Your recent repair? 2013 - 2020

[aja8888]

Maintenance on the gf's Hyundai Elantra. I changed the oil and filter. All was well until I noticed a slow oil drip the next day. Got under it with flashlight. The leak is coming from the drain plug (bolt). Absolutely dry above the plug, and even above the pan. Dry under the new filter. But a nice fat drop hanging off the plug. It has a crush washer. I reused the existing crush washer. Hmmm. Maybe the crush washer has to be brand new each oil change? Most cars I change oil on don't even have crush washers, but if they do, I just reuse them, and they don't start leaking. Hmmm...

John: Yes, new crush washers are a good thing. Or, you can install one of these:

Fumoto USA | Quick and Easy Engine Oil Drain Valves

 

[bjorn2bwild]

I need to look into mentioned bacteria problem with an old filter. If bacteria is going to grow, why does it need 6 months? It could develop in a much quicker time than that.

1) The carbon is activated with high temperature steam or gas - should be relatively microbe free.

2) Public water source should also be relatively clean and low in nutrients. otherwise lots of stuff would be growing within the plumbing.

3) The in-fridge filter is cold, slowing any growth.

As a renter, I usually just remove the filter. Every brand refrigerator I have done this with continues to work normally. I have pulled the filter, removed the 'o' rings and boiled for ~30min, let cool and reuse - the label will wrinkle.

I reused the existing crush washer. Hmmm. Maybe the crush washer has to be brand new each oil change? Most cars I change oil on don't even have crush washers, but if they do, I just reuse them, and they don't start leaking. Hmmm...

If the washer is soft metal and in good condition, I make a custom gasket each time with a hole punch and treated paper gasket sheet. I re-use the plastic washers as long as they look good.

 

[samclem]

2) Public water source should also be relatively clean and low in nutrients. otherwise lots of stuff would be growing within the plumbing.

Just one observation: The residual chlorine in city water is what keeps the pipes relatively free of bacteria/"biofilm". Obviously, it's not truly sanitized or 100% bacteria free, but it's clean enough to drink. But NW-Bound has an RO system, and if using city water, they usually require a carbon filter before the RO membrane to remove the chlorine (as chlorine destroys the most common residential membrane materials). In such a system there's virtually zero residual chlorine in the water when it flows through the tubing to his fridge and into that carbon filter therein.

A study done for the EPA on granulated activated carbon (GAC) filters. Bacteria colonized them and the water coming out of them was higher in bacteria than the incoming tap water.

It's probably overkill, but I have a UV "sterilizer" as the last step in my home water treatment setup to zap germs that make it past the other stuff. But I'm on a home well, which adds quite a few wildcards compared to being on city water.

 

[ERD50]

...
It's probably overkill, but I have a UV "sterilizer" as the last step in my home water treatment setup to zap germs that make it past the other stuff. But I'm on a home well, which adds quite a few wildcards compared to being on city water.

I'm starting to wonder if UV is overkill or not on well water. I've been having problems with my RO unit water having a skunky smell, sometimes just a month or to after sanitizing the unit and replacing the carbon filter (it normally would go 6 months before a filter replacement).

I started adding a few drops of chlorine bleach to the inlet tube once in a while. Seemed to help, but now we seem to get some occasional 'musty' sorts of odors in the water. Maybe a UV filter on the inlet would kill anything going in? I also thought about mounting the whole thing in my 'beer' fridge, so cold would reduce growth.

Maybe I should just replace the RO membrane? It's the original, must be close to 10 years old, but the TDS reading are good (> 95% reduction from the softened water at the input). But you can't sanitize the RO membrane with bleach, so maybe that's where the problem is?

A new RO membrane isn't that expensive, I should probably just do that first.

-ERD50

 

[bjorn2bwild]

But NW-Bound has an RO system, and if using city water, they usually require a carbon filter before the RO membrane to remove the chlorine (as chlorine destroys the most common residential membrane materials). In such a system there's virtually zero residual chlorine in the water when it flows through the tubing to his fridge and into that carbon filter therein.

Ah, in that case I would bypass the RO filter and run city water to the fridge line in order to buy a little more time.

