DO NOT leave your Chim-Scan® in your truck or any vehicle overnight.
When closing the case, do not hit the LCD screen or leave anything on the reeler Do NOT leave it near a door or window when in a building. Keep your Chim-Scan® at room temperature at all times. Reasons: Like any other piece of electronic equipment, Chim-Scans do not like dramatic temperature changes. Condensation builds up inside the unit, and that only spells trouble. Simply treat your Chim-Scan like you would treat yourself. IF you are cold, it's getting cold, and the same with Heat. If this happens to you, open the case up, set out the unit (when possible), and let it come to room temperature before you try to use it. Practice setting up your Chim-Scan® before you take on a job. This will lower your frustration level and look more professional to your customers. Do not hit the LCD screen or leave anything on the reeler when closing the case. This will damage the screen and then it will have to be replaced. If you have an AFT (autofocus tilt) camera, put it in the "home" position when putting it in or pulling it out of the chimney. If you don’t put it in "home," you will break the tilt gears and or motor, and it will have to be sent back for repair. Do not unscrew the front camera reflector plate to change light bulbs! Read the manual that comes with your unit on how to change light bulbs. That’s what the small black tube is for. Rotate the tube Counterclockwise to remove the bulb; clockwise to tighten the new bulb. For any other problems, check out our YouTube Videos. Just go to www.youtube.com and search for ChimScan1643.
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Four Pathways to Chimney Damage.
In the course of your day to day field observations on chimneys, the customer may question on how or where damage originated from. Sometimes it appears to be a chicken and egg situation. Did the crown wear out and let water in, that started the spalling of brick and mortar, or did the mortar weaken first, letting the crown to settle causing the crown to crack letting even more water in. Or does the mortar hold the bricks together or does it hold them apart? This might be a good debate at a convention but when you’re standing in front of a customer, the bottom line is somebody needs repair work done, and you don’t have all day to explain it to them. The ability to explain to the customer a logical process how it all happened and the consequences of the disrepair can be the difference whether you are doing the repair work or someone else is. The worst case scenario is you don’t make the repair compelling enough for them to take action, without the drama and sales scare tactics many resort to. Then the situation gets complicated when your customer asked the age-old question whether their chimney is safe to use or not. You the field technician, are strapped with the concept of how all this happened and try to place a timeline on this, and ultimately what the cost to repair is going to be. The best way I’ve found to uncomplicate all the many minor or major deficiencies that all of us see, I learned to break it down into four principal pathways that destroy chimneys. You might have a chimney with open more joints, a worn crown, and an abused rain cover. It comes down to the age-old question of how to eat an elephant; one bite at a time. The first pathway is latent defects. Those are the defects that were built into the system at the time of the installation, that are usually not seen readily. Although manufactured systems such as prefabricated fireplaces and chimney pipe are designed and built at a factory with an installation guide, many of us have seen where creative uses of the material or poor workmanship have caused material not to be in its ideal condition. With masonry, the list can be long, hearth extensions, firebox limitations, dampers that are inoperative, unparged smoke chambers, and then the liners, open mortar joints, missing liners etc. The second pathway is from regular wear and tear. This is the time to chimney has spent exposed to outdoor temperature swings, or interior temperature swings have caused a chimney to wear out over of time. The third pathway is moisture. Of all the pathways this one can create the most havoc. It can be very subtle, and yet totally destroy chimney over a period of time. The last pathway is from a sudden occurrence. Usually in the form of a lightning strike, an appliance malfunction, high temperature fluctuations like a chimney fire, and other assorted events that appear sudden. By breaking down chimney degradation into four pathways provides me a way of putting things into perspective for the customer. Because many times you will see all four pathways into one system at one time. Because of one deficiency can lead to another deficiency and to another, so by breaking it down I can explain to the customer how it all happened and where they need to concentrate their efforts especially when the repair will need to be done in stages, whether monetary or climate considerations. More on this subject to come. So you think you currently have enough work, you are doing installations for a local stove shop and you are able to fill in the schedule here and there with some sweeps. BUT, cash flow is really bad, you know how it is with summer vacations and all.
