Your recent repair? - 2021 to ?

[njhowie]

Came home after 5 days away and the fridge door wouldn't open! Finally got it open. Wiped down all mating surfaces, even though they looked clean. Rest of the day door was OK. Next morning, stuck again, although not as badly as before. The lower left corner is sticking. Feels like it is glued on. But I have wiped the surfaces clean with water and paper towel. First opening in the morning is the hardest. Easy all day, until next morning, stuck again. Clues wanted! Thanks.

Reason #1: Door closure cams: The cams are the parts the door rides on when it opens and closes. If the door closure cams are cracked or damaged, the door may not line up, resulting in the door not being able to close or open properly.


Refrigerator Door Won’t Open or Close - Top 5 Reasons & Fixes - Kenmore, Whirlpool, GE & more

 

[John Galt III]

NJHowie, thanks for the reply. I had a cam on the bottom hinge until it broke years ago. I just put a regular washer in there, I think, and the door was closing great for years. It seals up everywhere, and nothing is scraping. I felt a rough area on the body of the fridge in the lower left and gave it another rub with water and paper towel. Seems to be less sticky now! Just need to give it the multi-day unopened test.

 

[Out of Steam]

I glued up a piece of wood 3-1/2 inches wide and 16 inches long to the thickness of the garage side door, and used it to replace a section of rotted wood. Put it in place with screws and epoxy filler, and painted once it was dry.

 

[Major Tom]

Am doing small plumbing jobs on my campervan, replacing fixtures and fittings that were leaking. The van is 28 years old, and was plumbed with polybutylene pipe. I found out how to use PEX, purchased a crimp tool (I like owning crimp tools), and have been pleasantly surprised by how easy it is.

It's fun fixing things and making them work!

 

[NW-Bound]

Am doing small plumbing jobs on my campervan, replacing fixtures and fittings that were leaking. The van is 28 years old, and was plumbed with polybutylene pipe. I found out how to use PEX, purchased a crimp tool (I like owning crimp tools), and have been pleasantly surprised by how easy it is.

It's fun fixing things and making them work!

Eh, Major Tom, if you have posted about taking your camper some place, I missed it. How far have you traveled with it?

 

[Major Tom]

Eh, Major Tom, if you have posted about taking your camper some place, I missed it. How far have you traveled with it?

You haven't missed anything NW-Bound. I tend not to post too much about my extra-curricular activities here. I took a couple of 10-day trips last year. Then I had a knee replacement back in May, which slowed me down for a few months. To celebrate my new knee, the kitty and I took off for 2 weeks, to Mono Lake and other points along US 395 in CA, including the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine. It was a 1,000 mile round trip but then, it's easy to cover 1,000 miles in the West! We were boondocking on BLM land. Met some lovely people, and saw some great sights. Now I'm back home, doing some small repairs on the van (plumbing, replacing vents, etc). The van goes to the mechanic at the end of the month. He's going to beef up the suspension enough to give me a 2" lift, to help in navigating some of the dirt tracks that lead to BLM campsites. Then, in February, we're taking off on a longer, open-ended trip, in which we hope to visit several SW states.

Here are just a few snaps from the recent trip, including one of my kitty at the Travertine Hot Springs. (I know this is not really the right thread for this, but I was replying to NW-Bound) -

 

[NW-Bound]

Alright! You've got to share more of your adventure. We all want to see more photos. It's great you could take your beloved kitty.

And speaking of RV repair, my motorhome has been sitting there ever since we came back from the Alaska trip in 2018. We went on a long European trek in 2019, and 2020 was supposed to be a domestic RV year. Then Covid broke out and we have not been going anywhere.

The MH limped back from Alaska with some unknown front suspension problem, which caused awful uneven tire wear. I have since replaced the front shocks with expensive Bilstein shocks, but after a short drive it did not look like that was the problem.

I need to take the MH to a shop, before we can go on another trip.

 

[RobbieB]

My boat repair cost $2700. So it wouldn't sink and not leave me up the river w/o a paddle.

Yeah you don't want to be that RV dead on the shoulder of the highway.

 

[njhowie]

I gave our 20 year old Cummins Onan generator it's periodic preventive maintenance. It's a workhorse and still runs good as new. Changed the oil, oil filter, spark plug, fuel line (still had the original and it was cracking/leaking), and picked up a new battery for the electric start (also still had the 20 year old original). New air filter/pre-filter is on the way - that takes just a minute to change once it shows up.