 

[2soon2tell]

Cleaned the throttle body on my '93 f150. I also cleaned the FI system using the brake booster vacuum line running to the intake manifold.

Any one have a favorite FI cleaner? I have used Berryman's and Seafoam in the past.

 

[samclem]

I'm starting to wonder if UV is overkill or not on well water. I've been having problems with my RO unit water having a skunky smell, sometimes just a month or to after sanitizing the unit and replacing the carbon filter (it normally would go 6 months before a filter replacement).

I started adding a few drops of chlorine bleach to the inlet tube once in a while. Seemed to help, but now we seem to get some occasional 'musty' sorts of odors in the water. Maybe a UV filter on the inlet would kill anything going in? I also thought about mounting the whole thing in my 'beer' fridge, so cold would reduce growth.

Maybe I should just replace the RO membrane? It's the original, must be close to 10 years old, but the TDS reading are good (> 95% reduction from the softened water at the input). But you can't sanitize the RO membrane with bleach, so maybe that's where the problem is?

A new RO membrane isn't that expensive, I should probably just do that first.

-ERD50

Yes, it might be time to replace that membrane (I wonder if they would tolerate boiling water?) . After replacing it, I suppose you could try UV treatment on the water leading into the RO to prevent a recurrence, but I wouldn't have much faith in that. If the bugs are setting up camp in your RO membrane, you'd have to kill every single one going in to stop a recurrence--that seems unlikely. My UV is the last step in the process: I change out the filters/media and clean/bleach the containers/tubing occasionally to keep their numbers in check The UV is there to try to assure almost all that get through are dead (or incapable of reproducing).

 

[zinger1457]

Garage Door Opener Problem

Ran into a very strange problem with my garage door opener (18yo Craftsman belt drive). Right after bringing my new pickup truck home I started having problems getting the garage door to close as I was backing down the driveway. My initial thought was there must be some type of RF interference coming from the new truck that was interfering with the remote signal. The problem with that idea was that I had no problem opening the garage door when I came back home. Replaced the battery in the remote but it didn't help. Cleaned the photo eye sensors but that seemed to be functional anyways and didn't help. Started thinking about what was different between opening and closing the door and the only difference was that the opener lights were on when I try to close the door and were off when I open it. Removed both 60W light bulbs from the opener housing and sure enough it started working. Plugged each bulb back in and found out which one was causing the problem, replaced it, and now everything works fine.

 

[Bamaman]

Had a small concrete slab leftover after tearing down a single car garage 2 years ago. I caught a tree man there with a skid steer loader. He broke up the concrete for me. It's taking a come along to get one of the pieces of concrete in my trailer to take to the dump. I also have a 200 pound tree stump to put on the trailer. The rest of the 10' 30" tree stump rolled down into my side yard, and I've got to cut it into manageable pieces.

 

[homestead]

Ran into a very strange problem with my garage door opener (18yo Craftsman belt drive). Right after bringing my new pickup truck home I started having problems getting the garage door to close as I was backing down the driveway. My initial thought was there must be some type of RF interference coming from the new truck that was interfering with the remote signal. The problem with that idea was that I had no problem opening the garage door when I came back home. Replaced the battery in the remote but it didn't help. Cleaned the photo eye sensors but that seemed to be functional anyways and didn't help. Started thinking about what was different between opening and closing the door and the only difference was that the opener lights were on when I try to close the door and were off when I open it. Removed both 60W light bulbs from the opener housing and sure enough it started working. Plugged each bulb back in and found out which one was causing the problem, replaced it, and now everything works fine.

Great Troubleshooting!

 

[jazz4cash]

Ran into a very strange problem with my garage door opener (18yo Craftsman belt drive). Right after bringing my new pickup truck home I started having problems getting the garage door to close as I was backing down the driveway. My initial thought was there must be some type of RF interference coming from the new truck that was interfering with the remote signal. The problem with that idea was that I had no problem opening the garage door when I came back home. Replaced the battery in the remote but it didn't help. Cleaned the photo eye sensors but that seemed to be functional anyways and didn't help. Started thinking about what was different between opening and closing the door and the only difference was that the opener lights were on when I try to close the door and were off when I open it. Removed both 60W light bulbs from the opener housing and sure enough it started working. Plugged each bulb back in and found out which one was causing the problem, replaced it, and now everything works fine.

