[00:00:00] Intro: It's around the house. When it comes to

[00:00:17] Intro: remodeling and renovating your home, there is a lot to know the We got you covered.

[00:00:23] Intro: This is around the house.

[00:00:26] Eric Goranson: Welcome to Around the House Show. This is where we talk home improvement every weekend. Thanks for joining us. This is the midweek special. This is where we talk.

[00:00:35] Eric Goranson: That's not making into last week's show and is not making it into this weekend show Hope everybody's doing great out there. Happy midweek. Can't believe next week is Thanksgiving. What is going on? That means we'll be coming up onto Christmas lights and everything else out there. All the holiday parties gonna be crazy this year.

[00:00:55] Eric Goranson: All right, well, today I wanted to talk about what are the best [00:01:00] plumbing fittings. And you know, I have made it no secret that I'm not a fan of the shark bite fittings. I've played with them. I've tested them. I've seen them fail. And my buddy Roger Wakefield did his own testing here and it's a great video.

[00:01:17] Eric Goranson: You might have seen it, but I wanted to talk about that today cuz it was kind of shocking to me. I was surprised at what are the strongest fittings and kind of surprised at what was on the weaker end. And this was pretty surprising. So when it comes to plumbing fitting, You know, my concern with the Shark Bite brand out there has been that I have seen hundreds and thousands of dollars of damage done when those fittings have failed in projects.

[00:01:45] Eric Goranson: I had one house where this connection from the new to the old failed plumber had done it. It was correctly installed, and it flooded the entire basement causing hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage just in one. [00:02:00] Now the testing that, that Roger did, Roger, Roger Wakefield the expert plumber. This was all done on copper.

[00:02:08] Eric Goranson: So I'm gonna, I'm gonna chat with him and see if we can do a c P VC and PEC one, cuz I'm very curious to see how those fair. But when it comes down to it here, this is what they did. They checked plumbing fittings two different ways on copper. They did a hydrostatic test. Then they did tensile strength.

[00:02:27] Eric Goranson: Hydrostatic meaning how much pressure, psi and tensile strength, how much pull strength before it comes apart. So on the hydrostatic test, let's, let's put this this way. The best way to connect copper is still gonna be raising or soldering. That is the strongest way to do it, period. Because they used that for those tests and it didn't come apart.

[00:02:55] Eric Goranson: So they actually broke the machine trying to do it. So that tells you how, how strong that is. So [00:03:00] that's not a debate here, but this is interesting on the hydrostatic test, and this was shocking to me. If you look at the shark bite that failed at between 812 and 843 psi, in a perfect world, You know the press fittings where they slide 'em in and there's a crimp that goes around the metal.

[00:03:25] Eric Goranson: This isn't like a pack, but it's a crimp fitting. So you put two pieces of copper together. There's a connector that has a little piece, and it crimps or crimps around that and connects copper to copper that way. That failed at 1,504 to 1,643. The quick fitting. Failed at 2,127 psi, and that's 21 times about your city water pressure.

[00:03:55] Eric Goranson: So that was interesting. Now, on tensile strength, [00:04:00] of course this honor and bras broke the machine. Again, didn't matter, but when you went into strength, the weakest was the shark bite at 806. And the press fitting at 9 83, almost a thousand pounds. As Roger said in his video before that came apart and the quick fitting came out at 1633, that's 1,633 pounds on that fitting.

[00:04:29] Eric Goranson: Now, let's be very clear, this is on brand new copper installed. Exactly. Perfect. In a brand new situation. So this is a best case scenario and by no means what you're gonna see out in the field because, you know, there's many things that happen when you're out in the field. You know, plastic pipe, cpvc, It's gonna fail, I'm sure, in a lot less than what that is.

[00:04:58] Eric Goranson: The next one is, is that, uh, [00:05:00] you know, copper pipe, old, new, thinner, older. What was the condition of the. And as well aspec fittings out there. That's one that I would like to take a look at. But when it comes down to it, if you're using a shark bite fitting to go from copper to packs, guess what? That still says that at 812 to 843 psi, that's gonna fail.

[00:05:24] Eric Goranson: So I was really somewhat surprised to see that this quick fitting that looks similar to a shark bite, but just a, a seemingly higher quality fitting. Is outperforming the press fit because the press fit has been known out there as the be all end all way to attach copper without having to worry about, you know, it coming apart.

[00:05:50] Eric Goranson: Now I will say that the advantage to the press fit over the shark bite is the press fitt is metal to metal. That's crimped. So [00:06:00] that fitting is not relying on an o-ring, a piece of plastic that could fail down the road. That, that, you know, where it's connecting is not gonna move anymore. Once it's together, it's together.

