MarkNovack
Posts: 1547
Joined: 2/9/2002
From: Nameche, BELGIUM
Status: offline
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Hi Don,
Don, my father-in-law is a real salt of the earth, Belgian gentleman. He would give his shirt from his back to warm a fool who burned his own and expect nothing in return. However, he is also a simple man and extremely trusting and gullible, but not at all dumb. Over here, we pay 7.50 US dollars for a gallon of gasoline and about 2.50 for a gallon of heating oil. At those prices, ask yourself if you might pay for a dream.
Hence, when the home owners exposition came through town and there was a nice and pleasant vendor selling "inductors", known to you and me as magnets, he was absolutley taken in by the mumbo jumbo of aligned molecules and a promised 30% increase in efficeincy all around for savings on both heating oil and gasoline. Luckily, his own financial awarness is keen, and he does not spend the equivilant of 150.00 US dollars, a good sum in Belgium, without consutling his son, a heating professional. Well, his son had the official word, and that was that "inductors" are nothing more than a scam. When the savings are not realized, the buyer is told that they did not install them correctly or that they require major repairs on their heating system, all services that these criminals are will to provide without the real expertise required. Their favorite is the relining of the chimney at 200.00 per meter, a service only required for very old chimnies that are losing refractory brick and clogging the flew and one that is done for cheaper by real chimney service people and they do much more work than just shoving the tube in. Its more an issue of not getting killed by carbon monoxide, but a really plugged up flew can take 15% off the heating effinceicy also. My father-in-law was shocked that someone so nice and pleasant would try and steal from him but after a frank discussion with his son and me about magnetism (go ahead, see if fuel oil or gasonline sticks to a magnet) and scams and con artists, he realized that it was his own desire for unreal savings that made him believe in the possibility.
A bit about efficeincy. As I previously mentioned the cost of heating oil and gasoline, I have a good amount of experience in efficeincy. I drive a car, a small wagon, with a 1.1 liter motor. On the highway I relax and go no faster than the 120kph (about 75mph) speed limit which gives me about 47mpg. It not only saves real money, but it helps relieve this mental Hollywood image of some gold toothed terrorist feathering my dollars in his hands running down to the local explosive formed projectile store (a gross simplification of a real money train). My house stays about 68 degrees during the winter instead of a balmy 72 and we wear flannel and quilted shirts indoors. My dogs love the cooler temps and our sinuses are better for less drying radiated heat. We combine our trips whenver possible and walk to the corner store a half mile away when needed which really helps my heart problem. Our flew is cleaned annually and our oil heated water is not heated between 2300 and 0500. More and more people are going to wood pellet burning boilers at a fuel cost savings of 60% which can pay for the installation in 4 years as people try and reduce the dependency on Middle Eastern oil.
As to the gentleman's claim, that falls into the realm of psychology. People tend to validate their purchases by seeing what they want. Remember MDS motors? Many people claimed that those garbage motors were the best deal on the market because it is easier to handle that belief than to admit one's own poor decision. I would say that he was Fusco'd. They sell the same inductors for softening water, and witch doctors like to use them to cure various ailments that don't show up on medical tests.
Regards,
Mark
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Two magnets to save ounces? - 
