Your recent repair? - 2021 to ?

[ncbill]

You may already know this, but is worth repeating -
After the last use, drain most of the fuel from the tank and run the generator dry. Add a little gas treated with preservative to the tank and repeat, then drain the carb fuel bowl.
I use white gas instead of the treated gas with excellent results - one or two pulls next use with fresh gas in the tank.

I nominated myself "lawn boy" which primarily entailed mowing the lawn weekly at a dead relative's house over a couple of summers before it sold.

Even running their lawnmower dry in the fall on ethanol-free gasoline I found I couldn't get it started until I removed the float bowl and cleaned it and the jet (conveniently cut into the bolt that held on the float bowl) with automotive carburetor cleaner.

Then once re-assembled & filled with fresh ethanol-free fuel the mower would fire right up...engine was one of the newer, choke-less designs.

Never had a need for expensive, canned fuel...I always used ethanol-free gasoline which is still only ~$3/gallon here locally for (93 octane) premium.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

.........Even running their lawnmower dry in the fall on ethanol-free gasoline I found I couldn't get it started until I removed the float bowl and cleaned it and the jet (conveniently cut into the bolt that held on the float bowl) with automotive carburetor cleaner.

The gummy residue left behind after the volatiles have escaped is the problem here.
Any common engine fuel, including ethanol free, will have this issue.
Conversely, 100% pure ethanol would be excellent* for the final purge as it leaves no residue.
That is the logic behind using white gas, e.g. - Coleman fuel, prior to longer term storage.

* Some rubbers and plastics used in (mostly older) fuel systems are not adequately resistant to ethanol.

 

[ncbill]

The gummy residue left behind after the volatiles have escaped is the problem here.
Any common engine fuel, including ethanol free, will have this issue.
Conversely, 100% pure ethanol would be excellent* for the final purge as it leaves no residue.
That is the logic behind using white gas, e.g. - Coleman fuel, prior to longer term storage.

* Some rubbers and plastics used in (mostly older) fuel systems are not adequately resistant to ethanol.

I've found fuel tanks are not sealed on lawnmowers...so even if you don't run it dry everything evaporates over the winter anyway...though I'm sure there's less residue with ethanol-free gasoline and even less with white gas/Coleman fuel.

I'm not sure small engine internals would withstand pure or nearly pure ethanol, e.g. E85 from the local gas station...I bet they're only tested with standard E10 gasoline.

 

[Freedom56]

I replaced the battery in my wife's Nissan 370z. The starter was hesitating so I put a trickle charger on the battery and noticed that battery was drawing 4 amps during charging. It started without issues after charging but we decided to leave it for a week. One week later the battery again caused the starter to hesitate so I removed the battery and took it to Autozone for a load test. It failed the load test and the battery was last changed in 2015 according to their records. I bought a new one ($165 including tax with a 7 year prorated warranty) and installed it an the car runs fine. The Nissan dealer charges $375 plus tax for a battery replacement.

 

[Sunset]

I replaced the battery in my wife's Nissan 370z. The starter was hesitating so I put a trickle charger on the battery and noticed that battery was drawing 4 amps during charging. It started without issues after charging but we decided to leave it for a week. One week later the battery again caused the starter to hesitate so I removed the battery and took it to Autozone for a load test. It failed the load test and the battery was last changed in 2015 according to their records. I bought a new one ($165 including tax with a 7 year prorated warranty) and installed it an the car runs fine. The Nissan dealer charges $375 plus tax for a battery replacement.

Nice.

I'm avoiding replacing DW's battery right now as it's below freezing these days. I hate working on a car in the cold.
I have it on a trickle charger right now.

My "trick" with batteries is to measure the physical space for the battery and then buy the one that has the best characteristics like cold cranking amps, etc that will fit in the space. Currently that is 24F for both vehicles.

We force ourselves to driver her car, only put 500 miles on it 2 yrs ago. So no danger of getting stuck somewhere.

 

[Freedom56]

Nice.

I'm avoiding replacing DW's battery right now as it's below freezing these days. I hate working on a car in the cold.
I have it on a trickle charger right now.

My "trick" with batteries is to measure the physical space for the battery and then buy the one that has the best characteristics like cold cranking amps, etc that will fit in the space. Currently that is 24F for both vehicles.

We force ourselves to driver her car, only put 500 miles on it 2 yrs ago. So no danger of getting stuck somewhere.

The battery I got for her car has 640 CCA which is more than enough for the relatively mild conditions we live in. These aftermarket batteries typically last 5-6 years. The OEM battery that came with the car lasted 3 years.

 

[Boho]

15-20 years ago the super installed a faucet backwards. I took off the spout recently to see what o-rings it took because it's leaked under the sink several times in recent years. Then I decided to check the stem washers (I ended up just flipping those around) and I discovered I can turn the whole fixture around into the correct orientation easily since there's no silicone, putty, or anything else holding it in place other than screw-on hardware. There wasn't even a gasket for the base. I sealed it up and put it back the right way, and best of all, Gerber is sending me a free "O-Ring Set for 2H Kitchen Faucet Spout (Bag of 2)"! They said the size of the o-rings is 0.8 x CS0.7. I'm trying to look up what CS means out of curiosity. I'll try to buy Gerber products in the future.

