Episodes

  • Why Are My Light Bulbs Blowing?

    Why Are My Light Bulbs Blowing?
    Sep 1 2024
    "If you don't have a surge protection on your main panel and your grounding is not correct you get lots of little micro surges every single day." - Gareth Kelly, Home Service Expert Gareth Kelly, an advisor to Jim Klauck, A.K.A. Check A Pro Joe and the Check A Pro Radio Show joins the program today. Check A Pro Joe received a question from a radio show listener - "Why do my light bulbs continue to blow?" Check out this episode of The Dream Team Plumbing, Heating, Electrical & Cooling Podcast to find out... Why Dream Team does what it does for the homeowner. For more information about Dream Team & in Media, PA - log on to www.checkapro.com. Visit Us At - Dream Team Plumbing, Heating, Electrical & Cooling You Can Call Anytime: (484) 443-2881. Podcast Episode Transcript: If you don't have a surge protection on your main panel and your grounding is not correct you get lots of little micro surges every single day... This is the checker pro radio show checker pro Joe has assembled a team of pre-qualified home service contractors to bring you the latest in services products and techniques now here's your host the man with a hard hat and tool belt Check A Pro Joe unfortunately this happens a lot and we're not sure if it's a poor quality light bulb or something wrong with our electrical system and what that is why do my light bulbs blow out frequently I've asked an expert in the electrical system in your home Gareth Kelly from dream team to join me here on the program today to answer that question Gareth how are you I'm doing good Joe thanks for having me here today hey it's great to have you here so why do my light bulbs blow out frequently what's going on well that's a great question Joe light bulbs blow it frequently because there's multiple reasons a little bit of what you touched on was the quality of the light bulb mostly they all are light bulbs are LED but like you know ten years ago when LED wasn't as popular as it is today you would have got a light bulb say at Home Depot and I might say that light bulb last 2000 hours and I'd like bold media cost $2.00 but you may have seen other light bulb that cost $4 but that lasted twice as long so it was built better so those definitely last longer the newer bulbs the LED bulbs and stuff like that you could be having a couple different issues again it's the quality of them so you spend more money and buying a better quality bulb it's going to last longer but you could also be having an issue inside your home So what most people don't know Joe is that inside your home you know if you don't have a surge protection on your main panel and you're grounded is not correct you get lots of little micro surges every single day a lot of people think the surges come from about say what you do that's when you get a big surge and you lose lots of things but we were always taught the garden hose analogy so like if your garden hose rated for 100 pounds of pressure and you put 150 to last but overtime may create a bubble but 300 pounds of pressure is going to blow right away but over time 100 pounds 110 hundred 150 will create that opposed to create a bubble in it and it'll blow so the same thing with inside your home you've got your dishwasher turn around if you go refrigerator turn on if you got your dryer turn these are all motor rated appliances your air conditioning your condenser your furnace so when they start and stop they send little micro surges all throughout your home and not shortens the life of all the LED chips and the LED circuit boards and everything like that in your home so that's one of the biggest reasons that we see bulbs and stuff not lasting as long as they should and so they have you know the proper ground system and the surge protection apply that better quality light bubble make those last longer Gareth and his team from dream team can come out and do an inspection of your panel make sure everything is grounded right and install a surge protector for the whole house which is handy because that means you don't need it for a specific thing like a computer or TV it can be for the whole home and it will help save your light bulbs as well that is true but we always recommend them more the merrier so if you're going to expensive TV I like these protected that a couple of different points they actually make surge protective outlets as well so if you get an expensive piece of equipment do you want to definitely always didn't want to the panel but putting it on several pieces of clothing that are really expensive basically some of the high end HVAC equipment they also should have surge protection right on the equipment or you know cause some of these control boards are motors they cost thousands of dollars to replace you know surge protections and expensive compared to replacing you know some of the stuff equipment and circuit boards and their HVAC equipment or replacing refrigerators and all that stuff that we can't get right now it's not like ...
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    5 mins
  • Is A Bigger Air Conditioning Unit Better?

    Is A Bigger Air Conditioning Unit Better?
    Aug 1 2024

    "Your system is not running for long enough for all the air to move through it and cool it evenly. So you're just dumping cold air."

    - Gareth Kelly, Home Service Expert

    Here on the Check A Pro Radio Show today, Gareth Kelly, Owner of Dream Team joins Jim Klauck, aka Check A Pro Joe to help us answer homeowner's questions. Check A Pro Joe received a question from a radio show listener - "Is A Bigger Air Conditioning Unit Better?"

