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The house I grew up in had that same problem. They just got it fixed last week, after talking about getting it fixed since 1986.
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Nov 20, 2021 15:02
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| # ? May 30, 2024 00:20 |
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Open up those boxes and let's see what you got
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Nov 20, 2021 18:41
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YMMV as ace/true value stores are franchises but most of the ones in my area have a great selection of specialized nuts/bolts/screws etc... The hardest part is usually finding what you need in all of the assortment bins. There has been a drop-off in retired old codgers that knew all the drawers like the back of their hand since covid at my local stores so asking the clerks just results in them saying they don't have it. But just start at one end of the aisle and start checking bins. I have been able to find everything from weird parts for Ikea furniture (cam locks, pins, pozi drive euro screws) to gunsmithing parts (spring retainers, set screws, springs, hollowground machine screws) by digging. Some stores even stuff additional assortment bins behind the ones in the front so if you find something close double check behind that bin and the ones above and below it to make sure there isn't another assortment with what you need tucked behind.
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Nov 21, 2021 06:25
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Ended up finding what I needed at ACE. thanks for the suggestions everyone!!
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Nov 21, 2021 09:57
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my turn in the barrel posted:There has been a drop-off in retired old codgers that knew all the drawers like the back of their hand Become the old codger you want in the world.
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Nov 21, 2021 15:11
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I have a few questions about caulking around a bathtub spout: 1) Is it a good idea to try and seal all the way around where the spout meets the wall? Some sources say to seal all the way around, and others say to seal only the top 3/4, with the reasoning being that the gap in the bottom can allow water to escape from behind the wall. Does that explanation (ahem) hold water? FWIW, my bathtub spout does have a gap at the bottom, which seems to indicate that it's not intended to seal the gap completely. 2) I noticed when taking off the bathtub spout that the pipe coming out of the wall can wiggle back and forth, which (from what I've read) indicates that the pipe behind the wall wasn't secured properly. Would it make sense to use something like what's shown in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOnB49BsOcQ? (If the answer to #1 is to not try and seal the gap completely, then I guess I can use just half of the disc to seal just the top...)
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Nov 21, 2021 19:48
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I need to put up a short fence in my front yard so my wife can let the dog out without a leash but there are a few complications: The main one is that the gate will go over a concrete path right next to the house. I'm renting and I'd rather not do anything permanent to the house so cutting away siding to anchor the gate is really only a last resort. It looks like getting a concrete flange the size of the post and drilling into the path is my best bet but I'm open to suggestions. As far as the actual fencing material goes, I don't need privacy but I need to make sure my corgi doesn't knock it over if she runs into it at full speed. I think I'll have to bury part of it but I don't want to pour concrete. Budget wise I'm open to spending a little more if it's something I can tear down and take with me to reuse later when I eventually buy a house and move out. I've got a variety of power tools including a miter saw and circular saw but I also have a newborn so I don't have a whole lot of free time.
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Nov 22, 2021 04:42
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I bought a dyson HP01 space heater off Facebook for just $70. The seller said the heating kicks on and off, but I replaced the filter and it works great. These things are like 600 bucks new so I'm pretty proud of myself. The only problem with it is that it smells strongly of another person's house. It's not a bad smell, exactly, but it is potent, and I'd like to get rid of it. I took the thing apart and wiped it down in and out with water with a few drops of rosemary essence and this didn't do much. I was thinking of trying 50-50 water and vinegar next. I know vinegar is faintly flammable though; should I use a different agent?
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Nov 22, 2021 14:50
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Use a solvent while it's off/unplugged. 90%+ isopropyl alcohol would probably be a good place to start, just make sure it dries completely before plugging it back in. Using a flammable solvent is fine, and alcohol evaporates pretty quickly. Just let it sit for a while after cleaning it. Don't douse the parts, just put the alcohol on a rag and wipe the poo poo off of them. CRUSTY MINGE fucked around with this message at 15:07 on Nov 22, 2021 |
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Nov 22, 2021 15:02
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If alcohol doesn't work, the vinegar will be fine. Either way you shouldn't be plugging it back in until it's completely dry - which is probably a little longer than you think. It's not due to flammability though, it's because you don't want water/liquids getting onto energized circuit boards or on motors that aren't built for it. Another option is literally UV. If you take it apart you can set the parts in direct sunlight for a day, assuming that is a thing you have where you live. Make sure it isn't raining or snowing.