So now we're ready for the winter/spring and whatever they may bring. But so far, this has been the mildest November in a very long time. We had mid/high-60s all week - it felt more like late September or early October, but with shorter days.

 

[Major Tom]

I have since replaced the front shocks with expensive Bilstein shocks, but after a short drive it did not look like that was the problem.

Soon after buying my MH, I had Bilsteins put on the front. I suppose they are more expensive than other brands, but compared to some of the work I've had done, and will be doing, the price of Bilstein shocks didn't stand out too much.

I have a great mechanic, who is very trustworthy. He has steered me away from some things I wanted done, that he felt were excessive, in favor of solutions that are much more reasonably priced. I was getting ready to do a 4 - 6" lift, when he told me that he can have a couple of extra leaf springs made for the back, put in new coils at the front, and should be able to get me 2" that way, for a great deal less money than a lift kit and the labor to install it. The extra clearance in the wheel arches will allow me to install slightly taller tires too. I like camping on BLM land. My propane tank hangs underneath the van, and is quite low. I need a bit of extra clearance for driving on the dirt tracks in the boonies.

I hope you get your front end problem solved. RV's aren't cheap, but they allow us to travel in a way that we couldn't otherwise.

Ooops, we're in the wrong thread Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

 

[finnski1]

After 18 years of flawless service my indirect water heater developed a small leak. Thought I might as well get a quote to have it replaced. The quote came in yesterday @ $2316. This was actually better than I expected but still wasn't ready to pay up. Took the top cover off to discover a tiny amount of water on top of the tank and noticed a tiny amount coming up out of the thermostat well. Further looking and it seemed like the brass fitting which the thermostat bulb and line go thru was never attached from the get go?
I saw no evidence that it was ever threaded in to anything, nor any evidence on the mating part of any threads? I assume maybe the bulb goes down in the well (tube) and fits reasonably snugly finally developed some kind of pinhole in the wall of the well itself. However I honestly don't know if that thermostat well is sealed when new or is actually open to allow the hot water to reach the thermostat bulb directly.

In either case I decided to try epoxying the fitting back in the well and see what happens.
Well 2 days later and no signs of leaking at all. Maybe she'll last another 18 years.
Cost $0, already had the epoxy from another job.

Not giving in and just ordering the new heater: priceless (well ok $2316) but still...

 

[NW-Bound]

After 18 years of flawless service my indirect water heater developed a small leak...

Indirect water heater...

After the solar water panels on my roof froze and bursted, I though of building a DIY heat exchanger. The fluid circulated in a loop between the panels and the heat exchanger would be an anti-freeze coolant, hence not susceptible to freezing damage.

But I would have to think about the toxic coolant getting mixed with the water. This can be prevented and detectable as long as the water plumbing is under pressure, and the coolant loop has a vent.

I never got around to build it.

 

[Gumby]

I fixed my 27 year old Hoover vacuum cleaner today. It needed a new belt to turn the sweeper roller. Fortunately, I have always kept the instruction manuals that come with the various pieces of equipment I purchase, so I was able to get precisely the right part and also precise instructions on how to replace it.

 

[Aerides]

One of the springs on our garage door broke yesterday. Completely snapped in the middle. We didn't know what happened, other than I closed the garage door and heard a bit of a delayed clunk. Then it wouldn't open, not even manually. A friend mentioned it might be one of the springs and there it was, split down the middle.

Seems this is not a repair even the handy should broach without great care, so we called up the folks who installed our latest opener, and they were here today and gladly replaced both springs. We figured the odds the 2nd might break soon were high enough to avoid the bother if we waited.

 

[braumeister]

One of the springs on our garage door broke yesterday. Completely snapped in the middle. We didn't know what happened, other than I closed the garage door and heard a bit of a delayed clunk.

Not unusual at all, and possibly unrelated to that closing event. The two times this happened to me were both in the middle of the day, completely spontaneously. Sitting in the house we just heard a loud noise in the garage and went out to find a broken spring. You were wise to get both replaced.

 

[Jerry1]

Yeah, I’m not even sure a reputable place would install just one spring. I think they need to be installed in pairs. I assume it’s so that they provide equal tension.