    You may find the answer not what you expected!

    Check out this episode of The Dream Team Plumbing, Heating, Electrical & Cooling Podcast to find out...

    Why Dream Team does what it does for the homeowner.

    For more information about Dream Team & in Media, PA - log on to www.checkapro.com.

    Visit Us At - www.dreamteampa.com

    You Can Call Anytime: (484) 443-2881.
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    4 mins
  • Do I Need A Backup Generator For My Home?

    Do I Need A Backup Generator For My Home?
    Jul 1 2024

    Episode 15

    "A backup generator is great to have when you need one. I'd like to know my family is protected with a backup generator at my home."

    - Gareth Kelly, Home Service Expert

    On the Check A Pro Radio Show today, Gareth Kelly, Owner of Dream Team joins Jim Klauck, aka Check A Pro Joe to help us answer homeowner's questions. Check A Pro Joe received a question from a radio show listener - "Do I Need A Backup Generator For My Home?"

    You may find the answer not what you expected!

    Check out this episode of The Dream Team Plumbing, Heating, Electrical & Cooling Podcast to find out...

    Why Dream Team does what it does for the homeowner.

    For more information about Dream Team & in Media, PA - log on to www.checkapro.com.

    Visit Us At - www.dreamteampa.com

    You Can Call Anytime: (484) 443-2881.
    Show More Show Less
    5 mins
  • What Is A GFCI Outlet? How Can The GFCI Electrical Outlet Help With Safety?

    What Is A GFCI Outlet? How Can The GFCI Electrical Outlet Help With Safety?
    May 1 2024
    "They do now make a GFCI outlet with a USB and a USB C built into it so those are right now new on the market so if you've got a kitchen counter that you plug your phone or laptop or something they charge they do now make outlets with USB and USB C." - Gareth Kelly, Home Service Expert Gareth Kelly, an advisor to Jim Klauck, A.K.A. Check A Pro Joe and the Check A Pro Radio Show joins the program today. Check A Pro Joe received a question from a radio show listener - "What Is A GFCI Outlet and how can a GFCI electrical outlet help with safety?" Check out this episode of The Dream Team Plumbing, Heating, Electrical & Cooling Podcast to find out... Why Dream Team does what it does for the homeowner. For more information about Dream Team & in Media, PA - log on to www.checkapro.com. Visit Us At - Dream Team Plumbing, Heating, Electrical & Cooling You Can Call Anytime: (484) 443-2881. Podcast Episode Transcript: They do now make a GFCI outlet with a USB and a USB C built into it so those are right now new on the market so if you've got a kitchen counter that you plug your phone or laptop or something they charge they do now make outlets with USB and USB C. This is the check a pro radio show check a pro Joe has assembled a team of pre-qualified home service contractors to bring you the latest in services products and techniques now here's your host the man with a hard hat and tool belt check a pro Joe I want to talk electrical here and don't want to talk about electrical safety this is very important many of us have heard of a GFCI circuit or outlet but you don't know what it is well I've asked an expert in the electrical field to join me his name is Gareth Kelly from dream team air conditioning heating plumbing and electrical hey Gareth how are you I'm doing good job thanks for helping me on the show today yeah thank you for being here so a GFCI that's obviously abbreviated why don't you tell us what it is no problem Joe so GFCI stands for a ground fault circuit interupter and what all means is it turns electric off to look perfect or to the appliance or anything that you have plugged into that if it doesn't right but we sometimes in the electrical field refer to them as shock profitable so preventing electric shocks with it things an imbalance in the circuit from late to ground or neutral to ground apple trip dot ground fault circuit breaker or outlet they're really important to have to drive their home create full circle bright or something underlines is there the eddies they're required pretty much most of the areas are home so and throughout your kitchen anywhere within six feet of water all of your bathrooms your lower levels beside your HVAC equipment so the guys see if this working on your HVAC equipment wired in your garage and they're required in on face areas of your house make down the basement you know maybe you have a sump pump or something up but still requires a GFCI outlet basically outdoors GFCI that are required in all over S hillside tours they're really handy and they're very safe to have and you need them by code in certain areas like Gareth said including outside your laundry room the basement like you said garage I'll tell you though it gets tricky everybody sometimes there'll be an outlet in your garage or your bathroom or a closet that doesn't work anymore so you go over to the panel and you're like oh I switched everything back and it still doesn't go on well these are put in series quite often and there might just be one outlet that needs to be reset isn't that true you know it's true a lot of times when the homes were wired and the builders you know then an effort to save money they would put the GFCI receptacle at the very start of the circuit so they wouldn't have them on each one that requires it sometimes no say though to start working those GSA trip somewhere or in the garage that they just stopped working something is outlet most likely is located beside the panel it depends on whoever wired at that time they could be in the bathroom it could be behind a a chair or piece of furniture you know so sometimes you know locating exactly where that GFCI trip can be challenging because you have to search every wall and every area every room sometimes to find it and these ground fault circuit interrupter outlets are not a normal outlet and over time they may need to be replaced why is that a lot of the others know how the soft house function on them as like anything you know the parts inside of wear out you know nothing's built to last forever so there is a recommended time that they should be replaced some of the newer GCI does have a lot of light on it and it tells you when it's tripped so lights up LED in the bottom corner and it tells you that this side of this trip and then you can set the reset button on it one other thing I wanted to let you know to you is for consumers out there they do now make a GFCI outlet what they USB and a USB C built into it so those ...
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    5 mins
  • What Is A Short In An Electrical Circuit? And What Can Occur In The Instance Of A Short?