 

[travelover]

DW wanted the carpet swapped out for laminate flooring in a spare bedroom, so I foolishly agreed. Upon removal of the carpet, I realized this room was an add-on and the first 4 feet slope down about 3/4 of an inch, which is just not going to work with the new flooring. No problem I thought, I'll just buy leveling compound and pour my way to level. But, no, the asshats who did the prior work installed a particle board underlayment and the leveling compound is water based, so that is a no go.

My current plan is to build up the low area with incremental thicknesses of plywood so I only have to totally remove the particle board in the last foot wide strip. I'll install plywood to replace that last section of particleboard underlayment and caulk all the seams generously. That should allow me to pour the leveling compound and created a flat surface across each plywood step.

I should know by now that no project is as easy as it looks, but this has turned into a ridiculous exercise.

For the hundreds of you that have been waiting breathlessly for an update, I finally got the floor leveled. I gave up on the liquid leveler as it requires exterior plywood as an underlayment or OSB covered with an expensive waterproofing agent. Since I had some sheets of OSB left over from another project I decided to rip out the devil's particle board and install increasing thickness strips of wood 6 inches apart to level it, then cover it with OSB. Once the particle board was removed, this process was actually pretty easy, though the floor was also off side to side, as well as ramped. I'm fairly happy with how it turned out, though I may need to take a belt sander to a few transitions to totally smooth it enough for the laminate flooring.

 

[Music Lover]

Not really a repair, but a replacement. Yesterday I replaced our 15-year old reverse osmosis water treatment system with a new and better one. Removing the old one and installing the new one only took a couple hours, half of that spent under the sink in cramped quarters.

The old one still works good so it will be taken to the cabin and used there.

 

[NW-Bound]

Not really a repair, but a replacement. Yesterday I replaced our 15-year old reverse osmosis water treatment system with a new and better one. Removing the old one and installing the new one only took a couple hours, half of that spent under the sink in cramped quarters.

The old one still works good so it will be taken to the cabin and used there.

Coincidentally, this morning I poured water from my electric kettle into the teapot and saw a lot of crud coming out. What the heck! I looked into the kettle and saw that its inside was encrusted with mineral deposit. The RO water filter had given up its ghost!

I cannot recall when I installed this RO, but it had to be close to 10 years, because I remember fixing a leak in 2014.

Don't know if I can buy a replacement RO membrane filter for it, or have to replace the whole thing. I have yet to take it out from under the sink to examine it.

 

[Music Lover]

Coincidentally, this morning I poured water from my electric kettle into the teapot and saw a lot of crud coming out. What the heck! I looked into the kettle and saw that its inside was encrusted with mineral deposit. The RO water filter had given up its ghost!

I cannot recall when I installed this RO, but it had to be close to 10 years, because I remember fixing a leak in 2014.

Don't know if I can buy a replacement RO membrane filter for it, or have to replace the whole thing. I have yet to take it out from under the sink to examine it.

I'm not clear on your comment...have you been changing the filters?

My RO filters were changed on a regular basis (every year or so). The membrane is also supposed to be changed, although not as frequently. I think I changed it twice in 15 years so about once every 5 years.

 

[NW-Bound]

I know I am supposed to change the pre and post filters, but never had.

Ditto for the membrane.

I guess the membrane finally failed, and let water just flow through, hence the hard water as the output.

 

[Lawrencewendall]

Replaced the heater element for our dishwasher. Just didn't seem to clean like it should. Part from sears ($56)and instructions on youtube, had it done in less than an hour. Fixed the broken bracket holding it to the counter while I was at it. Maybe get another 10 years out of it (?)

 

[travelover]

I laid my laminate floor today over the above bitched at leveled floor. Well, I almost laid it. I was optimistic about the waste and I ended up about 1 1/2 square feet short, so I need to buy another box of the laminate. The good news it that it looks good and the leveling I did on the floor really made it go down more easily.

 

[ohiodep]

Spent three hours under my mom's covered porch attaching a heating cable to her sump pump discharge line. Ugh. 25 degrees, dusty and muddy and littered with objects that poke, snag and are sharp. Sore all over from the contortions needed to get it done.

Hope that the line thaws by tomorrow afternoon so she can stop ladling water out of the crock into a bucket.

 

[Sunset]

Spent three hours under my mom's covered porch attaching a heating cable to her sump pump discharge line. Ugh. 25 degrees, dusty and muddy and littered with objects that poke, snag and are sharp. Sore all over from the contortions needed to get it done.

Hope that the line thaws by tomorrow afternoon so she can stop ladling water out of the crock into a bucket.

Hope you wore a mask..

Years ago I crawled around in a dusty attic, moved some stuff which raised some dust.
Later I got a cough and it wouldn't go away. Went to doc, had some kind of infection in lung. Had to take medicine and breathe in some powered medicine (like an inhaler but with powder) for a few weeks..

That's why I had a few boxes of N95 masks prior to Covid, for when I do dusty work now.

 

[ohiodep]

Hope you wore a mask..

