Tag Archives: plumbing

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Water heater hell.

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After 5 days of heating water on the stove for sponge baths… life was pretty bleak. (not to mention stinky) But our plumber came through and replaced not only the malfunctioning control board but the two elements as well. For free! I’m not exaggerating when I say my first shower after the repairs was longer than most sexual encounters. (I’d say it was more enjoyable as well, but feelings might be hurt.) Life was good! For 3 whole days….

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Until the hot water ran out and the unit was flashing another error code. F3 means compressor failure…. which didn’t sound good at all. After hours on the phone with our plumber, the FW Webb supplier and the Bradford White manufacturer… it was determined to be programmed incorrectly and was quickly resolved. Yay!

But no. It was also revealed that Webb had taken a water sample because the destruction of the elements was so severe and unprecedented there had to be an organic cause.

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These were the results, which I don’t claim to know anything about. Yes, we have high iron. Our whole area does because we live on clay near the river. Naturally the plumber and supplier are saying we need a whole house filtration system which will cost somewhere near $5,000. If we need it, fine. But I wanted a second opinion and fired off a copy of the results to our next door neighbor who is high up in the state water department. He’s basically drinking the same water, so if he says we need one I’m more apt to believe it. His wife sent me his response…

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Ok, so they have moderately hard water. This may cause premature failure of the heating element. If they have a lot of calcium buildup inside the dishwasher I could see this being an issue in the hot water tank, or maybe they notice etching on their drinking glasses. The pH and hardness are safe to drink, no issues there. The pH along with the hardness can result in scaling within anything that has hot water touching it. Meaning pipes, fixtures, heating elements. Do they notice these things?

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We yanked out the dishwasher when we moved in, but have no etching on our glasses. We’ve never had trouble with our water, and we’ve lived here almost 20 years. The plumber came back yesterday and took more samples. Said they need to find out why those elements burned out so quickly. (because you know they’re not going to admit it was a faulty unit) Our neighbor told us to send along those results as well. It pays to know people.

And in case you’re wondering?

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Lord Dudley Mountcatten was not inconvenienced in the least …. and probably wonders why we don’t just lick ourselves clean.

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Random drivel.

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A while back my husband dragged an ottoman into the living room. The fact that it barely matches the armchair and doesn’t match the sofas at all drives me crazy….

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But it’s perfectly Lord Dudley Mountcatten sized and he loves it …

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So it stays. Sigh.

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Can someone please explain this to me…. because honestly, I’m flummoxed. Who in their right mind craves alcohol free gin?

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Live your best life… without alcohol? People really do be crazy.

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Why am I posting a photo of our water heater? Because the insanely expensive, fancy schmancy hybrid heat pump unit we installed barely 3 years ago is dead. After 2 visits from our plumber and one from the company’s rep, it was determined the computerized control board has malfunctioned. It’s a rarity, but once in a while you get a lemon. And we all know if there’s a lemon to be found? We will find it. Problem is, the boards are expensive and no one has them in stock.

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But along with the aggravation comes a new appreciation for why people only bathed once a month in olden days. Heating pots of water, and schlepping them to the tub is bad enough, but trying to duck in out of the cold shower spray long enough to wash and condition a head of long hair is torture. Maine well water in early spring? Like a quick dip in the Arctic Ocean…. minus the penguins. So if you happen to see me in the grocery store this week? Be sure and pass upwind. I haven’t showered in 3 days..

🤢

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Water is life… part 2.

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Thursday morning saw our plumbers back for round 3.

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The new submersible pump was fitted, hooked up and sunk in the well.

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And the 90 odd feet of water line stuffed back in the hole.

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🎶 Whole lotta stuffing going on. 🎶

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The end was found and the cover fitted.

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With a little sledgehammer persuasion.

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The idea of electric wire and water in such close proximity gave me the heebie jeebies, but I’m assured that’s how it’s done.

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A new type of filter called a sand trap was installed and purged. We were told our water would be sandy and sediment filled for a few days until the tank and lines clear completely. That filter turned black quickly, so you know what I’ll be doing for a while.

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Anyone thirsty?

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How about a nice warm bath?

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After the plumbers left with $2,500 in their pockets, there was a hole to fill.

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The husband, being stubborn, thought he could do it by hand. It was pure mud and weighed a ton.. so I texted our neighbor.

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Good neighbors are worth their weight in gold.

And while they were doing that?

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I was doing this. Sweeping muddy water into the drain hole…

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And dumping purged buckets of nasty brown sediment.

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Looks like I’ll be brushing my teeth with bottled water for a while longer.

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But… yay!

