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I shut off the water to my house to replace a supply valve to my sink. Now the water will not come back on, even though I have reopened the main valve. Is it possible that something in the main supply valve came apart and is blocking water to the house? Is there anything I can do here?
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Feb 22, 2008 05:43
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EVERYTHING I SAY ABOUT JAPAN OR LIVING IN JAPAN IS COMPLETELY WRONG, BUT YOU BETTER BELIEVE I'LL 
ABOUT IT.
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Fire Storm posted:Does the main water valve just spin in your hands? I had that happen. The stem broke and let me tell you, that was fun. Is your problem your main valve (what happened to me), or just one of the branch valves? If it's a branch, turn off main and replace valve (use a ball valve. I love those things!). If it's your main that broke... oh boy, you are in for fun. After reading what you said, I went and checked and that is exactly what is happening: The main is just spinning. I turned it about twenty times and the knob does not move up and down and I never hit any kind of stop. (I really wish it had broken when in the open position though. I cannot flush the toilets.) EDIT: Well it turns out we have paid the additional fee for maintenance so the water company is coming out to shut off the curb box, and replace the main valve, for free. They said the main valve is over 30 years old, so no surprise it konked out. kapalama fucked around with this message at 13:26 on Feb 22, 2008 |
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Feb 22, 2008 10:12
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emanonii posted:Is it just the knob that is spinning, or id the stem spinning also? If it is just the knob, you may be able to to take it off and grab the stem with some pliers to turn the water back on. It's the stem itself.
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Feb 22, 2008 14:23
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Fire Storm posted:Well... superglue could work (but could give an odd taste and might leak again), as could a few other things, but given how cheap a new one is, just go get a new coffee pot. The carafe itself is less than $10. No need for a whole new coffee maker. Thrift stores usually have orphanned coffee pots for cheap. Superglue is apparently not poisonous once it is dry, but you can bet that pot is going to shatter unless you get one of those windshield repair kits to suck the glue into all the cracks. kapalama fucked around with this message at 03:13 on Feb 25, 2008 |
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Feb 24, 2008 00:57
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Willie Tomg posted:...although I could use that glue to fix my sandals... Goop is a better sandal repair tool. That or "Shoe Goo".
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Feb 25, 2008 03:14
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I am replacing a light switch. The old Switch has two blacks wires coming into it and one red. What does this mean? Can I replace it with a single pole switch? EDIT: It is, at least now, a single fixture light switch. kapalama fucked around with this message at 17:43 on Mar 25, 2008 |
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Mar 25, 2008 17:37
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Sapper posted:Sounds like a 3-way switch. Is there another switch that controls the same fixture? A picture of the the back of the switch, wires intact, would be helpful. This is an old house that had some definite 'engineering' done on it. Right now, it is a single fixture controlled by a single switch. I have no idea what it used to be. (Old as in we just had our curb stop replaced from when water lines were put in in 1932. It was wired orginally about that time as well AFAIK.) I don't have a camera so I made this bad MSPaint look at the back of the switch. It has a black and red next to each other on the bottom, and a black by itself on top.  I have a multimeter if there is something I could do with that. Thanks in advance.
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Mar 25, 2008 18:01
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I borrowed a neighbor's digital camera and this
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Mar 25, 2008 19:21
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and this
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Mar 25, 2008 19:22
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Sapper posted:Set it to 200V AC and see which one is hot, and which ones aren't. Then set it to continuity and ground the black lead to the metal box and see if one of those not-hots is a ground (Doubtful). Then kill the breaker and see if the bottom red and blacks aren't a straight through- looks like that switch might be wired to splice of an inline circuit to power the fixture. (First thank you again.) So what you assume is that the red and the black down next to each other are there as a junction point. So if the switch is off the wires those screws should be continuous, right? And essentially the two blacks on the opposite ends of the switch are the ones that are being connected by the switch? (And yeah the wiring is very screwy, everywhere.)
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Mar 25, 2008 22:13
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This is just a general question. There is a bit to attach to my toilet innards that stops the toilet from re-filling up if the water level drops. I guess it's there to keep the toilet from running continuously if there's a leak. But I cannot seem to get it to work reliably. Has anyone gotten this to work? It's the Fluidmaster "Leak Sentry".
