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I need to run 1" schedule 40 PVC from that reducing tee to the front of the booster pump (the thing with flex tubing coming out of it). That flex tubing goes back to the pool to 'power' my polaris pool cleaner thing. What's loving me up is the super awkward angle that reducing tee is set at. would 2 45 elbows be the best way to make that connection, or something else? Or should I just start over up there too? Eventually I'll probably do that but as is I can't run my pump at all, though now that I think about it as I'm writing this, I would totally just screw in a cap or something to the tee and just lose the booster pump until I figure out what to do. I don't want to go the 'reinforced hose' route as the connectors at the end are terrible and leak, which is what put me in this predicament in the first place. 
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Jun 26, 2014 20:21
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PuTTY riot posted:would 2 45 elbows be the best way to make that connection, or something else? You could make that connection with a pair of 90s and 3 sections of pipe instead. Basically, put straight sections on both that tee and the booster pump, then slap 90s on their ends where they overlap vertically and put a vertical section in the middle. The problem is that it looks like you might not be able to put a new bottom pipe section going straight out of that booster pump that's long enough without the next vertical section hitting that bigger elbow with the valve next to it. If that's the case, you might need a 45 elbow too on the bottom to move the pipe over enough to make the vertical rise. Same goes for that other flex hose if it gives you fits, although you might need to get really creative spacing things out to have it clear the line you're about to put in. In fact, I'd plan ahead for that right now if it becomes a problem in the future. kid sinister fucked around with this message at 21:49 on Jun 26, 2014 |
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Jun 26, 2014 21:45
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kid sinister posted:You could make that connection with a pair of 90s and 3 sections of pipe instead. Basically, put straight sections on both that tee and the booster pump, then slap 90s on their ends where they overlap vertically and put a vertical section in the middle. The problem is that it looks like you might not be able to put a new bottom pipe section going straight out of that booster pump that's long enough without the next vertical section hitting that bigger elbow with the valve next to it. If that's the case, you might need a 45 elbow too on the bottom to move the pipe over enough to make the vertical rise. Thanks, this is really helpful. In theory I could move the booster pump a little as it isn't bolted into the ground like it should be. Also, that main pump is coming out at some point, so in theory I could re-plumb all of that too, though I don't know of a better way to do it. I'll definitely keep the other flex hose replacement in mind too. also, the reducer is threaded--- I'm assuming I don't need primer/cement. Should I put some thread tape on it or something? First time working with PVC.
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Jun 26, 2014 22:12
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PuTTY riot posted:Thanks, this is really helpful. In theory I could move the booster pump a little as it isn't bolted into the ground like it should be. Also, that main pump is coming out at some point, so in theory I could re-plumb all of that too, though I don't know of a better way to do it. I'll definitely keep the other flex hose replacement in mind too. For PVC threaded joints, use PTFE tape, commonly called Teflon tape. If you wanted a primed and cemented joint, then you would have to replace the tee. You would have to cut the tee out, then use couplings to hook a new non-threaded tee up to the old piping. edit: Hold on, I suppose I should mention to not hulk out if you're using tape with PVC threads. That's a good way to break something, usually the threads, but not always. kid sinister fucked around with this message at 21:59 on Jun 27, 2014 |
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Jun 26, 2014 23:24
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I need a dishwasher. What dishwasher should I buy? Bottle wash and orbital wands and third racks and poo poo all sound nice, but I'm just looking for a basic thing to wash my dishes without a whole bunch of doodads if I can avoid it. This would be a new installation. I like turtles fucked around with this message at 08:00 on Jul 6, 2014 |
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Jul 6, 2014 07:31
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I just bought a GE about a month ago and I like it a lot so far. Way way better than my lovely old Frigidaire was. It has some doodads and poo poo but you can just take them out or ignore them. Who the hell can figure out the models but I think this one: http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-Artistry-Top-Control-Dishwasher-in-Black-with-Steam-PreWash-ADT521PGFBS/204417239
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Jul 6, 2014 17:12
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Also happy with my GE purchased last year. GDF510PMDSA, got it on scratch and dent sale for like 200 bucks. New installation - one thing to check if you happen to be installing in a corner of the cabinets, that the washer door will clear any perpendicular cabinet drawers or doors. I had to get a model with a recessed grab instead of a handle, for this reason.
