Maintenance Day Frustration

 

Song:  Fire On High (shortened version)

Group:  ELO

Like all men...

we like to fix things...

and we get very frustrated when we see how a failure of proper engineering

had led to an unnecessary operational failure in the first place.

No...

it doesn't take an engineering degree to see how something could have been

so easily done right...to never suffer a failure...

had they not skimped to save money...

or even worse...

to ensure a replacement would need to be bought in the future.

I opened up the doors underneath the kitchen sinks to retrieve 

more dishwashing liquid so I could fill the sink side dispenser.

It was then I had noticed that a slow drip was traveling down the sink pipes.

While the previous owners had the foresight to have placed down waterproof

contact paper on the flooring of the cabinet...

I still knew I had to fix the problem immediately.

I traced the leak to the upper most compression nut connecting the sink to the first pipe.

I disassembled the pipe above and below...took it apart and looked it over...

and realized the metal compression nut had actually failed.

The lower flange had broken off.

This took any compression off the seal...

which then allowed water to drip down the pipe.

I went to the hardware store in the nearest town with the disassembled pipe

and all of the fittings to ensure I got the same type and size...

and I picked up seals...

another compression nut...

and pipe teflon tape.

Bandi loved the drive...

so...

it was all good.

However...

once I got back and began replacing the seals and the compression nut...

I noticed how if the sides of the compression nut were made twice as high...

a second seal...

a tapered silicone seal which provided lateral...

as well as vertical compression when tightened...

would have made a foolproof seal.

I tried emplacing one of the the tapered seals...

but as the side of the compression nut was too low...

the nut wouldn't screw on.

And...

of course...

had the lower metal flange been made more sturdily...

it would not have failed in the first place.

Something so important as water pipes should never fail...ever.

Anyway...

I had to place a larger amount of pipe thread tape to act...

not only as a thread seal...

but to buttress up against the compression nut seal...

to then act as what a tapered silicone seal would have done...

had they simply made the threaded sides of the compression nut twice as high.

I had also placed a small bucket underneath the pipes to catch any future leaks...

should any more develop from another joint.

I cleaned up underneath the sink...

and then swept up the whole floor.

Bandi and I relaxed on our bed for a few minutes afterwards.

She loves to cuddle up to me for a while.

She then switches to guard mode...

but from the comfort of the bed.

As the day was nice...

I decided to take...

what I thought would only be a short and easy task of draining the Jacuzzi

before below freezing weather visited.

I had previously bought a shop vac to drain the internal pipes of the Jacuzzi 

...after draining the tub portion.

I placed everything out...

all ready to begin...

when I ran into another frustratingly poorly engineered...

absolutely senseless situation.

The valve which controls the draining of the tub

had been made to drain the tub at such a slow rate...

that it would have taken more than a full day just for that portion.

I gave a mighty tiger roar in frustration...

as I know how easy it would have been ensuring a valve that opened far enough

to allow the water to flow at a rate which could empty the tub

in an hour or less could, and should, have been installed

(and yes...all of we men get frustrated at stupidly designed products...

one that could so easily been avoided by just having given ONE operational run through).

I not only ensured I had, in fact, opened it fully...

I then looked up draining one on YouTube.

Yes...

it is a design flaw...

one that should have easily been foreseen.

I will also throw away the stupidly cheap hose I had first bought.

It is prone to kinks...

and having to unravel 100 feet of it and then unkink it is just something I will

never do again

(And, yes...another tiger roar soon followed...

having to partake in this frustrating task).

I had earlier bought an expandable non-kink hose...

the type of which I will always buy in the future (I show it in the last picture).

I could have just let it slowly drained...

but as I will be doing this many times in the future...

I decided to get the right equipment for the job...

to prevent needless future frustration.

I then got online and ordered a pool siphon hose (arriving early next week)...

which will bypass the stupidly slow release valve of the tub.

And so...

I will have to leave the shop vac nearby...

until I receive the pool siphon hose...

to finally empty the tub.

This expanding non-kink hose is the type to get.

This is for the front of the house...

and I will be getting another one for the rear at a later time.

-----------

I had wanted to complete multiple tasks today...

but, I will just have to put off some until the needed equipment arrives.

There is still danger of summer rains...

and so...

I cannot work on the decks until I can be assured of multiple days of sunny weather.

And so...

for now...

I will just make some more yogurt...

and then, later in the evening...

I will probably weed another bag full.

And if the sky is right...

Bandi and I will take a sunset trike ride...

after which I will stretch...

go in the sauna...

and then take a hot shower.

As for tonight...

after eating some delicious Pad Thai...

I will probably just practice music.

I should be a lot more mellow by then  :)