What did you do today?

[The Tuul Crib 7,336]

Piece o cake!!  

[WHX?? 48,814]

13 minutes ago, pullstart said:

 Imma’ plumma’ today!

Oh balls..... Bet we'll hear the Kaboom from here?!?!? 

[Pullstart 62,834]

40 minutes ago, The Tuul Crib said:

Piece o cake!!  

 

32 minutes ago, WHX24 said:

Oh balls..... Bet we'll hear the Kaboom from here?!?!? 

At least it’ll be from something awesome!
 

 The shark bite of all things was leaking and her builder’s plumber said “it’s ok, they do that sometimes.”  That, along with the condensate plug on the vent adapter being off, but leaking flue gas and corrosive condensation into the room and saturating the insulation...   it’s sad the line she was fed.

[Stormin 9,981]

  Decided to mow the lawn, green and verges before the threatened rain arrived. As I was cleaning of the deck, I remove it for cleaning after every mow, the sky to the south east turned black. Missed us though and no rain yet.

  With a bit of luck I'll get the lawn sweeper and Sears/Roper out tomorrow.

 

[Pullstart 62,834]

Progress on the new install.  I am doing a gas conversion but received the wrong gas feedline so back to the shop for a replacement.

 

Though it’s evident this is a replacement, I despise the couplers stacked 2-3 times and pex pulled at a 30 degree angle so I chose to replace some piping.  

All copper tubing is deburred before cleaning and soldering.

 

[WHX?? 48,814]

Holy crap Kev that's damn near professional lookin. Don't give up yer day job tho!

[Pullstart 62,834]

23 minutes ago, WHX24 said:

Holy crap Kev that's damn near professional lookin. Don't give up yer day job tho!

I know a thing or two, about a thing or two 

Edited July 1, 2020 by pullstart

[lynnmor 7,305]

1 hour ago, pullstart said:

I know a thing or two, about a thing or two 

Did you replace the anode rod?  The first thing I do with a new water heater is remove the anode rod, clean the threads then apply Teflon tape.  I reinstall and do not over-tighten,  They can be a pain to remove if care isn't taken and the time to yank it around is before the pipes are attached.  In my area, an anode rod won't last three years and, of course, nobody ever heard of such a thing, they just keep buying new heaters.

[Pullstart 62,834]

56 minutes ago, lynnmor said:

Did you replace the anode rod?  The first thing I do with a new water heater is remove the anode rod, clean the threads then apply Teflon tape.  I reinstall and do not over-tighten,  They can be a pain to remove if care isn't taken and the time to yank it around is before the pipes are attached.  In my area, an anode rod won't last three years and, of course, nobody ever heard of such a thing, they just keep buying new heaters.

This style anode is integrated into the outlet nipple... one less leak point on the tank.  An Engineer once taught me (and @ebinmaine would agree) that many times if a pipe fitting or nut and bolt will not loosen, you can find that it’ll tighten a bit.  With all that said, we typically suggest inspecting / replacing the anode at the 2 year mark, then using what’s left as a guide to how long the next might last.

[WHX?? 48,814]

What say ye Plunge @JCM ??? True or false? I have had to pull a few anodes as they caused the water to stink. 

[lynnmor 7,305]

My guess is that there is a 1-1/16” hex under that round plastic cover on the top.  Not many of the combo dip tube/anodes out there.

Edited July 2, 2020 by lynnmor

[JCM 9,130]

I usually buy the warranty upgrade kit which adds a second anode rod and get around 12 to 15 years out of the heater, sometimes more. I suppose it all depends on the quality of the water the heater is subjected to. My Dad would drain about 5 gallons out of the heater monthly and got about 25 years out of a Ruud 40 gallon Natural gas hot water heater.

[WHX?? 48,814]

Did I mention fellas Mrs. P works at Bradford-White designing water heaters?

Now we know where the brains in the family are! 

[Pullstart 62,834]

11 hours ago, WHX24 said:

What say ye Plunge @JCM ??? True or false? I have had to pull a few anodes as they caused the water to stink. 

@WHX24 @JCM Stink is because of this.  
 