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Jul 6, 2014 17:45
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angryrobots posted:Also happy with my GE purchased last year. GDF510PMDSA, got it on scratch and dent sale for like 200 bucks. While shopping you should also take a plate, anything large that you like to throw in the dishwasher. (casserole dishes, large cups) If you do not you may end up in my dads position, brand new dishwasher but suddenly all their plates have to be hand-washed because they don't fit.
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Jul 7, 2014 00:03
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We seem to burn through toilets in my mom's house. Flappers need replacing every couple of years because they start leaking. When we got entirely new toilets put in, the float valves in the old ones were about 5 years old, but looked like they were pulled out of the titanic. Now about 2 years later, the flappers have started leaking simultaneously, and the valves, instead of shutting off smoothly, run full tilt until they reach the cutoff and then slam shut, which sends a water slug back and makes the pipes rattle; combined with the leak, this means they sometimes oscillate rapidly between open and shut, sounds like someone's hammering nails in the middle of the night. Is it normal for poo poo to go bad this often? Is it just a matter of using higher-quality hardware? Could water quality have anything to do with it? I'm in central Florida; the bedrock is limestone, so the water ends up being super hard.
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Jul 9, 2014 00:32
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Fucknag posted:Could water quality have anything to do with it? I'm in central Florida; the bedrock is limestone, so the water ends up being super hard. Absolutely water quality. Have you had your water tested?
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Jul 9, 2014 00:36
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Not recently. We had a water softener installed when we moved in around 2000, no idea if it still works, or works optimally. Guess that'll be the next step.
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Jul 9, 2014 00:51
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Fucknag posted:Not recently. We had a water softener installed when we moved in around 2000, no idea if it still works, or works optimally. You know those things need salt, constantly, right?
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Jul 9, 2014 00:55
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insta posted:You know those things need salt, constantly, right? Not just salt but the right kind of salt. I was using pellets for a while but they would turn into mush quickly causing the softener to not work well. Switching to solar salt fixed my issues. The aforementioned mush also got into the float...assembly thing in the brine tank and gunked it up. That may need to be cleaned. The softener could also be underpowered for what you actually need. If it is a simple model with a basic mechanical timer you should check to make sure it is softening on the correct interval, four to five days - ask a professional about this, and not just twice a month. If you have a fancy pants digital unit then you need to make sure it is programmed correctly.
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Jul 9, 2014 01:08
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Well I just went and looked, it's definitely got salt, all the way to the top of the tank. Mom says she hasn't refilled it in years, and I never have, so either our occasional housekeeper refilled it at some point, or the thing's fuckin' broke. It's a basic mechanical one; has a two-week program, and enough of the little "turn on" tabs are pulled out that it ought to be programmed right if it works. Might have to get in touch with the installer and see what's what. My mom also just mentioned that at one point said housekeeper may have poured concentrated bleach into the tanks, which could also be an issue if true.
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Jul 9, 2014 03:07
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Fucknag posted:Well I just went and looked, it's definitely got salt, all the way to the top of the tank. Mom says she hasn't refilled it in years, and I never have, so either our occasional housekeeper refilled it at some point, or the thing's fuckin' broke. It's a basic mechanical one; has a two-week program, and enough of the little "turn on" tabs are pulled out that it ought to be programmed right if it works. Might have to get in touch with the installer and see what's what. Some units have a bypass. If yours does it's probably enabled. My wife puts ours in bypass to refill aquariums and I never find out until my shower of sandpaper. Also, get a broom handle and jam it into the salt. Sometimes they make salt domes so they look full but are totally empty. I bet it's one of those two.
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Jul 9, 2014 05:30
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Fucknag posted:Well I just went and looked, it's definitely got salt, all the way to the top of the tank. Mom says she hasn't refilled it in years, and I never have, so either our occasional housekeeper refilled it at some point, or the thing's fuckin' broke. It's a basic mechanical one; has a two-week program, and enough of the little "turn on" tabs are pulled out that it ought to be programmed right if it works. Might have to get in touch with the installer and see what's what. Yeah, salt doesn't last that long. It's either domed as insta said or it's simply not working. Have you tried to manually cycle it? [/quote] Fucknag posted:My mom also just mentioned that at one point said housekeeper may have poured concentrated bleach into the tanks, which could also be an issue if true. That's not going to break it. If it cycles that way it may leave you water smelling like chlorine for a while, but it's not going to stop it from using salt/running.
