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ScamWhaleHolyGrail posted:My basement is damp (not wet, but damp enough to grow white crystal mold -- possibly accumulated over time since the house is 95) There is no such thing as 'crystal mold. ' If you're seeing a white crystalline formation on your basement foundation walls (which are made up of some type of masonry product with lime as a chief component), you are seeing calcium carbonate leaching out. It is harmless, though a clear symptom of groundwater intrusion through your foundation. The concrete/mortar/grout gets wet, lime dissolves into the moisture, which eventually reaches your interior basement space, and evaporates, leaving the lime to precipitate out. Just like that saltwater--->evaporation--->salt experiment we did in grade school. You can live with it, though setting up a dehumidifier with a permanent drain is not a bad idea, to prevent any future mold growth that may occur. If the formations are annoying, you can brush/vacuum them off. PainterofCrap fucked around with this message at 03:26 on Dec 13, 2020 |
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Dec 13, 2020 03:23
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Santa's bringing a really rad Hot Wheels track to our house this year, but it is motorized and takes 6 D batteries (!!!) I don't want to go broke running this thing and chewing through batteries. I'm thinking of maybe those AA to D battery converters, and then a bunch of rechargeables? Anyone have any experience with those?
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Dec 13, 2020 06:08
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canyoneer posted:Santa's bringing a really rad Hot Wheels track to our house this year, but it is motorized and takes 6 D batteries (!!!) AmazonBasics - both regular and rechargable. Sign up for subscribe and save and they're super cheap, even if you always skip or cancel it.
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Dec 13, 2020 06:43
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You can buy lithium ion rechargeables in many form factors including D, with built in USB chargers. But since the track is stationary, so maybe look for an adequate 9V DC wall supply?
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Dec 13, 2020 08:29
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Or retro to this form factor.
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Dec 13, 2020 09:22
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yippee cahier posted:You can buy lithium ion rechargeables in many form factors including D, with built in USB chargers. Link to reputable brands?
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Dec 13, 2020 17:27
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yippee cahier posted:You can buy lithium ion rechargeables in many form factors including D, with built in USB chargers. It's probably just running motors, so definitely get a 12V or adjustable voltage one so you can go even further beyond. My battery eating trash can opens with fuckin authority now. I get my DC adapters from the thrift shop wall of old electronics for $2 or so.
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Dec 13, 2020 17:40
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Any guesses as to what the proper name is for these "triangular braces" shown in this article. But I'm having trouble tracking them down and "triangular braces" isn't yielding any helpful results. Edit: awesome thanks\/ melon cat fucked around with this message at 23:51 on Dec 13, 2020 |
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Dec 13, 2020 19:49
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melon cat posted:Any guesses as to what the proper name is for these "triangular braces" shown in this article. But I'm having trouble tracking them down and "triangular braces" isn't yielding any helpful results. https://www.strongtie.com/miscellaneousconnectors_woodconnectors/sbv-cf_productgroup_wcc/p/sbv.cf-r
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Dec 13, 2020 19:58
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melon cat posted:Any guesses as to what the proper name is for these "triangular braces" shown in this article. But I'm having trouble tracking them down and "triangular braces" isn't yielding any helpful results. It's a Simpson brand component model SBV. https://www.strongtie.com/miscellaneousconnectors_woodconnectors/sbv-cf_productgroup_wcc/p/sbv.cf-r edit: damnit
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Dec 13, 2020 19:58
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H110Hawk posted:Link to reputable brands? Sorry, don’t want to open this can of worms but I buy this sort of stuff from aliexpress, so no reputable brands, no safety guarantees and not here any time soon. I see on amazon a couple of battery eliminator products that pair a wall supply with stand in spacer “batteries” but they look overpriced to me. Someone somewhat electronics handy should be able to build you something out of a thrift store find for cheap, as another poster mentioned.
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Dec 13, 2020 20:37
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yippee cahier posted:Sorry, don’t want to open this can of worms but I buy this sort of stuff from aliexpress, so no reputable brands, no safety guarantees and not here any time soon. Fair enough, I'm not interested in lithium roulette. I look forward to more of them getting here, but there are enough problems with "brand name" lithium batteries catching fire in like laptops.
