Saturday, April 28, 2012

For The Ladies Who Want to Know What Us Guys Go Through With Maintaining Houses

The old water heater started leaking from its tank somewhere.

Got the old sucka out, new one in.  New one going in was much easier than old one out. Story follows.

As the project began, I put a hose on the bottom spigot of the old one to drain it.

Opened the valve, nothing but a trickle. Seems the tank had a few inches of sediment in it!  Like trying to drain water through a rock-like structure.  Probably take a million years.

(The old one needs to come out Today because this weekend is 'big trash day' for our township and tomorrow being the last day.  My wife picked up on this and lovingly informed me of such detail that might go, probably would go missed by a neanderthal like myself, that it would be awfully nice to get the old water heater out and off to the large trash collection so it wouldn't sit around on the front porch with the damp sofa we got out there that has a great view of the 2 cars up on blocks in the front yard.... (kidding eh))

After pondering the fact that draining it like this would probably take about a Month, and we also don't want to be without hot water for a month, I come up with the idea of putting some tubing down the top inlet or outlet, which are now open since I've cut the plumbing connections and siphon the water out of the top.  What a delayed genius I am.

So, I go to Home Depot and buy a 20 foot length of clear 5/16's inside diameter tubing.  Bring it home, put one end into the top of the water heater outlet fitting, Extremely Happy that it is just small enough to fit, (as if I wanted to return this tubing for some thinner tubing..) and suck on it to begin the siphon process.  It's a pretty large inside diameter, not like fish tank air hose tubing, and to draw the water up out of the unit, I've got to expel all of my air and make a Huge Sucking event, (large but not quite as large as how much oblabber sucks).  The water siphons up and out, and I get enough water that its weight is enough to maintain the siphoning action !  Yahoo !  My wife will be Impressed !  Well, not really.

I watch the water flow up and out of the tank down the tubing and into an outside drain pipe conveniently designed and installed into the basement floor and not too damn far from the water heater.
The water is flowing! Oh yes.  I now know that the tank will surrender all the water it possibly can now in about an hour or two.

Excellent.

So, now I begin unpacking the New water heater I picked up at Lowes, loading it by myself onto a flat car because no one is around.  (Lowes has Whirlpool and Home Depot, who have people that almost seem to follow you around asking constantly if you need help, has GE. and I don't like GE. Yea, it's almost Zen how there never seems to be someone in the aisles at Lowes to be of assistance, least Not the one you're in,  Once you get to the register, things are much better.  The happy friendly checkout girl even surmised I might need help loading this sucker in my van and called for a coupla young studs to come take care a that for me.  Which they did and didn't accept a tip either. Not allowed.)

Anyway, because I couldn't easily find the Sharkbite hoses to attach the new water to the inlet and outlet plumbing at Lowes, I packed up and headed to Home Depot for the rest of the bits and bobs I needed because I'd had enough of self serve at Lowes.  At Home Depot, I asked a guy who insisted on helping me, if he had a junction box and about 4 feet of numba 10 wire to attach a new water heater I just bought, that I suspect came with not enough wire to connect to the 240 volt junction box on the wall.  He said Dude, you don't need a junction box, you only need the wire.  Just connect the new wire at whatever length you need in place of the girlyman short piece of wire the water heater came with and forget the junction box, that's just one more link in the chain that can break that you won't have to worry about (guy talk).  I said, Dude, that's a righteous idea. Thank you and bought a 10 feet coil of Numba 10 guage three wire insulated wire.

I arrive at home, and with a wife who is able to assist me and does, unload the new 132 lb water heater from my van and haul it downstairs to the basement.

I start unpacking the new water heater while the old one is now draining at a rate faster than how old the universe is, and I see these - what appear to be - awfully thin electrical wires that power the new sucker.  Hmmmmmmm.  I open the installation manual and I immediately see it is talking about installation of 110 volt or alternately 240 volt Installation-depending on which model you bought (I need 240).   I think. Good God! I've bought a 110 volt version and now after I've mutilated the box the sucker came in, I may have to load it back in the van (with wife's help and disappointing looks), haul it back to Lowes and get the 240 volt version !  Without Any Help From the Lowes People Doing God Knows What Milling Around In The Store. !!!

Have mercy.

