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Anyone have experience with using central heating leak sealer (the stuff you put in the system that is meant to seal pinholes)? The pressure in my unvented system is dropping but I haven't been able to trace the leak.
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Jun 25, 2020 23:13
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Anyone got a recommendation for a Sawzall blade that will tear through a cast iron sewer line? I'm trying to install a cleaning and the metal cutting blade I'm using is slow and heavy going.
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Jun 26, 2020 16:11
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I thought sawzall type recips were just for demo, if you want to actually connect anything to this pipe and have decent access a grinder seems better?
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Jun 26, 2020 16:31
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tactlessbastard posted:Anyone got a recommendation for a Sawzall blade that will tear through a cast iron sewer line? I'm trying to install a cleaning and the metal cutting blade I'm using is slow and heavy going. You gotta go with a diamond blade for that. Best thing to part cast iron would be a cast-cutter, but they can be hard to find.
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Jun 26, 2020 16:55
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CancerCakes posted:I thought sawzall type recips were just for demo, if you want to actually connect anything to this pipe and have decent access a grinder seems better? I don't have a grinder lol. I found a carbide abrasive blade that is making steady progress and leaving a clean working edge, it's just slow going.
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Jun 26, 2020 17:00
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CancerCakes posted:I thought sawzall type recips were just for demo, if you want to actually connect anything to this pipe and have decent access a grinder seems better? Sawzalls can get great cuts if you're careful and use the right blades.
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Jun 26, 2020 17:04
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If next summer, we are going to repipe our house from galvanized to PEX, and possibly add a natural gas tankless in the process, is there any reason that we shouldn't do a manifold/home run? Our utility room is in our basement and literally both bathrooms are above it with exposed pipes. Only ones that aren't accessable directly from there are kitchen sink and 2 hoses.
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Jun 26, 2020 17:21
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KKKLIP ART posted:is there any reason that we shouldn't do a manifold/home run? It's more expensive, more labor, need a large area to mount the manifold and collect the runs, and more pipes to fit into chases/cavities, but other than that, it's all benefits. Having the minimal number of fittings buried in walls drastically decreases the risk of damaging leaks, right-sizing the runs means hot water can get to the running fixture faster and with less waste (over a fat trunk), better flow/less drop with multiple fixtures in use, and the coolest benefit, being able to isolate individual fixtures or rooms at the manifold for service without shutting down the house.
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Jun 26, 2020 19:27
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Yeah. I think it’s the way I want to go assuming we have the space for it (and there is a wall that our current water heater is on that I think will be perfect for it). I really like the idea of easy isolation of need be.
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Jun 26, 2020 20:41
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The tub faucet was leaking. I took it apart and fixed the original leak, but now there's a different leak. The handles come up through the tub deck, and water is making its way down through there. Based on water staining it looks like this spot leaked before. Also, when I took things apart there was some sort of sealant there. I believe it was not exactly a standard fix, but it seems to have worked before, so I'd like to replicate it. Or do something else that works, but replicating seems easiest. What sort of sealant would be most appropriate here? Silicone? There's a rubber gasket thing in a plastic nut. 
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Jul 1, 2020 18:41
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The rubber gasket on the bottom of the nut is supposed to do the sealing. If it's dried out/deformed that could be your problem.
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Jul 1, 2020 19:09
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Motronic posted:The rubber gasket on the bottom of the nut is supposed to do the sealing. If it's dried out/deformed that could be your problem. Right, I figured I'm off the map as far as doing it properly. I think the rubber is ok, but even if it wasn't I'm not sure I could get replacements. I think the root of the issue is the pex lines are pulling the fixture catywompus. I mean, maybe I should get new pipes, but if some sealant will keep it going that's obviously way cheaper easier etc. Unless someone thinks there's a more appropriate product, I'm gonna try the silicone
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Jul 1, 2020 22:35
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Out of interest, is this pipe routing as wacky as it seems to my amateur eye?
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Jul 2, 2020 17:55
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doesn't seem bad. hot / cold then middle is the mixer up to the shower(?) yours is done with pex and nice and clean. Mine.... welp we've seen it here before edit: yes those are faucet / toilet supply lines supplying a shower.. tying the copper into into galvanized pipe no the water pressure is not good.. yes the water is rusty on startup why do you ask?  it's on my poo poo to fix at some point list.
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Jul 2, 2020 18:27
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Epitope posted:Right, I figured I'm off the map as far as doing it properly. I think the rubber is ok, but even if it wasn't I'm not sure I could get replacements. I think the root of the issue is the pex lines are pulling the fixture catywompus. I mean, maybe I should get new pipes, but if some sealant will keep it going that's obviously way cheaper easier etc. Unless someone thinks there's a more appropriate product, I'm gonna try the silicone Those little gaskets are dime a dozen and consumable. I would start with a fresh one the next time you go to the store. I would hope they would be under a dollar for 2+ but let's be honest.
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Jul 2, 2020 18:34
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Epitope posted:Out of interest, is this pipe routing as wacky as it seems to my amateur eye? Looks totally fine to me.
