A few household fix-it questions...

[noodle]

I used to think I was handy.
And then moved in here and I think I'm a little beyond my element.
So I have a few questions for handymen and handywomen...

My ceiling fan in the bedroom makes this jarring, mechanical noise every 15 to twenty minutes in a rhythmic, motor noise. It's a flush mount base with a very short center thingie (maybe 6 - 8 inches), so it's not shaking or vibrating. Is there anything, short of calling the landlords AGAIN, that I can do? After 7am, there's nothing I can do to go back to sleep once I hear this thing again.

The temperature on my 50 year old gas hot water heater is not quite where I need it to be. I can shower with the hot water only, and to me, it's not hot enough. I'm more concerned about doing dishes and getting them really clean (especially meat pans, etc.). Is there typically a way to change the thermostat or will I blow myself up, more likely than not?

I've had debates about this one forever. This is an old place. There's one outlet that's useable in my bedroom, the other one has a four-plug box-shaped thing in it and the window unit is plugged into it, so I don't want to overload that one. No clue where the fuse box is anyway and the landlords are out of town. I want to run one of those simple, white extension cords with two grounded plugs from a surge protector to plug in my alarm clock and a torchiere lamp. The surge currently only has my television, the sound system, and the digital power-boosted rabbit ear antenna thingie plugged into it. Is it safe to run just one or two small items off an extension cord from a surge?

The dining room/kitchen and bathroom have those square, easy-to-install, linoleum-type tile thingies on the floor. A couple of them are coming up a little on the corners and I keep tripping. The cats are going to start pulling, too. What kind of adhesive can I use to fix the corners?

And what the heck is a plug that looks like
__ __ instead of | |

(okay, I tried the insert the little hole underneath in my "drawing" but it wouldn't line up. There is also the circular grounding/polarizing/whatever hole underneath those ^ shaped prong openings.)

hopefully some electrician person can help me with that one. And is there any way to convert it to something I can use? I'm guessing not, since the dude at WalMart looked at me like I'd lost my mind when I asked if it was worth it to continue searching for a converter elsewhere.

I can now change my own brakes, tires, air filters, and belts, set up wireless routers off my shitty clearwire and network all my computers together but damned if these things aren't baffling me or causing me to ask questions due to risk of bodily harm. And I am NOT afraid to get dirty. Just shocked, burnt, dismembered, or clocked in the head enough to cause permanent damage.

Thanks in advance!

[Tully Mars]

Originally Posted by noodle

I used to think I was handy.
And then moved in here and I think I'm a little beyond my element.
So I have a few questions for handymen and handywomen...

My ceiling fan in the bedroom makes this jarring, mechanical noise every 15 to twenty minutes in a rhythmic, motor noise. It's a flush mount base with a very short center thingie (maybe 6 - 8 inches), so it's not shaking or vibrating. Is there anything, short of calling the landlords AGAIN, that I can do? After 7am, there's nothing I can do to go back to sleep once I hear this thing again.

No idea. Most likely needs to be looked at in person. Trouble shooting something like this is hard with out seeing it. If it's doing strange things over time, 15 mins., I think overheated motor due to short. but???

Originally Posted by noodle

The temperature on my 50 year old gas hot water heater is not quite where I need it to be. I can shower with the hot water only, and to me, it's not hot enough. I'm more concerned about doing dishes and getting them really clean (especially meat pans, etc.). Is there typically a way to change the thermostat or will I blow myself up, more likely than not?

Gas, novice... maybe not a good idea. Might not even be the thermo. Could easily be clogged up or brunt out burners. If only half the burner working the thermo unit can tell it heat all it wants and it may never get really hot. I'd call someone if I were you.

Originally Posted by noodle

I've had debates about this one forever. This is an old place. There's one outlet that's useable in my bedroom, the other one has a four-plug box-shaped thing in it and the window unit is plugged into it, so I don't want to overload that one. No clue where the fuse box is anyway and the landlords are out of town. I want to run one of those simple, white extension cords with two grounded plugs from a surge protector to plug in my alarm clock and a torchiere lamp. The surge currently only has my television, the sound system, and the digital power-boosted rabbit ear antenna thingie plugged into it. Is it safe to run just one or two small items off an extension cord from a surge?