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Dec 13, 2020 21:01
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I sprayed a coat of Homex texture spray for the orange peel texture, but I realized after painting it that I should add a thicker coat of texture. Can I just spray the texture over the paint without primer? It's a fairly small area (I took out a coaxial cable from the wall and patched over the hole).
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Dec 13, 2020 21:26
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If I were more concerned with battery safety, I'd go with Eneloop cells with D spacers, good batteries, made by Panasonic so reputable. There's some rechargeable brands without the name on Amazon that are NiMh that are a safer battery chemistry that might be worn looking at.
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Dec 13, 2020 21:36
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H110Hawk posted:Fair enough, I'm not interested in lithium roulette. I look forward to more of them getting here, but there are enough problems with "brand name" lithium batteries catching fire in like laptops. I would genuinely recommend using an off the shelf DC adapter with a UL rating second hand, stripping off the end, and hooking that up to the battery terminals.  It's an easy job and saves on batteries and waste. Otherwise lithium IS the best way to go, and go Energizer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7-ghrTqA44 And Duracell hella leak all the time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH6GqGOOoVw Wasabi the J fucked around with this message at 21:55 on Dec 13, 2020 |
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Dec 13, 2020 21:51
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Bioshuffle posted:I sprayed a coat of Homex texture spray for the orange peel texture, but I realized after painting it that I should add a thicker coat of texture. Can I just spray the texture over the paint without primer? It's a fairly small area (I took out a coaxial cable from the wall and patched over the hole). Yeah spray away, no need to prime over that paint first
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Dec 14, 2020 01:52
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spacetoaster posted:Has anyone ever worked with electronic access doors? Our facility is wanting to change our electronic access doors to allow a manual bypass (probably just a key would be nice) to be able to use our doors when electricity/internet is lost. Another city's facility got hacked and they reported that the hackers were able to mess with the doors. 95% chance your system is HID ProxCard II using 37 bit Wiegand protocol, which is slightly better than nothing. BTW, my hands are full, can you hold the door for me? But I digress. Chances are you have a REX (request to exit) sensor at each door. If you're looking to install something to let people out, that makes for an easy tie-in because all you need is to add a button that trips the same relay as the REX sensor. Check local code, you should probably also have a crash bar on any door that serves as a fire exit. Data outages might beyond your control, but I'll bet your access system already has battery backup - check your panel for one or more batteries about the size of a brick; if the system isn't on backup power, you'll probably want to address that first. If you're looking to let people in if power goes out, all you have to do is have a keyed lock installed and reconfigure your access control system to give the REX sensor 5 or 10 seconds after a door opens without a keycard before alarming. For the sake of security, you should also tie this in with cameras so it snaps a picture of anyone coming in without a keycard (this should be a simple contact closure/relay) and it wouldn't hurt to do the same for people with a keycard to keep an eye out for found/stolen cards, tailgaters, and shoulder surfers.
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Dec 14, 2020 03:11
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Why does my local HD only sell uneven leg paper faced corner beads? Are there advantages or disadvantages to them?
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Dec 14, 2020 17:01
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Is there some way for me to trace out the HVAC ducting in my house without punching holes in walls?
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Dec 16, 2020 06:50
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PENETRATION TESTS posted:Is there some way for me to trace out the HVAC ducting in my house without punching holes in walls? https://www.flir.com/products/flir-one-pro-lt/?model=435-0013-03
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Dec 16, 2020 09:02
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PENETRATION TESTS posted:Is there some way for me to trace out the HVAC ducting in my house without punching holes in walls? I'd think you of all people would be ok with punching holes in your walls.
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Dec 16, 2020 10:04
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PENETRATION TESTS posted:Is there some way for me to trace out the HVAC ducting in my house without punching holes in walls? For what purpose? Because the answer is "it depends" and "not necessarily with exact precision".