[00:06:14] Eric Goranson: And I could make an argument that, uh, corrosion might actually hold it together better versus with the plastic and the O ring that could weaken it. So the press fit, I think, actually potentially could get stronger down the road. As the shark bite gets weaker. So really I'm, I'm kind of surprised that the quick fit is, um, something that I'm gonna take a little bit more look at.

[00:06:37] Eric Goranson: I wanna play around with it some more. I'm gonna get on the phone with Roger and find out more about it. But, uh, I was really shocked. I was not surprised at the shark bite, and quite frankly, I was surprised that it made it as high as it did because I've just seen. Way too many failures of that product and no fence shark bite.

[00:06:55] Eric Goranson: I understand that. Uh, you're out there selling that and you've got a new line of products coming out as [00:07:00] well, and maybe that's exactly why. But, uh, I've just seen too many failures and I've tested them. I personally, on my projects, have not had any failures, and I really like using them for temporary shutoffs or doing a, a temporary patch until I can get in to fix it.

[00:07:14] Eric Goranson: So I always have a few of those fittings that are in my toolbox. Just in case I have a break or something like that, or I need to cap something off, it is something that, uh, for a temporary works really well for me. So I don't worry about that at all right there. So something to consider. When we're talking about this stuff.

[00:07:33] Eric Goranson: All right, now let's talk about some recalls that come out. It's been a little bit since we've done that. Uh, Hunter fan recalls lighting products due to shock hazard. The internal wires and the lights can be damaged opposing an electrical shock hazard due to the consumer. Take a look over@cpsc.gov.

[00:07:47] Eric Goranson: Recalls for that one. Now here's an interesting one, and I love about Generac generators. Those guys seem to make a great product. But November 10th, they reannounce a recall of Generac portable generators. [00:08:00] Additional finger, geez, this is brutal additional finger amputation and crushing injury reported. A new repair kit is available in unlocked handle, can pinch customer's fingers against the generator frame when the generator is moved.

[00:08:13] Eric Goranson: Posing finger amputation and crushing hazards. Ouch. Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled portable generation unless locking pin has been inserted to secure the handle in place before and after moving the generator. Contact Generac for a free repair kit consisting of a set of spacers to move the handle away from the frame, eliminating the pinch point.

[00:08:34] Eric Goranson: Customers who respond to the original recall will automatically be sent a new kit, so fair amount of these 321,000. 160 units in addition to 4,500 sold in Canada. Now these portable generators were previously recalled in July of 2021, so something to think about there. And, uh, there's another Power Plus recall, uh, these to power [00:09:00] Tora portable power charging stations due to fire and explosion hazards, uh, lithium ion battery can fail.

[00:09:08] Eric Goranson: Um, man, there's not a lot of these, so the chance that you have one's like the lottery, there's about 150 in 'em out there, so something else to consider. And that's some of the big ones here for right now. Uh, these are always something that we're trying to keep an eye on, and there's one more that I forgot to mention.

[00:09:24] Eric Goranson: LG Energy Solution. Michigan recalls home energy storage batteries due to fire hazard. The home solar panel batteries can overheat posing a risk of fire in a mission of harmful smoke. Remedy. L LG Energy Solution Michigan will arrange for remote software updates to be. Batteries that are connected online.

[00:09:42] Eric Goranson: The diagnostic software updates are designed to monitor the recall battery cells and shut down the battery of a fire risk is detected. If the battery shuts down, please contact LG Energy Solution, Michigan for further instructions. Do not attempt after that to turn the battery back on again. You don't want to have a runaway battery fire.

[00:09:59] Eric Goranson: There's about [00:10:00] 11,500 of those. Something to be very careful with. The last thing you wanna see is one of those battery fires, cuz that could literally take the house down and we don't wanna see that. We'll talk a little bit about that here. Uh, coming up on Saturday show, we've got, uh, Steve Kerber, Vice President and Executive Director of UL's Fire Safety Research Institute.

[00:10:22] Eric Goranson: We're gonna talk about fires inside your home and more importantly, Some of the problems that we're seeing out there with new materials in your home, that can be a problem. And you know what one of 'em is? I'm gonna give you a secret. The new drywall out there that we're seeing that's in all your home improvement stores and drywall supply places, there is a huge issue with this.

[00:10:42] Eric Goranson: So if you're using that new ultra lightweight drywall that. Everybody's using. It's on every job site right now. There is a big problem with that, that we're gonna discuss and, uh, expose on Saturday. You won't wanna miss this. And, uh, if you're building your own home or doing some remodeling and, uh, you know, you're [00:11:00] worried about fire, you might need to do some things differently because, uh, this is gonna be kind of a big deal that I wanna make sure that, uh, you're keeping an eye on cuz Whoa, buddy.

