Well ain't this nice...

[rrrr]

Yesterday I spent five hours replacing the tub faucet in my little rental house which is 30 miles from Plano out in the middle of nowhere. I had to cut a hole in the fiberglass enclosure to do it, and the hole was damned small because the remodel cover plates available aren't all that big. I dropped an o-ring from the new faucet's union into the wall...had to drive back to town to get another one. Finally got it fixed, but sitting on the edge of a tub for hours isn't much fun.

And then there's the home problems. My house has two a/c units, a five ton and a two ton. Four days ago the two ton outdoor unit started dying, it is tripping the compressor's heat overload protection occasionally and takes hours to cool off before it will start again.

So I'm looking on the internet and considering my options this afternoon...the units are outside near my computer desk.

About three hours ago the five ton outdoor unit kicks on and I hear all hell breaking loose outside. Go out there and the five ton is in the final death throes of a mechanical compressor failure, i.e. a thrown rod or other internal nicety. It lasted another thirty seconds or so, sounding like a spinning washing machine with a brick in it. Then no mas.

So I called an ex-tenant of mine that owns a small a/c company...he will be out in the morning with two new units. There's just the small matter of spending almost $4K for the replacements since R-22 is now $65/lb...

But other than that I'm really enjoying September.

[Frank Capua]

Look at the bright side... it will officially be Fall soon.

[rrrr]

It's 101 degrees...fall is two months away.

[Frank Capua]

It's 101 degrees...fall is two months away.

101 degrees?!? Well that's your problem right there.

[jandj]

I still got a couple cans of R12 in the shed, will that help?

[midtown]

Uh oh, we've thrown a rod.

Is that bad?

Yup.

[rrrr]

I still got a couple cans of R12 in the shed, will that help?

LOL...I coulda used them a couple of years ago but I converted the a/c in my '66 Ford F-100 to R134-A. Didn't want to pay $50/can after the compressor seal went out. I think the guy that originally installed it got the condenser from an 18 wheeler, it holds four freekin' pounds.

[steal your face]

I feel your pain just a little. We are going through a couple of weeks of 100 plus in the San Fernando Valley. My ac died last week although i knew it would because my neighbor is an ac guy and fixed it last year. He put a new one up for us at a nice reduced cost of $ 2200.00 I expected to pay at least 3-4 thousand. Good to have neighbors in the ac business.

[Sleepcheap]

As my brother the carpenter always says, plumbing isn't very complicated, but only plumber can do it.

[Jim Wilke]

I love being a home owner. Nothing is easy, houses are put together with no consideration that some poor schmuck might have to take things apart someday and fix something.

[rrrr]

Around 1 AM I was ruminating about all this, couldn't sleep. I suddenly realized I hadn't told my A/C guy that I have heat pumps. Sent him a text because I knew he was heading for the supply house early.

He responded at 7 AM, called the supplier, and texted me back. I knew what was coming...another $650 because heat pumps are more expensive than a normal unit.

Sigh.

[Davydd]

I usually do my own repairs. The only thing I'm not doing anymore are the more physically challenging tasks due to my aging. I've installed two new toilets this past year already. I went to do standard maintenance repairs on my electric water heater since one of the elements quit working. An electric water heater has both an upper and lower element. It is just a matter of turning off the electric, draining the tank, disconnecting the wires and screwing out the elements and replacing them. I did all that only I could not screw out the 14 year old elements even with the proper tool. Defeated! My manhood challenged. No hot water. My wife shaking her head and saying I should have called a plumber. So thoroughly defeated I called a plumber. Vindication! The plumber couldn't get the elements out either. He tried every trick in his arsenal. I smiled at my wife. The downside. We ended up paying for a new water heater and having it installed since he was already there and costs were incurred. The plumber did it under an hour. I probably would have farted around a couple days doing it.

[rrrr]

Davydd, I have always done everything around the house. Been a commercial mechanical, electrical, and general contractor for longer than I want to admit, but now that I can't get around because of my knees I have to give up some things. I could have installed the a/c units myself, I have a torch, reclaim equipment, a vacuum pump and the knowledge to do the job but I'm just too beat up.

My wife isn't impressed with this latest mess...it's partly my fault for some reason.

[Taxpayer]

Well, no A/C can make a lady kinda cranky.

We have a 5 ton unit downstairs and a 2 1/2 ton unit upstairs. They look like they were designed by Dr. Frankenstein after all the repairs over the last 20 years. The only thing on the two of them that hasn't been replaced at least once is the air handlers. Well that isn't quite true now that I think about it. The blower cage has been replaceed on one of them.

[fivehundred2go]

Around 1 AM I was ruminating about all this, couldn't sleep. I suddenly realized I hadn't told my A/C guy that I have heat pumps. Sent him a text because I knew he was heading for the supply house early.

He responded at 7 AM, called the supplier, and texted me back. I knew what was coming...another $650 because heat pumps are more expensive than a normal unit.

Sigh.

Dang that reversing valve. Sorry for your loss. We had to have both inside and outside units changed because a larger A-Coil was needed due to the "new and improved" refrigerant not being as efficient. I had gone through 4 different compressors in two different outside units without having to change the A-Coil also. But it was now too small to do the job.