It was my 37 year anniversary of leaving the DaNang airstrip for my trip back to “The World”. I arrived in S.F. an hour after I left. The longest one hour flight of my life. How did I celebrate?
Well the day before, March 31st, I decided to tackle a project that has been on my honey-do list for a few weeks. Our electric water heater was seeping at one of the fitting on top, so I decided to re-seal them all with some good pipe joint compound.
The hot side was connected with a threaded garden hose type connection the other side the CPVC joints were glued so I needed to cut the line to remove it. The guy that built this house himself, skimped on cut-off valves everywhere (and so much more), so I shut down the hot feed from the oil boiler that I had once plumbed in to temper the water and was using the electric unit as a storage tank. First I connected a garden hose to drain the sediment from unit. (Man, so much crud came out of the hose.) I re-sealed my lines successfully, turned the water back on and bled the water lines.
On April 1st, my anniversary, my wife tells me she has no hot water for her shower. She starts to fill a pot to heat it on the stove to take a “bird bath”. I say, “You don’t have to do that. I can fix the problem in five minutes.” She knows my “five minutes” and ignores my bravado continuing to heat her water. (I realized too late the day before, that I forgot to turn off the electricity to the water heater [oops] when I drained the tank with the power on it likely burning out the heating elements.)
I planned to simply cut the hot line from the electric heater supply and feed from the domestic side of the boiler water directly into the domestic piping. Dumping the heated water from the boiler into the 50 gallons of cold water would take forever to produce 100F degree water for a shower.
I had a few CPVC fittings on hand, enough to cut in two T’s and make the temporary connection. I cut the one line, added the T fitting and the stub over to the connection, but when I cut the other line to add the second T fitting, I cut the wrong line, the cold water feed to the boiler and I got a cold shower and 1/4" of water accumulating on the boiler room floor.
The only shut off valve was at the main line from the well, which I turned off so I could repair my mistake. Repair then made, I went to turn the main valve back on to test for any leaks but I bumped a CPVC valve tapped off the main line (going no place) and broke it off. [oops] This connection was T’d in BEFORE the main shut off valve. As a matter of fact, the guy that built this place had a bunch of connections before the main valve.
Now, water was flowing out of the break at 50,000 GPM [sic], while I’m looking for another main shut off valve along the line through the wall where it should have been. Finding none I see the break isn’t 100% clean but there is enough left to glue a connector to put the line and the valve back together. I smutz up a fitting and squished it on to the valve then jam it onto the fire hose flooding my basement. It held! I’m soaked!
Next, I use my ratchet tubing cutters and cut the first 3/4" line to add a fitting. Either a piece of plastic, or the cutter itself hit the fuel oil line next to the water pipe, running from the oil tank. I now have a small hole in it, with fuel oil pissing onto the back wall, all along the water pipes, running onto the top of the electric water heater and all over the floor.
I quickly grab some plumber’s epoxy that claims can be used on an active leak. I mixed some up and tried it. It must only work for water not oil. I run upstairs out into the garage and turn off the main valve and shut down the boiler so I don’t have to bleed the air from the lines later. Again, one main valve but no separate cut off valves for the boiler and the Franco-Belge oil stove, and it was actually the oil stove line leaking.
With everything stabilized and a 40# bag of cat litter on the floor, I head off to get my fittings and a case of cut off valves at Home Cheapo Building Supply Store & Illegal Alien Job Fair.
Now I can finish my repairs. I reworked everything with shut off valves and by-pass lines, the way it should have been done it the first place. Five hours later I am taking a cold shower to clean off the fuel oil smell. A later check of the system showed I forgot to close off the line to the electric water heater. Valve turned on I now have plenty of hot water. My wife is long gone off to work. I spent $60 for supplies and I burned out our electric water heater.
Whaddya think of that for a way to celebrate my anniversary?