[00:11:10] Eric Goranson: I don't wanna see this happen, but I tell you what, uh, they've found some shocking new information that we need to talk about and, uh, this could save some lives out there, so you won't wanna miss that show on Saturday. And then an hour number one, we're gonna talk about what's a project cost? You're gonna hire a contractor out there.

[00:11:28] Eric Goranson: What are some of the numbers that you're seeing out there on some of these remodeling projects? You know, it's the. Time of year where we talk about what's it gonna cost kind of thing for remodeling. And, uh, you're gonna be as surprised at what some of the numbers are this year. And I think they've gone up even since these numbers were released recently and they showed up in my inbox.

[00:11:45] Eric Goranson: So, uh, we'll talk about kitchen and bath, we'll talk about both of those. We'll talk about roofing, windows, siding, decking. What are these projects gonna cost if you're gonna hire, and what's the best way to go about that? All [00:12:00] coming up on. Now I wanted to jump out and put out a buyer. Beware to everybody right now, and I'm seeing more and more of this, of questions that are coming into me, and it's something I want you to be very careful with.

[00:12:10] Eric Goranson: There are a lot of people out there right now that are buying electric vehicles and have realized that their hundred amp or 200 amp service is outdated. Maybe that panel needs to be replaced. Maybe it's one of the old Federal Pacific ones or one of the other brands that, uh, are considered to be a fire hazard out there that should be replaced and upgraded.

[00:12:33] Eric Goranson: So it doesn't matter if you're upgrading service or you're just changing out a panel. Let me give you some tips and tricks here to make sure you're going okay with this. Because I tell you what, I have seen some crazy stuff coming up on the internet with questions that I wanna make sure that, uh, I've got you as you helped here with this, because I don't wanna see you get burned.

[00:12:54] Eric Goranson: I have seen some handymen out there that have been. Sitting there saying that they [00:13:00] know electrical and they will come in and do that panel change out for like a thousand bucks. And I'm sorry, when you start looking at putting in the right panel, maybe a fault breakers, all the stuff that you need to meet building code today and all those things, you could have five to $700 in materials really quickly, and that doesn't even count if your panel has to.

[00:13:26] Eric Goranson: Sometimes that has to move or you have to move where the, where the power's coming into the house, depending on building code. So I just wanna make sure that you realize that a panel change out there by a licensed bonded electrician can be anywhere from a couple grand at the cheapest. It's four or five grand out there, depending on what has to happen.

[00:13:49] Eric Goranson: When I did a panel swap in my house, the uh, they had done years ago. A permitted carport. But when they did that, the [00:14:00] city, Well, our city power, which is our, our local power company, they. Wanted to have the, The Weatherhead moved because it was in an improper location coming to the carport. Back then it perfectly met code.

[00:14:13] Eric Goranson: Now it didn't. So they're like, Okay, since you're doing the new panel, that's gonna get upgraded. So we had to do that, which isn't a big deal. It's, I like it better. It's not going through the middle of my trees. It's in a better location, except that it. The old one was on the side of the house and now it's closer to my front door, which I'm not happy about, but that's the way code works.

[00:14:31] Eric Goranson: I'm not gonna win that battle every time, but my point being is that I had a licensed spawned electrician come in and we pulled all the permits to do it. This is one of those things when it comes to having safety in your house, you want the right person coming in to do it. So make sure they're that licensed, bonded insured electrician.

[00:14:50] Eric Goranson: They know what they're doing. They come in, get quotes, get three or four quote. These are all things that I want you to do. Uh, I was just talking to a buddy yesterday who's getting a, [00:15:00] uh, a generator system put in a backup generator, one of the automatic ones because, uh, he works in the media and needs to have that for his home and studios.

[00:15:08] Eric Goranson: And, uh, he is out there getting prices, but they're all over the place. So just make sure. You're getting the right person to come out and do it. This is not a handyman coming out and putting trim up or fixing some rod around the house there someplace. This is something that is probably one of the most dangerous things in the house, and you wanna have the right person in there to do it because if you don't, I've seen some, uh, home, you know, home insurance companies start to give you a hard time if that was an illegal improve.

[00:15:36] Eric Goranson: And that, uh, you know, project led to a house fire, you're gonna be in a little bit of trouble. And we don't wanna see that because, you know, insurance companies, many of them like to, uh, figure out a way to not have to pay you. All right, everybody. Have a great rest of the week. Happy midweek. Special. I gotta get off to more interviews and a meeting.

[00:15:56] Eric Goranson: So you guys have a great week. I'll see you on Saturday. [00:16:00] Thanks for listening to

[00:16:00] Eric Goranson: Around the House,