heat to counter the cold, fresh air, but it's necessary. Same thing happens even without makeup air since it just pulls through gaps and cracks.

Did you link to the CO2 detector? I can’t find it.

@BenjaminSahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

CO2 Monitor: amzn.to/3FzG7dl

Don't use really high MREV rated filters. 7 is really the highest you would want to go. Anything higher will put a ton of stress on your AC system and drastically shorten it's life. Also, the higher the MERV rating, the faster it will clog, meaning you need to replace it even more often. If you have a lot of dust, get an air purifier, or better yet, figure out why you have so much dust and fix the problem. I just use the ACE hardware brand filters which cost about $5 each and sometimes are on sale as buy 3 get one free.

@BenjaminSahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

The only way higher MERV filters will work is if you get the 4" thick ones.

That HRV looks like it's probably letting bugs in the house because the cob webs are also on the other side. Shouldn't there be some kind of filter on it?

@BenjaminSahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

Maybe? It's also possible that the cob webs on the other side came from the basement. The filter inside of the HRV is generally adequate.

You can decrease the noise of a range hood easily by integrating a duct booster on the exhaust duct. Wire it to a switch in your kitchen. This costs less than the hood itself. Another thing that surprisingly can cost less than a range hood is... A microwave combo range hood.

@BenjaminSahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

Good tip! Personally I've never liked microwaves. I know it's dumb but I like not having one above the stove.

@MAGAMAN

8 ай бұрын

Microwave range hood combos don't move Jack for air. A duct booster on your range hood vent is a good way to catch your house on fire as it pulls grease through the fan motor. You would need a specialty fan that is sealed to prevent sparks from being accessible to the air flow, such as they use in paint shops and other places that use flammable chemicals.

@BenjaminSahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

The booster fan would definitely need to be designed for the application.

@ravenousvisages

8 ай бұрын

@@MAGAMAN I suggest contacting your congressman if you want safety standards over your range hoods to match that of a volatile vapor paint shop. I am not sure why you would want that. What are you cooking. Hmmm. The replacement motors for common range hoods are cheap $30 simple electric motors on the shaft, same as any duct fan motor or bath vent fan. Common sense would see a ducted brushless (zero brushes = zero spark) fan motor midway of the duct exhaust would be much further from the grease hitting the range hood grease filter. Hence the reason the noise would also be lower. Keep the range hood on low, and let the duct booster double the cfms.

I, the Plant Jungle Queen, am the first to comment!! 🎉

@BenjaminSahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

😄

Lower the hood down, upsize the duct for the hood

Any plans to sell "Ben S" T-shirts?

@BenjaminSahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

Possibly! I was honestly hoping to come up with something more interesting than just my name though.

I think you should let your wife manage her kitchen the way she likes.

@BenjaminSahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

You're definitely right!

@petebovenzi8119

8 ай бұрын

I sensed that in her face

Have not heard from you in some time.

@BenjaminSahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

3 weeks to be exact! Glad you're here!

Hmmm, I should get a range hood 😂

@naomisahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

YES! 😂

We use the cone of silence while cooking

@BenjaminSahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

🤔

Don't always use the furthest burners. That's just stupid. Use the front when cooking. Quiet range hoods don't move much air, unless you have a remote motor. Don't buy a cheap range hood either. I spent some time doing research and ended up with a quite expensive Z-line range hood. I had a bit of a unique situation where my range hood vent piping wasn't centered on the stove (kitchen remodel) because there was a stud in the way and their tech support answered all my questions and helped find a range hood I thought would fit. Unfortunately, my inability to measure correctly ended up causing a minor problem, but It was easily solved by running a line through the ceiling and out through the attic wall.

@BenjaminSahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

Haha, you're probably right about the burner situation. I just wish there was a bigger burner in the middle! I agree that a higher quality range hood is a good investment, however I have had great luck with my $150 400cfm hood. It's amazingly decent and can move around 400cfm. The main thing is that having any range hood is better than none!

Yes. Get yourself a CO2 gauge. It's fun. I noticed a CO2 gauge is also an easy indicator to tell you how air tight your house is. If you turn all ventilation off and your CO2 level does not quickly go up or it maxes out at a level that is still perfectly survivable then you know you have a leaky house. If your CO2 level does not max out and keeps on going up then you start to realize you might want to install an ups on your ventilation system 🙂 PS when you get a CO2 gauge please be aware of the trickyness of it's auto-calibration system.

@BenjaminSahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

That's super interesting! Definitely going to need to get one coming. Do you have any specific recommendations on which one to get?

@cobbles62

8 ай бұрын

Sorry, no. I'm experimenting with a bare sensor, the MH-Z19B, hooked up to an Arduino. My plan is to regulate ventilation based on CO2 levels. So far I noticed the two people in our house really don't need much ventilation at all. Just a tiny constant whiff. (Filtering and circulating is a different matter though) Which brings me to another point. I had an HRV in the past and although the thing was super efficient, that efficiency seemed to be more than undone by the increased amount of ventilation. A cracked open window letting a whiff of fresh air in would make me lose less heat than my expensive HRV running 24/7 at 70% efficiency.:-( So I experimented with timers and humidity sensors to run the thing for short periods, because even at the lowest most efficient speed it would pump too much. Now I have the impression that a beautiful HRV and it's needed maintenance just does not seem to weigh up to a well placed hole in the wall (close to or even inside the A/C return). I don't seem to need to ventilate much at all to keep CO2 levels healthy. Regulation based on CO2 levels seems to be the way to go while working with those numbers of cu.ft. per person are yesterday's way of thinking. Long story short: An HRV is great, but keep an open mind about it's presumed advantages.

Open a window. Low cost remedy?

@BenjaminSahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

I talk about that at 7:50! :)

@Garth2011

8 ай бұрын

Doesn't really help the long run due to grease build up...

@BenjaminSahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

I think he was talking about makeup air? If for a range hood then a window is definitely not a great alternative.

The duct cleaning is another method .

@BenjaminSahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

I've always been a skeptic of duct cleaning however I should probably research it some more.

@Jon-hx7pe

8 ай бұрын

it's a scam - unless you really need it. it's not part of routine maintenance, especially on the supply side which stays clean.

@BenjaminSahlstrom

8 ай бұрын

Seems like using quality HVAC filters and changing them regular is probably the most important.