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actionjackson posted:I just had mine replaced, I think it's more of an hvac person. My old and new one are both power vent which seems to be a good feature to have. For a water heater you'd want a plumber. HVAC contractors might do boilers for radiant heat but they're not going to touch general plumbing. Toebone posted:Speaking of water heaters, mine is ~20 years old (gas) and bound to give up the ghost sooner or later. What should I look for when buying a new one? I assume this is the type of thing you need/want a plumber to install. Tankless water heaters, if you can afford one, are well worth the extra  - we had plumbers put a navien NPE240A when we bought our house and it was another $600 over having them put in a 40gal tank, but it's substantially cheaper to operate and you never run out of hot water.
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Oct 15, 2020 03:18
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The tankless gas ones are great except that if you lose power you also lose hot water, where the traditional tanked gas ones don’t seem to need electricity. They also can be (Have to be?) mounted outside, so you gain a few square feet of closet space. The gas company here will also install and finance the tankless ones and just add $20/mo to your gas bill for a year or three which feels fairly painless. E: tl; dr- If you have a gas water heater, when it dies replace it with a tankless one.
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Oct 15, 2020 04:33
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Ours is in our basement, but we still gained a decent amount of space since it's wall-mounted and far smaller than a 40 gal tank would be.
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Oct 15, 2020 04:39
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Tankless is a luxury item that I wouldn't recommend unless you want to gain the space. They come in indoor and outdoor models and have specific ventilation needs that exceed that of a regular tank one. They still poo poo the bed every 10-20 years and cost several times more to replace. Our tank was in the dead center of our house and now have a monster pantry there. If there was room for the tank outside I would have gone to exterior tank.
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Oct 15, 2020 06:05
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They don't require any more ventilation than any other power vented gas appliance? You can't run them up your flue like a cheap and inefficient gravity vented water heater, but a 2" PVC vent and condensate drain isn't exactly onerous, it's the same requirements a modern gas furnace has.
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Oct 15, 2020 06:25
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corgski posted:They don't require any more ventilation than any other power vented gas appliance? I didn't say onerous, just specific and different so for the inside models it's not always a drop in replacement.
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Oct 15, 2020 06:48
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B-Nasty posted:No matter what, tank water heaters are 10-15 year devices. Some people act like old water heaters are a badge of honor, but it's pretty stupid to risk thousands of dollars of water damage for a $600 tank that has lived a useful life. Not that I would recommend keeping around a water heater that is 15 years old, but even a fancy water alarm is like $20.
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Oct 15, 2020 13:16
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Can I get some extra eyes on these? Both are ~30 years old.  I'm less concerned with whatever is going on with the ducts. For the pipe, I know they just eventually wear down, but that seems a tad extreme. Should I be concerned? Is this a replace the whole thing situation? Just clean it somehow?
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Oct 15, 2020 13:18
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Wallet posted:Not that I would recommend keeping around a water heater that is 15 years old, but even a fancy water alarm is like $20. There are 2 failure modes for old tank water heaters: the most common is slow leaks that result in puddles under the unit. Less common, but far from unheard of, is a significant rupture that results in 50+ gallons immediately being released, and full city water pressure subsequently spraying out until someone is able to reach a shutoff valve.
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Oct 15, 2020 13:48
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I just bought myself a 33 year old oil-fired aqua booster. I'm kind of paralyzed on replacing it because of the accompanying 33 year old oil boiler, and can't decide whether to keep rolling with that or do an electric conversion. These ones do last a lot longer than conventional water heaters and are pretty unlikely to catastrophically fail, but still.
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Oct 15, 2020 15:12
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Jenkl posted:Can I get some extra eyes on these? Both are ~30 years old. You need to replace those two sections of copper line sooner rather than later. Whoever was installing them, years ago, had flux all over their hands when they were handling that pipe, and now it's eating into the copper. The joints were not shined after soldering, so the excess flux there is eating away at them. Keep your hands clean and shine your pipes, dammit. The ductwork may simply be condensate accumulating when the A/C is running. The easiest thing to do is wrap it in duct insulation (thin adhesive foil wrap works well). The pipes will leak first from the outside of the elbows. The copper is stretched thin there during forming.
