DOH!
Lesson learned: Hex tubing is white; CPVC is yellow.
The outside diameter of 1/2” Hex tubing, for example, is smaller than that of 1/2” CPVC. Maybe that’s why they’re different colors. No wonder the repair kept blowing out as soon as I turned the water back on! The white tubing I was using is not supposed to work with the yellow fittings I was using!
I thought I had forgotten how to use primer and glue to make a watertight joint. I also thought it might have been caused by my inability to display a proper plumber’s butt crack because I was wearing bib overalls.
Many thanks to my brother in law, Fish Hook, for setting me straight and helping me make the repair for the 6th, and final time. Thanks also to my darling daughter, Laura, for spending the afternoon handing Daddy tools, helping me cut and glue water line, fetching tools I threw across the yard when the repair blew out……again, making numerous trips to Lowe’s for more parts when the repair blew out……again and being there in case I got my crippled old butt stuck under the house and needed help ……….rescue squad………. fire department……… tow truck to drag me out from under the house……….etc.
Did I mention the leak was in the hot water line coming out of the water heater and turning off the main water supply didn’t make the water stop draining out of the tank until it was empty…….and it emptied itself in the exact spot I had to occupy while wresting pipe?
Did I mention that I had turned the power to the water heater off when I first heard the leak to prevent burning the coils out as the tank emptied so the water leaking all over me was no longer warm?
You know, it’s amazing how dirty you can get laying in a puddle of COLD water all afternoon! The water heater should be full by now. I sure hope the water gets warm soon!
Anywho, our annual “Cold weather’s here, time for a plumbing leak!” episode is over and it’s time to move on to other mischief!
East Bound and Down
Preparations are under way for our trip home to celebrate Mom’s 88th birthday.This means the sorting, packing, re-sorting, re-packing, re-re-sorting…..well you get the idea….. is underway and I’ll be out in the backyard cursing at the trees any minute now.
This is good practice for the trip home because it’s a proven fact that the idiot per mile population on Virginia’s highways increases exponentially as you travel east until you get to the gridlock that is Hampton Roads, road rage capitol of the known world. Add to that the stress from having to keep a sharp eye out for speed traps and it’s little wonder my blood pressure spikes every time I have to make the trip.
If there is one thing the USAF taught me that stuck it’s how to pack. I can usually get my bags packed (duffle, camera bags and computer bag) in 10 minutes but Frankie, Queen of the Pack Rats, always has a terrible time cramming everything into and on top of the truck. If we had a tractor trailer she would find a way to overload it! I’m always amazed that a fidget (Female mIDGET) always needs a suitcase that’s at least twice the size of everything I carry, combined.
Once Frankie finishes overloading Godzilla I have to wait until she falls asleep before going out and unloading enough junk crap trash “good stuff” to allow room for me to drive the truck and use the rear view mirrors. When she wakes up she always tries to stuff the excess back into the truck until I get that look in my eye and start searching for matches. Then she squirrels it away until her next attempt at setting a Guinness Book world record for most junk hauled across Virginia in a passenger vehicle.
Internet access at Mom’s involves a trip to McDonald’s to use their free Wi-Fi access because Mom views computers as one of the greatest evils ever visited upon mankind. My Internet Service Provider does not offer dial up access and the cost of a wireless plan would put a dent in my camera gear budget and that ain’t happening! I do have a 3G cell phone but I’m an old geezer and only use my cell for phone. I dropped the data plan after realizing that I only used it for about an hour total during the 3 month mandatory prescription period when I first got the phone. I figured the extra $49 a month would be better spent on that huge lens I wanted……and I did!
Anyhoo, I’ll be off line for most of the next week. When I get back I should have loads of pictures to share. On the other hand I may make the papers if I succumb to temptation and open fire on the idiots in a Virginia Beach traffic jam. At least tourist season is over so I’ll only have to deal with local idiots wandering around lost and not the summer time imported variety (mostly from Ohio, New Jersey and Quebec), as well.
See you when we get back….. unless I’m incarcerated or involuntarily committed!
P.S. If you happen to find yourself on a Virginia highway anywhere between Mount Rogers and the Atlantic Ocean during the next week you may want to re-consider your trip. That large green object with a dog head hanging out each side rapidly growing larger in your rear view mirrors will be Godzilla moving at a high rate of speed in and easterly direction tomorrow and westerly a week from tomorrow. I’m not braking for anything! You have been warned.
The Pine Ridge Philosopher 