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Apr 29, 2021 18:48
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| # ¿ May 21, 2024 06:34 |
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I have an old programmable thermostat that is running through batteries very quickly. It is hard wired, so I believe the battery is just a backup, so I'm thinking maybe the wires aren't supplying power anymore. I have looked at the back of it and the wires appear to be hooked up. How would I check if there is (the correct) amount of current running through them? Would one of those no touch voltage testers be sufficient, or would that only tell me that there is something there? Do I need a multimeter (and if so what exactly am I doing with it)? Lastly, if it just turns out that the thermostat is on it's last legs, recommendations for a replacement that doesn't hook up to the cloud or have a bunch of sensors? After being in software for a while, I'm pretty anti-smarthome.
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Oct 18, 2021 21:52
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It's a Honeywell MagicStat CT3200. Now that you mention it, it does appear to be battery powered. Any obvious reason it would be using up a battery in <1 month (after previously working for 3+ years on the same one) with no real usage changes? I guess there was some battery corrosion on the terminals that I cleaned off with vinegar the last time I changed the battery (since it was completely dead and putting a new battery in didn't change that). That definitely could be the issue here. Grumpwagon fucked around with this message at 22:13 on Oct 18, 2021 |
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Oct 18, 2021 22:11
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Excellent, thanks for the help guys. I cleaned the contacts really thoroughly last time, so I swapped the batteries again and if it dies quickly again, time for a replacement probably. Appreciate the multimeter recommendation as well.
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Oct 19, 2021 13:31
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Caulk smoothing tools are really great, especially if you're a dumbass like me who isn't particularly handy. Even then, I'm way happier with my DIY caulk job (with a tool), than the one a handyman did (without one).
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Nov 4, 2021 19:45
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Is there a trick to unseizing this kind of water shut off valve? My dishwasher is dripping and I'd love to be able to turn the water off to just it until a plumber can come on Tuesday, but I can't budge the thing. I intend on getting the valves replaced with the quarter turn kind, but obviously that doesn't help me now.
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Jan 8, 2022 20:06
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I have what looks to be a pretty old Sears/Kenmore garbage disposal (Model 175.605631 3/4 hp. I couldn't find the exact age of that model, but it is labelled Sears and Roebuck, so it's not recent). It turns on and spins, but makes a very harsh metal on metal sound. I used the key to turn it to try and shake the problem loose. It turns freely, but at one consistent point in the rotation, it makes a similar metal on metal sound. My guess is there's something bent in there. I realize we're well past this thing's normal life, and I'm definitely open to replacing it (I recall disposal chat a few months ago by someone who had strong feelings about them, so recommendations welcome. EDIT: found the post I was thinking of), but given that we're considering renovating our entire kitchen in the next 6-18 months, which would include a new sink/disposal, if it is cheaply reparable, I'd lean in that direction. Is this something that is serviceable? Is it worth my time, or should I just replace it? What should my next steps be? To update the thread on my previous question, I have now replaced both of those seized valves under the sink that I took a picture of last time. Grumpwagon fucked around with this message at 20:42 on Jan 22, 2022 |
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Jan 22, 2022 20:32
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IOwnCalculus posted:Just go to Costco and get the one they have. It's nicer than any ISE for way less money. Wasabi the J posted:The Costco one owns and definitely acts like 1.25 HP. https://www.costco.com/CatalogSearch?dept=All&keyword=garbage+disposal I have a Costco membership, which one were you thinking?
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Jan 22, 2022 23:06
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Corla Plankun posted:Can a regular person safely and responsibly install a gas fireplace? Even if you don't DIY the whole thing (and I agree that you either shouldn't, or be well prepared with leak detection and knowledge), you could do the physical install and just hire a plumber to do the piping. I got a pipe installed professionally for my stove, and it really wasn't too bad.
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Jan 27, 2022 18:43
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In today's episode of "The Undersink Cupboard of Horrors" (previous episodes included "my sink's turnoff valves are too seized to turn off," and "my ancient garbage disposal has finally eaten itself") we have a completely unmounted outlet sitting on the base of the cupboard next to my dishwasher's intake. The wire coming from the top of the outlet box (hard to see, but just on the left side of the photo) goes down, presumably to the basement. The wire on the bottom goes to the old busted garbage disposal. Is there any way I can safely mount this outlet as is, or is that whole box as ancient and in need of replacement as the rest of what's down here? It would only be used for the new garbage disposal (which came with a regular 3 prong power cord), as it all appears to be switched on the garbage disposal switch. Also, will I be able to open that outlet box up to disconnect the wire running to the old disposal, since the new one doesn't need it? Grumpwagon fucked around with this message at 20:07 on Jan 31, 2022 |
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Jan 31, 2022 19:35