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Apr 1, 2008 10:56
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Saws- a decent wood one and a hacksaw and a mini hacksaw. Propane torch Teflon tape Caulk Assortment of good wood screws from 1.5 to 3.5 inches 3M Blue masking tape (Not Duck tape brand blue tape) Mini roller frame and replacement mini rollers for painting Spray lithium grease Graphite Quick lock clamps Lubricating wax. Staple gun Sealing foam Specifically a good cordless reversible drill with a clutch (Easiest to get a set of hex head drill bits too, but that may be spendy)
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Apr 1, 2008 21:20
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pukeduke posted:I have an idea for a small plastic kitchen utensil that would need to be custom fabricated. Does a service exist where I can send someone a CAD file and they'll fabricate it to my specs? This is why all hobbyists/inventors are waiting for 3D printers. THey are still out of reach, but, soon, maybe....
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Apr 7, 2008 02:25
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RealKyleH posted:If you laminate something in a hot laminator like this: In my experience laminations work OK as long as you do not cut to close to the stuff inside. But if you are going to be bending it, or getting it wet all bets are off. Not that this may be what you are looking for but if you are looking for just a durable piece of paper you might consider tear-free paper. You can print on it and what not, snd it is essentially waterproof and very durable. I just did a quick google, and could not find it. When I bought it to print things for my boat, I got it at a Xerox store.
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Apr 12, 2008 22:44
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RealKyleH posted:No I just need to laminate it, stick it in the box/envelope, and have them look at it and hope they don't just throw it out and return to my place of business on the internet to use it. I am not sure what you mean cut to close to the stuff inside though. I will be cutting the excess edges off and cutting them into 4 rectangles. What I mean by cutting too close is make sure there is a space around the card or paper inside, for the front and back of the lamination sheets to stick. No that this has anything to do with your original question, but have you thought about a refrigerator magnet instead of a laminated card? I know that around our house we check the refrigerator for business card we have stuck there. We liked the first few we got from companies so much, that we bought some sticky magnets that are designed to make cards into refrigerator magnets. Again not related to your original question at all, so feel free to ignore it.
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Apr 13, 2008 08:22
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Arc welding as demonstrated by "air cleaner cover acros the car battery terminals"
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Apr 21, 2008 12:06
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Wapp posted:Sliding mirrored closet doors: tacky or help make a small room look bigger? I'm gonna go off to the left and say this: I have never lived in a room that was not improved by removing closet doors of any kind. For me doors are just a way of shrinking the space available. (Anyone remember that affordable housing concept house they built in California where they did away with closets altogether because it just ran up construction cost to no particular benefit? The rationale was that a closet requires essentially the same amount of work as framing and building a room. Anyone remember what that project was called?
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Apr 23, 2008 18:16
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Sanguinaire posted:I'm looking for a low profile air compressor. My basic goal is to have a <1gal compressor that I can drag out on my back porch and use on dusty computer parts instead of compressed air cans. All I've been able to find is for portable air stations for car tires, and finish nailer compressors which are just a bit to big for my apartment. Any advice? The easist way to do this is to get a scuba tank and a regulator with a blower attachment on it. You have to get the tank refilled eventually, but it's small and fairly lightweight. Helps if you already have the scuba tank and regulator like I did though.
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May 3, 2008 01:44
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You might want to check in the bike megathread too, but it sounds like what is happening is that your wheel is flexing under your weight and the pull of the chain. (That's why you can't fix it when you bike is upside down, because it only rubs when you are on the bike and turning the pedals.) You can pay to have your spokes tensioned and trued, but there is a limited lifetime for the steel used in cheap spokes and once they get stretched the usual remedy is to buy a new (and hopefully better made wheel). I have used cargo bikes for a long time (carrying 400+ pouunds) and it works like a wear accelerator testing rig for wearing out rear rims. I found that getting a 36 hole rim with the thickest gauge stainless spokes and a beastly rim like a RhynoLite (and then paying someone to true and tension it regularly) the only way to keep a rear wheel under me. Getting a custom built rim is pricey but pushing a couple of hundred pound around on a busted rim means that my bike cannot actually replace my car.
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May 10, 2008 11:12
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aunaturale posted:Some might consider this disgusting, but I'd appreciate suggestions: Alcohol prep pads will remove all manner of disgusting human goo. If it's yours, gross. If it is not yours, I feel for you. I used to do end of the year clean ups at college apartments, and the stuff they leave gooed onto the walls is pretty digusting. Go to costco and get nitrile gloves and alcohol prep pads and think happy thoughts about flowers while you are cleaning it up. If it flat (not glossy) paint it's going to leave a stain, but you can get all the material off at least. Glossy always seems to be fairly easy to wipe and not repaint.