Wow! Very good detective work. I have the Craftsman belt drive opener also since we have living space above the garage. Love it. No issues in 15 yrs except the auxilliary remotes I have found seem to work sporadically.....maybe I'll swap some light bulbs. Some of the bulbs are standard incandescent but I prefer the heavy duty bulbs made for fans and garage openers. I don't think they are on long enough to justify LED bulbs.

 

[BBQ-Nut]

Repaired: cleaned out a slow upstairs bathroom sink with one of those 'barbed' long inserts - that was *nasty*, but now the sink drains quickly


Installed: 50 gallon rain barrel on one of our gutter downspouts with the included diverter kit. DW is submitting the rebate request for up to $75. If this works as advertised, I'll install 2 more on our other downspouts.


C'mon rain....

 

[Sunset]

Wow! Very good detective work. I have the Craftsman belt drive opener also since we have living space above the garage. Love it. No issues in 15 yrs except the auxilliary remotes I have found seem to work sporadically.....maybe I'll swap some light bulbs. Some of the bulbs are standard incandescent but I prefer the heavy duty bulbs made for fans and garage openers. I don't think they are on long enough to justify LED bulbs.

LED's are coming down in price pretty fast, they may even be cheaper than the heavy duty bulbs soon, without counting the small savings per yr (due to short time on).

I just picked up some at Home Depot (with ComEd special to HomeDepot) for $2 each. There was a philips flat one there for $1.67

 

[Walt34]

I just picked up some at Home Depot (with ComEd special to HomeDepot) for $2 each. There was a philips flat one there for $1.67

What was the ComEd special? The last time I looked at LEDs (which has been a while) they were between $10 and $20.

 

[ERD50]

Ran into a very strange problem with my garage door opener...

Started thinking about what was different between opening and closing the door and the only difference was that the opener lights were on when I try to close the door and were off when I open it. Removed both 60W light bulbs from the opener housing and sure enough it started working. Plugged each bulb back in and found out which one was causing the problem, replaced it, and now everything works fine.

I'm struggling to understand how a light bulb could affect anything. Especially if it worked after you replaced the bulb.

I was thinking, could the light be shining on the photo-sensors (the ones that sense something blocking the door)? But if you replaced the bulb with another one like it, it would do the same thing. Was the replacement a 60W?

Not adding up for me. Maybe intermittent enough that you are making some incorrect cause/effect assumptions?

-ERD50

 

[Walt34]

I'm struggling to understand how a light bulb could affect anything. Especially if it worked after you replaced the bulb.

I was wondering about that too. The only thing I could think of was the bulb was about to fail anyway and intermittently emitting an RF signal? Highly unlikely and I don't see how that could happen.

Perhaps a resident EE would have an answer.

 

[ERD50]

I was wondering about that too. The only thing I could think of was the bulb was about to fail anyway and intermittently emitting an RF signal? Highly unlikely and I don't see how that could happen.

Perhaps a resident EE would have an answer.

I was assuming they were 60W edison style bulbs. Those aren't going to be emitting any RF/EMI (other than light wave-length emissions).

If the were CFL 60W equivalents - then it is at least conceivable that the switching circuit in one of them was creating interference, and replacing it would fix it.

Another out there scenario -[-] the 120W draw of two bulbs was loading down the power, and ----[/-] no, way too many problems with that theory. Forget it.

-ERD50

 

[jazz4cash]

LED's are coming down in price pretty fast, they may even be cheaper than the heavy duty bulbs soon, without counting the small savings per yr (due to short time on).

I just picked up some at Home Depot (with ComEd special to HomeDepot) for $2 each. There was a philips flat one there for $1.67

Now that you reminded me, l bought some 60 watt equivalent bulbs at Home Depot that were marked down to $2.50 but when I went through the register they were ~$1.50 or so due to a local utility (BGE) credit. I got 2 types including the Phillips flat ones. The utility charges some sort of efficiency fee on all users and they use the money to fund rebates for efficient appliances and LED bulbs. I think I will start using them in rough service locations to see how they hold up. I think they have a 3yr warranty.

