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06-10-2015, 02:59 PM
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#861
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Conroe, Texas
Posts: 18,727
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sengsational
The inner pan rusted through on my upstairs unit last summer. I still haven't fixed it or had it fixed, so it's dripping into the backup pan. Also R22. Mine is 22 years old, and builder installed "quality".
My plan was to fix it as soon as it warmed-up. Now it's too hot!
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Unfortunately, builder in my tract home installed "builder grade" appliances throughout the development. Many houses I have seen here have upgraded appliances and A/C units. Fellow down the street had the A/C contractor replacing he whole unit and the furnace yesterday. I may go for a new A/C unit as I had the money budgeted for this year. That way I will be good for a decade and a half or longer.
One thing I have learned from living in Houston is that A/C units and 30 year roof shingles have half-life utility.
__________________
*********Go Yankees!*********
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06-10-2015, 03:02 PM
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#862
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Texas: No Country for Old Men
Posts: 50,021
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aja8888
One thing I have learned from living in Houston is that A/C units and 30 year roof shingles have half-life utility.
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And those of us with heat pumps get even poorer results - 10 to 12 years is my experience.
__________________
Numbers is hard
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06-10-2015, 03:32 PM
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#863
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Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 10,723
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And talking "builder grade", I thought I'd sneak a little bit of glue into a place in the ceiling where the popcorn coating was hanging loose. Hardly noticeable, but once I saw it, I couldn't leave it alone. With a hypodermic needle and a little super-glue? Don't try it! I had it up there pretty good, but I tried to improve it and a few seconds later, I had a bunch of chips fall off, leaving me with unprimed wallboard and inch or two across!
So I scraped the loose stuff off (about a foot in diameter) and, after a trip to the hardware store, gooped on the popcorn repair stuff.
It looks pretty good, texture-wise, but does anyone have an easy way to get it to match the ceiling color better? It's too white!
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06-10-2015, 03:58 PM
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#864
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Texas: No Country for Old Men
Posts: 50,021
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sengsational
It looks pretty good, texture-wise, but does anyone have an easy way to get it to match the ceiling color better? It's too white!
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Stand underneath it and smoke a couple of cartons of cigarettes...
__________________
Numbers is hard
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06-10-2015, 04:09 PM
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#865
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,223
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Not an immediate problem, all lawnmowers, tillers, generators, etc. are currently in working condition, but the ancient Chinese mower repair shop owner I have trusted, for like 30 years , passed, and now I have to find a new repair shop.
I haven't had a conundrum like this scene my last barber retired .
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06-10-2015, 04:49 PM
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#866
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Syracuse
Posts: 3,502
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Replaced both garage doors, springs, and rails.
Lucky to have a good friend who is handy. It took the two of us two and a half days.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app
__________________
“No, not rich. I am a poor man with money, which is not the same thing"
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06-10-2015, 07:13 PM
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#867
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 1,440
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We're about to buy a gently used 5th wheel RV so I'm praying that I don't become a regular on this thread!
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Water Powered Self Winding Hose Reel
06-10-2015, 10:08 PM
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#868
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Laurel, MD
Posts: 8,327
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Water Powered Self Winding Hose Reel
Bought a fancy expensive water powered hose reel. I hate winding the hose back up and I hate having a mesy tangled pile of hose to fight with. It worked so well I went back to Lowe's and bought a second unit for the back yard. After 4 yrs they started acting up...running erratically/ would not rewind. I liked themd so well I already decided to replace at least one of them if I could not fix them but I was actually hoping it just needed some generic seals replaced so I took it apart and sure enough some of the seals were dislodged. Unfortunately, I damaged the plastic valve when I tried to get to the seal. The company was out of business in the US and a search on the brand name (Hydro Industries) took me to a site selling hydroponic growing equipment. Fortunately the rights were purhased by Suncast and they were selling the valve for only 8 bucks and another part I needed was only $4. Shipping was fast and cheap. Cost me $28 to rebuild both units and they are as good as new. I've had good luck with various other Suncast products.
__________________
...with no reasonable expectation for ER, I'm just here auditing the AP class.Retired 8/1/15.
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06-11-2015, 11:14 AM
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#869
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 6,506
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Congratulations.
A new opportunity to practice your electromechanicalplumbing skills.
__________________
There must be moderation in everything, including moderation.
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06-11-2015, 12:20 PM
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#870
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 584
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Just a dose of reality--if you took your home and drove it across the country with everything bouncing up and down when you hit every pothole do you think it would survive unscathed? At megacorp we test some systems by vibrating them until they fall apart. Most large items are put in their shipping packaging and then on a machine that is made to simulate the bouncing of a shipping van. Interesting what falls out of such a test...
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06-11-2015, 12:28 PM
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#871
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Texas: No Country for Old Men
Posts: 50,021
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ArkTinkerer
Just a dose of reality--if you took your home and drove it across the country with everything bouncing up and down when you hit every pothole do you think it would survive unscathed? At megacorp we test some systems by vibrating them until they fall apart. Most large items are put in their shipping packaging and then on a machine that is made to simulate the bouncing of a shipping van. Interesting what falls out of such a test...
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+1
As someone who has owned an RV of one type or the other for the past 30 years, I agree that no matter how well they are built things are going to come loose, leak, short out, fall off, break, blow away or deteriorate. Guaranteed.
__________________
Numbers is hard
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06-11-2015, 06:51 PM
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#872
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 35,712
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What is that they say about the two happiest days of an RVer's life... Oh wait! That is about boaters.
Anyway, when I am done with my RV, it's going to be given away, so there will be no selling.