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Jul 2, 2020 18:35
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Thanks y'all. I'll put new gaskets on the list, though I'm 0 for 1 so far in that department.
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Jul 2, 2020 19:23
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tater_salad posted:
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Jul 2, 2020 19:42
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to you maybe...
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Jul 2, 2020 20:38
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So, I just got my well pump replaced and they set the pressure tank at 50/70 psi. My boiler for heat and indirect fire water heater says MAWP, Water 58 psi. I would think this is a problem, but when I look at the pressure gauge on the boiler, it's only reading 20 psi. Is there typically some sort of regulator on this? I'm just trying to figure out why the pressure is low. E: and also if this configuration is okay or if they need to come back and adjust down to 40/60 or 30/50.
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Jul 2, 2020 21:34
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I noticed a leak in the basement floor, which I traced to the drain on the first floor toilet. When I pulled the toilet, I found that the 20 year old wax ring had basically merged with the rusty remnants of what appears to be some kind of metal flange between the PVC drain pipe and the toilet. I removed all the busted rusty bits and pulled the degraded remants of the wax seal out of the toilet base. That leaves me with this coming out of my bathroom floor:  The toilet connection is, I believe, a super typical American Standard deal:  (these pictures were taken AFTER spending 5 mins scrubbing all this with a scouring pad and bleach, fwiw). Replacing the wax seal seems easy enough, but I don't know poo poo about plumbing. What do I need to do to replace the completely rusted-to-gently caress metal flange? Will the combination of this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082M3Y2R7 and this: https://www.amazon.com/10672X-HydroSeat-Durable-Toilet-Flange/dp/B00KBBAN5K/ Solve my problem and let me poop in peace again?
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Jul 4, 2020 14:42
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Your combination flange is broken, or you broke the metal ring yourself, doesn't matter at this point. The repair flange in your second link is what you want to use. Don't screw it into plywood, use bolts instead. Don't use wax rings ever again, switch to rubber. And just go over to Lowes, why wait two weeks for an Amazon delivery
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Jul 4, 2020 14:52
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Nitrox posted:Your combination flange is broken, or you broke the metal ring yourself, doesn't matter at this point. Thanks. And, Amazon can have this stuff here Thursday; my local HW doesn't have this stuff, and Lowe's / Home Depot is a ~2 hour round trip to the part of my state most affected by covid, plus the roughly 15-20mins you wait for your curbside pickup to be brought out. No thanks, I can wait until thursday.
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Jul 4, 2020 19:38
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I'm looking to improve my water system, I am on a 4" 50+ft deep well and I get sediment occasionally and iron/hard water/sulfur smell. It comes in buried copper tubing out of the floor to a compression fitting connected to a galvanized 1 inch T, one side goes to a galvanized pressure tank and the other to the cartridge filter then transitions to copper (the people who put in the softener did this) and on to the softener where after it transitions to CPVC. I have pretty much managed my water quality with a 5gpm 5 micron carbon cartridge filter and a water softener. A few years back I had an incident, I was changing the cartridge filter and snapped the galvanized out of the very old galvanized pressure tank. In a hurry I simply replaced the tank like for like and replaced all the old galvanized which was in poor shape along with throwing a new cartridge housing in and living with the 5gpm and less as the filter gets used up. This costs me about $8 a month in filters. I don't think I need anything more fancy than just cleaning up the plumbing and some sort of filter/water softener combo. I was looking at going to a larger bag type filter first to reduce the sediment such as something like this, https://www.mcmaster.com/5168K291/ , but I would still have to do something about the sulfur smell. Or do I just throw 2 of those 5gpm carbon cartridge filters in parallel?
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Jul 12, 2020 23:00
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If you're getting sediment in your water, your well screen probably needs to be replaced. A properly installed/functioning well should not be producing any sediment whatsoever.
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Jul 14, 2020 17:23
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I'm a little afraid that if that pump gets pulled up I'm going to need a new well drilled, the pump is about 30ish years old and I'm just trying to get a few more years out of it before I have to eat that cost. Its a 4 inch well and I have no idea when it was put in, the house was remodeled in the early 1900s and again in the 70s I'm guessing based on the construction methods used. Its a two wire system that used to use the screw in fuses in the disconnect until I changed it out, no dates on anything I could see from the original installation. The sediment thing gets better and worse at times, if I'm using a ton of water I will get sediment for a while and I'll be going through filters every week or every other week when they normally last a month.
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Jul 16, 2020 03:38
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You should call a well service company. It could be as simple as your pump intake being too close to the bottom of the well. At any rate, it's not gonna get better and the silt is gonna mess up the pump eventually. Better to spend your money actually fixing the problem imo.
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Jul 16, 2020 04:12
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SpeedFreek posted:I'm a little afraid that if that pump gets pulled up I'm going to need a new well drilled, the pump is about 30ish years old and I'm just trying to get a few more years out of it before I have to eat that cost. Its a 4 inch well and I have no idea when it was put in, the house was remodeled in the early 1900s and again in the 70s I'm guessing based on the construction methods used. Its a two wire system that used to use the screw in fuses in the disconnect until I changed it out, no dates on anything I could see from the original installation. I don't know where you are but your state or province might have a well record for your well. You, as the home owner should have one too, but these things tend to get lost. That *should* have all the relevant info as to the date it was drilled, method, pump info etc.... Thats not going to solve your sediment problem, or the iron/sulphur problem, but if you do have to call in a service company, it will help them, and most of those companies charge by the hour.