 

[JoeWras]

I was assuming they were 60W edison style bulbs. Those aren't going to be emitting any RF/EMI (other than light wave-length emissions).

If the were CFL 60W equivalents - then it is at least conceivable that the switching circuit in one of them was creating interference, and replacing it would fix it.

Another out there scenario -[-] the 120W draw of two bulbs was loading down the power, and ----[/-] no, way too many problems with that theory. Forget it.

-ERD50

I'm struggling with this too. But man, weird things can happen. I know sometimes you can get bulbs to emit sound waves when on a dimmer circuit because it causes the element to resonate.

So let's think of something else.

How about a voltage drop? Maybe some current draw situation on a bad bulb is causing a voltage drop which is whacking the electronic circuit?

 

[Sunset]

What was the ComEd special? The last time I looked at LEDs (which has been a while) they were between $10 and $20.

It was a 4 pack of LED 60watt equivalents for $8 and a bunch of other LED bulbs too, like spotlights, and candelabra type.

I just happened to be in the store last week and saw it.

However right now you can buy a cree one for $3.97 (on sale), so prices are coming down...
Cree 60W Equivalent Soft White (2700K) A19 Dimmable LED Light Bulb with 4Flow Filament Design-BA19-08027OMF-12DE26-3U100 - The Home Depot

 

[ERD50]

I'm struggling with this too. But man, weird things can happen. I know sometimes you can get bulbs to emit sound waves when on a dimmer circuit because it causes the element to resonate.

So let's think of something else.

How about a voltage drop? Maybe some current draw situation on a bad bulb is causing a voltage drop which is whacking the electronic circuit?

The voltage drop is the scenario I decided to skip. Think about what would need to happen - a drop with two 60W 120V bulbs means a real hot spot in the wiring, it's just so unlikely that it could create a large enough drop on the AC side to affect the power supply electronics and that it could be sustained w/o burning something up. And then the motor has to kick in, drawing more current? Though, I suppose the motor could be tapped in upstream, and the power supply on the same side of the bulb with the high resistance wiring in between? Yes, strange things are possible, but that seems way out there. The power supply should be able to handle reasonable droops in the main AC voltage, so the drop from the bulbs would normally have to be pretty high. But then again, maybe the main voltage is already marginal. Anything is possible, but I think that one is pretty far out there.

-ERD50

 

[Nunthewiser]

My achin' back. Spent the last 2 days at my inherited late Mom's house repairing sprinkler lines that have burst. My Dad installed them around 40-45 years ago using that flexible black plastic polyethylene (?) that seems to be rotting underground. I have repaired it in a couple of places before and now that the house is vacant and not visited for days at a time (we live 30 miles away) I need to make sure the lawn is in saleable condition. What started out being one zone that needed repair has gone to three. I think one more day will be needed to replace it with PVC...but I thought that yesterday.

 

[zinger1457]

I'm struggling to understand how a light bulb could affect anything. Especially if it worked after you replaced the bulb.

I was thinking, could the light be shining on the photo-sensors (the ones that sense something blocking the door)? But if you replaced the bulb with another one like it, it would do the same thing. Was the replacement a 60W?

Not adding up for me. Maybe intermittent enough that you are making some incorrect cause/effect assumptions?

-ERD50

It did seem like a strange cause and effect to me also but it was easy to repeat the problem by installing the bad bulb. I assumed the bulb was maybe near end of life and maybe placing a load on the internal circuitry, but that's just a guess. It's only been a couple days but has been working good since. The opener is 18 years old, maybe more than the bulb is near it's end of life.

 

[ERD50]

It did seem like a strange cause and effect to me also but it was easy to repeat the problem by installing the bad bulb. I assumed the bulb was maybe near end of life and maybe placing a load on the internal circuitry, but that's just a guess. It's only been a couple days but has been working good since. The opener is 18 years old, maybe more than the bulb is near it's end of life.

Was it a standard Edison (incandescent, filament) style bulb? No real change in current draw with those over time.

If it was a CFL or LED, then maybe the interference from the switching circuit is a plausible explanation.

-ERD50

 

[homestead]

An intermittent electrical connection in the bulb could spatter the rf band.
But you could probably hear it vibrating.