**Disclaimer – This blog is meant to help customers understand the engineering data of common floor registers and grilles from an “outside the HVAC profession” view. We are not trained HVAC specialists. If you find any error in the explanation, please let us know and we will fix/add immediately.**

Once in a blue moon we get a customer request for the effective area of a register or grille.  This isn’t commonly asked because the technical aspect of the answer, and most asking don’t really know what effective area or free area is, but know they need a grille that has a specific effective area for their HVAC system. I, nor any sales staff member of Installerstore are experts in HVAC installation or specifications, but this blog serves as a tool to understanding just what the effective area and free area mean. If you have specific requirements for your home, please consult with your HVAC specialists before making any decisions.

****Normally you do not need to know all of the following information when purchasing a grille or register. Most decorative residential registers/grilles will NOT have engineering data. Most people who come to us who need a certain Effective area is because the standard grilles or registers make a noise when air passes through.****

Effective Area-

Effective Area is noted in engineering data of products as “Ak” and is usually measured in square feet. The textbook definition of Effective Area is “The calculated area of an outlet based on the average measured velocity between the fins.”** To break this down, it is a measurement of the grille or register in square feet, that is utilized by air flowing through it – how much of the grille allows for air to flow through. The Effective Area keeps in mind the friction caused when the air makes connection with the bars as it flows through. The Effective Area is calculated by the manufacturer of the grille or register. The Effective Area (noted as Ak) is used in the formula to find the Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM) of the register/grille.
  CFM= Face Velocity x Ak
Cubic Feet per Minute has to do with the air flow rate in cubic feet that passes through the grille per minute. If you want to find the CFM for a certain grille/register, you would find the particular grille you are looking for in the manufacturers engineering data. Once you find the chart, use your average face velocity (measured in feet per minute– FPM) and multiply it by the Ak listed for that particular grille/register.  You can see that the entire equation is in basis of feet and minutes (this will come in handy later for the Free Area Explanation below).

For example… if your HVAC system has a velocity of 500 Continue reading →

Need more of the color green in your life? You don’t need to go to such extremes as a Green Bathroom above, but we do sell some green colored products, to give you home a little St. Patrick’s Day spirit all year long….

Colored Caulking
Try sprucing up your bath with green colored caulking! Available in sanded and unsanded textures (don’t know the difference? see our earlier blog on caulking vs grout). Our sister site Colored-Caulk.com, is proud to sell the following green tinted caulking:

 

Covebase and Transitions Strips

Hunter Green Vinyl Cove Base by Johnsonite

How about adding a little green to your garage or rec room? Johnsonite Vinyl Cove Base helps protect the base of your wall from scuffs and cleaning liquids. Johnsonite Vinyl Cove Base comes in 4″ and 6″ and thicknesses of .080″ and .125″. There are many colors available by Johnsonite, and any color not listed as “stocked” on our site can be special ordered.  Our Covebase-N-Transitions.com has the full line of colors and Johnsonite materials we stock. Color samples can be sent at no charge, upon request (limit 5 colors per request).

DIY Instabind Carpet Binding

Want to create a special green rug for St. Patty’s Day (or proudly show your schools colors! I’m talking to you Oregon Fans)? You can find inexpensive carpet remnants at local flooring or big box stores. Or, if you have a piece of green carpeting left over – use that! There are 2 shades of green available in the regular Instabind. This is a simple DIY project. See for yourself- Watch the instructional video HERE!

Everyone Have a Happy and SAFE St. Patrick’s Day from all of us here at Installerstore!

Help Rebecca while supporting a GREAT Cause!
From now until Thursday March 15, help raise $1,600 to “bail” Rebecca out of jail AND raise money for the MDA (Muscualr Dystrophy Assocation). The money raised to bail Rebecca out, is enough funds to send 2 children to the MDA Summer Camp.

Donations can be securely placed on MDA’s website, or visit this link to go directly to Rebecca’s page: http://www2.mda.org/site/TR/Lock-Up/55-E1-596-MadisonDistrict?px=1160283&pg=personal&fr_id=2223

We are excited about the arrival of our new warehouse toy! This forklift has turn signals AND a horn (which everyone had to try of course). Our other older forklift had a good life here at Installerstore, and is looking forward to retirement at our other smaller warehouse.

Find Castor Cups for Beds – That Work!

Do you have a bed on wheels that constantly is sliding and moving around? How about that piano castor wheel that is leaving big dents in your hardwood? If you are looking for a product specifically designed to protect floors and stop furniture wheels from moving, we sell a great product made by the manufacturer Slipstick. The Castor Cups are available for Large Wheels (like those on beds with casters) and Small Wheels (like those on pianos and piano benches). The bottom of the Slipstick Castor Cups contain a specially formulated to protect floors and keep the furniture from moving. This product can also reduce pesky dents left in carpets by wheels.

