2014 is almost upon us, and with the coming of the New Year, we thought we’d take a brief look at some of the more popular traditions associated with this holiday. It’s been around for at least 4,000 years: as long as we’ve figured out how long it takes for the seasons to come and go. Here’s a quick discussion about some of our more modern traditions and where they started.

It’s the holiday season once again, and everyone at Air Mechanical, Inc. wishes the very best for you, your family, and your friends. We hope that whatever brings you joy fills these last days of the year. We’d like to thank all of our customers for giving us the opportunity to provide you with services that improve your lives and help you better enjoy this time with your loved ones. You are the reason that we exist as a company, and that’s something we always keep that in mind. We are eager to work with you in the coming year.

Furnaces come in a variety of types that use different energy sources. The earliest furnaces used wood and coal, and later propane and oil became popular. You can still find propane and oil furnaces warming homes today, but it’s likely that if you’re looking into getting a furnace, your choice will come down to either a natural gas or electric furnace.

For your boiler to operate correctly, it needs to maintain steady pressure in its hot water tank and throughout its pipes. Water pressure will increase as the water in the system heats up, so the boiler comes with a number of methods to keep the pressure from reaching levels where it can cause damage. One of the ways a boiler maintains a safe pressure level is with an expansion tank. We will explain how this crucial component of a boiler operates—and why it’s important to keep it maintained and repaired.

Thanksgiving began in 1621, but didn’t become a national tradition until 1863, when Abraham Lincoln declared it as such in hopes of bringing a divided nation together. We have many Thanksgiving traditions in this country, from turkey as the meal to the annual Cowboys and Lions games on television. But one of the most beloved is the annual Presidential turkey pardon, in which the U.S. President “pardons” a turkey, allowing them to live the remainder of their live freely roaming on farmland.

One of the reasons you should always seek advice from professionals when selecting a new heating system for your home is that you need expertise not only to select the proper type of heater that will satisfy your home’s needs, but also to select the proper size of heater. Why should size matter so much? It seems logical to simply go with the largest model available within your budget. Isn’t it better to err on the side of a heater that’s too large rather than one that’s too small? Read on to learn more.

Your kitchen sink probably gets the most use of any sink in your home. Add to that the amount of work that your garbage disposal does, and you have an area in your home where the plumbing receives a great deal of stress that can lead to repair needs. If your kitchen’s plumbing develops trouble, it can turn into a major nuisance, so it’s important to pay attention to warning signs that something may be awry. One of the common warning signs of plumbing problems is the sound of gurgling coming from your kitchen sinks. We’ll look at the two main reasons this might happen.

Here in Andover, plumbing repair calls must often deal with freezing pipes. Water caught in your pipes in the winter can create all kinds of havoc. As it freezes, it expands: putting your pipes under tremendous pressure and eventually causing them to burst. Plumbers deal with more burst pipes in the winter than they do the rest of the year combined, and repairs can often be quite expensive. You can help by taking some simple preventative measures before and during the cold season. Here’s how to prevent your pipes from freezing.

The two most common types of heaters in homes for over a hundred years are the furnace and the boiler. Neither seems likely to go away soon, since HVAC technology continues to update them to increase their safety, reliability, options, and efficiency. If you are in the market for a heating system, no doubt your short list contains both “furnace” and “boiler.” In this post, we’ll illuminate the differences—which are significant—between the two. No one option is inherently a better choice for your home than the other; it will depend on your specific home requirements and your budget plan.

Despite the name, an expansion tank isn’t a device you purchase when you want to add more water to your home boiler. (Unless you’ve lost water from a leak, you don’t want to add additional water to your boiler anyway.) You already have an expansion tank on your boiler: it’s one of the most crucial parts of your boiler’s regular operation. Expansion tanks are an important part of any closed water heating system in use today.