Comfortman

02/12/2026

Yesterday, Owen and I went to a residential no-heat call. What I found was: An exhaust vent pipe that had both broken and fallen off the furnace. The type of vent pipe used in the crawl space was incorrect, and the sections were improperly secured and not permanently attached to the furnace. Worse, the second photo shows a disconnected power vent that was essential for expelling furnace exhaust gases out of the structure. The owner had passed away. I inquired of the adult daughter if her mom had headaches, and she said yes, but was unsure if they were year-round or winter-time. We will never know if there was carbon monoxide poisoning. That being said, furnaces exhausting flue gases beneath your home are never good and are unsafe. Know/investigate the company that is replacing your HVAC equipment. Ensure the service/repair company knows what they are doing. Big companies do not automatically mean better. I have seen horrendous work from all sizes.

01/29/2026

Have you ever paid attention to the warning labels on your water heater?

Parents and grandparents please be careful with your babies and small children.

11/27/2025

No Heat on Thanksgiving- no problem.

11/12/2025

Wednesday November 12, 2025. This may be the most dangerous scenario I have encountered this year.

A mother with two young children called me. There was no heat and she did not want to call the people who put the equipment in a few months prior. A friend referred her to a person who did work on the side with his coworkers. They may seriously hurt someone one day.

The furnace pictured is mandated to be connected to a double wall (metal) exhaust system. They connected it to the PVC vent from the prior furnace. This furnace can have flue gas temperatures exceeding 400 degrees. *If you look closely, you can see the PVC has melted. Luckily, the furnace kept shutting off.

These individuals had covered up the vent connection with tape. If the vent had melted a little more, all the exhaust gases would have been expelled into the house.

I can teach 5 year old children how to physically connect objects together. This industry requires far more with great attention to detail and an ever increasing amount of knowledge. We don’t just connect things together. The refrigerants we now use are classified as mildly flammable.

It behooves a homeowner to verify professionalism prior to any work that involves your family’s health and safety. A Professional is far more than someone that just works 40 hours or more in a given occupation.

09/05/2025

Fire safety. Those who read my posts know this is always a concern of mine.

This explosion and resulting significant fire occurred in Chamblee. My friend owns a rental duplex. I went over a few days afterwards and spoke with the tenant on the most significantly damaged side as he was attempting to salvage any remaining personal items. He was inside his kitchen above the garage when the explosion occurred. He told me he initially smelled some type of gas. Then he heard “the loudest explosion I’ve ever heard” and felt the floor move beneath him. Miraculously, no one was hurt. The garage door beneath blew out, and this being a weak point in the structure, it probably acted as a pressure relief preventing a bigger catastrophe.

Almost undoubtedly, the pilot from an old style water heater ignited the gas. The gas was likely gasoline that had leaked from a lawnmower. (As a side note, years ago a homeowner called regarding a gas smell; the culprit was gas leaking from a lawnmower.)

I did notice other items in the backyard such as a gasoline can and a propane tank for a grill that I presume had been in the garage or basement.

I do not store any gasoline appliances in our garage. Gasoline products are stored inside a metal fireproof safety cabinet. An outside storage cabinet would be an equally safe place. Be safe and be well.

08/25/2025

Protect yourself from poor workmanship.

07/10/2025

Today 7/10/25 I went to a no cooling all in Tucker. After determining that the furnace did not have incoming 120 volt power, I traced the issue to the external disconnect switch for the furnace.

Luckily, there were no issues other than lack of cooling. I thought this post would be good to warn homeowners regarding fire safety.

Comfortman Tips:
* Always keep the cover of your home’s electrical panel closed. Never, ever store anything combustible in front of or below your home’s electrical panel.
* If you have an electrical switch or outlet that doesn’t work or intermittently works, get it checked out. Many times loose connections are the culprit. Loose connections overheat. See above photo.
*Never store any combustible materials atop your water heater (I see this during calls), or in front of or atop your furnace.
*If you have any switches or outlets without cover plates, install them. This is to contain any possible sparks and for shock protection.

Be safe and be well.

06/26/2025

June 26, 2025. You may recognize my new friend from the news. He took a brief today break from his 1000 mile run around Georgia. He is running 26 miles each day and will drive back at 4am to resume where he left off. This is 82 year old US Marine (Vietnam Era) Stan Cottrell!

He has dedicated his current run to God, Country, and the current and former military that have served our country. He is a Guinness World Record Holder, has met US Presidents, Governors, has been nominated for The Nobel Peace Prize.

From spending time with him in his Tucker home I will just say he is a kind, humble and amazing patriot.

04/20/2025

And the winner of “I don’t know where the filter is” award this April goes to:

How would you like to breathe the air running through this?

03/22/2025

11/27/2024

And the Disgusting Filter of the Year Award goes to:

10/24/2024

Warning- Fire Hazzard

Is this you? Can you spot the fas furnace in the mechanical closet? The problem was I couldn’t either when I opened the door.

Piled up directly in front of the furnace and gas water heater were boxes and other combustible items. Over the years I have personally seen flames exist the front of a damaged furnace. Don’t burn your house down.

The only items that should be inside a mechanical closet are the mechanical systems themselves.