As a sacrificial anode breaks down (good thing) it causes hydrogen gas.  Some conditions cause rapid depletion of the anode.  Some causes are stray voltage in the plumbing (loose neutral, bad ground, etc. in house plumbing.  Many plumbing systems double as a redundant ground in the house.), super aggressive water (hard water, too soft water, etc.  yep, too soft of water is a bad thing too, as salt water can corrode stuff.  Most all water heaters are ceramic glass lined steel and eventually from expansion and contraction or too small a bladder in a system, the ceramic develops hairline cracks or chips over the years.), so on and so forth.  The anode is there to protect from the water beating up the exposed steel.

 

So we have hydrogen.  
 

Now typically, the stink like rotten eggs is from well water, not treated city water.  I’d rather have well water any day still, but it’s not treated nonetheless.  Hydrogen eating bacteria in an untreated well system... they poop.  In your water.  None of this is harmful, but it’s reality.  

That explains why normally the hot water stinks more than the cold water.

 

 

Things that can be done to protect your tank further...  If you have copper plumbing, add a cable type ground strap from the hot to cold water pipes.  If there is any loose wiring in your panel or your house that finds a stray voltage to the plumbing, the ground strap will offer the path of least resistance.  People say to go to an aluminum or aluminum alloy anode.  Magnesium is more sacrificial than aluminum and aluminum is more sacrificial than aluminum alloy.  The magnesium will not last as long, but will offer the best tank protection.  
 

To get rid of the bacteria, the well can be bleached for 8 or more hours by pulling the well cap, dumping a gallon or two of bleach into the well and running the cold faucets in the house until the bleach smell is present at every tap, then the same for the hot system.  Let sit for 8+ hours, then flush until the smell is gone.

 

11 hours ago, WHX24 said:

Did I mention fellas Mrs. P works at Bradford-White designing water heaters?

Now we know where the brains in the family are! 

 

I used to train plumbers and service techs how to take care of their customers and do technical troubleshooting too, along with R&D lab design, and service parts management to the world.  She’s still there and I’d gladly admit she’s the brains in the family 

 

ok there’s my  and I’ll get down from my  before I fall and get hurt! 

[Stormin 9,981]

  Took starter motor off the C-125.Tied a knot in S.W.M.B.O's broken washing line. Took motor to have new bush made and bought a new washing line. Moved washing line post to another position. Put new washing line up. Swept green and verges with the Sears/Roper and lawn sweeper. Trimmed hedge between us and next door.

  Not a lot really.

[Mickwhitt 4,610]

Started on a little project to modify a lathe chuck.

Involves making a new backplate to carry a disc chuck. 

It's a thin piece collet or step chuck that is ideal for working on very thin pieces such as washers and spacers.

I'll snap some pics tomorrow to show what I'm trying to describe.

 

[rjg854 11,360]

Bought myself a york rack, today

6' wide and @ 7' long and weighs a ton. This ought to work nice on my 1/4 mile driveway. The brand is York which came orange colored, why someone would paint it green is beyond me  I think I better change it to red or it just won't look good behind a 

 

[Mikey the Monkey 697]

@rjg854...very nice York rake. Made in NY. Still.in business I believe

[Mickwhitt 4,610]

I spent the day in the machine shop modifying the lathe chuck.

Had to cut the old lathe spindle down to mount as the chuck carrier. Then had to machine a backplate to take it and a threaded mandrell to pull the chuck closed.

All in all a pleasant day at the lathe.

[Mickwhitt 4,610]

[Stormin 9,981]

 You might not be a tradesman, Mick, but your a natural born engineer.

[AMC RULES 37,130]

Went kayaking on the Hudson with my better half today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Stormin 9,981]

12 minutes ago, AMC RULES said:

 

 

 Nice photo of the wreck. What's the story on it?

[AMC RULES 37,130]

Derelict dayliner, used typically to shuttle people & goods in times past, in and out of NYC.

For example...

 

Edited July 5, 2020 by AMC RULES

[squonk 41,067]

On 7/1/2020 at 12:29 PM, pullstart said:

Progress on the new install.  I am doing a gas conversion but received the wrong gas feedline so back to the shop for a replacement.

 

Though it’s evident this is a replacement, I despise the couplers stacked 2-3 times and pex pulled at a 30 degree angle so I chose to replace some piping.  

All copper tubing is deburred before cleaning and soldering.

 

Them dielectric unions will leak. Never saw one that didn't!