    What Is A Short In An Electrical Circuit? And What Can Occur In The Instance Of A Short?
    Apr 1 2024

    "The one part of the circuit is touching another part and that causes the circuit breaker to trip.."

    - Gareth Kelly, Home Service Expert

    Jim Klauck, A.K.A. Check A Pro Joe asked electrical expert, Gareth Kelly from Dream Team Plumbing, Heating, Electrical & Cooling to join him on Check A Pro Radio Show today to answer this question: "What Is A Short and What Can Happen if Your Circuit has a Short?

    Check out this episode of The Dream Team Plumbing, Heating, Electrical & Cooling Podcast to find out...

    Why Dream Team does what it does for the homeowner.

    For more information about Dream Team & in Media, PA - log on to www.checkapro.com.

    Visit Us At - Dream Team Plumbing, Heating, Electrical & Cooling You Can Call Anytime: (484) 443-2881.

    Podcast Episode Transcript:

    The one part of the circuit is touching another part and that causes the circuit breaker to trip. This is the check a pro radio show check a pro Joe has assembled a team of pre-qualified home service contractors to bring you the latest in services products and techniques now here's your host the man with a hard hat and tool belt check a pro Joe this question comes up quite a bit in terms of the electricity in your home what is a short or a short circuit so I've asked my friend Gareth Kelly he is an expert in this field he's from dream team air conditioning heating plumbing and electrical hey Gareth how are you today I'm doing good job thank you for having me on the show sure it's great to have you here so we hear this a lot a short or short circuit what does that especially me so short or short sort of beans there is a connection or something's touching in a circuit or a wire that should be touching together so we can have different types of shorts we can have the short from a life to a neutral which shouldn't happen or in neutral to the ground which shouldn't happen or live to the ground so it means that normally one part of the circuit is touching another part and that causes the circuit breaker to trip and sometimes this can happen by having the older wiring in the home where the insulation maybe has become exposed and decomposing also it's like sometimes it gets dry rot on it and the wire should I touch together sometimes it's caused by an installation for you know the guy installer could have put a stapple one too hard in a wire and that causes a short circuit or somebody damaged the wire and stepping on a wire or hanging something from a wire so there's multiple ways that that can cause it but that causes a surgical Brenner trip and not the circle breaker doesn't trump then you know sometimes that's a huge problem so you always want to make sure your circuit breaker trips if there's a short circuit well you know Gareth and I know you know this a big problem are rats and squirrels for some reason mice and rats especially like to chew on electrical wires and they could come to a quick death but that doesn't mean it's good for your system right and so that's another thing that can compromise a wire yeah so some of wires back in the day were manufactured in plants where they used um like peanut oil and stuff like that there to manufacture the wire so that causes the end they think they are safe to eat and yeah that definitely causes a problem in the attics and where you can get a rodents in there chewing the wire and that can turn out to be a fire hazard eventually you know so you always want to make sure that if you do get rodent or something in your attic that you have something out and check out the wiring make sure still see it make sure they didn't eat anything or touch anything absolutely sometimes the electrician will have to go into the basement of the attic to actually track it down to find out where the breach is and it's so important because Gareth is right if there is a wire that has been compromised it can cause a fire and other damage but in the short term you won't have power or consistent power and clean power to that circuit anymore so it's very important to get ahold of Gareth and his team it's very simple all of his contact information is located here in the description of this podcast hey Gareth thank you so much for joining me you're welcome to thank you check a pro is your local source for pre-qualified contractors stay tuned for more of the cheka pro radio show.
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    4 mins
  • Why Is It Important To Conduct A Bi-Annual HVAC Inspection?