We have running water again, even if it isn’t potable quite yet. I won’t lie… that first shower was a little strange. But things are clearer today, and by tomorrow we might be able to drink it again.

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So let me leave you with a few words of wisdom:

Never underestimate the joy of a flushing toilet.

After 3 days without water? It’s the stuff dreams are made of….

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Water is life.

21 Comments

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And if you doubt the veracity of that statement, try living without it for a few days like we are.

Bright and early Wednesday morning, 3 men were in deep thought.

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The man on the ground is our wonderful neighbor who brought over his toy to dig a hole.

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A hole was dug.

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A wet and muddy hole filled with water from a broken pipe.

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More deep thinking was called for.

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The ‘let’s put wood in the hole filled with water so we can stand on it‘ idea did not work out as planned. Color me surprised.

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Youngest member of the team was sent down in hole anyway. (Please note he is a master plumber who planned ahead for the avoidance of butt crack photos, for which I was quite thankful.)

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The broken pipe was found and luckily it was right next to the well access so we didn’t have to tear up more lawn or the house foundation.

Solution to the problem? Bypass the existing two pipe configuration, get rid of our not that old damn it! interior water pump system…

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And install an exterior submersible pump made of stainless steel. This meant pulling up the existing water line that runs down into the well… and since that cover hadn’t been opened since 1974?

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It was not an easy job. And when things don’t come apart easily?

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It’s time for the sledgehammer.

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A whole lotta pulling followed.

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I never knew how far down our well was before this.

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But apparently it’s slightly over 90 feet.

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Young guy was sent down into the hole again.

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And of course because this is a job at our house, nothing went right or smoothly.

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Since the old pipe was cracked, it had sucked in copious amounts of dirt and sand that had to be flushed before the wire to the new pump could be pushed through to the house. Nothing worked. Trips were taken back and forth to the plumber’s shop for different tools. Trips were taken to hardware stores for extra supplies and finally… after an entire afternoon of battling… they broke through. Only to move on to the next step and realize a different size pump needed to be ordered.

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To be honest, I wasn’t either. Welcome to my world … please bring alcohol.

So a less than wonderful Wednesday ended like this: open water lines actively pissing muddy water from the flooded hole into our cellar.

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And notes like this pasted all around our house.

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No drinking water, no toilet flushing water, no using dishes and glasses you have to wash… and worst of all, no shower.

Still don’t think water is life? Try not showering for 3 days and get back to me.

To be continued…

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When it rains, it pours.

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(And I sincerely hope it keeps raining today because that’s probably the only way I’m going to be able to take a shower.)

I woke up this morning, slowly and creaking because of my knee. The husband, who’s been underfoot since March … who hardly ever has to visit a client since working from home… left at 7:00am to visit a client.

And that’s when the proverbial waste product collided with the rotating blades.

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I heard a noise.

And since I’m an anal retentive woman, every noise must be investigated. I tracked the noise to our so filled with crap I never go down there anymore cellar. Stairs are not my friend right now, but I hobbled down in pain and discovered it was the water pump.

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(That’s the little blue doohickey to the right for the plumbing challenged among us.)

The water pump was running. For no reason. Cycling on and off every 15 seconds. This is not what you want a water pump to do. So I climbed back upstairs, slowly and with more than a few sound effects, to make sure nothing was turned on, running or leaking. Nothing was. I hobbled outside in the rain to make sure the outdoor faucet wasn’t left on. It wasn’t. Reaching the end of my diagnostic skills, I called our plumber.

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No. That is definitely not me.

Miracle of all miracles he answered the phone and walked me through a few steps to check the problem. The pump is only 5 years old, the heater a mere 3. Nothing seemed to be wrong inside but when he had me go outside and check the well…

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And I looked down inside..

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The cap to our well was crooked and water was positively bubbling out of it. (picture taken later, sorry… no bubbles) ((The bag of sand was my husband’s answer to the well house blowing over in high wind. He might come to regret this quick fix, please stay tuned.))

When I explained what I saw, the plumber told me to run back down to the water pump (which didn’t happen because, ya know… torn meniscus) and shut power off to the water pump, water heater and recirculator. (another waste of money gadget the husband had to have which doesn’t make a bit of difference).

So I shut power off to everything because he thinks one of our pipes has cracked or broken.

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Yeah. Big time. He doesn’t think it’s a pipe in the house, but rather one leading to the house… and that can’t be good.

Thankfully he’s coming this afternoon… so if you’re a person who prays? Please pray to the god of plumbing for a swift and easy fix for your dear friend River. And rest assured if there are any photos worth posting?

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I will.

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