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Oct 15, 2020 15:53
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PainterofCrap posted:You need to replace those two sections of copper line sooner rather than later. Whoever was installing them, years ago, had flux all over their hands when they were handling that pipe, and now it's eating into the copper. The joints were not shined after soldering, so the excess flux there is eating away at them. Thanks a bunch for the advice. I'll be sure to take action - we're refinishing the basement space so we have as much access as we're going to get now, and the potential damage if there is a leak only goes up from here. Now's the time. I checked some other spots, and other than a couple other T-sections on the same run, there's nothing nearly as bad as what is shown, but there is some more corrosion in joints it seems. Would the following pictures necessitate replacement? Trying to get an idea of scope of work here.   I'm also trying to decide if this is DIY-able. It feels manageable but I've not soldered pipes before. Would shark bites even be an option? Thanks again.
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Oct 15, 2020 16:34
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From those photos, they look solid, but tap/poke at 'em a bit to be sure...I'd shut off the supplies to them first, just in case, and have an old bath towel within reach (the bigger the better); they'll stay under pressure, but while it will spray a bit, you won't be enacting a Buster Keaton routine if your probing uncovers a pinhole. If they're still sturdy, get emory paper & shine 'em up to remove the flux. Shine EVERYTHING green that you can see. I'm partial to copper & have been soldering for forty years...but yeah, Sharkbites will work great there so long as your copper ends are straight, deburred, and clean.
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Oct 15, 2020 16:49
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Thank you! Very, VERY helpful.
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Oct 15, 2020 17:00
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I just tested the pipes as you suggested and everything feels quite sturdy, even the bad looking runs in the first photos. No leaks either. Phew. Is there a chance I get away with Emory paper/vinegar solutions cleaning them up instead of full replacement?
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Oct 15, 2020 18:05
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If you have a good HVAC guy, they usually charge a nominal fee to come inspect everything. I called out my HVAC guy out to make sure my furnace that's a relic of the 80s wasn't on the verge of death and the Nest system was installed properly and such. It only cost like $50. Quoted me 10k to replace the gas furnace and both AC units, but I won't need to upgrade any time soon.
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Oct 15, 2020 18:55
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How easy is it to replace a range hood? Pretty sure mine just ate its fan.
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Oct 15, 2020 22:02
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KKKLIP ART posted:How easy is it to replace a range hood? Pretty sure mine just ate its fan. If it's a standard residential range hood with identical rough opening requirements it's typically just a few screws and a power connection. Might be cheaper/easier to replace the fan depending on what you've got.
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Oct 15, 2020 22:05
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I need help with an extremely obnoxious stuck and broken screw. Short version: screw broke, I drilled into what's left and took an Irwin screw extractor to it, and I cannot turn the extractor with any amount of force I apply. I even got my kid to help and it wouldn't budge. I'm at the point where I'm worried I'm going to break something if I torque it harder. I've already tried WD40ing the crap out of it. I have not tried, but plan to try, sticking my butane torch in there to try to heat it up. That's going to be slightly tricky because the broken screw and threads are beneath some wood, which I don't want to burn, but I can take my chances. Does anyone have more suggestions for getting the drat thing to budge? Long version: This is one of the screws holding the latches on to the hardtop of a new-to-me 2001 Miata. The soft top latches and the middle latches on the hard top were no problem, especially since I grabbed a new Wera driver just for the occasion, to make sure I didn't have some Phillips vs JIS nonsense. One of the previous owners seems to have decided that the front latches needed to be extra secure, though, and used some sort of insanely gummy pink threadlocker or other adhesive. Five of the six screws in the two front latches yielded to carefully applied screwdriver torque. This one just stripped. I took an extractor to it and it broke off where the screw encountered the threaded part of the socket, so I used my Dremel to smooth out the broken area, drilled again, applied the extractor, and here I am. Since it's a 19-year-old hardtop I really hope to avoid some nuclear option where I have to drill it and (try to) retap it but I'm getting nervous.