    Why Is It Important To Conduct A Bi-Annual HVAC Inspection?
    Mar 1 2024

    "Yes,it's definitely important to conduct your semi - annual maintenance on your air conditioning and heating system."

    - Gareth Kelly, Home Service Expert

    Today, on the Check A Pro Radio Show, Gareth Kelly, Owner of Dream Team joins Jim Klauck, aka Check A Pro Joe to help us answer homeowner's questions. Check A Pro Joe received a question from a radio show listener - "Why Is It Important To Conduct A Bi-Annual HVAC Inspection?"

    Check out this episode of The Dream Team Plumbing, Heating, Electrical & Cooling Podcast to find out...

    Why Dream Team does what it does for the homeowner.

    For more information about Dream Team & in Media, PA - log on to www.checkapro.com.

    Visit Us At - www.dreamteampa.com

    You Can Call Anytime: (484) 443-2881.
    Show More Show Less
    5 mins
  • What Is The Difference Between Electrical Fuses and Breakers?

    What Is The Difference Between Electrical Fuses and Breakers?
    Jan 14 2024

    "So one of the biggest things for a customer is once the fuse is gone it's not fixable it's done we have to go and buy a new fuse with circuit breaker we can reset it and turn the circuit breaker back on again." - Gareth Kelly

    Check A Pro Joe asked Gareth Kelly from Dream Team Plumbing, Heating, Electrical & Cooling to join him on Check A Pro Radio Show today to answer this question: "What Is The Difference Between An Electrical Fuse And Breaker?

    Check out this episode of The Dream Team Plumbing, Heating, Electrical & Cooling Podcast to find out...

    Why Dream Team does what it does for the homeowner.

    For more information about Dream Team & in Media, PA - log on to www.checkapro.com.

    Visit Us At - Dream Team Plumbing, Heating, Electrical & Cooling You Can Call Anytime: (484) 443-2881.

    Podcast Episode Transcript:

    So one of the biggest things for a customer is once the fuse is gone it's not fixable it's done we have to go and buy a new fuse with circuit breaker we can reset it and turn the circuit breaker back on again. This is the check a pro radio show check out pro Joe has assembled a team of pre-qualified home service contractors to bring you the latest in services products and techniques now here's your host the man with a hard hat and tool belt check a pro Joe for those of us who live in an old home and I'll tell you the oldest home I lived in was built in 1775 a year before the country was born a beautiful old home and it had fuses in it now a lot of us don't have fuses but this question comes up a lot is there a difference between a fuse and a circuit breaker so I've asked an expert in the electrical area is name is Gareth Kelly from dream team air conditioning heating plumbing and electrical to help answer this question Gareth how are you I'm doing good Joe how you doing today I'm doing fantastic so the old fuses some of us still have them what's the difference between a fuse and a breaker so the government can use and the breaker as a fuse has a lot of male part on it once that service gets overloaded that little metal part burns and turns the electric off to the circuit well the circuit breaker at Scott the same type of function and only it trips the circuit Breakers from mechanical things inside and it heats up it seems the metal part would do but it trips the breaker so one of the biggest things for a customer is once the fuse is gone it's not fixable it's done we have to go and buy a new fuse with circuit breaker we can reset it and turn the circuit breaker back on again and find out what was causing that server to overload and then remedy the problem it really is that simple one nice thing about a breaker today is if it is tripped it will turn off the power but you can go back and you can flip it back on and if it stays on it may have been a one off type thing literally a one off type thing if it continues to do that and it heats up you definitely have to call Gareth the dream team what happens when it continuously trips and it gets warm so one of us warmly continuously trips it means there's a problem in the circuit so somewhere down the line it could have overloaded and it won't turn back on again due to heat but normally want to circle break doesn't turn back on again that means there's a short circuit or something is a fake not certain there's a problem and that circuit and it could be anywhere from the fuse box to the very last device or outlet or switch or light fixture on that server or anywhere in between so you know there's definitely mobile reasons that circuit breaker trips overload is only one of them if it continues to trip do not put a larger breaker in it's against code and it's dangerous and the reason why I tripped everybody is because it is designed to keep the wires from overheating and it could literally burn your house down so you want to call a qualified electrician Gareth Kelly and his team can help you out over a dream team all of Gareth’s information is located here in the description of the podcast simply take a look and it's a quick click away to get a hold of Gareth and his team over a dream team hey Gareth thank you so much today i appreciate it you're welcome joe thank you checking pro is your local source for pre-qualified contractors stay tuned for more of the checker pro radio show.
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    4 mins
  • Gareth Kelly, Owner Of Dream Team Explains His Why And Why He Loves To Serve