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Dec 16, 2020 16:23
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Since replacing thermostat, I noticed the temperature reading is a lot hotter than before. For example, it's chilly upstairs, but the thermostat says 73. It's not 73. The only thing that comes to mind is that while replacing the thermostat, I noticed that the blue wire had been connected to the Y slot. I went ahead and followed this diagram with the new thermostat, but come to think of it, shouldn't the blue wire be inserted in the the C slot? I am wondering if this could be causing the inaccuracy in the reading. Should I go ahead and plug in the blue wire to the C slot? My new thermostat is https://www.amresupply.com/part/TH6110D1005-FOCUSPRO-PROG-1H-1C-STD-SCREEN, that someone gave to me after they upgraded to a nest. I'm also wondering if this particular model is compatible with my gas furnace system, because I noticed the thermostat I removed had a little toggle switch for gas, but this one does not. I do not have a yellow wire. Only green (connected to G), white (connected to W), red (connected to R) and the blue one, which was connected to Y in the old thermostat. Bioshuffle fucked around with this message at 19:01 on Dec 16, 2020 |
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Dec 16, 2020 18:58
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The thermostat has its own temperature sensor built in - what temperature it thinks it is, has nothing to do with anything else in the system. You're probably just seeing some variation in what two different cheaply-made consumer products think a given temperature is. I'd figure out how hot the thermostat needs to be set to feel like the old one did at 73, and just make that your new set point. I'm doing the same for the opposite reason. Same thermostat on a new heat pump that works better than the old one ever did (and moves a shitload more air), so I've had to adjust my setpoints.
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Dec 16, 2020 20:06
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PENETRATION TESTS posted:Is there some way for me to trace out the HVAC ducting in my house without punching holes in walls? It's like sudoku. You know where the supply and returns terminate at both ends (in rooms, and in your utility space). They can only travel inside of structural bays and, if they need to cross structural bays, they will be installed in a "soffit" or "bulkhead" built out from the adjacent wall or ceiling. So you start with what you know and most if it you will be able to fill in with some critical thinking. There will probably be at least one mystery left at the end, but this will get you most of the way.
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Dec 17, 2020 00:12
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Wow seventy three... Like got damned summer.... Yeah if you pull out your old thermostat and swap them you'll find that there's a difference in temp and feeling. Get a third thermometer and you'll see they all probably report differently. My thermostat is about 2° off from a thermometer I have. I just set it to what feels good and go from there. tater_salad fucked around with this message at 02:33 on Dec 17, 2020 |
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Dec 17, 2020 02:30
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In the spring I drained my snow blower of gas and oil. A few weeks ago in preparation for snow, I added oil, gas, started it and felt I was good to go. Today I started it, it ran for maybe 5 minutes then just stopped. Thinking I hadn't changed the spark plug since I bought it years ago, I replaced that and still no go. Looking around I found that...the oil drain plug was missing! I looked around for an oil plug on any of my other equipment that I could temporarily and came up with nothing. For shits and giggles I squeezed the plastic cap from a Coleman propane tank and while it covered the drain hole, it didn't screw in so I wasn't terribly surprised that it still didn't start. First, am I correct in losing that plug would cause the engine to stop like it did and not start again? Second, after getting a replacement, should it just work or would have running it like that caused some other damage to address?
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Dec 17, 2020 21:44
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The fill cap was missing, or the drain plug? Because if the drain plug was missing, the plug being gone was the cause but the real problem is the five minutes your now-dead engine ran without any oil.
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Dec 17, 2020 21:49
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The drain plug was gone but the oil doesn't actually come out unless you tip the engine (I use a vacuum thing when draining). I confirmed the oil is still there.
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Dec 17, 2020 21:57
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Then you might be luckier. If it's an engine that has an oil level shutoff, you might've lost enough while it was running to trip that before causing actual damage. If the level and condition are truly both good, then the no-start shouldn't have anything to do with the drain plug.
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Dec 17, 2020 22:02
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Just double checked that it still has all of the oil I added a few weeks ago. So the loss of the cap wouldn't contribute to the engine not starting?