__________________
"Old age is the most unexpected of all things that happen to a man" -- Leon Trotsky (1879-1940)
"Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities Can Make You Commit Atrocities" - Voltaire (1694-1778)
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06-11-2015, 07:27 PM
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#873
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Northern IL
Posts: 26,887
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Can I call it a repair, if I didn't use any tools, duct tape, or glue?
For several months now, I've noticed a water hammering in the pipes when I shut various faucets throughout the house. I know that's bad, it puts stress on all the pipes.
At each faucet, the typical set up is to have about a 6" extension of pipe rise above the take-off point. This traps air, and provides a cushion against the sudden closing of a faucet against the non-compressible water. Over time, that air gets dissolved into the water.
So I finally thought of it when DW was around to open & close faucets on command (well, OK, I asked nicely ). We use our cordless phones as walkie-talkies (need to be within range of the base station). I close the valve to the well pump - pressure tank side, have her open faucets set at middle (half hot, half cold), and I open the faucet in the basement to drain and let air into the system. Took just a few minutes to run through all the faucets, then turn pressure back on and close them as they pushed air out of the lines (but the air in the anti-hammer sections is trapped).
It worked. No more water hammers! Only one of the faucets coughed up some sediment and crud, I may have to clear some of the filters in the aerators over the next few days, but I'm glad I got this done.
-ERD50
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06-13-2015, 04:05 PM
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#874
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 3,229
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It didn't start out as a repair but could easily turn into one if not careful. Decided to add 4GB of RAM to my HP Laptop, it was always a simple upgrade in every other computer I've owned. This time it was anything but simple, had to completely disassemble the laptop. These are the steps (from the HP manual) that you have to perform to add/replace memory modules on my laptop. Each step has it's own section in the manual that includes more detailed instructions.
Quote:
1. Shut down the computer.
2. Disconnect all external devices
connected to the computer.
3. Disconnect the power from the computer by first unplugging the power cord from the AC outlet and then unplugging the AC adapter from the computer.
4. Remove the battery.
5. Remove the keyboard.
6. Remove the top cover.
7. Remove the hard drive.
8. Remove the USB board.
9. Remove the WLAN.
10. Remove the system board.
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06-13-2015, 04:23 PM
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#875
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Portland
Posts: 4,946
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Finished restoration, alignment, and calibration of a Tektronix 932 oscilloscope. This is a nice basic bench instrument that I'll need for my next projects, complete cosmetic and electronic restorations of a 50 year old transmitter and receiver pair, a HeathKit SB-301 and SB-401.
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06-13-2015, 04:37 PM
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#876
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Northern IL
Posts: 26,887
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zinger1457
It didn't start out as a repair but could easily turn into one if not careful. Decided to add 4GB of RAM to my HP Laptop, it was always a simple upgrade in every other computer I've owned. This time it was anything but simple, had to completely disassemble the laptop. These are the steps (from the HP manual) that you have to perform to add/replace memory modules on my laptop. Each step has it's own section in the manual that includes more detailed instructions.
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One of my research projects when selecting a new laptop is to download the manual and make sure it is easy to replace memory and hard drive.
Most of them are a snap, so far it has been a short search. My Emachines E725 and Lenovo G710 were no trouble at all.
-ERD50
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06-13-2015, 05:34 PM
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#877
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 10,252
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Fixed the pressure washer. The bypass/unloader valve was stuck. Youtube videos suggest replacing it. After removal though, one could see calcification, so I used a spark plug socket to hold it while banging on it with a hammer. That loosened it, so I re-installed it and now my son can power-wash the patio, the driveway, the sidewalk, the garage floor, the lawn furniture, the house, the ….
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06-13-2015, 06:00 PM
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#878
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Conroe, Texas
Posts: 18,727
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LOL!
Fixed the pressure washer. The bypass/unloader valve was stuck. Youtube videos suggest replacing it. After removal though, one could see calcification, so I used a spark plug socket to hold it while banging on it with a hammer. That loosened it, so I re-installed it and now my son can power-wash the patio, the driveway, the sidewalk, the garage floor, the lawn furniture, the house, the ….
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I just fixed my friend's power washer. He let gasoline sit in the carburetor all winter, Disassembled the carb cleaned it and got the hard stuff out of the main jet. Works like new!
__________________
*********Go Yankees!*********
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06-13-2015, 06:55 PM
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#879
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Western Canada
Posts: 393
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Dunno if it's a repair or enhancement. Replaced my old garage door opener and track
with this high lift one.
__________________
I'm not crazy. Honest, the judge had me tested.
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06-13-2015, 07:05 PM
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#880
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 17,237
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ERD50
Can I call it a repair, if I didn't use any tools, duct tape, or glue?
For several months now, I've noticed a water hammering in the pipes when I shut various faucets throughout the house. I know that's bad, it puts stress on all the pipes.
At each faucet, the typical set up is to have about a 6" extension of pipe rise above the take-off point. This traps air, and provides a cushion against the sudden closing of a faucet against the non-compressible water. Over time, that air gets dissolved into the water.
So I finally thought of it when DW was around to open & close faucets on command (well, OK, I asked nicely ). We use our cordless phones as walkie-talkies (need to be within range of the base station). I close the valve to the well pump - pressure tank side, have her open faucets set at middle (half hot, half cold), and I open the faucet in the basement to drain and let air into the system. Took just a few minutes to run through all the faucets, then turn pressure back on and close them as they pushed air out of the lines (but the air in the anti-hammer sections is trapped).
It worked. No more water hammers! Only one of the faucets coughed up some sediment and crud, I may have to clear some of the filters in the aerators over the next few days, but I'm glad I got this done.
-ERD50
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I have been having that problem with some faucets in my daughters bathroom.... they are leaving for a trip tomorrow, so I will be doing this...
I have been thinking about it for a month or two.... just have not done it.... this is the push I need... thanks...
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