    Gareth Kelly, Owner Of Dream Team Explains His Why And Why He Loves To Serve
    Jan 12 2024
    "We believe it's our duty to tell the customer that their system is not efficient or it's not safe or it could be safer that's our duty." - Gareth Kelly Gareth Kelly from Dream Team Plumbing, Heating, Electrical & Cooling joins Check A Pro Joe on this episode. Gareth explains his Why. Why he serves his customers and his employees. Check out this episode of The Dream Team Plumbing, Heating, Electrical & Cooling Podcast to find out... Why Dream Team does what it does for the homeowner. For more information about Dream Team & in Media, PA - log on to www.checkapro.com. Visit Us At - www.dreamteampa.com You Can Call Anytime: (484) 443-2881. Podcast Episode Transcript: We believe it's our duty to tell the customer that their system is not efficient or it's not safe or it could be safer that's our duty. This is the check a pro radio show check a pro Joe has assembled a team of pre-qualified home service contractors to bring you the latest in services products the techniques now here's your host the man with a hard hat and tool belt check a pro Joe I'd like to introduce a new friend of mine his name is Gareth Kelly and he is with dream team air conditioning heating plumbing and electrical and I've asked him to come on the program today to talk about his why, why he does what he does and why all of his partners and his team members at the company do what they do to serve you the homeowner hey Gareth how are you Joe thanks for having me on today sure I appreciate it sure so I love asking this question of great entrepreneurs in the home service space what makes you guys tick why do you do what you do um well we have a great team of employees I'd say the main thing that we want to do when we go into homeless private services to make sure you know that well the HVAC system electrical system or plumbing system and the home is functioning right and it means a safe for the homeowner and people were looking for future things that may cause a breakdown or you know a loss of power loss of heat and air conditioning the worst possible time so we you know we did inspections and we try to advise customers and educate them on what's going on in their home and then you know we always provide some options and stuff and we let the homeowner pick shops and the best for them our mission is to go into each home and leave it in a better condition behind it educate the homeowners on what's going on in their home and let them make the best decision for them and their family what solution they would choose to before with any and that's a fantastic answer everybody wants to hear that so basically what you guys do at dream team air conditioning heating plumbing and electrical you were there to serve you're there to educate you're not just there to sell someone a new air conditioning system a new electrical panel or water heater and is so important right to make sure that we're serving first and if you serve that homeowner will become loyal and it almost doesn't matter what you supply them in this case it happens to be the plumbing and the electrical and the air conditioning and heating yes that's correct you know we never want to go on a sell someday something like I know sometimes people you know think all are home there are some companies are just excel and some we really want them to educate them you know we look at their entire system so we don't just go in and look at the cause that we're out there for we want to make sure their home safe so we do you know safety inspection or from the left system and let them know that a lot of the homes in our area are older homes so one of our things now is like our tags as we know old homes because we've worked in so many old homes in our area we know you know everything from domestic wiring or plumbing systems and old heating systems employers we believe it's our duty to tell the customer the discussion is not efficient or it's not safe or it could be safer that's our duty is to tell them that and if we don't look at the whole entire system and we don't tell them their system could be more efficient at the dead deaths are not that could be safer if it did to us or not so then we let them know all those things and if they decide to move forward something decided to move forward with them but I you always give them pricing for everything and then sometimes you know a lot of customers will think about it and give us a call back and call us back out and move forward with the work yeah fantastic hey Gareth thank you so much for joining me today on the program to explain your why and why your entire team does what they do to serve the homeowner oh you're welcome thanks Joe all of Gareth’s information is located in the description of this podcast so if you'd like to reach him it's easy it's one click away just look in the description of this podcast once again Gareth thank you so much for joining me today here on the program checker Pro is your local source for pre-qualified ...
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    4 mins