Years ago I crawled around in a dusty attic, moved some stuff which raised some dust.
Later I got a cough and it wouldn't go away. Went to doc, had some kind of infection in lung. Had to take medicine and breathe in some powered medicine (like an inhaler but with powder) for a few weeks..

That's why I had a few boxes of N95 masks prior to Covid, for when I do dusty work now.

Did wear a face covering as the pipe insulation I installed was fiberglass.

 

[NW-Bound]

I stuck my head under the sink to look at the RO filter for its brand, and refreshed my memory that I bought it from Costco many years ago. The same thing is still being made, and sold not by Costco now but on Amazon. I could buy the whole filter set for 1/2 the cost of a new system.

Just to check, I put my ears against the filter, and heard water flowing. That was not good because the water flow was supposed to get shut off when the storage tank was full. Further look on Amazon showed that many people had to replace the auto-shutoff valve because of it wearing out, using an after-market one for $11. Darn, who knows how much water I have been wasting for who knows how many years.

I ordered all the above parts. Should be fairly easy to install them, but will see.

 

[sengsational]

I know I am supposed to change the pre and post filters, but never had.

Ditto for the membrane.

I guess the membrane finally failed, and let water just flow through, hence the hard water as the output.

I bought a cheap tester and have been watching the total dissolved solids over the years with my RO system. It's been very much flat over the long period of time I've had the system installed.

So if you have junk in your tea kettle, was that junk stuff that came right out of your RO tap, or was is junk that built up in your kettle?

I'm trying to figure out if you have a sudden failure in your RO system, or if it slowly went south over time.

 

[Music Lover]

I bought a cheap tester and have been watching the total dissolved solids over the years with my RO system. It's been very much flat over the long period of time I've had the system installed.

So if you have junk in your tea kettle, was that junk stuff that came right out of your RO tap, or was is junk that built up in your kettle?

I'm trying to figure out if you have a sudden failure in your RO system, or if it slowly went south over time.

That could be a possibility. RO systems make water slowly and a sudden failure could quickly increase water flow and some junk could have either been shaken loose or there was now enough pressure to push it out of the bottom of the filter compartment.

Of course I'm only speculating.

 

[NW-Bound]

I bought a cheap tester and have been watching the total dissolved solids over the years with my RO system. It's been very much flat over the long period of time I've had the system installed.

So if you have junk in your tea kettle, was that junk stuff that came right out of your RO tap, or was is junk that built up in your kettle?

I'm trying to figure out if you have a sudden failure in your RO system, or if it slowly went south over time.

The mineral solid deposit did not come from the RO tap, but precipitated in the kettle when the water was boiled.

The filter probably deteriorates slowly over time, but I am sure its performance collapsed when the membrane developed pin holes.

This time of year, the city water comes from deep wells, and is laden with mineral as it percolates through who knows how many feet of alkali soil. Later in the year, when the snow melts in the AZ high country and runs off to the low desert, the city water is nowhere as hard when it is taken from reservoirs.

PS. I do not have a water hardness tester, and should look into getting one.

 

[Bamaman]

If you look closely at gas stations, the 91 or 93 octane fuels are often 100% gasoline. Therefore you might not have to run all over town to find non-90/10 gasoline.

Many of the permanently installed generators on the market have electric start and timers that cut them on for a few minutes a month automatically.

My sister has one in a mountain house she stays in during the summers. Hers runs on natural gas so there's virtually no maintenance on the generator--other than to see it's run monthly.

 

[Music Lover]

Reciprocating saw wasn't working, took it apart and found a loose wire that I reconnected. Super easy fix that took 5 minutes.

 

[Boho]

I tried sealing around, I think it's an old water mixing fixture, then I sealed around the cover, and one of the stems was leaking slightly. The caulk was left to cure according to directions but it wasn't submersible. A week or two later I opened it up and it was a failure as shown, but I got my new O-rings and now I'm going to look for submersible caulk and I won't seal completely around the base so there will be a little ventilation. The super installed the faucet about 15 years ago, left the old mixing fixture in, didn't use the putty plate, and didn't seal anything, and I've had numerous leaks under the sink since. I don't know if he'd remove that mixer even if I asked him. If I decide it needs to be removed so I can follow installation instructions for a new faucet, I'll seriously consider doing it myself.

 

[Kroeran]

Freezer door

The delivery guys did not install the lower freezer door on the fridge properly at our vacation condo causing it to stall an inch before fully closing unless you pushed it.

I didn’t really pay attention to this until tenants starting having problems with freezer icing and noise, which I think stemmed from them leaving the freezer ajar.

One thing I have learned with vacation rentals is that imperfect mechanicals that you would tweak along the way, need to be completely repaired and idiot proof when renting.

The fridge was still under warranty so I initiated a service call but never heard back from them after the tech ordered parts.

I was holding back on repairing it myself as it was under warranty, but finally decided screw it, I am going to fix it.

After studying closely I could see the freezer door was vertically low. The tech was waiting for a door hardware kit, but if I just added a few silicone washers it would vertically center and close naturally.

I also adjusted the front feet down to give the doors more gravitational motivation to close if not held open.