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Nov 22, 2021 15:52
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I'm a little wary of putting extremely flammable ISO anywhere near a space heater, so I think I'll start with the vinegar, but will try iso afterwards if that's unsuccessful.H110Hawk posted:Another option is literally UV. If you take it apart you can set the parts in direct sunlight for a day, assuming that is a thing you have where you live. Make sure it isn't raining or snowing. 
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Nov 22, 2021 17:03
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KOTEX GOD OF BLOOD posted:I'm a little wary of putting extremely flammable ISO anywhere near a space heater, so I think I'll start with the vinegar, but will try iso afterwards if that's unsuccessful. Highest % iso you can get your hands on at the drug store. Just do it while it's off and it should be well below the auto-ignition point even if you have it on max blast then unplug and disassemble it as fast as possible. Then just let it dry, then 30m or an hour longer. Then max blast. 
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Nov 22, 2021 17:11
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melon cat fucked around with this message at 06:32 on Jan 10, 2024 |
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Nov 22, 2021 18:26
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I bought a $40 cheapie, and it raised my Colorado bedroom RH from 35% to.... 35%. If you're serious about humidity but not serious about aesthetics and also not willing to spend money on a central HVAC humidifier, look into ultrasonic disc-based humidibuckets like this one. I would go for a 5+ disc fogger for a room of any decent size. Or, assuming you have ducting for a furnace, put a whole house unit after the blower. A plumbed in solution will be way less work than manually filling a bucket every couple days.
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Nov 22, 2021 18:33
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TheBeardedCrazy posted:I need to put up a short fence in my front yard so my wife can let the dog out without a leash but there are a few complications: T-posts and some sort of wire fencing (like hog fence or deer fence) sounds like it'd do the trick. Not sure how hard it'll be to remove the posts from the ground after you're done with the fence, but at least there's be no concrete slugs to contend with.
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Nov 22, 2021 22:24
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Xenix posted:T-posts and some sort of wire fencing (like hog fence or deer fence) sounds like it'd do the trick. Not sure how hard it'll be to remove the posts from the ground after you're done with the fence, but at least there's be no concrete slugs to contend with. If aesthetics are important, this is.. Not the solution for you.
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Nov 23, 2021 01:45
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Thanks, i'm not too worried about aesthetics. Any gate recommendations? Im thinking about just chiseling out a hole in between the concrete slabs of the path and using a drop bar to secure the end that's away from the hinge.
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Nov 23, 2021 02:16
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TheBeardedCrazy posted:Thanks, i'm not too worried about aesthetics. Any gate recommendations? Im thinking about just chiseling out a hole in between the concrete slabs of the path and using a drop bar to secure the end that's away from the hinge. In what world do you think that this is a good idea to do to a place that you're renting? Have you talked to the landlord? I'd crucify a tenant if they did something like this. Like dude, you probably need a permit to install a fence in a front yard, let alone some mcguyvered bullshit.
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Nov 23, 2021 02:27
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NomNomNom posted:In what world do you think that this is a good idea to do to a place that you're renting? Have you talked to the landlord? I'd crucify a tenant if they did something like this. Already cleared it with the landlord, she was fine with me drilling 4 holes in one of the pads to anchor a pole as long as I filled it in later. She likes the drop bar idea even better, there's already about 3/4" between slabs so it won't take much work to make one fit. No permit necessary as long as the fence is below 6 feet. It's only temporary because my dog got giardia, good chance it was from the backyard. We need to contain her in a smaller area to manage things for a bit until she gets a clean fecal test. I'm also doing all the work to sterilize the yard to make sure it's giardia free so she doesn't get sick again.
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Nov 23, 2021 03:35
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Found a small patch of poison ivy hidden in some shrubbery. What is the absolutely least environmentally friendly, best death spray possible. Like I don't care if everything within 5' dies too. I just want it dead and gone before my toddler jumps into it. Glycophosphate, then salt the earth it grew on? Apparently you're not supposed to burn poison ivy because the smoke carries the oils.
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Nov 24, 2021 03:42
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L0cke17 posted:Found a small patch of poison ivy hidden in some shrubbery.
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Nov 24, 2021 03:50
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L0cke17 posted:Found a small patch of poison ivy hidden in some shrubbery. My dad used to swear by the poison ivy specific Roundup formulation, but I have never used it personally.
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Nov 24, 2021 04:45
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I've honestly always done fine with a single application of the poison ivy / "tough plant" specific round up. It's nearly the only time I use pesticides and it works very well. A few applications a week apart at first. Then once a year on the fresh growth is enough to keep it gone.
