RE: Mechanical troubles!

Ahhhhh....  The joys of home ownership!

LOL!!!

Bonnie (SW OH - zone 5) 

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-gardenchat@hort.net [o*@hort.net] On Behalf
Of james singer
Sent: Sunday, February 26, 2006 8:01 AM
To: gardenchat@hort.net
Subject: Re: [CHAT] Mechanical troubles!

We need to replace our panel, too. It's only 100-amp and the main breaker
hasn't been made for a number of years. Lowest estimate we've had is
$1,400--so I don't know when we'll get to it.

On Feb 25, 2006, at 11:11 PM, Donna wrote:

> It is not as costly as I was imagining to replace the box. Although 
> our house is only 8 years old, we are adding some plugs and found we 
> didn't have expansion capabilities.(read outside plugs for trains and 
> Xmas stuff)
>
> Of course if the existing wiring has to be replaced also, that is 
> another story...
>
> Donna
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: owner-gardenchat@hort.net [o*@hort.net] On 
>> Behalf Of Bonnie & Bill Morgan
>> Sent: Saturday, February 25, 2006 2:58 PM
>> To: gardenchat@hort.net
>> Subject: RE: [CHAT] Mechanical troubles!
>>
>> Not that old.  We moved in in 1994, so about 12 years.  Even when it 
>> was built, we didn't have much confidence in the sub contractor the 
>> contractor used for hooking up the wiring in the house.  We 
>> unaffectionately called them Larry, Moe and Joe for some obvious 
>> reasons.  The geothermal heat pump would not work when they finished 
>> their "installation."  Bill had to take the wiring diagram and do the 
>> hook up himself before it would pass inspection and Bill isn't an 
>> electrician.  (He's just darned good at about everything, kind and 
>> tender, too.  Any wonder why I married him?)
>>
>> It was a bit scary, but the danger is past for now.  We just need to 
>> get a new panel installed before something else goes out because of 
>> it.
>>
>> Blessings,
>> Bonnie (SW OH - zone 5)
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: owner-gardenchat@hort.net [o*@hort.net] On 
>> Behalf Of Daryl
>> Sent: Saturday, February 25, 2006 2:52 PM
>> To: gardenchat@hort.net
>> Subject: Re: [CHAT] Mechanical troubles!
>>
>> Yikes! That's scary! I'm so glad it didn't catch fire. I didn't know 
>> breakers caught on fire. How old is your house?
>>
>> d
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Bonnie & Bill Morgan" <wmorgan972@ameritech.net>
>> To: <gardenchat@hort.net>
>> Sent: Friday, February 24, 2006 10:53 AM
>> Subject: RE: [CHAT] Mechanical troubles!
>>
>>
>>> Wow!  What a mixed week for emotions you have had!  I'm sorry about 
>>> your Italian glass items and your garbage disposal.  I love glass 
>>> myself and
>> I
>>> know some of it can be quite expensive and the one of a kind items 
>>> are just irreplaceable.  I'm so glad you won the furnace and I hope 
>>> they've got a great energy star selection for you!!!
>>>
>>> We had maintenance problems this week, too.  Tuesday I smelled 
>>> something that I thought was burning insulation.  Bill said he 
>>> didn't have much
>> hot
>>> water for his shower so I'd need to re-set the breaker in the 
>>> basement before I went to shower.  (That has frequently happened 
>>> when the furnace has not been running much to heat the water via 
>>> geothermal.)  When I went to reset the breaker I found the smell of 
>>> something burning right there!
>> The
>>> insulation had been smoldering and the plastic face plate had melted
>> over
>>> the breaker!  Boy was it HOT!   OUCH!  I ran upstairs and threw the 
>>> main
>>> breaker to the water heater and called Bill, who was at work by then.
>> He
>>> got the info for me to get a new thermostat at a local store.
>>>
>>> I was going to pick it up and Bill was going to take his lunch to do 
>>> the repairs.  It sounded good until I got in the car and it wouldn't 
>>> start!
>>> When Bill got home, we discovered my 7 year old starter battery had
>> given
>>> up
>>> the ghost.  Now there is a downside to a Prius.  The starter battery 
>>> is like no other in size or shape.  We knew that, but we called 
>>> around and Auto Zone said they had it.  Bill picked it up on his way 
>>> home.  It was NOT the right battery.  We discovered you can only get 
>>> a replacement from the dealership.
>>> Naturally, they don't carry them.  You have to order them!  UGH!!!
>>>
>>> Bill ended up taking the rest of the day off to work on the hot 
>>> water heater and my car.  I was blessed that someone at a dealer 45 
>>> minutes away had ordered one but hadn't used it.  (Of course it was 
>>> $150!)  After Bill installed my new battery, he put the new 
>>> thermostat in the hot water heater but didn't like the way the 
>>> insulation on the wiring to the thermostat looked, so he headed out 
>>> to purchase new wiring.  He got that installed and with a couple of 
>>> trials, we heard the coils kick in and everything
>> seemed
>>> fine.  (At this point, he was an hour late for class!)
>>>
>>> The next morning he said that I should wait a little while before I 
>>> showered because it seemed to be taking a little longer to heat up, 
>>> since the 50 gallon tank had gotten stone cold on Tuesday.  I waited 
>>> another 3 hours and had the absolute coldest shower of my life!!!  
>>> UGH!  There was no time
>> to
>>> find the problem at lunch, so after work, Bill came home and ran 
>>> about every test he could on the wiring and thermostat he had 
>>> installed and it was
>> all
>>> good.  BUT, every time he threw the switch on it, the main breaker 
>>> for
>> the
>>> water heater flipped!  It took us about an hour and we started 
>>> smelling that electrical burning insulation smell again....  Yup, 
>>> the breaker itself
>> had
>>> gone bad and had started to melt down!  Luckily, we had a spare 
>>> breaker.
>>> The bad news is, we can't find any more.  It looks like we'll have 
>>> to
>> have
>>
>>> a
>>> new panel installed in the very near future.
>>>
>>> We finally got hot water Thursday morning!  YEAH!!!  My poor DH is 
>>> quite worn out!  I don't want to call him to tell him the dryer is 
>>> making a horrendous noise....
>>>
>>> Blessings,
>>> Bonnie
>>
>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>> To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the 
>> message text UNSUBSCRIBE GARDENCHAT
>>
>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>> To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the 
>> message text UNSUBSCRIBE GARDENCHAT
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the 
> message text UNSUBSCRIBE GARDENCHAT
>
>
Island Jim
Southwest Florida
27.0 N, 82.4 W
Hardiness Zone 10
Heat Zone 10
Minimum 30 F [-1 C]
Maximum 100 F [38 C]

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the message
text UNSUBSCRIBE GARDENCHAT

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE GARDENCHAT
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index