The Slipstick Castor Cups work great on:
–Hardwood Floors**
–Laminated Floors
–Tiles
–Parquet
–Slate
–Carpets
**Indentations may occur in soft wood floors

Sizing

The Slipstick Small Castor Cups are ideal for Piano style wheels, or smaller wheels up to the size of 1 3/4″. Smaller wheels are usually found on baby cribs, refrigerators, washer/dryer wheels and much more!

The Large Leg Coaster works great with wheels that are 2 3/8″ to 2 5/8″ in diameter, including beds on casters. You may also find this size of wheel on couches, dressers and office chairs.

Product Options

Besides choices in size, you can also choose from 2 colors: Carmel and Chocolate. The Carmel Colored Slipstick Castor Cups work great for lighter-colored furniture, while the Chocolate color looks great with darker-colored furniture.
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There are four Slipstick Castor Cups per package, or enough for one normal piece of furniture (4 legs). Protect your flooring investment from all of your furniture with Installerstore and Slipstick!

We also carry a FULL line of felt and glide furniture feet options, including clear sleeve floor savers that go on over the chair leg for a more permanent option for your furniture.

Funny Doormats for Every Type of Personality

Christmas is right around the corner, and if you are like me, finding a gift for my diverse and very large family has become quite the struggle. I have found various items on many different websites, but by the time you pay the multiple shipping costs, my budget quickly depletes.

For a quick and easy solution, purchase funny doormats for family and friends. We have a wide selection of outdoor welcome mats for every type of personality. Funny Christmas gift ideas are hard to come by, so give them the gift of laughter.

Waited to the last minute? Express shipping is also available, please call for more details.

Funny Pet Stuff – Pet Door Mat

Funny Welcome Mats – Sarcastic Humor

Sports Welcome Mats – Golf Door Mat

Tis the season for the thermostat wars!

Updated November 18th, 2021 – New MSN link – original article no longer available.

Browsing on the World Wide Web, I found this interesting article on MSN Real Estate on how to properly winterize your home, to save on energy costs. It is entitled “10 ways to winterize your home – now” written by Christopher Solomon. Having spent all of my life in the Tundra of Wisconsin, I have found myself doing a lot of the mentioned things, but not to its fullest potential.

Below I have outlined, in my opinion, some of the most important points in this article.

• Block Those Leaks
  One of the best ways to winterize your home is to simply block obvious leaks around your house, both inside and out, experts say. The average American home has leaks that amount to a nine-square-foot hole in the wall, according to Earthworks Group. First, find the leaks: On a breezy day, walk around inside holding a lit incense stick to the most common drafty areas: recessed lighting, window and door frames, electrical outlets. Then, buy door sweeps to close spaces under exterior doors, and caulk or apply tacky rope caulk to those drafty spots, says Danny Lipford, host of the nationally syndicated TV show “Today’s Homeowner.” Outlet gaskets can easily be installed in electrical outlets that share a home’s outer walls, where cold air often enters. Outside, seal leaks with weather-resistant caulk. For brick areas, use masonry sealer, which will better stand up to freezing and thawing. “Even if it’s a small crack, it’s worth sealing up,” Lipford Says. “It also discourages any insects from entering your home.”

For a standard indoor caulk to fix the air leaks, try Colorfast Tile & Grout Caulk or Dap Caulk available in Clear.

• Get Your Ducts in a Row
  According to the U.S. Department of Energy, a home with central heating can lost up to 60% of its heated air before that air reaches the vents if ductwork is not well-connected and insulated, or if it must travel through unheated spaces. That’s a huge amount of wasted money, not to mention a chilly house. Ducts aren’t always easy to see, but you can often find theme exposed in the attic, the basement and crawlspaces. Repair places where pipes are pinched, which impedes flow of heated air to the house, and fix gaps with a metal-backed tape (duct tape actually doesn’t stand up to the job over time). Ducts also should be vacuumed once every few years, to clean out the abundant dust, animal hair and other gunk that can gather in them and cause respiratory problems.

While you are cleaning out your duct work, why not replaced all your old grungy floor registers and wall returns? Install a Return Air Filter Grille with a washable/reusable Filter help ensure clean air in your home.

Read the rest of the article for more great tips on winterizing your home. For more great home improvement items such as transition strips, registers, and floor protection, browse our website Installerstore.com.
Here’s to another LOOONG winter!