How to Repair a GE WaterHeater eHow.com
No need to wait on expensive handymen or plumbers to repair a GE WaterHeater. Do the job yourself in half the time and save hundreds.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Finding Glacier Bay Faucet Parts/How To
Check out this article on how to find Glacier Bay Faucet parts, these are hard to find faucet parts to be sure.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Protecting Your Plumbing From Frostbite
The frigid temperatures this year are not only dangerous for humans and animals, but your plumbing as well. Before the thermometer drops into the teens you need to take preventative measures to protect you plumbing from frostbite. The main thing to remember is that the temperature is only one part of the problem. The main issue is the wind. The radiant heat from your home can keep your water and drain lines above freezing. The wind will remove the radiant heat and allow the cold temperatures to latch on and freeze the plumbing pipes and the water inside them. Here are a few things you can do to help prevent this from happening to you.
1.
Seal any cracks or openings on the outside of your home. Use a high quality silicon sealant for the smaller cracks, and expanding foam for the larger ones. Seal cracks in brickwork with a masonry chalking.
2.
Seal any crawl space openings with metal covers or Styrofoam insulation, or both.
3.
While most plumbing is located under your or in the basement, some of you may have water pipes in your attic. No mater where your pipes are located you should have them insulated. If they are located in the attic you need the insulate over the insulation so that the rising heat can reach the pipes and be trapped at that point.
4.
Any pipe exposed to the elements need to be wrapped with electrical heat tape and insulated well.
5.
Some of you know already that you have cold spots around certain plumbing that may have frozen in the past. Now is the time to break-out the light bulbs or radiant heaters and take the steps you know that you will need.
6.
Leaving faucets dripping if you are not sure that you will have any problems is a good idea, especially at night when the temperature is the lowest. Be sure to check your drains that are free flowing, if they are clogged you may wake up to a real mess. Let the water run on full for about 5 minutes, this will ensure that you drains will handles the steady flow overnight.
7.
If you have a washing machine out side on the porch or in the garage you want to protect it as well. Not only can the water lines and hoses freeze and break, but the water inside the pump of your washing machine can freeze and damage the pump.
I will post more information asap.
Disclaimer: There is no guarantee that you will absolutely not have any problems. These are only precautions that I have seen help in the past.
1.
Seal any cracks or openings on the outside of your home. Use a high quality silicon sealant for the smaller cracks, and expanding foam for the larger ones. Seal cracks in brickwork with a masonry chalking.
2.
Seal any crawl space openings with metal covers or Styrofoam insulation, or both.
3.
While most plumbing is located under your or in the basement, some of you may have water pipes in your attic. No mater where your pipes are located you should have them insulated. If they are located in the attic you need the insulate over the insulation so that the rising heat can reach the pipes and be trapped at that point.
4.
Any pipe exposed to the elements need to be wrapped with electrical heat tape and insulated well.
5.
Some of you know already that you have cold spots around certain plumbing that may have frozen in the past. Now is the time to break-out the light bulbs or radiant heaters and take the steps you know that you will need.
6.
Leaving faucets dripping if you are not sure that you will have any problems is a good idea, especially at night when the temperature is the lowest. Be sure to check your drains that are free flowing, if they are clogged you may wake up to a real mess. Let the water run on full for about 5 minutes, this will ensure that you drains will handles the steady flow overnight.
7.
If you have a washing machine out side on the porch or in the garage you want to protect it as well. Not only can the water lines and hoses freeze and break, but the water inside the pump of your washing machine can freeze and damage the pump.
I will post more information asap.
Disclaimer: There is no guarantee that you will absolutely not have any problems. These are only precautions that I have seen help in the past.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Will Smaller Water Heater Tanks Be The Best Choice ?
Your saving water everywhere in your home, why buy a Dino size tank type water heater? With all the water saving devices in the modern home it does not make sense to spend so much money storing a large amount of hot water. The average home in the US stores 40 to 50 gallons of hot water 24 hours a day. The average cost is approximately 15 to 20 percent of the homes total energy consumption. Why not cut that cost buy 50 percent?If you install a .5 gpm (gallon per minute) aerator on your bathroom sink faucets, a 1 gpm aerator on the kitchen sink faucet, a 1.5gpm shower head on each shower faucet, and use a new water saving front-load washing machine, there is no need to store more than 20 gallons of hot water.
The smallest tank type water heater at most retail stores today is going to be 29 gallons. Next time you need to change your Water Heater, consider these options. You will be lowering your energy usage and helping the environment.
If you have the luxury of a large whirlpool or jetted tub you may consider an individual tank-less waterheater.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Buying a New Kitchen Sink Faucet and Bathroom Lavatory sink Faucet Aerators
Repairing a Kitchen Sink Faucet or Bathroom Lavatory sink Faucet Aerator is nearly impossible unless you have a lot of time and patience. The small parts and flimsy screens rarely fit back together after you clean them. I find that it is easier to just replace them and move on.
Matching the size to replace a faucet aerator is the hard part. New kitchen and bath faucets are using so many different sizes that it is hard to keep up. I would hope that you kept your kitchen or bath faucets installation instructions and warranty information. If not, you can still make an educated guess as to the size and tread count of your aerator.
Remove your current aerator with a pair of pliers, being careful not to scratch the spout. You may want to protect the spout by applying a little duct tape around the end where you are working. Turn the aerator to the left, in a clockwise direction. If you do not want to scratch the finish on the aerator, wrap it in duct tape as well.
If you kitchen aerator is about the size of a nickel, then the size will be approximately 55/64 in. and a 27 tread count. For a bathroom sink faucet, they are about the size of dime or 13/64in.
There are many new aerator styles to choose. Some have swivel connection while others are stationary. There are new bubble stream aerators or waterfall designs. Water saving aerators are the in thing. They range from .5 gpm (gallons per minute) 1 gpm, 1.5 gpm and 2.2 gpm. Saving water in the bathroom makes a lot of sense, with children and young ones who leave the water running. In the kitchen however, it takes forever to fill a large pot of water.
It is of course up to you and your personal preference as to which kitchen or bath aerator works best for you.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Plumbing Questions and Answers
Thanks for stopping by. This is my new Q&A blog about plumbing. I will do my best to answer your basic plumbing questions and share what I have learned over my years of being a journeyman and contracting repair plumber. My time is a bit limited, so I will try and keep-up as best as I can. thanks again for stopping by.
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