Your recent repair? 2013 - 2020

[imoldernu]

Re: Dishwasher repair
Here's what happened. The fingertip handle (lock) on our Maytag dishwasher broke. It's an involved interaction of several plastic parts that cracked and left the door locked. It was Saturday, and the repair guy wouldn't come till Monday.
With a screwdriver, and ulp.. a hammer, I opened the door. Used the screwdriver to break apart all of the plastic parts.
Hmmmm... the door closes and the spring keeps it closed. And.. the dishwasher still works normally.

That was two years ago, and we're still using the dishwasher with absolutely no problems, and it's easier to open and close the door.

[Keim]

Takes about 20 minutes to change that out.

[Sunset]

Quote:

Originally Posted by imoldernu Re: Dishwasher repair Here's what happened. The fingertip handle (lock) on our Maytag dishwasher broke. It's an involved interaction of several plastic parts that cracked and left the door locked. It was Saturday, and the repair guy wouldn't come till Monday. With a screwdriver, and ulp.. a hammer, I opened the door. Used the screwdriver to break apart all of the plastic parts. Hmmmm... the door closes and the spring keeps it closed. And.. the dishwasher still works normally. That was two years ago, and we're still using the dishwasher with absolutely no problems, and it's easier to open and close the door.

Excellent..

This is sort of how I "fixed" the old camry ignition switch.
The switch would refuse to turn often and you had to wiggle the key and pray. Sometimes a lot.

Finally I pulled out the switch (watched a you tube video as to how).
You can start the car with a screwdriver at that point, but I knew DW would not go for that

Then I removed all but 1 or 2 of the keyway pins from the ignition lock.
Put it back together and now it nearly never sticks.
Been fine for over a year now.

Yes, it is slightly less secure, but really nobody inside a car is going to pick the ignition lock, they are just going to remove it or pull the wires from the back. Besides the car is 18 years old, not exactly a beacon for stealing.

[NW-Bound]

I fixed the power adapter for an external IOmega hard drive. This is a nice RAID drive with an internal mirrored pair, so I would hate to lose it. A replacement adapter would cost around $25 on eBay.

So, with nothing to lose, I cracked the case open along its seam with a woodworking chisel. This adapter looks like a power adapter for a laptop.

Once the case is opened, it's clear as to what went bad. The capacitors inside are all bulging, on both the 12V and 5V sections. I happened to have suitable replacements on hand, so it was just the matter of replacing them. It took a bit of work due to the internal heatsink being in the way, but I got it done.

I taped the two clamshell halves of the case back on, using black electrical tape for now. When I am sure, will epoxy them together. Good like new!

[Sunset]

Our outdoor backyard tap had frozen and broken the pipe inside the wall, but the break was after the shutoff part so no leakage.

Today I decided to fix it.
First cut a hole in wall in bathroom to reach it, oops it's too high and awkward.
So cut a hole in dining area to access it.
Filled some pails with water and turned off the house water.
Used a small tube cutter to cut the pipe, and pull out the old tap and little pipe.
Heated up the old one, to pull off the old pipe out of it, which included the corner, cleaned it up and soldered it into the new one (after pulling out the guts of the shutoff).
Burned my thumb as couldn't see the flame outside in the bright light

Stuck the pipe in a pail of water and blew air into it to check it was air/water tight. As I wanted to lessen the number of times I would be doing this

Realized I might set the house on fire as the space was very tight.

So I got a full pail of water I had saved earlier and put it near me.
Made a heat shield out of a big coffee can and screwed it to the 2x4.
Put on the flux and soldered it on (the lowest solder with the big drips )
Then I cooled the pipe down with a wet cloth and then some ice cubes, installed the guts of the tap and turned on the water.
No leaks ..
Screwed the outside part to the house so it's steady.

Now I have drywall to fix.

First photo shows my heat shield, Second one shows the completed work.

The photos uploaded on their sides, should be rotated 90 degrees clockwise.

[pb4uski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ls99 That is a nice looking stove. Looks like soapstone. Hope it works well. Modern stoves are bit hard to get going. Cheap trick is to leve the door cracked open a bit until a good draft is established, then close it fully.....

We have soapstone on our woodstove similar to Hermit's.... I love it... while it take a while to heat it retains heat well overnight. Our woodstove has a separate ash tray below the firebox and I just open that to get a good draft going or if it has burned down some and I feed it and need to get it going good again.

[6miths]

Just replaced three casement window operators. Had two out of comission but lost one on a window I actually use fairly often so it was time! I have been thinking of replacing the windows but they seem to be in good shape. 26 years old. Not too bad I am thinking.

[Hermit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pb4uski We have soapstone on our woodstove similar to Hermit's.... I love it... while it take a while to heat it retains heat well overnight. Our woodstove has a separate ash tray below the firebox and I just open that to get a good draft going or if it has burned down some and I feed it and need to get it going good again.

Mine will have an outside air draw. I'm going to have foam sprayed on the exterior walls so the place should be pretty air tight. This week I am finishing up preparation for concrete in the basement and the front and back deck piers. Next week putting parge on the Styrofoam outside and then the hearth. Oh, and my DD is getting married in about a month. She keeps finding little things for me to do/make in my "spare" time!

[Mr._Graybeard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunset Our outdoor backyard tap had frozen and broken the pipe inside the wall, but the break was after the shutoff part so no leakage.