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Dec 17, 2020 22:08
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I can't think of how it would. If for some reason it was required as part of a cutoff switch to keep the engine from running without oil, it shouldn't have run for the first five minutes either. All the plug does is keep dirt out and oil in, and in some cases it's not so great at the latter. Start from scratch, verify fuel and spark. The quickest and dirtiest way to do that is spray some starting fluid down the carb - if it at least sputters and tries to run until it burns all of the starting fluid, then you've got a fueling issue. Bad / stale gas, clogged fuel line, gummed up carb.
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Dec 17, 2020 22:17
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Nevermind. I'm completely on crack. The oil drain cap is there. The "hole" I'm thinking was the drain isn't even on the correct side and doesn't have threads or anything so I'm apparently going insane that it matters. https://imgur.com/a/kkbuaqO
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Dec 17, 2020 22:21
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That sure looks like a sump drain to me. If it was run without oil you may get a re-start out of it if you cool it down and add more oil. But chances are good it has or soon will turn into parts permanently.
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Dec 17, 2020 22:59
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Some blowers might have 2 drains as well if it's a generic engine that's used in multiple configurations.
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Dec 18, 2020 01:47
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Yay snowblower season. My Ariens Deluxe 28 (4th season?) is running super lean and rough and misfiring when not blowing snow. It did blow snow pretty much OK today but it sounds pretty upset. Turning on the choke a notch or two makes it better, at least for a while, but then it still pop pop pops reliably after stopping the auger and surges. Reducing throttle to 1/2 or less on the dial stalls it out. I tried running a concentrated sea foam/93-octane gas mixture through it and it didn't help. I guess I am replacing the carburetor? Or trying to repair it if I'm feeling brave...?
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Dec 18, 2020 02:37
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admiraldennis posted:Yay snowblower season. I'm having an issue with my snowblower and I think I narrowed the issue down to the governor not being set correctly. It's causing surging
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Dec 18, 2020 03:15
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Anyone have a GE dishwasher model GDT550HSD2SS? Or have any experience repairing dishwashers? Ours isn’t draining, the drain is clogged and I’m not entirely sure how to un-clog it or if I need to remove something. So far I’ve removed the filter and cleaned it but I do this regularly and have told my wife she has got to loving rinse off dishes before putting them in there. Called a service tech at Sears but their earliest time is the 26th so I am kinda doomed to either try to fix this goddamn thing myself or manually do dishes (we go through a lot because we do a lot of cooking) for a week.
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Dec 19, 2020 00:43
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life is killing me posted:Anyone have a GE dishwasher model GDT550HSD2SS? Or have any experience repairing dishwashers? Ours isn’t draining, the drain is clogged and I’m not entirely sure how to un-clog it or if I need to remove something. So far I’ve removed the filter and cleaned it but I do this regularly and have told my wife she has got to loving rinse off dishes before putting them in there. That's a pretty newish dishwasher. What does it drain into? A garbage disposal? Are you able to pull this dishwasher out of the cabinet its in? I'd start with checking the drain hose to make sure it's not clogged. If you've been having clogging conditions for a while inside it's probably out in the drain pipe now, and dishwasher drain pipes are poo poo and clog easily. The good part is if you can get your hand on them, you can probably just get the thing on a drain cycle and bend it/move it around to get it to clear out again.
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Dec 19, 2020 00:54
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Motronic posted:That's a pretty newish dishwasher. It sure is. Lots of problems with it too! This isn’t the first problem we’ve had Motronic posted:What does it drain into? A garbage disposal? No garbage disposal there. I wish. Motronic posted:Are you able to pull this dishwasher out of the cabinet its in? Motronic posted:I'd start with checking the drain hose to make sure it's not clogged. If you've been having clogging conditions for a while inside it's probably out in the drain pipe now, and dishwasher drain pipes are poo poo and clog easily. The good part is if you can get your hand on them, you can probably just get the thing on a drain cycle and bend it/move it around to get it to clear out again. This is a good place to start if I can get it pulled out in the first place. I see no obvious way to unclog from inside the dishwasher anyway.
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Dec 19, 2020 01:18
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