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Oct 16, 2020 01:10
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PainterofCrap posted:From those photos, they look solid, but tap/poke at 'em a bit to be sure...I'd shut off the supplies to them first, just in case, and have an old bath towel within reach (the bigger the better); they'll stay under pressure, but while it will spray a bit, you won't be enacting a Buster Keaton routine if your probing uncovers a pinhole. One instance where I've seen Sharkbites used is as an alternative to unions since they can spin after being pushed together.
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Oct 16, 2020 01:17
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Hello DIYers! We have a new forum/mod feedback thread and would love to hear your thoughts! https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3944213 Get ready to read this message 15 more times in every thread you read!
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Oct 16, 2020 01:29
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Zorak of Michigan posted:I need help with an extremely obnoxious stuck and broken screw. Short version: screw broke, I drilled into what's left and took an Irwin screw extractor to it, and I cannot turn the extractor with any amount of force I apply. I even got my kid to help and it wouldn't budge. I'm at the point where I'm worried I'm going to break something if I torque it harder. I've already tried WD40ing the crap out of it. I have not tried, but plan to try, sticking my butane torch in there to try to heat it up. That's going to be slightly tricky because the broken screw and threads are beneath some wood, which I don't want to burn, but I can take my chances. Does anyone have more suggestions for getting the drat thing to budge? I don't claim to be an expert on this topic, but the only remaining techniques I've heard of for getting screws out are: - Glue a stick to the screw with epoxy, then use the stick to help you apply leverage. Doesn't sound applicable in this case because I doubt you could glue something to the screw and not the hole the screw is in. - To hell with the hole the screw is in, just drill the screw shaft out. If necessary, retrofit a new hole in after you get the thing unstuck.
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Oct 16, 2020 02:07
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If you want to heat up something metal without burning adjacent material, couldn't you use a soldering iron instead of a blowtorch? (I have no idea, hence the question mark.)
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Oct 16, 2020 02:11
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I have a fluorescent light over my desk, and the tube is on its last legs (the ballast is probably going too, but the tube is smoky inside at both ends). Thing is, there's so much variety of them I don't know what to get. It's 20 watts, 1.5" diameter, 23" from endcap to endcap, 24" to the ends of the pins, and the pins are half an inch on centers. I think it's this one. Is that right?
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Oct 16, 2020 02:27
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Bad Angus! Bad!
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3D Megadoodoo posted:If you want to heat up something metal without burning adjacent material, couldn't you use a soldering iron instead of a blowtorch? (I have no idea, hence the question mark.) This is a good idea, especially if you can get a cheap one that goes up to 11, that threadlocker should let go when it gets hot enough, and make the screw much easier to extract.
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Oct 16, 2020 03:16
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I'll give that a shot tomorrow. Thanks!
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Oct 16, 2020 03:19
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Jenkl posted:I just tested the pipes as you suggested and everything feels quite sturdy, even the bad looking runs in the first photos. No leaks either. Phew. You should be good then, just shine 'em up & get all the green off. Vinegar won't penetrate enough. Eventually, it'll develop an oxidized protective coating (turn brown).
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Oct 16, 2020 03:59
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Chillbro Baggins posted:I have a fluorescent light over my desk, and the tube is on its last legs (the ballast is probably going too, but the tube is smoky inside at both ends). Thing is, there's so much variety of them I don't know what to get. It's 20 watts, 1.5" diameter, 23" from endcap to endcap, 24" to the ends of the pins, and the pins are half an inch on centers. I think it's this one. Is that right? Yes, that is a correct replacement.