 

[travelover]

Yeah, I’m not even sure a reputable place would install just one spring. I think they need to be installed in pairs. I assume it’s so that they provide equal tension.

That and the labor to replace two is about the same as for one, so it just makes sense.

 

[Aerides]

Yeah it was something like 195 for one, or 295 for two. They let us pick but we had already decided two, to ensure tension balance and reduce the odds of a near-future repeat.

We've had a few mishaps now with this bloody door. The prior opener was on the fritz, so DH got on the ladder to look at it...and...well we have a permanent black burn mark running the ceiling path of the cable track. It was like a cartoon where a fuse is lit. (luckily no injuries or anything bad other than a scare).

 

[Palmtree]

The service engine soon light on my 2010 Infiniti G-37 came on. I checked it with an OBD reader and it came up with a cryptic message. A quick google search said it was probably a bad oxygen sensor in the exhaust. Average price to have a mechanic replace it is around $250 or more. The sensor and removal tool was less than $100 and only took me about 20 minutes and most of that time was getting the car up on the jacks and supports to get under it.

 

[njhowie]

But I would have to think about the toxic coolant getting mixed with the water. This can be prevented and detectable as long as the water plumbing is under pressure, and the coolant loop has a vent.

Use RV antifreeze - nontoxic - problem solved.

 

[Sunset]

One of the springs on our garage door broke yesterday. Completely snapped in the middle. We didn't know what happened, other than I closed the garage door and heard a bit of a delayed clunk. Then it wouldn't open, not even manually. A friend mentioned it might be one of the springs and there it was, split down the middle.

Seems this is not a repair even the handy should broach without great care, so we called up the folks who installed our latest opener, and they were here today and gladly replaced both springs. We figured the odds the 2nd might break soon were high enough to avoid the bother if we waited.

Once the spring is broken, the entire weight of the door is surprisingly heavy.

When ours broke, I bought springs online and a tool (bar) to use. Total cost was ~$60 and took a few hours. Great care needs to be taken as a mistake doing it can be fatal and some youtube videos are dangerously wrong.

 

[Sunset]

Today I replaced the bathroom faucet as a temporary fix.

We really want to replace the bathroom cabinet, and I bought one and stained and urethane coated it. But we cannot find a quartz top we like in our size. So we will wait for the correct top.

I suggested to DW we put on a $80 cultured marble top as a temporary measure, but she felt it was a waste of money. So frugal, I LOVE her.

 

[aja8888]

Once the spring is broken, the entire weight of the door is surprisingly heavy.

When ours broke, I bought springs online and a tool (bar) to use. Total cost was ~$60 and took a few hours. Great care needs to be taken as a mistake doing it can be fatal and some youtube videos are dangerously wrong.

Usually, by the time the garage door springs go, it's time to check the ball bearings in the cable pulleys on each end of the door. The grease in them tends to get hard and then the door gets harder to lift evenly. This happened on my 20 year old door and my daughter's.

 

[MC Rider]

I don't think I've ever hired out a job that I was considering diy ing,
then ended up wishing I had diy ed it.


Garage door opener, Sun tunnel to light up the dark hall. Kitchen demo and remodel. A man has to know his limits.


Last thing was replacing the wiper on my cars back window.
Took about 1 minute and needed no tools. My kind of repair.

Or maintenance.

 

[NW-Bound]

Use RV antifreeze - nontoxic - problem solved.

Ummm... Sounds like this may work, but then I remember reading about non-toxic RV antifreeze decomposing under high temperature. Solar panels can heat up to far above water boiling point, perhaps 250F and above.

What happens is that when the target water has been reached in the hot water tank, the controller has to shut down the circulation pump to stop the water temperature from rising. The stagnant water sitting in the panel keeps getting hotter and hotter.

Once, when I was playing with the system, the circulation pump was turned on by the controller. The initial water coming down was so hot, and I made a mistake of touching the down pipe to see how hot the water was. My hand was wet, and it made a sizzle when my fingers just touched the pipe. That's how hot the pipe was. I thanked my lucky star my hand was wet. And I still remember that incidence that happened back in 1980.

PS. I set the target temperature to 180F, which would be unsafe if I did not have a mixing valve at the tank output. The mixing valve is thermally controlled, much like the coolant thermostat in a car. It has two inlets, one for hot and one for cold. It will mix the two waters to moderate the temperature at its outlet.