By window unit I assume you mean A/C. The important thing is how many total amps are you drawing from that one outlet. Older house it would be best to stay under 15amps total draw at any one time. How bigs the TV? Can you find a label on it or the A/C that states amp usage? The alarm clocks not drawing much and if the lamps fluro it isn't either. If the lamps halogen it will draw more. I think you're probably OK but I'd set it up while I'm home and turn everything on and check the temp of the outlet/cord with hand regularly. If it gets hot at all shut it down.

Originally Posted by noodle

The dining room/kitchen and bathroom have those square, easy-to-install, linoleum-type tile thingies on the floor. A couple of them are coming up a little on the corners and I keep tripping. The cats are going to start pulling, too. What kind of adhesive can I use to fix the corners?

I've had decent luck with liquid nails. They make several products. make sure you don't over use and clean up right away. Place something heavy on the tiles until the product cures.

Originally Posted by noodle

And what the heck is a plug that looks like
__ __ instead of | |

(okay, I tried the insert the little hole underneath in my "drawing" but it wouldn't line up. There is also the circular grounding/polarizing/whatever hole underneath those ^ shaped prong openings.)

hopefully some electrician person can help me with that one. And is there any way to convert it to something I can use? I'm guessing not, since the dude at WalMart looked at me like I'd lost my mind when I asked if it was worth it to continue searching for a converter elsewhere.

My guess is older 220. Sound like what we used as a dryer plug at the home I lived in as a kid.

Originally Posted by noodle

I can now change my own brakes, tires, air filters, and belts, set up wireless routers off my shitty clearwire and network all my computers together but damned if these things aren't baffling me or causing me to ask questions due to risk of bodily harm. And I am NOT afraid to get dirty. Just shocked, burnt, dismembered, or clocked in the head enough to cause permanent damage.

Thanks in advance!

Working with older stuff, esp. stuff that been done and redone over the years can drive the best handyman to drink, drink hard. These houses down here in Mexico are all messed up. Even the nicest looking places have been wired and plumbed by people clueless. I went to a couples house one night for dinner. Beautiful brand new beach front home- 5 bed, 5 bath, huge pool... you get the idea. They said we have slow drains in every room. Kitchens, baths they all drained at a snails pace. After dinner I looked around and couldn't find one plumbing vent anywhere. I filled the kitchen sink with water and it drained just like a water cooler- little water out and a big air bubble surfaced. They had to rip out walls to fix the problem.

[eribrav]

I don't know nearly as much as Tully but I do know that halogens are huge energy guzzlers.
That thing is going to pull a lot of amps so be very careful using it on an extension cord running from an already hardworking outlet in an old house.

[dlish]

Originally Posted by noodle

I can now change my own brakes, tires, air filters, and belts, set up wireless routers off my shitty clearwire and network all my computers together but damned if these things aren't baffling me or causing me to ask questions due to risk of bodily harm. And I am NOT afraid to get dirty. Just shocked, burnt, dismembered, or clocked in the head enough to cause permanent damage.

Thanks in advance!

hey noods....if only she-lish knew half of what you knew!

what sort of dork would say no to you..goodness only knows...

anyways, any chance of taking some pics so we can have a look?

tully is obviusly the resident electrician..i used to have a construction company back home, so we can be handy sometimes

with regards to tully's suggestion on liquid nails, make sure that the surface is clean and dry before you apply the liquid nails

[yournamehere]

Does the noise of the fan coincide at all with the heater or AC going on? If so, the breeze from the ducts may be causing a vibration of the fan blades.

A 50-year old water heater is already four lifetimes old. Replace it and be thankful for every year of life it gave you after its twelveth. As far as adjusting the temperature, they're pretty straightforward on all water heaters I've seen - there are arrows pointing one way saying, "hotter."

You can buy tubes of adhesive at Home Depot for the linoleum floor tiles.

As for the 220 (probably) plug - what room is it in? Sounds like it could be for a dryer; but perhaps an electric stove, too. They look very similar.

[noodle]

Thank you guys very much.
The lamp is a simple torchiere with a regular bulb, not halogen.
I hate halogens because they give off so much heat.
I have to go buy pliers and that tape stuff so I can replace my crappy shower head with one that is made for super-low water pressure, so I'll check out Liquid Nails.
And beer. So I can be a real fix-it-chick. LOL.

---------- Post added at 04:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:35 PM ----------

Originally Posted by yournamehere

Does the noise of the fan coincide at all with the heater or AC going on? If so, the breeze from the ducts may be causing a vibration of the fan blades.