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May 29, 2008 02:23
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aunaturale posted:Thanks for quick response. I was pretty sure I wouldn't get anything because it's so particular From my experience the alcohol prep pad (you know like they have at pharmacies for use to prep for needle sticks for diabetics and what not) is the thing I used. I had to clean up what you had to clean up as well as even more disgusting what I can only assume was dried semen wiped on the wall near the beds. I do not miss that part of the job at al not even a little bit. The rest of the job was good Mr. Fix-it training because I always had to do a little bit of everything, and it gave me an excuse to buy tools. I also learned how to break any bike lock open because we had to get rid of all the bikes abandoned on the bike racks too. (And I got to keep the free abandoned bikes, as well as any other stuff left behind that was not included in the apartment originally.
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May 29, 2008 03:58
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aunaturale posted:I always wonder if they just wait to grab one when a girl dismounts or if they actually know how to break them, because since the city is known for both bikes and bike theft you will usually have every bike locked and with a sturdy one at that. Unfortunately the bikes I got for free were the kind of bikes you could not sell. I just fixed them up and gave them to homeless folks, or local kids who could not afford bikes. I ususally had to mix three or four bikes' bits and pieces together to make two decent ones.
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May 29, 2008 05:12
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aunaturale posted:I want a good light for reading and writing. Something that is "brighter" than the yellowish "soft white" but doesn't have the glare that comes with some of those very white lights? When you get serious about lighting, you will find out that the number that seems to be important is the color temperature. The fluorescent bulbs can be purchased in a enormous wide range of temperatures. (The 'Standard' fluorescent bulb is 4100 K. For me the best bulbs are the 5000 K but they come all the way up to a 6000 K version. Sylvania labels the 5000K bulbs as 'daylight' bulbs, but for Phillips 'daylight' apparently means 6000K. If you are lucky, the home improvement center will have a display with the various bulbs plugged in for you to look at. In Hawaii, since everyone is outside all the time, interior lighting is tricky because it has to be really bright or it will put you to sleep. I end up putting a mix of 6000K and 5000K bulbs up for my favorite lighting.
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Jun 3, 2008 15:43
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Dubious Merit posted:and a convex hair strainer just makes no sense. (Written by a man clearly, and a man who has never had two long hired roommates) People with long hair end up having to empty out the hair catcher two or three times per shower with one that sits down in the drain. The convex ones increase the surface area, and make it less likely that a frustrated roommate does not just take the thing out when whe is taking a shower.
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Jun 6, 2008 20:04
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stizu posted:Maybe it is because I am a man (clearly) but, how would a convex hair trap that sticks out of the drain be better than a concave hair trap that sticks down into the drain? By 'the one that sits down in the drain', do you mean a planar hair trap? Basically the one that sticks out keep working because the hair (which tends to float along the surface of the water) can clog the bottom part and then the water above it can still drain out. With the one sticking down into the drain both the hair and the water are trying to go to the same place.
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Jun 7, 2008 01:16
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Is there a trick to grinding/sanding aluminum (other than the "clean the grinder/file with a piece of scrap steel" trick)? Also I know the "soak with vinegar to remove deposits/free seized parts that have corroded" trick. I have read that the trick with seized aluminum bits is to soak with ammonia. Does this actually work? (I have never gotten it to work.) And is there some trick to cleaning/unseizing steel bits other than WD-40 and lots of it? EDIT: SynMoo posted:PB Blaster is a great penetrating lubricant. Find it at automotive and possibly hardware stores. (I have that. It definitely finds its way into more nooks and crannies. I meant WD-40 more generically than specifically.) kapalama fucked around with this message at 03:57 on Jun 12, 2008 |
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Jun 12, 2008 02:48
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helli bubbles posted:So I'm trying to be nice and fix a door handle in my boyfriend's flat. The wood on one side has been damaged and the screws have been ripped out. What can I use to either patch up the wood and the holes (so the screws will hold again), or is this a case where a fuckton of superglue will probably be ok? The best way to fix it is to get dowels of a set size. Drill out a hole the size of the dowel and glue in the dowel. Let it set overnight and then you will have a clean slate to start with. There are also other ways to go that involve setting in some kind of metal but the doweling in the cheapest way to go.
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Jun 20, 2008 14:41
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Clayton Bigsby posted:5) Turn water on and run the faucets/showers to get the air out. In my experience. 5 is not really necessary. Water will force sll the air out whenever you use the taps. My question: Is there some trick to or special tool for removing the pins on door hinges?