Sounds like you could use a frostproof outdoor faucet. How To Install A Frost Proof Outdoor Faucet | The Family Handyman

[Sunset]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr._Graybeard Sounds like you could use a frostproof outdoor faucet. How To Install A Frost Proof Outdoor Faucet | The Family Handyman

It was, but the hose was left on it so water didn't drain out when it was shut off.
I used a frostproof one for the replacement.

[cat wrangler]

Moen Kitchen Faucet Repair ~

12 year old Moen faucet developed a drip from the hot water side as well as a leak near the pull-out sprayer. I visited the Moen website and reviewed their trouble-shooting section. Then sent an email to them using their contact form, was even able to attach a copy of the original receipt. The faucet has a limited lifetime warranty, and they have sent parts at no charge. DH (who is retired) has added this to his to-do list.

[ls99]

Replaced oil pressure transducer on my recently new to me 2006 GMC pickup. That sucker is waay in the back behing intak e manifold and down low among some sonnectors and wires. Good to to have slim hands, Still got a little bruised.

Satisfaction in seeing actual oil pressure instead of needle pegged at 80 psi.

[aja8888]

My friend's generator froze up in his RV and we pulled it out last week. It's a 25 year old Onan 4 KW unit and the rotor bearing is shot. Since a new unit is in the $4500 range, I decide to help him pull it apart and repair it. Actually, I am doing the work as he has very little mechanical ability, but buys a great lunch!

It's in my garage now and I am in the process of tearing it down to get at the ball bearing that disintegrated and seized up the gen set. Believe it or not, I found a Onan service manual online for the unit. Here are a few pictures of today's work:

IMG_20160810_153348.jpg
IMG_20160812_182236.jpg
IMG_20160812_182248.jpg
IMG_20160812_182302.jpg

Tomorrow we have to lift the unit and place it on end for us to get the bolts off the rotor/stator housing and then lift the housing off which will expose the rotor shaft. The shaft has the bearing pressed on to it and I will have to pull it off. Then, to find a new bearing since I have no part number listing and the service manual has none. I can mic the OD and shaft ID and figure out what will work.

It's a worthwhile job and gives us old dogs something to do rather than complain about the heat.

[Sunset]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aja8888 My friend's generator froze up in his RV and we pulled it out last week. It's a 25 year old Onan 4 KW unit and the rotor bearing is shot. Since a new unit is in the $4500 range, I decide to help him pull it apart and repair it. Actually, I am doing the work as he has very little mechanical ability, but buys a great lunch! It's in my garage now and I am in the process of tearing it down to get at the ball bearing that disintegrated and seized up the gen set. Believe it or not, I found a Onan service manual online for the unit. Here are a few pictures of today's work: ...........................

You are a VERY good friend, as that looks like a big job.
This also means the RV is 25 years old as well ?

[EastWest Gal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bclover My dish disposal just died so I'll be calling the plumber today Sent from my SPH-L710 using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

Did you mean garbage disposal? They are super durable appliances. Ours stopped running. We shone a flashlight in the unit and found a piece of plastic between the blade and the metal wall of the unit. It took some work but we got it out and the garbage disposal functioned 100% after that. I hope I didn't respond too late to help.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

[Walt34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aja8888 Actually, I am doing the work as he has very little mechanical ability, but buys a great lunch!

I understand - "Will work for food"!

When I was helping a friend build a Pitts Special he would always insist on paying for lunch. That's me 10+ years ago sitting in the fuselage making engine noises and standing in front of the finished product.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aja8888 My friend's generator froze up in his RV and we pulled it out last week. It's a 25 year old Onan 4 KW unit and the rotor bearing is shot. Since a new unit is in the $4500 range, I decide to help him pull it apart and repair it. Actually, I am doing the work as he has very little mechanical ability, but buys a great lunch! ... It's a worthwhile job and gives us old dogs something to do rather than complain about the heat.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunset You are a VERY good friend, as that looks like a big job. This also means the RV is 25 years old as well ?

Yes, keep us updated - very interesting project! Good Luck!

What drives it? Must take ~ 6-8 HP to produce 4 KW (5.36 HP before efficiencies are accounted for)?

-ERD50

[NW-Bound]

Wow, rebuilding that generator is a big job. I'd rather work on my PCs and fix Windoze problems.

My class C also has a 4 kW Onan generator, though a newer model. The 4kW size is pretty much standard for class C motorhomes. Mine has a 304cc single-piston engine.

Class A gas motorhomes usually have a 5.5-kW generator.

PS. The generator I have would cost $3K new. Its weight is 150 lbs.

PPS. Onan may still have the original bearing to sell.

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunset You are a VERY good friend, as that looks like a big job. This also means the RV is 25 years old as well ?

Yes, a 25 year old RV we have been working on all year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound Wow, rebuilding that generator is a big job. I'd rather work on my PCs and fix Windoze problems. My class C also has a 4 kW Onan generator, though a newer model. The 4kW size is pretty much standard for class C motorhomes. Mine has a 304cc single-piston engine. Class A gas motorhomes usually have a 5.5-kW generator. PS. The generator I have would cost $3K new. Its weight is 150 lbs. PPS. Onan may still have the original bearing to sell.

Yep, that's the replacement he didn't want to buy.

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 Yes, keep us updated - very interesting project! Good Luck! What drives it? Must take ~ 6-8 HP to produce 4 KW (5.36 HP before efficiencies are accounted for)? -ERD50

It's driven by a two cylinder (opposed) gasoline engine for compactness.