I begin scanning the carton for information about the water heater I actually purchased, brought home, unloaded, transported down to the basement, opened, and now am stressing a tiny bit, and on the label of this unit, which has its model number, serial, etc, it also says that it is a 240 volt unit.  Thank You !  Thank You!   Geeezix.  One down who knows how many to go.

Now that I know I have the correct voltage water heater, I start scoping out connections, wiring, installation guides, the whole shooting match. I find I can move the wiring from the old heater to the new one.  Which I do fairly uneventfully.  Cool.  Now I attach the copper tubes with fittings from the old water heater to the top of the new heater using Teflon tape but of course Monsieur or Mademoiselle. Oh yes, things are progressing 'normally' now.

As I toil with getting as much of the connection stuff on the new heater ready, I notice the old heater has now finished draining using the siphon method.  I rock it back and forth and note that the sucka is still Very heavy,  probably 250 lbs.. Geez.  Somehow I - We need to haul this thing out of the basement and get it into my little trailer so I can haul it to the big trash event that you go to rather than them coming to you...

I get the new heater in place, connected to the water, connected to the electrical, but with the circuit breaker still Off because you don't want electricity going to a heater that doesn't have water in it yet, lest you burn out the heating elements, I turn the valve to allow water to flow into the new heater.  Yes, it's not leaking as yet anyway.  I go upstairs and turn on the hot side of a faucet so air can escape and allow water to take its place in the tank and the plumbing lines, and I hear the air escaping.  Gonna take a while to replace 50 gallons of air with water.  I hop on the computer and visit some of my favorite blogs.

After several minutes, I hear air being pushed out of the faucet being replaced by water flowing.  The installation guide says don't get all juiced up when you first hear the water, wait 3 minutes to be sure ALL the air is out.  Ok.  3 minutes passes.  I turn off the water, go downstairs and jostle the new heater.  Yep, feel like it's got 50 gal of water in it.  Head back upstairs and flip the circuit breaker to On.

Go back downstairs and make sure sparks aren't flying out of the wall or the new heater. Nope. Cool.

A'ight, new one seemingly working, old one downstairs begging to be taken to some final resting place in landfill-land.

Problem is, this sucker is Heavy.  Almost all the water is out but I'm guessing several inches of the bottom of the tank are filled with sand like particles called 'Sediment'. 125 lbs or so of it, making the thing weigh, again, about 250 lbs.  Well, I was about done for the day but wife says, You know it's gonna rain tomorrow, why don't we get this old one out and into the trailer for the last day of trash day.  Yea, that's a Great Idea!  Actually it is.  So, we got two ways to go.  15 steps on a dolly up into and through the kitchen and out the back door, or out the 'out door' of the basement, then through 300 feet of back yard to get to the trailer.  The UP part of this is the most daunting so we opt for the 4 steps out of the basement than the 15 and out the back door.  Good thing.  With wife pulling on the dolly handle and me pushing the bottom of the water heater,we manage to get it up ONE STEP before encountering a water heater on dolly can't go any more steps without superman showing up to help dilemma.  We change places.  I see that she is actually able to move the heater, while I can't move the dolly. It's a physics thing.
So, I decide, we will just both get below the heater and push that sucker right up the dolly and out of the basement out door opening.  We do that. Dang.

We put the bastard water heater, now laying in the back yard back on the dolly and begin the 300 foot trek around the fenced swimming pool area to the asphalted parking area where the trailer is.  We stop several times and breathe.  We finally get the sucker to the area where the trailer is and wife says, why don't you hook up the trailer to the van, because it's gonna be raining tomorrow and you're not gonna want to hook it up in the rain.  Another stellar Idea. Seriously.  So, the trailer is backed up to the pool fence, and I gotta move it so I can pop the bastard heater into the trailer.  The trailer is chained to the fence.  I normally keep the key in the cup holder in my center console because if I need to lock or unlock the trailer chain, it's because I'm moving it or dropping it and the van is Always going to be part of that process. I go into the garage to get the key and no key.  Good Lord... I look all the other places where it might be, and no luck.  I bring flashlight out to van and start looking in all the areas around the console where the key might have escaped to.  Wife is looking through the console, where the CD's and stuff are and where I KNOW the key can't possibly be and Finds the key.  Good wife!  Good wife.

