Advice The Home Improvement/Automation Thread

Dishwasher decided to not work.

Why?

Because the fancy "easy" j-box they give to wire the thing in got a little crispy around the load terminal.

Bosch gives you a j-box with a terminal bar in it. One side has those slip on spade terminals for the prewired cord from the dishwasher. The other side are clamping screw terminals to insert the romex conductors into.

Looks like some insulation got into the screw terminal when I put it in 5 years ago.

Trying to clean it up. I did order some wago lever nut connectors so I can connect things directly. I'll snip off the slip over spades on the washer cord before I do.
 
I turned a 5 minute job into a 5 hour job last weekend.

I had done my yearly maintenance on the hot water heater (a vinegar flush), and some shit got knocked free and stopped up my showerhead in the master bath. I took it off to clean out the shit from the aerator screen, not noticing the rubber washer that fell out.

Put the showerhead back on, and could not fuckin' get it to stop leaking (because the washer wasn't there, duh), so I twisted it on hard enough that I sheared off the arm that you mount the shower head to (the one that comes out of the wall).

Naturally, I'd sheared it off at the elbow inside the wall, so I had to cut a hole in the closet behind the shower to get to it.

It had sheared off so flush with the fitting that I had to de-solder it, and pull the fitting so I could take it to my vise and grip the remains with a plier and remove them that way.

After getting that all done, and buying a new arm and shower head for the shower (moen spare parts are fairly easy for me to get locally, so I have identical parts), I had to solder the fuckin' thing back on, which took about 3 tries (both getting the orientation right, and getting it to not leak were a challenge).

But hey, I have a shower again.

🤦‍♂️
 
I turned a 5 minute job into a 5 hour job last weekend.

I had done my yearly maintenance on the hot water heater (a vinegar flush), and some shit got knocked free and stopped up my showerhead in the master bath. I took it off to clean out the shit from the aerator screen, not noticing the rubber washer that fell out.

Put the showerhead back on, and could not fuckin' get it to stop leaking (because the washer wasn't there, duh), so I twisted it on hard enough that I sheared off the arm that you mount the shower head to (the one that comes out of the wall).

Naturally, I'd sheared it off at the elbow inside the wall, so I had to cut a hole in the closet behind the shower to get to it.

It had sheared off so flush with the fitting that I had to de-solder it, and pull the fitting so I could take it to my vise and grip the remains with a plier and remove them that way.

After getting that all done, and buying a new arm and shower head for the shower (moen spare parts are fairly easy for me to get locally, so I have identical parts), I had to solder the fuckin' thing back on, which took about 3 tries (both getting the orientation right, and getting it to not leak were a challenge).

But hey, I have a shower again.

🤦‍♂️

and this is why all my shower drop ears are this kind, and theyre screwed into joist blocking with big ass screws

5EFW3_1
 
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and this is why all my shower drop ears are this kind, and theyre screwed into joist blocking with big ass screws

5EFW3_1
Yeah, that's what mine looks like, but they didn't bother screwing it into any blocking. The copper pipe is strapped to blocking like 5" below that fitting.

It's actually good in this case, because otherwise I would have had to fish the part of the stupid pot metal arm I sheared off in that threaded side out from the hole in the tile, which would have been even more aggravating.
 
Yeah, that's what mine looks like, but they didn't bother screwing it into any blocking. The copper pipe is strapped to blocking like 5" below that fitting.

It's actually good in this case, because otherwise I would have had to fish the part of the stupid pot metal arm I sheared off in that threaded side out from the hole in the tile, which would have been even more aggravating.

the pot metal arm should be thoroughly covered with teflon tape and not even be cranked in that hard. Last thing you need is shitty pot metal galvanically welding itself to a brass or stainless drop ear.
 
the pot metal arm should be thoroughly covered with teflon tape and not even be cranked in that hard. Last thing you need is shitty pot metal galvanically welding itself to a brass or stainless drop ear.
Yeah, it was. And the new one is. All pipe threads without flares or washers need teflon tape, or they'll leak regardless of how hard you crank them. That's just the way it is.

Did you even read the post? I accidentally sheared the arm as I was cranking on the shower head.
 
Weird how insulation just has a mind of its own and just sneaks into screw terminals just like that.

Couldn't possibly be the fault of the dumbass that installed it, eh.

I was going to say this but checked myself.
 
I turned a 5 minute job into a 5 hour job last weekend.

I had done my yearly maintenance on the hot water heater (a vinegar flush), and some shit got knocked free and stopped up my showerhead in the master bath. I took it off to clean out the shit from the aerator screen, not noticing the rubber washer that fell out.

Put the showerhead back on, and could not fuckin' get it to stop leaking (because the washer wasn't there, duh), so I twisted it on hard enough that I sheared off the arm that you mount the shower head to (the one that comes out of the wall).

Naturally, I'd sheared it off at the elbow inside the wall, so I had to cut a hole in the closet behind the shower to get to it.

It had sheared off so flush with the fitting that I had to de-solder it, and pull the fitting so I could take it to my vise and grip the remains with a plier and remove them that way.

After getting that all done, and buying a new arm and shower head for the shower (moen spare parts are fairly easy for me to get locally, so I have identical parts), I had to solder the fuckin' thing back on, which took about 3 tries (both getting the orientation right, and getting it to not leak were a challenge).

But hey, I have a shower again.

🤦‍♂️

I can empathize. Shit like this happens to me regularly and makes it difficult to explain to people how something so seemingly simple could turn into such a damn inconvenient and/or expensive ordeal.


bad-luck-schleprock_yahoo-e1424656057721.jpg
 
I can empathize. Shit like this happens to me regularly and makes it difficult to explain to people how something so seemingly simple could turn into such a damn inconvenient and/or expensive ordeal.


View attachment 12452
+10. I had to replace one of the fucking elbows like Jehannum on a two story house, outer wall. Through the Deluxtm tile job? Nope, through the fukcing siding.
 
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Managed to operate a stump grinder without removing any of my own limbs, now I'm just about ready for the new Maple tree (whose delivery I should really coordinate soon, bought it in May with the understanding I'd have it delivered after the hottest part of the year).

Then the sprinkler controller managed to go tits up (just a cheap Hunter SRC 6 zone). Ordered an OpenSprinkler controller to replace it (thanks, @Domon for the recommendation).
 
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Managed to operate a stump grinder without removing any of my own limbs, now I'm just about ready for the new Maple tree (whose delivery I should really coordinate soon, bought it in May with the understanding I'd have it delivered after the hottest part of the year).

Then the sprinkler controller managed to go tits up (just a cheap Hunter SRC 6 zone). Ordered an OpenSprinkler controller to replace it (thanks, @Domon for the recommendation).
let me know how that is for you
 
i fear that the 4 conductor sprinkler wire i ran years ago is gonna be no good when i hook it up and i might have to run two controllers, one from each water source
 
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i fear that the 4 conductor sprinkler wire i ran years ago is gonna be no good when i hook it up and i might have to run two controllers, one from each water source
I ran the 7-conductor wire when I replaced the system in the back, maybe 4 years ago. I didn't protect it, just buried it, and it still works fine.

(I tested it this morning to see if the wiring was an issue by sticking the AC adapter straight on the pairs, and all of the zones work fine, it's just the controller that's dicky)