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Jul 9, 2014 15:19
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So in eight days we close on a house and we have a bunch of projects that we'll need to complete. The first big thing is we want to replace the electric water heater with a tankless water heater. We are also thinking of replacing the washer/dryer to a gas unit, instead of the current electric one. The furnace is set up for gas, but everything else in the house is electric. First off, how expensive would it be to have the gas lines moved to the kitchen/laundry room. (The water heater is in the laundry room, which is about fifteen feet over from the furnace, with a bedroom in between) My question is about what I should expect the costs to be on something like this. I hate asking for quotations from people when I don't really know about what they are doing. I'm just looking for a ballpark, so if it is a job that goes for $2000 to $5000 and he comes in asking for $20k, I can know that it is ok to laugh in his face. I'm also wondering if it would be worth changing the water heater/dryer to gas, or is the expense on my utility bill negligible, because I have plenty of things I can spend my money on.
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Jul 14, 2014 00:42
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Sataere posted:First off, how expensive would it be to have the gas lines moved to the kitchen/laundry room. (The water heater is in the laundry room, which is about fifteen feet over from the furnace, with a bedroom in between) Congratulations on your new home. Now learn this quick: they aren't all the same, so doing a job in one house that might take 10 minutes may be drat near impossible in another. Without knowing the construction of your house and seeing what access is available, what materials were used and what's in the way can vary this estimate from $200 to $20,000. This means you need to provide a lot more information that requires some knowledge of construction or get someone there who can actually see what you have to give you an accurate answer. Gas vs electric dryer is a no brainer for long term if you use a dryer frequently. It's gas all the way. Higher up front costs, but it pays itself off over time.
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Jul 14, 2014 01:27
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Motronic posted:Congratulations on your new home. Now learn this quick: they aren't all the same, so doing a job in one house that might take 10 minutes may be drat near impossible in another. Yup, that makes a lot of sense. I'm just trying to create a very rough budget to anticipate which projects I should tackle first. Hopefully the below information could help you with a more narrow range of costs. Where the furnace is located in comparison to the water heater/laundry room, there is only one bedroom in between, and at most 25 feet of distance between the two. As for the kitchen, it is located one floor above and roughly 40 feet away. It is a forty year old townhouse and I have no idea as to the access or materials used. From what I can see through the oh so stylish paneled ceiling in our basement, there should be no obstructions to either. I guess my question is, I would assume there would be a general net cost per square foot for that piping being laid down on top of material. Assuming no addition costs for obstructions or other problems I couldn't anticipate, what would I be looking for. EDIT: Another random question. What is the purpose of the giant sink that is in the laundry room? Does it serve some essential purpose I am missing? I've only ever lived in apartments, so I just don't really know why people tell me I need to have it. Sataere fucked around with this message at 02:02 on Jul 14, 2014 |
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Jul 14, 2014 01:57
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Sataere posted:I guess my question is, I would assume there would be a general net cost per square foot for that piping being laid down on top of material. Assuming no addition costs for obstructions or other problems I couldn't anticipate, what would I be looking for. As stated, the work depends on multiple factors and a general rate would probably be underestimating. We also don't know what your other projects are. Just get three estimates and you should be able to have a better idea. Also, you want gas lines run to where the heater is, not moved (unless you're somehow talking about disconnecting your furnace). It'll make you sound a bit more like you know what you're talking about.
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Jul 14, 2014 02:06
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WeaselWeaz posted:As stated, the work depends on multiple factors and a general rate would probably be underestimating. We also don't know what your other projects are. Just get three estimates and you should be able to have a better idea. Also, you want gas lines run to where the heater is, not moved (unless you're somehow talking about disconnecting your furnace). It'll make you sound a bit more like you know what you're talking about. Good to know. Thanks.