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Jun 23, 2008 02:46
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emanonii posted:I use a nail to pop the pin out. Put the nail under the pin and tap with a hammer. Once you get it started (and if the nail isn't long enough) you can then use a flathead screwdriver on the underside of the lip of the pin. Tap the screwdriver with the hammer to get the rest of the pin out. Thanks for that (obvious in retrospect) tip: Hit it from the bottom first. (I am such an idiot.)
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Jun 23, 2008 17:55
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inkwell posted:I just took off a bunch of wall paper at my parent's house, and it took off the finishing on the drywall underneath. How should I go about re-finishing it, or do I need to put up new drywall? Does this happen a lot? That would absolutely suck.
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Jun 25, 2008 09:19
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b0bx13 posted:I don't have any sort of power tools and I feel its high time to rectify that. Can anyone recommend me a good drill (corded is fine, and probably preferred) for $50 or less, if that's possible? I'd start with a cordless. I find them much more handy. Get whatever your location home improvement center carries because then you can get batteries and chargers if you need. If you really want a corded one just go to a swap meet/thrift store/garage sale and pay ten bucks for whatever they have. Corded drills seem to last forever. For both keyless chucks, (and for the cordless, a clutch) are a bonus. Buy new drill bits though. And if you are really doing a lot of holes, get a bit sharpener. Look into deck screws that have the special square drive phillips head, or (if you are really lucky and your hardware shop carries them) the torx headed wood screws. When you are driving 3.5 inch screws the last thing you want is for the bit to slip and destroy the screwhead halfway through.
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Jul 2, 2008 02:12
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b0bx13 posted:I'm not against a cordless, I just figure that I don't mind using an extension cord for as often as I'd use it, and I'm probably going to get a corded one much cheaper. The one I'm looking at locally is a Black & Decker 6 amp that goes up to 1500 RPM. Is that good enough? Nothing wrong with corded tools, they have a ton more torque, and they last forever (Which is why you can get them used so cheap). But once you have used a good cordless drill, you will wonder how you made it without it so long.
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Jul 3, 2008 15:53
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ANyone have any ideas on how to keep a screen door from 'bouncing' and just shut slowly?
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Jul 11, 2008 04:22
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Haikeeba! posted:Just install a door closer. You can adjust them to what speed you want the door to close, usually just with a screw at the end. One of these jobbies: That was on the door and thinking that was the problem I replaced it, but it wants to mostly slam shut, then bounce out and then slowly close. I just want it to stop nipping at the heels of anyone walking in, and squishing our cats.
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Jul 11, 2008 20:13
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simplethird posted:After fruitless searching of Google and building sites, maybe I can find help. I would not think about building weightlifting equipment out of anything but steel for safety reasons, especially bench press, which can pretty easily kill you. Any old Sports Place sells benches and racks. This is a good thing to look for used because cheap.
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Jul 14, 2008 07:21
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Has anyone ever used Split Ring pliers? I had a pair but I have no idea where (or even what kind of store, or what country) I bought them in. And when I moved back from Japan they were part of what I left behind. Any ideas? Split rings are like keychains. They seems to be used mostly in Jewelry/beading and Fishing stuff but no one in the stores nearby know what I am talking about. Bonus Tool Porn Action: (I love watching tool use videos) http://www.firemountaingems.com/beading_howtos/beading_projects.asp?docid=58FH kapalama fucked around with this message at 07:24 on Jul 16, 2008 |
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Jul 16, 2008 07:19
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FYAD KNIGHT posted:What kind of stores have you tried? How soon do you need them? Can you order a pair on the internet? As is usually the case, once you give up hope of finding them, they magically appear. I found a fishing store near me that has them.
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Jul 16, 2008 13:28
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My in window Air COnditioner's filter does not really make a tight seal. What is the recommended way to clean the radiator behind it? I brushed it with a soft brush but it seems like some king of cleaner might help get the last bit of fuzz off.
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Jul 17, 2008 14:42
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Anyone ever use a Fein Multimaster? I saw a late night ad for it. Man, I sure could have used one a couple of times in my life. If you have used one what gauge of steel plate can it cut? Is it really stiff enough to properly right angle metal pipe?
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Jul 19, 2008 18:04
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| # ¿ Apr 28, 2024 15:31 |
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Odd question. I am breaking in a new backpack and the zippers open too wide. What's the best way to make them stop at certain points. Both before and after the zipper, if you know what I mean. Zipper and slide are plastic.
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Aug 1, 2008 04:45
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