Your recent repair? 2013 - 2020

[Big_Hitter]

did the serpentine belt on my 09 FXT on Saturday (after it exploded on the freeway) - maybe 30 minute job?

 

[Keim]

Worked with my 11yo daughter to make a three tap kegerator for my homebrewbeer and soda. First time she had used a drill.

 

[Big_Hitter]

Worked with my 11yo daughter to make a three tap kegerator for my homebrewbeer and soda. First time she had used a drill.

nice project - I've got sockeye galena gold in my kegerator right now

 

[Keim]

nice project - I've got sockeye galena gold in my kegerator right now

Crisp rye ale in mine. Putins Bare Chested stout and some root beer planned for the other taps.

 

[Big_Hitter]

do you just get the 1/6th barrels?

those don't last very long around the BH (frat) house

 

[Keim]

do you just get the 1/6th barrels?

those don't last very long around the BH (frat) house

I went with 5g Corny Kegs. I'm the only beer drinker in the house, and drink very little for a brewer. I figure a keg should last a couple of months.

 

[Big_Hitter]

I went with 5g Corny Kegs. I'm the only beer drinker in the house, and drink very little for a brewer. I figure a keg should last a couple of months.

when my nephew was in town we (this includes the entire neighborhood "team") went through two 1/2 bbls of payette flyline in a month

 

[Keim]

when my nephew was in town we (this includes the entire neighborhood "team") went through two 1/2 bbls of payette flyline in a month

I drink slow enough that I tend to brew barleywines and other high ABV. I figure they benefit from the aging.

 

[Sunset]

So dishwashers were on sale with $200 off, and ours had rusty baskets. So I told DW we should replace it.
I've done it 2x before in other houses, so I was confident - (first mistake).

I had it delivered on Sat, and Sunday I took out the old one. Had to cut the copper water pipe as even after undoing it and yanking on it hard it refused to come out. - (second mistake)

Bring the new one in and it's a bit taller, so make it lower height setting.
Realize I should buy a flexible water pipe, the braided steel ones, so I get one with the flood guard.
When I removed the old copper pipe in the basement, the nut broke in 2 as hard water deposits covered the threads and must have split the nut.
I soaked the connection in vinegar to dissolve the hard water deposits while we went out for lunch.
Biggest problem was attaching the elbow connector to the plastic dishwasher inlet, the first connector must have had a different threading or I somehow put it on at an angle and ruined the plastic threads.
It leaked ...
I finally solved it (I hope) by attaching a plastic garden hose connector to the water input and it fit much better as its twice as long to screw on than the elbow, then I attached the elbow to my garden hose connector.

I'm really hoping the garden hose connector can withstand hot water. I'm keeping the front bottom off for a few days to watch for leaks.

A 2 hour job if I went slow, turned into a 2 day chore spread over the waiting, shopping, and normal life activities.

 

[aja8888]

So dishwashers were on sale with $200 off, and ours had rusty baskets. So I told DW we should replace it.
I've done it 2x before in other houses, so I was confident - (first mistake).

I had it delivered on Sat, and Sunday I took out the old one. Had to cut the copper water pipe as even after undoing it and yanking on it hard it refused to come out. - (second mistake)

Bring the new one in and it's a bit taller, so make it lower height setting.
Realize I should buy a flexible water pipe, the braided steel ones, so I get one with the flood guard.
When I removed the old copper pipe in the basement, the nut broke in 2 as hard water deposits covered the threads and must have split the nut.
I soaked the connection in vinegar to dissolve the hard water deposits while we went out for lunch.
Biggest problem was attaching the elbow connector to the plastic dishwasher inlet, the first connector must have had a different threading or I somehow put it on at an angle and ruined the plastic threads.
It leaked ...
I finally solved it (I hope) by attaching a plastic garden hose connector to the water input and it fit much better as its twice as long to screw on than the elbow, then I attached the elbow to my garden hose connector.

I'm really hoping the garden hose connector can withstand hot water. I'm keeping the front bottom off for a few days to watch for leaks.

A 2 hour job if I went slow, turned into a 2 day chore spread over the waiting, shopping, and normal life activities.

(I'm speculating based on past experiences):

My take is you minimized the chance for an "installer" (using the word lightly) to put it in and not go to the lengths you did to correct the same issues he would have encountered leaving you with a leaking unit. Your recourse then would have been to try to get them to come back and fix it right, which usually becomes a problem after the fact..

 

[Souschef]

We replaced our dishwasher with a new one made by the same manufacturer. It was a wired in unit, and the installer said I needed to get an electrician to unhook the old one before he could remove it and install the new one. I looked at him and said, "I am an electrician"
So I turned off the breaker, and unhooked the 3 wires from the old unit.
They then installed the new unit, I hooked up the 3 wires and were good to go.

 

[Sunset]

We replaced our dishwasher with a new one made by the same manufacturer. It was a wired in unit, and the installer said I needed to get an electrician to unhook the old one before he could remove it and install the new one. I looked at him and said, "I am an electrician"
So I turned off the breaker, and unhooked the 3 wires from the old unit.
They then installed the new unit, I hooked up the 3 wires and were good to go.

That is amazing.
Your installer didn't really do much.
Lucky for you he didn't say a plumber had to hook up the water

In my past 2 other dishwasher installs where I didn't have a water pipe issue, the electrical was the hardest and most time consuming, in other words normally its all very easy..

 

[Walt34]

We replaced our dishwasher with a new one made by the same manufacturer. It was a wired in unit, and the installer said I needed to get an electrician to unhook the old one before he could remove it and install the new one.

Lucky for you he didn't say a plumber had to hook up the water

I suspect that this kind of thing happens because the store or their insurance company insists on it. When we bought a new gas clothes dryer their "installer" said a plumber had to hook up the natural gas line.