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Jul 14, 2014 03:54
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Sataere posted:Yup, that makes a lot of sense. I'm just trying to create a very rough budget to anticipate which projects I should tackle first. Hopefully the below information could help you with a more narrow range of costs. Are you suggesting adding a tee of the existing furnace and running it to a new tankless waterheater? That won't work. Without going into a ton of detail, gas pipe sizing is calculated based on BTU load and linear feet. Adding 25 feet and 200,000 BTU's changes the calculations drastically. As far as switching the w/h over to gas (vs hiring an electrician to run wiring for a new tankless) being a money savings that depends on a lot of different things. Most importantly cost of gas / cost of electricity and habits. Oh, and don't forget if you convert your w/h to gas you're gonna need to run a vent for it through the roof. You mentioned it's a townhouse, do you know where the gas meters are located? Because adding a tankless water heater and/or range is most likely going to require a new line from the meter. Without knowing any of those details, or where you live (a plumber in the SF bay area costs a lot more than a plumber in the south) I would estimate the cost to do the above to be somewhere between 200 and 40,000. How much pipe has to be run, the size of the lines the access all make huge differences. The giant sink it's generally for soaking clothes and pre-rinsing. If you get a bloodstain on your shirt you can use that to soak it to get the stain out before you wash it.
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Jul 14, 2014 10:55
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Sataere posted:What is the purpose of the giant sink that is in the laundry room? Does it serve some essential purpose I am missing? I've only ever lived in apartments, so I just don't really know why people tell me I need to have it. The reason I was always told is that so if you have to pre-treat a stain or soak some clothing, you have a big sink with lots of room to do it vs. dealing with a smaller kitchen/bathroom sink that's in a heavy traffic area. The other reason is that since you have water & the drain installed anyway there's really not much additional expense in putting one in outside the cost of the actual sink basin itself.
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Jul 14, 2014 13:28
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Sataere posted:
I have always used them for cleaning things I don't want to clean in the house, like paint brushes and garden related things. My current house doesn't have one and I miss it.
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Jul 14, 2014 14:08
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Sataere posted:Good to know. Thanks. Also check your local utilities. They may offer rebates for high efficiency appliances. That cost difference may change your mind.
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Jul 14, 2014 15:50
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Qwijib0 posted:I have always used them for cleaning things I don't want to clean in the house, like paint brushes and garden related things. My current house doesn't have one and I miss it. Bingo, that's exactly what utility sinks are for. For houses out in the country, the laundry room tends to double as the mud room, so people also tend to use those sinks for cleaning up a bit before entering the house. They're great for cleaning your hands off up to your elbows without splashing any water on the floor.
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Jul 14, 2014 19:59
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Motronic posted:That's not going to break it. If it cycles that way it may leave you water smelling like chlorine for a while, but it's not going to stop it from using salt/running. Sorry, what I meant was poured bleach into the toilet tanks. So possibly related to that issue, not the softener. Speaking of... Motronic posted:Yeah, salt doesn't last that long. It's either domed as insta said or it's simply not working. Have you tried to manually cycle it? Salt is fine, I stuck a prybar through and there was resistance all the way down. I did cycle it last week but didn't notice anything, and I was busy so I didn't look any further. Took another look today. I manually cycled it; water didn't flow, but I could feel the unit and the wall plug getting warm. Unplugged it and popped the rear cover off; I think the motor is busted. The rotor spins freely with power off (although it also slides back and forth on the shaft, which I don't like), but when powered on and cycled it drags, and the stator gets really hot; can't spin it with a screwdriver, which is the only way to get at it. The screws holding the motor assembly to the rest of the unit are blocked by parts of the geartrain, so I'm gonna give the installer a call and see if we've got any kind of warranty (not likely, it was installed in like 2001, but who knows.)
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Jul 14, 2014 23:50
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Yeah, unfortunately those things often clog up and take out parts if they aren't maintained and run regularly. They are full of salt and water after all. Still totally worth it if you have hard water.
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Jul 15, 2014 00:21
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Side note to Water Softner Discussions: Be careful with your front loading clothes washers and softeners, it's best to hook the washer up pre-softener. My MIL had a washer destroyed by the combination of softener and retarded design. Whirpool thought that Stainless drum attached to an Aluminum arm was a good combo, when in reality.. not so much, especially if a water softener is used. Salt+Aluminum+Stainless=Galvanic Corrosion = new washer after 5 years. The spider arm broke, a chunk of it got tossed against the plastic drum housing and cracked it open. The parts were nearly as much as a new washer + I would have needed to basically rebuild the entire washer to replace the drum and Housing.