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Jul 16, 2020 11:54
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My girlfriend is getting her (country) house put on city water and she's got a plumber out there trying to tie the meter box into the house but they discovered that the company the city hires to put in the meter box did something wrong. I'm not sure what exactly, but this is the picture she sent me of the re-excavation of it, and it doesn't look very well done. The bigger PVC pipe on the bottom is the main water line for the street, and the rest of the mess is something else. I thought it was interesting that they used a saddle valve on PVC. As far as I know saddle valves are all universally garbage, so I wonder if that's the problem that the plumber found. Also I don't see a meter or meter box but presumably that was removed when they started digging? Everyone in her entire county seems inept and her whole house is a shitshow of "craftsmanship" so nothing would surprise me. 
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Jul 16, 2020 18:40
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They use those self-piercing valves so they don't have to shut down the water supply and drain it to install typical fittings for a new tap. They work well enough for water supply utilities - they're not concerned about the occasional drip, like you would be inside your home.
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Jul 16, 2020 23:48
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wesleywillis posted:I don't know where you are but your state or province might have a well record for your well. You, as the home owner should have one too, but these things tend to get lost. That *should* have all the relevant info as to the date it was drilled, method, pump info etc.... Thats not going to solve your sediment problem, or the iron/sulphur problem, but if you do have to call in a service company, it will help them, and most of those companies charge by the hour. Thanks, I will check with someone I know at the local water dept to see if I should be checking with the county, village, or DNR. I'm in the southern part of Wisconsin about a mile in from Lake Michigan. I did talk with an old well guy, the one I picked up the new pressure tank from, and he didn't seem too concerned about any of it as long as it wasn't all the time. Its usually only an issue when using more water than normal, watering the garden or filling the hot tub, and clears up after a while. For the iron/sulphur smell from what I can tell everyone else around me has similar issues and at least some kind of whole house filter and a water softener.
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Jul 17, 2020 03:33
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SpeedFreek posted:Thanks, I will check with someone I know at the local water dept to see if I should be checking with the county, village, or DNR. I'm in the southern part of Wisconsin about a mile in from Lake Michigan. Your old well guy knows this is a refresh problem. If your average water usage is above the average refresh only some of the time you're gonna be fine for a long time. You start draining the casing down and you're gonna stir poo poo up. It's possible your well isn't producing enough anymore, or just not enough for your usage. That's not a position I'd want to be in, but it's likely reasonable and sustainable if you are careful with your water usage. This is always super local, and some old well guy knows what's happening with all the other wells at you well depth around you......nobody here could give you specific advice like that. Motronic fucked around with this message at 04:56 on Jul 17, 2020 |
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Jul 17, 2020 04:53
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SpeedFreek posted:Thanks, I will check with someone I know at the local water dept to see if I should be checking with the county, village, or DNR. I'm in the southern part of Wisconsin about a mile in from Lake Michigan. Try this link: https://dnr.wi.gov/WellConstructionSearch/#!/PublicSearch/Index
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Jul 17, 2020 11:34
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Need to replace some toilets. Anyone have any recommendations under $200? American standard any good?
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Jul 18, 2020 01:34
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Saddamnit posted:Need to replace some toilets. Anyone have any recommendations under $200? American standard any good? Don't buy toilets online. There are garbage copycat products imitating Kohler and such, but built by Chinese slave laborers. They look good on the outside, cost a fraction, but are cobbled together from garbage materials with varying tolerances. Nitrox fucked around with this message at 09:07 on Jul 19, 2020 |
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Jul 19, 2020 09:04
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Cross-post from the Home-Spergin' thread:Hubis posted:Ok, plumbing time!
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Jul 19, 2020 17:07
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That's 1/2" galvanized. It has a thicker wall than the standard sized L and M type copper used in residential settings.
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Jul 19, 2020 23:29
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This is likely going to be a real easy slam dunk because I'm dumb. Trying to replace a faucet hose in the kitchen sink, and having a helluva time getting the valve connection to the faucet hose undone.  Middle connector obviously. I figured it's a collet type but I'm not getting anywhere with it. Any suggestions? Edit: finally found the faucet model hiding on my hot water inlet side, it's a quick connect. Probably just old and hard to quick connect. Alucard fucked around with this message at 00:48 on Jul 20, 2020 |
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Jul 19, 2020 23:55
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Saddamnit posted:Need to replace some toilets. Anyone have any recommendations under $200? American standard any good? Yes, the Champion 4 or Cadet 3 (a bit cheaper) are both excellent options. Both should be on the shelf at HD/Lowes.
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Jul 20, 2020 01:14
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B-Nasty posted:Yes, the Champion 4 or Cadet 3 (a bit cheaper) are both excellent options. Both should be on the shelf at HD/Lowes. +1 to Champion 4
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Jul 20, 2020 01:41
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