A 50-year old water heater is already four lifetimes old. Replace it and be thankful for every year of life it gave you after its twelveth. As far as adjusting the temperature, they're pretty straightforward on all water heaters I've seen - there are arrows pointing one way saying, "hotter."

You can buy tubes of adhesive at Home Depot for the linoleum floor tiles.

As for the 220 (probably) plug - what room is it in? Sounds like it could be for a dryer; but perhaps an electric stove, too. They look very similar.

ack! this place is a rental and they were PROUD of the hot water heater. It's gas and there's no "hotter" thingie. I'll have the landlords take a look at it when they get back into town. It's an old home that was split into three apartments and a walkthrough efficiency.

I'm fairly sure it's the fan motor after being home the whole day today. So that's beyond what I can do, too.


Oh, and dlish... I also made a HUGE batch of Guinness-coffee-cocoa chili with hereford stew beef and 95% lean fround beef, a habanero, poblano, anaheim and a home-grown purple jalapeno after working on the house.


edit: Zillow says the place was built in 1909. Things are starting to make sense now.

[filtherton]

I'd like to second the recommendation to replace the water heater. At the very least, you should have a competent person open it up and remove the solids that have been accumulating in the tank for the last 50 years- they tend to reduce performance.

Otherwise, replacing the unit would not only increase water heater performance, it might also reduce the gas bill for whomever is paying it.

[amonkie]

Another vote to replace the hot water heater. I had one apartment that just never seemed to get enough hot water, and it was also a gas water heater. One day, I was leaving for work to find that the base had dumped all its water in my basement. I had a new hot water heater that afternoon after cleaning up all water, and it made a significant difference to the water temperature.

[eribrav]

Originally Posted by noodle

And beer. So I can be a real fix-it-chick. LOL.

---------- Post added at 04:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:35 PM ----------



.

Uhh you know it ain't real unless there's crack involved, right?

[noodle]

I have gone down three belt notches since Tuesday last week from stress... there's crack involved.
I can't keep my damn pants on... up. no pun intended.

[Tully Mars]

Originally Posted by noodle

I have gone down three belt notches since Tuesday last week from stress... there's crack involved.
I can't keep my damn pants on... up. no pun intended.

I'd keep that to myself down at the Home Depot if I were you.

---------- Post added at 07:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:55 PM ----------

Originally Posted by dlish

tully is obviusly the resident electrician..i used to have a construction company back home, so we can be handy sometimes

Resident electrician, Ha! I think the term you're looking for is hack. I came home from running errands in Merdia the other day, flipped on the pool pump and the whole house went dark. Flipped a couple breakers and it lit back up. Walked to the back of the house and it went dark again. Played that game for a while and found there must be a short between the street and the house. Which is great 'cuase that line is buried under the concrete wall by neighbor and I share.

So in from the street and down the skylight with some heavy gage wire-



Down the hall-



And into the junction box-



I now have lights and the coffee makers up and running. Hoping to do a more permanent fix Monday. Also hoping it doesn't rain until Tuesday.

[dlish]

Originally Posted by noodle

Oh, and dlish... I also made a HUGE batch of Guinness-coffee-cocoa chili with hereford stew beef and 95% lean fround beef, a habanero, poblano, anaheim and a home-grown purple jalapeno after working on the house.


edit: Zillow says the place was built in 1909. Things are starting to make sense now.

so when do we get an invite..that just made me hungry!

[ecenur]

For your ceiling fan, I think that the motor is starting to die out. Or, it could be because you need to oil it up but, if you say it sounds like a motor noise then probably the motor is starting to die out, I suggest you get a new motor, if you like the style of your ceiling fan or just buy a new one.

[Hektore]

HandymanWire - Wiring outlet types

This should help you figure out what type of outlet you're looking at. FYI: In alot of older homes they only used 50 amp plugs/wiring, and put a 30 amp fuse/breaker in when 30 amps was all that was needed. In our case, our dryer had was on a 50 amp circuit with 50 amp plugs, but a 30 amp fuse because that is all the dryer pulls. Confused the living hell out of the delivery guy when we got a new dryer.

As for turning it into something useful, it's probably a 220, rather than 110, which is your standard wall outlet so you can't just swap out the outlet. Try this if your feeling brave. I would strongly recommend against doing this alone if you've never done it before, it's absurdly easy to kill yourself.

[rmarshall]

From your drawing it looks like your plug is for the U.K. If so, it's for 220 volts, 50 cycles.

See this page. Halfway down the page are the plug drawings.

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