Unlock the trailer.  Attach trailer to van.  Move van and trailer away from fence so bastard heater can be forced into trailer.  Force bastard heater into trailer.  Close windows on van and lock van,  Come inside.  Breathe a sigh of relief that all I have to do tomorrow is drive bastard heater to big trash collection location about a mile away and say "Take this thing please, and don't try to lift it because it's too damn heavy.  Use some equipment". Then back home and on to the next adventure.


Update: Water heater dropped off at trash center.  It's been raining hard all day.  It stopped for about 5 minutes when I got out of the van to untie the heater from the trailer (bungee cords) That was nice.  Otherwise it is cold, very wet and extremely miserable.  If we had waited until today to get the heater loaded up, it probably wouldn't have happened.  I doubt the dolly would be able to go through the yard without having its wheels sink to the axle.  Thank you again Mrs Kid !  :)






Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Funny Quotes From Current Events

Maybe the Secret Service has too much testosterone. Would more female agents have made the sex scandal involving special agents and Colombian prostitutes less likely? - Washington Post

North Korea's military warned Monday of imminent "special actions" that would reduce South Korea's conservative government to ashes within minutes... -brainless twit in North Korea's government/military

Let me ask you about something which is not in the polling, but I want you as experts -- Barack Obama is the first African-American president, okay. Is there going to be a reluctance on the part of the voters and the political community that talks politics as we get into November about dumping the first African-American president? Is there going to be something that just wretches people? 'Wait a minute here, this guy is going to knock out the first guy who got aboard? - Chrissy Mathews fretting over some idiots thinking America is Racist by kicking the first "African-American" president to the curb.

Yea, screw the country, screw the people. Let's not have some loser in kickmyassistan think we're Racist over here.

LOL !

And Here's another thought for you. France sucks because they're socialist, and have been for a long time.  They went socialist when they had money left.  America is about to go Socialist AFTER they've spent all the freakin money !

LOL !
 

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Screw Earth Day !

The Earth is a thousand times cleaner now that it was just when I was a kid.  The environmental people have way too much control and I've never met a group that lies as much as they do.  Not even politicians.

Most of you have seen this already, but if not, the first 3/4s of it describes Exactly how I feel.


Saturday, April 21, 2012

U.S. Debt at Unsustainable Level, Explained

Clear, concise, easy to understand and Brief.  It doesn't get any better.

While the official debt is sitting at $15.66 trillion, the additional amount of unfunded liabilities owed by the United States government is a mind-numbing $115.49 trillion, bringing the total debt level to $131 trillion .

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

The Eagle Nebula

I'm not up for serious subjects, so I'll post this instead.

Click the picture until it gets big enough you can search for life forms in the nebula.
I imagine a googleplex * a googleplex of googleplexes of Earths could fit in this picture.


Friday, April 13, 2012

Just Putting This Into a Link Rather Than Try to Email the Vid.


This is our beagle Webster, who started out as a foster, but ended up here full time.  The black lab is Buddy and isn't with us anymore.  He's walking in fields of tall grass...  Webster is still doing Ok, has a good time with our cats and swims in the pool in the summer with a life jacket on. He's not that hard to take care of really and as long as he's having a good time, I won't regret having the back surgery operation.  One of his disks 'calcified' and a piece broke off and get between the spine and spinal column, taking out the use of his back legs.  At this point we don't think he'll recover them.  This vid is Webster Breezin.


Thursday, April 12, 2012

The Dangly Bits

It seems all parties most in the visible spectrum on both sides of the failed cheese spread souffle of media politics refuse to concentrate on the issues that will drive this country in the months and years in the very near term.

He said, she said, he apologized, she refused to. Oh gosh, what will happen if she doesn't or Gasp, if some other asshole says something that they should apologize for and what will become of the Earth if they don't.  Let's concentrate on some totally disassociated issue between an extremely small number of people in Alabama, or Maine, or California, or Florida (Doesn't something come up in Florida every election? Seriously.)

Let's dangle these fuzzy/shiny balls in front of the 300 million cats in America to take their attention completely off what is important about who and what is in the White House. 