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Nov 24, 2021 06:14
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L0cke17 posted:Found a small patch of poison ivy hidden in some shrubbery. You can also cut the vines and immediately paint/spray concentrated 41% glyphosate on the cut stem. This is usually very effective on tough-to-kill/spray vines. That will probably be more effective than spraying this time of year, but also poison ivy sap is nasty af so be careful.
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Nov 26, 2021 17:17
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Kaiser Schnitzel posted:41% glyphosate. How toxic is this stuff, on a scale of “don’t drink it” to “you’ll get hyper cancer if it touches your hand”
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Nov 26, 2021 17:52
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Cyrano4747 posted:How toxic is this stuff, on a scale of “don’t drink it” to “you’ll get hyper cancer if it touches your hand” It's causing cancer in workers who are tasked with spraying it on "roundup ready" crops to die of cancer. Like, don't get it in (inhalation counts) or on your body and certainly don't let kids near it until its dried. Thankfully we're talking about poison ivy so hopefully they aren't getting in it to begin with. Painting it on cut stems or onto leaves is a great way to limit the exposure. Wear long clothing and gloves, then wash them when you're done.
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Nov 26, 2021 18:08
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Cyrano4747 posted:How toxic is this stuff, on a scale of “don’t drink it” to “you’ll get hyper cancer if it touches your hand” It depends, are you a personal injury attorney or not? The target enzyme doesn't exist in animals, the buffer salts and soap will give you the runs long before the active ingredient becomes a problem. I guess it could cause some antibiotic style intestinal distress but the surfactant is going to get you long before that. Don't eat anything with Roundup on it before washing and you're fine.
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Nov 26, 2021 18:21
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Cyrano4747 posted:How toxic is this stuff, on a scale of “don’t drink it” to “you’ll get hyper cancer if it touches your hand” There is some evidence that high lifetime exposure in agricultural workers workers may raise the risk of some cancers. At home use levels I think the risk is negligible, but ymmv. The International Agency for Research on Cancer puts glyphosate in Group 2A, "probably carcinogenic to humans.” That is the same list which includes red meat, drinking very hot beverages, and working night shift.
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Nov 26, 2021 21:55
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You can't buy it anymore in the EU and that sucks because none of the replacement products actually work anywhere near as good.
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Nov 26, 2021 22:25
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Cyrano4747 posted:How toxic is this stuff, on a scale of “don’t drink it” to “you’ll get hyper cancer if it touches your hand” In the words of one of my neighbors who used RoundUp every so often: "Pretty sure it's fine but it does get kind of burn-y if it gets on your skin! Just don't wear shorts in your yard."  Translation: If it's strong enough to kill hardy weeds, it's probably not good for you. melon cat fucked around with this message at 06:31 on Jan 10, 2024 |
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Nov 27, 2021 01:04
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Currently fighting with my sump pump, as it has stopped pumping. The control circuit is working - the controller clicks on float activation. The pump has a slight hum and does nothing. No vibration or anything. Thankfully I have a battery backup pump which is taking care of things. But of course it's a packaged backup system, which means I can't pull the primary pump without also removing the secondary pump. Which gives me about a 30 minute window to pull the pump assembly, inspect the impeller, and reinstall the pump assembly before the bailing buckets will be needed. I'd wait for a dryer period but the only time the pump doesn't run constantly is like mid-july to mid-sept. Wish me luck. Update: Impeller was very difficult to spin by hand. Spun it as well as I could just taking off the cage and when plugged in dry it would run. Reinstalled it and it ran for one cycle and then stopped and wouldn't restart. Tomorrow I pull the pump again, open the volute, clean everything / de-scale the impeller and see if that works. As an added bonus, it seems water stops at an uncomfortably high level within my sump, but doesn't overflow. Which probably means waters building up around my foundation at that point, but an hour of playing shouldn't wreck anything. TrueChaos fucked around with this message at 03:26 on Nov 27, 2021 |
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Nov 27, 2021 02:08
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TrueChaos posted:Currently fighting with my sump pump, as it has stopped pumping. What kind of sump pump do you have there and how long has it been installed for? And did you notice any oil on the surface of the water when you first pulled out your pump?
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Nov 27, 2021 05:21
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floWenoL posted:Before (baffle marked in red): One follow-up question. I used a PVC nut (the one that came with the PVC pipes) to attach to the sink drain on the right, but I read somewhere that one should use metal nuts (e.g. brass nuts) to attach to metal drains. Is this true, or does it not matter too much? What's the difference?