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Jul 15, 2014 03:50
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tater_salad posted:Side note to Water Softner Discussions: A similar thing happened to mine.  This is how everyone online seems to describe them breaking, and I don't see how it's galvanic corrosion. Where the spider meets the tub was absolutely fine with no indication of an issue. The spiders are simply too brittle. Also, a working softener should NOT be adding any significant amount of salt to the drinking water. If it is, the cycle isn't working properly.
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Jul 15, 2014 16:08
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I'm going by online posts saying its galvanic, and the fact that stainless and aluminum in a water environment aren't the best idea... Her's died at a similar location just 1 arm chunk broke and threw an aluminum rock at the case. On the bonus I did get a cool fire pit out of it.
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Jul 15, 2014 16:12
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tater_salad posted:Be careful with your front loading clothes washers and softeners, it's best to hook the washer up pre-softener. No, it's best to hook the washer up post-softener. Aside from scale, the biggest impact of hard water is that it causes soap to precipitate instead of lathering, which can have an impact on the effectiveness of detergents on laundry (and how well they are rinsed). And for galvanic corrosion, the calcium & magnesium ions in hard water promote galvanic corrosion about as much as the sodium ions they're replaced with in softened water, so hard water won't save your bad washer design anyway.
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Jul 15, 2014 16:12
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see look at that I learned that I had been given bad information. So basically it's awful workmanship by the washer manufacturers making inadequate spider arms, IMO washers should last more than 5yrs.
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Jul 15, 2014 17:09
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tater_salad posted:see look at that I learned that I had been given bad information. It's a terrible design where a whole lot of stress is put on that spider arm. It's literally the only thing holding up all of the clothes. Avoid overloading or letting it run with an imbalanced load and it should extend the life by quite a bit by simply not stressing the part as much. My first one made it almost 10 years. I got another barely used one of the next newer model used (with a dryer) for the same as a new inner tub+spider would have cost (and I alo needed the front outer tub to repair mine). Sold the dryer and I've been selling off the parts from my old machine on eBay. I'm about $75 away from covering what I paid for it, and still have a poo poo load of spare parts that I'm happy to keep around.
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Jul 15, 2014 17:30
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The city water guys are coming next Thursday to hook up our house, and asked that we move the washing machine out of the tiny room it's in so they have a little more room to work. The problem is that the valves for the hook-ups are pretty corroded and broken: Do I have any chance of turning these myself? If so, how should I go about it to avoid them breaking further?
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Jul 16, 2014 23:36
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Turn off your water and replace the valves.
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Jul 17, 2014 00:33
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Tim Thomas posted:Turn off your water and replace the valves. What he said. Assuming their stem washers haven't rotted away and that they would actually not leak, shutting those valves would require breaking them further with a big wrench. Those look to be 1/2" male hose bibbs, which you can buy from any hardware store. It's up to you if you prefer quarter-turn or multi-turn valves, either would work. Also get some white PTFE tape from the hardware store. Give the male treads 3 or 4 clockwise wraps of that tape before you screw them in. kid sinister fucked around with this message at 01:23 on Jul 17, 2014 |
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Jul 17, 2014 01:18
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How much water should I expect to come out of the pipes when I unscrew the valves after shutting off the water? Edit: Wait, I wouldn't be changing out the soldered sections at all? hooah fucked around with this message at 01:26 on Jul 17, 2014 |
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Jul 17, 2014 01:24
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After you shut off your water you would want to open up a faucet and maybe a hose outside to drain that water, especially if you have a two story house. If you aren't sure what to buy, take the old valve off and bring it to a hardware store and find the match that way.
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Jul 17, 2014 01:36
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hooah posted:How much water should I expect to come out of the pipes when I unscrew the valves after shutting off the water? gently caress, I had a longer reply by my ipad lost it when I switched tabs. How much water depends on how large your house is. You see where either water line goes up from those drop tees on the wall? Shut off your water at the service entrance, open the fixture on the next floor upwards, run a hose from either fixture to a drain (hint, you only need to open one at a time), open a valve and wait for it to empty. It should take a minute at most. Nope, you're only changing out the threaded parts. You would only be changing out the soldered parts if you hulk out and rip those drop ear tees off the wall, which would honestly be pretty hard to do. Once all this is done, turn the water back on and check for leaks. Your faucets will probably spit the first time you use them. That's the air emptying from the pipes and is perfectly normal. kid sinister fucked around with this message at 05:25 on Jul 17, 2014 |
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Jul 17, 2014 05:18
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