At least he didn't try to tell me an electrician had to plug it in....

 

[ERD50]

...

At least he didn't try to tell me an electrician had to plug it in....

That used to be the case, until recently, for the trade shows in Chicago:

Chicago Trade Show Union Rules - Absolute I&D

New rules allow exhibitors to plug in their own devices,

That must have been a tough one for the Electrician's Union to give up - some compromise!

and this:

Other Recent Charges
Additional money saving rules adopted by the MPEA facilities (Navy Pier & McCormick) include:

• Work done between 6am and 8am Monday through Friday (except holidays) will now be billed at straight-time rates rather than over-time or double-time rates.

• Show organizers may tape seminars or speeches on their own. Until now, they were required to pay for a union electrician to be present, even if they did no more than occasionally flip over an audio tape.

These trade show people are really risking it, flipping over an audio tape, w/o a licensed electrician present! Oh the humanity!

-ERD50

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Waiting here on the patio at Kulshan Brewery in B'ham waiting for Les Schwab across the street to repair my brakes under warrantee.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

 

[GravitySucks]

Last month the AC unit outside the house wouldn't stop running, a Google search showed a sticky contact was the problem. I cleaned the contact and it worked great for a month.
Sunday I heard the unit making a noise and found the same contact was chattering. Today I pulled the part off (it's like a solenoid) and brought it to the HVAC supplier. No part numbers, no nothing. Older guy at counter asked a few questions I couldn't answer then went and pulled a similar unit for me. Thank God for old guys that know their stuff.
$16 and 20 minutes work and it looks to be working fine.

 

[frayne]

Water leak on the back of the fridge, pulled it out and found a leaking solenoid for the ice maker and ordered one on line for $40. Local repair company wanted $80 just to come out and look at it. Probably would have cost an unknowing soul $150 or so to fix.

 

[LOL!]

I had to repair a beach chaise lounger as the webbing had been cut. I also had to power wash away the dried blood, too.

 

[Walt34]

I had to repair a beach chaise lounger as the webbing had been cut. I also had to power wash away the dried blood, too.

 

[Argus]

Replaced an aging and groaning garbage disposal with a modestly priced version from Lowes.


The bonus was the new disposal fit right into the old disposals sink connection so I didn't have to mess with making sure it wouldn't leak around the drain.


I had planned on a good hour to do the work and 20 minutes later it was done. Yea me.

 

[Free To Canoe]

We replaced our dishwasher with a new one made by the same manufacturer. It was a wired in unit, and the installer said I needed to get an electrician to unhook the old one before he could remove it and install the new one. I looked at him and said, "I am an electrician"
So I turned off the breaker, and unhooked the 3 wires from the old unit.
They then installed the new unit, I hooked up the 3 wires and were good to go.

Hard to find good help

I also just finished a new dishwasher install. I found the new "garden hose connection" that we are forced to mate to vexing. I had to replumb a plastic water line in the back of the cabinet so that the new one would fit. The rear of the old dishwasher was shaped so that it slid over top of it. All done and tested.

Now what to do with the old one? Trash or roadside pick up I guess.

 

[NW-Bound]

I just replaced the faucet on the wash tub in the utility room.

This faucet is original with the home, so is 32-year old. It started to drip a few months ago, and I replaced the washers. Lasted a week! I have had it, so drove to Home Depot to get a lowest priced Pfister faucet that I could find.

It is in, but I cannot declare success before verifying that there's no leak at the hot & cold water connections, as well as the waste pipe. Sometimes, it just works. Other times, it just won't. It all depends on the mood of the plumbing god.

And then, I still have to deal with the rats that found their way into my garage. After 30 years in this home, we suddenly have a rat infestation problem in the neighborhood. Some g*dd*mned homeowners must have left cat or dog food trays outdoors. What do you do with people like that?

 

[Koogie]

I just replaced the faucet on the wash tub in the utility room.
This faucet is original with the home, so is 32-year old. It started to drip a few months ago, and I replaced the washers. Lasted a week! I have had it, so drove to Home Depot to get a lowest priced Pfister faucet that I could find.
...

Don't me started on *^^&%^ Pfister !!

They make nice looking stuff and Lowes here in Canada usually has their stuff on sale. No wonder why with all the troubles we've had.

We bought a Pfister one piece toilet for a renovated bathroom and also a shower tower. We had to return the toilet because Pfister uses some sort of god awful proprietary flapper system and that damn thing would not stop running and neither myself nor the contractor could get it to work.

A while ago I went downstairs one morning to find a puddle of water in the basement. Traced it back upstairs to the newly renovated bathroom. Since the contractor is long gone I had to cut all the caulking around the Pfister shower tower and take it down. Turns out a couple of the compression nuts were loose and had to be tightened. Not Pfisters fault (necessarily) but look at this picture and tell me that thing isn't over-engineered and made with flimsy parts...

No more Pfister in this house. I still have to repair the ceiling in the basement where the water came through. At least while I was at it I ripped out a bulkhead that was bugging me and repositioned that furnace vent, so I guess a little good did come of it.

 

[NW-Bound]

Wow! Lots of clamps and plastic parts. What the heck is this schmancy-fancy shower concoction of yours?

Simplicity my friend, simplicity. I would not want something that looks as complicated as the fuel plumbing inside an aircraft engine.

 

[Koogie]

Two more pictures attached (manufacturers pictures)
The "shower tower" is the Pfister thing. That is in the renovated bathroom upstairs that
DW uses mostly. Gotta have a fancy shower in a fancy bathroom.
The second is the American Standard one in the basement bathroom I use. DW won't use that one since I haven't gotten around to putting a door on that bathroom yet...