Sign here if you repaired something today

[StinkyTheGrump]

Re: Sign here if you repaired something today

My wife's laptop crashed and the "recovery wizard" (the only option that was left, it wouldn't boot at all) reformatted the harddrive. I installed a fresh copy of Windows XP and all of the HP drivers. Now it works like a charm!

[Kungpao]

Re: Sign here if you repaired something today

I'm proud of this one. I mean yeah, my father in law and I put up an addition with block and concrete and stuff but this repair I'm rather proud of cause I was able to do it all by my lonesome and saved me a boatload of money.

Saturday, we lost all hot water pressure in the house. I checked the water heater's electrical connections and everything seemed fine. The hot water side of the unit was hot on the top but the pipes were no longer hot cause no flow. So Sunday (we had a party to go to sat afternoon) I decided to bite the bullet and start dismantling. I shut everything off and let water drain out while I collected my tools together. Once most of the water was out, I started the cut. Cut the hot water pipe. No turning back. The copper pipes were screwed to a galvanized nipple on the top of the unit. Same on hot and cold sides. I unscrewed the copper from the nipple on the hot side and discovered debris on top of the galvanized nipple. This could be it! I thought to myself. I pried out the debris and it came out easily and wasn't much of it to have completely killed my water pressure. So I examine this little galvanized thing. I look down into it with a flashlight and see a metal ball. I poked at it with a screwdriver and it wasn't moving. So I took the nipple off cause it was screwed to the top of the heater too. Once in my hand I realized that the ball and the nipple were a check valve so that the water would only flow in one direction. Makes sense... the ball was moving freely now that gravity wasn't pulling it down. On to the cold side. I repeat the procedure and once I get the nipple the problem presented itself. Apparently, the ball got stuck on the cold water side!! No cold water in means no hot water out. Off to Home Cheapo to replace these things. Got home, fired up the torch and put on new shut off valves and unions and WE GOTS HOT WATER AGAIN!

[tutusue]

Re: Sign here if you repaired something today

Dangit...I'm impressed, KP. No hot water, a self-repair and with a baby in the house!

I just reglued a magnet to a shell that sticks to a black metal leaf sculpture hanging on my wall. That's as "handy" as I get!

[Barry]

Re: Sign here if you repaired something today

I don't know if this qualifies ?

My land-line telephone went on the blink and so I had to call British telecom. Advice was a new re-wire and a new socket. I drilled a few holes.

[Eric]

Re: Sign here if you repaired something today

I swapped out the ballast in my kitchen fluorescent light fixture tonight.

The hardest part was getting the metal cover off in the first place. It's held on by tension on six metal tabs -- if you squeeze the cover, the tabs should clear their slots and the cover should come off easily. But something was stuck inside. I didn't want to break anything by pulling too hard, so I left it alone and went to go do something else for a while.

A few minutes later there was a BANG! and I ran back in to find that the cover had fallen to the floor. It had been stuck, all right. There was a glob of tarry stuff a few inches across that had oozed out of the old ballast and collected on the inside of the metal cover!

Does anybody have any tips on removing hard tarry goop from a painted metal surface without damaging the metal?

[SusieMisajon]

Re: Sign here if you repaired something today

I'm thinking about washing some dishes. Does that count?

[Kaonohi]

Re: Sign here if you repaired something today

Fixed the compost bin, wife's back-up lights, sliding back door and hurt feelings.

[leashlaws]

Re: Sign here if you repaired something today

Does moving some furniture from room to room count to fix a look?
How about cleaning the drains in the dishwasher which involves removing
the arm and then a couple layers of filters and such. Oh, and I fixed the
little mini Electrolux it was clogged with DOG HAIR and didn't work
I thought it was the battery at first but the beater bars were immobile!

[surlygirly]

Re: Sign here if you repaired something today

Moving furniture always counts!

I fixed my dog's itchies. Went to the vet, then spent ridiculous amounts of money on tests, shots, pills, vitamins, pill pockets to put the pills in so he'll take them, and neosporin to put on the scrapes the vet made on his legs. He's not horribly itchy anymore, but I think loving on him most of the afternoon helped a lot too.

This was Sam on the way home from the vet. He didn't feel good and was not impressed with the seatbelt.

[LikaNui]

Re: Sign here if you repaired something today

Someone had stolen my fairly new electric powerwasher, and a friend gave me an old Briggs & Stratton gas powerwasher. I had to do some work on it to get it running again, but I did and it did. Hooray! Spent several hours powerwashing a huge brick courtyard today that hadn't been done for perhaps a decade and was pretty mossy and skanky. It looks great now, but gawd did I get a sunburn on my shoulders. Ouch.

[Menehune Man]

Re: Sign here if you repaired something today

... and a friend gave me an old Briggs & Stratton gas powerwasher. I had to do some work on it to get it running again, but I did and it did. Hooray!

Great job! Right on Lika.
Sorry 'bout the theft though.