The Palin Ball

The Ann Romney Ball

The Zimmerman Ball

There are an endless supply of fuzzy shiny balls.
And people on all sides of the aisle fall for it over and over and over.

The campaign on both sides will have so very little to do with the duties and responsibilities of the occupant of the White House, it will make your head spin if you have a bead on reality.  As I think the vast majority, if not all of those doing the blogging on the sites I visit regularly do have..  (I wish I could visit more blogs, as I'm quite sure there are some excellent thoughts out there being transmitted into space, but I only have so much time.)

Anyway; It's why I came to call political campaigns the Seduction of the Idiots about 10 years ago.


I was going to wait until I heard snookie's views on this before I posted, but I couldn't wait any longer.

Maybe if all of us screamed at the politicians and the media day after day to STFU and only talk about things that deal with the White House and it's influence on America, we could make some headway.  It's one of the best ways I can think of to protest this inane madness in a peaceful manner that MLK would be proud of.. 

(I was going to say "influence on America and the world", but right now, I really don't give much of a rats ass about the "rest of the world".  The rest of the world needs to do what  American's did 300 years or so ago, and chop the head off their own master snakes. When they're willing to do that, I'll be willing to help them. I won't help anyone who won't help themself.)

A Nice Fluffy Galaxy With Red Remoulade Sauce

All that is missing are You and I.  

Just keep clicking on the picture until you get the huge version to explore.  We shall meet there one day and dine.


Monday, April 9, 2012

Music to Start The Week

A tough arrangement of a Django Reinhardt tune called Nuages.

Django played in the early 1900's, arranging music to sooth the savage Conservative and confound the average liberal communist with it's complex lines and shadows.  Liberals are more comfortable with nursery rhyme stuff as we know.

And I'll tell ya, it ain't easy playing moving harmonics like this with a single string pick.  Tommy figured out how to do it as a kid in the Australian outback because he had never seen Chet Atkins play to observe a thumb pick.



Saturday, April 7, 2012

Serious Question. What Does A liberal Think That A Child Doesn't Think ?

To illustrate a little what I'm saying.

  • World Peace. Check
  • No Pollution. Check
  • No Animal Abuse. Check.
  •  Other Noble, Fine but disconnected from reality ideas.  Check.

Seriously; outside of being able to do higher math, drive a car,  and all the other things that older people do, what intelligence, compassion, creativity, or any other virtuous quality do liberals possess that most 3 year old's do not.

I can't think of any.

And.. What qualities of children do liberals Not possess?  Bratty, tantrum potential, prone to violence when they don't get their way, cheat, lie, steal. ?

I can't think of any.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

I LOVE This


To which I say to the courts, especially the Supreme Court, spank his pathetic little butt until he resigns.

And shove it up oBAMa's colon as well.  It's about damn time.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

5 New Orleans ex-Cops face Life Sentences in Katrina Deaths

I say.. OUTSTANDING !

Now, when is that Criminally Incompetent former governorette, kathleen babinette blano going to be arrested for negligent homicide.

Add ray nagin.  And many others.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

I'm Thinking of a Major Change Here

Being a conservative is just getting to be frustrating and depressing. It seems the rest of the world is against me and I'm getting tired swimming up stream all the time, having the 'other party' controlling the government, and generally going against the grain of society.

I'm really thinking about going liberal with my web site and maybe even my life in general.

I figure if I adopt a liberal facade that not only concedes such absurd things as economical energy caused global climate change, but actually promotes the widespread adoption of these absurd and evil concepts, I could make some money And get some peace of mind besides, since once I train myself to think like a robotic moron, I'll be much happier. All I need to do is check into one of the few liberal icon sites and find out what I'm going to think that day. I think I'll start selling T-shirts and other items that say things like "coexist" but I guess I'll need to come up with something else as that one is already taken. Maybe something like 'Think Multi-Cultural' or "Bill Maher For President."

I'd get a lot more people reading my site, and people who aren't exactly as bright as an old pencil in a knife drawer if you know what I mean. I could sell them all kinds of stuff using this Save The Planet meme over and over again. They love saving the planet and spending money to do it. Getting a million idiots to send me a buck apiece is gonna be easier than getting a few smart people like you to send me 100 grand.

What do you think ? Will you still come back and visit ?

PS - April Fools !