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Nov 27, 2021 06:19
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and after (baffle in the middle): 
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melon cat posted:What kind of sump pump do you have there and how long has it been installed for? And did you notice any oil on the surface of the water when you first pulled out your pump? No idea on oil - if there was, the backup would have just pumped it out. Given that it runs if I free up the impeller, I don't think there's any kind of gearbox issue. Also I'm pretty sure there's no oil in the thing, given that it's a submersible motor directly coupled to the pump impeller shaft. It's a "Basement Watchdog", the pump is a bw1033. Age unknown, I'd guess in the 5 year range, definitely put in by the PO and they were only in the house for 5ish years and we've been here 2.
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Nov 27, 2021 06:22
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TrueChaos posted:No idea on oil - if there was, the backup would have just pumped it out. Given that it runs if I free up the impeller, I don't think there's any kind of gearbox issue. Also I'm pretty sure there's no oil in the thing, given that it's a submersible motor directly coupled to the pump impeller shaft. Some sump pumps have some components that are sitting in an "oil bath" in an enclosed compartment. And if that compartment breaks you'll see oil on the water surface. It's just one of the tell-tale signs of a busted pump which is why I asked. But yeah your backup pump would just pump that oil out so nevermind that. Is there a lot of mud in your sump basin? Or a slimey orange mud-like substance? A picture of your sump basin could be helpful. I'm just asking because sometimes people have muddy water (or worse yet they have iron ochre) and don't do their annual maintenance/sump basin clean up. And surprise surprise mud clogs up their pump and burns it out. Your impeller shouldn't be difficult to turn- if it is then your impeller is either busted or your pump got clogged up over the years. Clean out the pump as you're planning. You'll need a metal bristle brush if your water is very hard. But also check the weather forecast to make sure that you won't get a bunch of rain while you're working on it. That would be... bad. If your sump pump has a serial# visible jot it down and ask the manufacturer if it's still covered under warranty. Probably isn't but you might get lucky. If it isn't and your attempted clean-out doesn't fix the pump just to replace the pump. And in the future consider having a spare, unopened pump lying around so if this ever happens again (and it will, and at the rainiest period of the year because gently caress you) you can swap it out. melon cat fucked around with this message at 07:12 on Nov 27, 2021 |
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Nov 27, 2021 07:01
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Just double checked, no oil in this one at all. I'm 90% certain it's just gummed up - high iron (>2mg/L before treatment) and sulfur in the groundwater here. It's just a question as to if the bearings are pooched or if things are just gummed up. The sump pit is fine - dirt/gravel base, but well compacted and doesn't cloud up at all at any time. Given that the pump cycles pretty much constantly this time of year - precipitation or not - I'm just going to jury rig the backup pump while I deal with the main one. I'll just stack a few extra bricks so the backup pump can sit on a base rather than clip to the main pump. Thankfully I do have a good understanding of pumps in general, I'm just not as familiar with the tiny ones. I'm a mechanical engineer designing wastewater treatment systems, the pumps I usually deal with are a tad larger: 
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Nov 27, 2021 08:23
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Is installing a new ceiling fan something anyone can do with instructions online or a how-to video on Youtube? If the answer is yes, then are there any particular instruction pages or videos y'all would recommend? I just got a new fan and the handyman we normally use for stuff like this (because he is good and cheap) is booked up for awhile and we don't have a ton of cash to hire someone pricier, so I'm hoping maybe I can just knock it all out myself now and save us a wait and some money. I. M. Gei fucked around with this message at 12:42 on Nov 27, 2021 |
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Nov 27, 2021 12:38
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I. M. Gei posted:Is installing a new ceiling fan something anyone can do with instructions online or a how-to video on Youtube? If the answer is yes, then are there any particular instruction pages or videos y'all would recommend? Yes, it is relatively easy. The instructions that come with the fan are generally sufficient in my experience; I've installed seven or eight fans in a couple of different houses over the years, including replacing three at our new place this past summer. I don't have any specific video links but can tell you one of the important keys is to remember that the screws holding the mounting plate to the electrical box in the ceiling do not come with the new fan so make sure to save them when you remove the old one. Other than that, make sure the power is off (via the breaker at your electrical box, not just the wall switch) and follow the instructions with the new fan. I have no appreciable skills and have managed basic things like this. You absolutely can do it.
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Nov 27, 2021 13:21
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kickass, thanks!
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Nov 27, 2021 13:47
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Make sure the box in the ceiling is rated for a fan. If not, there's a brace you can buy that anchors it between a couple joists.
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Nov 27, 2021 14:41
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