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Grumpwagon posted:In today's episode of "The Undersink Cupboard of Horrors" Thanks for the help. I installed the new disposal with no hiccups and no leaks (yet!), though I wasn't able to move the outlet yet, as there was no slack in the wire. Another project on the list! Today's project though, I'm trying to replace the old fabric insulated wire that goes to my thermostat. All the main wiring has been replaced with modern stuff by previous owners, but they left this, which, to my understanding, is fine since it is so low voltage. Unfortunately for me, the 4th wire in the bundle has stopped working (it is currently not hooked up, but it didn't work even before that). My new thermostat is complaining about it, so I'd like to run new wire. I know how to pull wire through walls, the thing I don't know anything about is hooking these wires up to the furnace. Am I able to simply connect a C wire to the furnace control panel to supply power, and not change any of the other wires, or is it more complicated than that? Here's a picture of the wires on the panel in the furnace. It is a brand new 2 stage Amana. There is no cooling system (there is a whole house humidifier, but that is not controlled by the thermostat). Happy to supply any more information needed. I'm a dummy about HVAC.  EDIT: I said C wire above, but looking at the thermostat, it says the Y wire is not connected, W, G, R are connected. Google says the Y wire controls cooling, which obviously isn't needed. The wires were labelled when connected to the old thermostat, so I just used the existing labels and connected like to like (the existing labels were Rc, G, Y, W). Given the PO's other work and the age of the wires, it is certainly possible the labeling was wrong. So I guess I have 2 questions now. Does the Y wire have a purpose in a house with no cooling, or do we suspect this was mislabeled? And, what do I do about it? The thermostat is complaining about the Y wire being disconnected, and the battery is rapidly draining (which is what made me think I needed a C wire in the first place). I'd like to fix this myself, but given that I clearly don't know anything about HVAC, if the opinion is I should bring the furnace people back, I can certainly do that. Grumpwagon fucked around with this message at 15:50 on Feb 3, 2022 |
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Feb 3, 2022 15:38
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Grumpwagon posted:I'm trying to replace the old fabric insulated wire that goes to my thermostat. To follow up on this, I did a bit more research and just completed this project successfully! To answer my own questions in case it can help other novices: Yes, connecting a C wire is as simple as just wiring a (typically blue or black) wire to the C terminal on your furnace. You don't always need a C wire, but if your thermostat complains about not getting enough power, that is a simple fix for it. Replacing old style fabric wiring isn't necessary, but made the job way easier, and I recommend it if it is easy to do. I used 18/5 thermostat wire, since I have a simple system, but I've since heard it recommended you may as well pull /8 wire for future proofing. I couldn't find that wire, and I'm not too concerned about that as I have a small house, and 5 is plenty to control heating and cooling. The Y wire is for cooling, my wires were just labelled wrong. I found this article to be very thorough about all things thermostat wiring. Grumpwagon fucked around with this message at 03:19 on Feb 8, 2022 |
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Feb 8, 2022 03:10
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Any tips on how to deal with lime on a faucet? My current plan is just to electrical tape a ziplock of CLR to it, but if there's a more... elegant way, I'm all ears.
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Feb 15, 2022 21:23
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I have a window with a wooden sill in my shower. This is just one of many issues with this shower. We're planning on redoing it, but we have kitchen work to finish first, so I'm just looking to patch this up so it'll last until we're done with that. Can I/should I just run a bead of caulk/silicone along that crack on the wooden frame, and under the vinyl part of the window? Seems like the best short term fix for now. 
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Feb 6, 2023 23:53
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Alright. I knew that grout was a ticking time bomb, but I guess it's good to know it has probably already exploded. Guess we'll probably have to deal with that before the kitchen. Thanks for the help, even if it wasn't what I wanted to hear.
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Feb 7, 2023 03:42
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Stepping away from the circus and back to my apparently mold infested house. While cleaning out the basement, we pulled some things away from a wall and found quite a bit of mold: This is not the same wall as that shower, for the record. It is an old house, with a lot of deferred maintenance from the previous owners, and the basement is not finished, nor does it always stay dry (no major flooding or anything, but occasional wet spots against a different part of this wall). That wall does have drywall on it, and my guess is that it is the cinderblock foundation behind the drywall. We run a dehydrator in the basement, but it was on the other side of the basement and through a wall from this room. We're planning on replacing the gutters on the front of the house (this wall is the basement of the front of the house), as they're quite old and leak at the seams. I imagine that will help, as well as making sure the soil flows away from the foundation, which I doubt it does right now due to the water erosion from the leaking gutters. 3 questions: 1) Is there anything else we should be doing? 2) How should we clean up that wall? I assume rip the drywall off, but anything else? 3) What should I look for for replacement gutters/installers?
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Feb 9, 2023 21:45
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My garage is old, detached and drafty. Mostly that's a problem for another day, but chipmunks and such get in and poop on my workbench, and I'd like to start using it. I've patched the gaps where the wall meets the slab, and that helped for a while, but now I'm noticing they're digging in where the slab is cracked. Would something like this be the right product to patch long cracks where frost/water has heaved the slab enough to make it crack? I don't care about leveling the whole thing or anything like that, just sealing it enough to keep vermin out. I'm in Wisconsin, so we get plenty of freezing, and as I said, the garage is unheated.
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Nov 21, 2023 21:34
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Motronic posted:Chipmunks will climb up siding/come down from trees to get in also. I'm not sure patching concrete cracks is what you' need to do, and I'm not really even able to visualize how that would help. Closing off holes in buildings is best done with hardware cloth. Yeah, I was surprised too, but there is a clear hole, with dirt evidence, showing they've burrowed from the outside to get there. I've found both sides of it and seen chipmunks run through it. I've patched every other route that I could find first, this hole didn't appear until after that.
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Nov 21, 2023 21:48
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| # ¿ May 21, 2024 06:34 |
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Probably a dumb question, but what's the best way to get a small amount of silicone? I just need to redo a very small patch of our tub, and I don't want to open up a full 10oz tube of it when I don't have any other similar projects for a while. If that's my only option, I'll do it -- it's not like it's expensive -- it just seems wasteful.
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Apr 11, 2024 22:53
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