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Oct 16, 2020 04:03
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3D Megadoodoo posted:If you want to heat up something metal without burning adjacent material, couldn't you use a soldering iron instead of a blowtorch? (I have no idea, hence the question mark.) This is very clever and I'm stealing it.
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Oct 16, 2020 04:55
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PainterofCrap posted:Unplug it now. Haha good bad news! I totally should've listened to you! The stove turned itself on to Low Broil and Low Broiled itself all night. No permanent damage but it made things very toasty. I would unplug it right now BUT this is a pre-war NYC shitpile and the gas valve has been painted over so much I can't move it. Is it safe to unplug a gas range from the electricity if it's still receiving gas? I have only a lay understanding of stoves but what if there's some sort of Necessary Burnoff going on in there and by turning off the power I fill my apartment with trace gases and explode? 
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Oct 16, 2020 13:25
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Yes it's safe to unplug the electric plug on a gas stove. It will then not open the gas valve in the stove. Call your landlord.
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Oct 16, 2020 15:04
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General Battuta posted:Haha good bad news! I totally should've listened to you! The stove turned itself on to Low Broil and Low Broiled itself all night. No permanent damage but it made things very toasty. Just in case you're not aware: you came perilously close to experiencing what it's like for your home and every structure connected to it to burn down or suffer significant damage. You might not be so lucky next time. Call the landlord if you like, but call the fire department if the landlord doesn't take immediate action to fix this.
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Oct 16, 2020 15:08
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Have it unplugged, had the super over to take a look, he helpfully informed me that these gas valves are not meant to be turned by hand so maybe it's not actually stuck. For now we're going to leave it unplugged except while cooking, the landlord will send someone over to check it out.
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Oct 16, 2020 16:37
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General Battuta posted:Have it unplugged, had the super over to take a look, he helpfully informed me that these gas valves are not meant to be turned by hand so maybe it's not actually stuck. Uh, I think you might want to stick with the microwave this week, dude
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Oct 16, 2020 17:01
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General Battuta posted:Have it unplugged, had the super over to take a look, he helpfully informed me that these gas valves are not meant to be turned by hand so maybe it's not actually stuck. If you can't turn off the gas you should not actuate the valves in the literally a fire hazard stove. You should get a wrench and get that valve closed. Use a razor blade to cut off some paint and try to close it if you don't have someone out in the next day or two to fix it. If you called the gas company they would red tag that appliance, if the gas valve is nonfunctional they would red tag back to the next functional one. Do not force the valve but it might need a little elbow grease.
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Oct 16, 2020 17:16
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H110Hawk posted:If you can't turn off the gas you should not actuate the valves in the literally a fire hazard stove. You should get a wrench and get that valve closed. Use a razor blade to cut off some paint and try to close it if you don't have someone out in the next day or two to fix it. If you called the gas company they would red tag that appliance, if the gas valve is nonfunctional they would red tag back to the next functional one. Definitely won't use the stove! I'll take a crack (hopefully not an actual crack) at closing the gas valve.
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Oct 16, 2020 17:31
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Are there any paint strippers that are safe to use large quantities of indoors? The dinguses that remodeled my place before me painted all of the stair treads and chose an awful gray color. I'd like to strip it off and stain whatever wood is underneath.
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Oct 16, 2020 23:28
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oXDemosthenesXo posted:Are there any paint strippers that are safe to use large quantities of indoors? Get a respirator with a VOC (volatile organic compound) filter, set up fans, and open windows.
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Oct 16, 2020 23:35
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Dumond's Smart Strip is a pretty decent paint stripper that's biodegradable, low odor, environmentally friendly, doesn't require neutralization, and all that jazz. That said, if it were me I'd probably try a palm sander with dust collector first just to see how that goes. A heat gun may be a good option as well.
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Oct 16, 2020 23:47
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has anyone heard of a 39" wide kitchen sink base cabinet, why the hell do I have this
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Oct 16, 2020 23:48
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