HMM, sound familiar, if there is so much work, then why is cash flow hurting. Did you not learn about forward schedule all those years ago from Sooty Bob? So what has happened? Are you still doing the same old, same old thing? And getting the same old, same old results? No one likes change, but in business, you have to make some hard changes to be able to see results in the future. I have been talking about our Chimney Data System, CDS, now for a couple of months It seems like years, because of all the time that has been invested. But now it’s your turn to invest in yourself and your company. Change requires your time and effort. Try it for 21 days,, maybe schedule one or two less jobs per day to give you the time needed to answer ALL the questions. We have a great company that has dropped there schedule load from 6 to three jobs per day, but their ticket price has risen to make up the difference. Besides the less wear and tear on vehicles and themselves. Maybe, only gather the CDS info on your new customers, all those installs for the stove shop are new customers, correct? Then let’s start there. Simply answer the questions on the appropriate form. If you’re so busy now, then just file it away. Then go back, when you have time, and review the information. HMMM, do you think that there might be some work than may need to be done at that location that wasn’t included in the installation quote, i.e. crown repair, tuck pointing; . Do you think you could forward schedule that work? Maybe next year cash flow won’t be such an issue! Once you have gathered the information on that customer, you will not have to do it again. OH my gosh, what a treasure of information you have gathered. Now imagine if you had the CDS information on ALL your customers. At some point, they were all new customers to you!! Do you ever think about a time when you will not be able to go out and physically do this type of work? By implementing the CDS, you will be doing several things. One, you will have downloaded your brain about your customer base. Second, you will have something to sell to a new owner of your company when you are ready to retire. MMM, something to think about as we all prepare in our own way for our futures. This has been and looks like it will continue to be a rough and tumble weekend for many of you on the east coast. Earthquakes and hurricane Irene, be careful out there, there just might be a silver lining! Some insurance work may come your way. What a great way to gather the need information. IF you do not have the time to write the report, just send us the info and pictures and the report can be written for. We are here waiting to serve you. Ok, maybe you know about NFPA 211 Chapter 14. Maybe you don't. The bottom line is you should. Wouldn’t it be better to say to yourself, how I can fulfill the Level 1 and Level 2 process and do it in a time frame that doesn’t take all day! And how can I review the items listed in each installation. That’s where Chimney Data System (C.D.S.) comes in. We have looked at the NFPA 211 Chapter 14 Annex and re-categorized and sorted the list, placing the recommended items into various installation scenarios and then reviewed the list of items in 14-4 to create a path for the tech to follow. Now the recommended items listed can be inspected in context with the installation. This approach provides a better way to fulfill the 14-4. and help stop missed items.
Have you ever found an installion that is the same? NO!! But do you see the same thing is various installations. This may sound trivial, but it had stopped many companies from completing a full level 1 or 2. Or you have the information from the level 1, but it is in a Bad Place-your head! We sorted through the Annex and found the same items that needs checking and prioritized them to create a path for the tech to follow. Following the path you are less likely to forget to check something. The big bonus in time comes when the techs paperwork comes back to the office, the office staff uses the same procedure to process the paperwork. Now the office doesn’t have to hunt down the tech to do a “Spock mind-meld” with them. The time saved within a month can be worth thousands of dollars, plus reports or comments about the homeowner’s installation can be done much faster. With the changes in technology and media advancements and because the C.D.S. is in a MS Office or Open Office format, you can take advantage of all the new Wi-Fi 3G computer thingy’s or just print out the C.D.S. guide for the specific installation on to a piece of paper and fill in the questions. How you want to transmit the data is only limited to your imagination and technology. CDS provides the backbone to complete the Level 1 and 2 inspection required by NFPA 211 Chapter 14. |
AuthorTom Urban has worked in the Chimney and Hearth industry for 40 years. He's been an inventor and manufacturer for 35+ of those years. Archives
October 2023
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