• Hi all and welcome to TheWoodHaven2 brought into the 21st Century, kicking and screaming! We all have Alasdair to thank for the vast bulk of the heavy lifting to get us here, no more so than me because he's taken away a huge burden of responsibility from my shoulders and brought us to this new shiny home, with all your previous content (hopefully) still intact! Please peruse and feed back. There is still plenty to do, like changing the colour scheme, adding the banner graphic, tweaking the odd setting here and there so I have added a new thread in the 'Technical Issues, Bugs and Feature Requests' forum for you to add any issues you find, any missing settings or just anything you'd like to see added/removed from the feature set that Xenforo offers. We will get to everything over the coming weeks so please be patient, but add anything at all to the thread I mention above and we promise to get to them over the next few days/weeks/months. In the meantime, please enjoy!

What I have fixed today

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Thought we might have a running post about small successes in mending things around the home. Sort of to help and encourage others.
Not woodworking related.
I’ll kick off
 
I have a cheap B&w laser printer that wouldn’t work as it thought the cartridge was empty, no problem as I had a new cartridge on standby. But that showed empty too.
I gave all the contacts in the machine and on the cartridge a good clean with a solvent and all is good again.
I was about to press the button on another printer. Cheapest one I could find was £80. According to my amazon past orders, I paid less than £40 for the current machine including a cartridge.
 
Rad in my daughter's bedroom only hot halfway up. Had a few niggles with hot water at one end of the house lately (bit complicated, big house, 2 x oil boilers each serving half of the house, hot water supplied by 2 x Megaflo's, one per boiler).

Found that one Megaflo had lost its air gap/lock, whatever it's called, so I needed to bleed that to resolve. Seems like that was coincidental to a small leak we had leading to loss of pressure in the rad system, so 15 mins bleeding 3 rads in rotation and everything toasty again now.
 
Our washing machine is now a hybrid of parts from three broken ones, including one we bought in 2007. Anything to stave off buying a £900 machine that looks like it belongs on the ISS, like t’wife wants. Also allows a satisfying answer to: ‘why are you keeping all these broken appliances?’
 
Our 5 year old TV decided last night that we should only be able to access BBC1. Nothing else. I fixed it.

Did I......

A/ Get a big hammer and alter the TV's attitude with a big threat?

B/ Use the big hammer and then buy a replacement TV?

or

C/ Unplug it, go in the shower, plug it back in and turn it on?

PS.........yes, I changed the batteries in the remote control before I did anything else.
 
Possibly 20 year old Barbie bus, two days ago, broken door. Glued a Mini-Magnum stick either side of the break. Not visible from the outside and the recipient was overjoyed. I wanted to give away the suitcase full of Barbies too but was overuled.
 
I have a power bar behind my desk, a row of elctric sockets for my various bits of IT kit. Originally it was all UK sockets, but I've swapped a couple for French ones.
It is really difficult to get the wires into their holes and tighten them up. It's not helped by the fact that I have to get two wires into one hole and tighten them both up together. No matter how hard I tighten them they seem to pop out.
At about the tenth attempt I discovered that it would now not tighten up at all, so off it came completely.
It turned out that I had loosened the screw so much that it had come out of its hole and the brass clamp had dropped inside the socket. It's not accessible. Bum.
But eventually I was able to get a tiny wire underneath, enough to bring the brass clamp up to the screw and had another go.
When I'd finished I was very satisfied that it hadn't beaten me. It only took a whole morning.
S
 
I had a hole in the garage roof that filled up a 4-way mains block for the garage HiFi resulting in the power tripping, so garage roof the block striped and dried out and all the HiFi checked.
My meter needed a new battery and two posts that the screws go into had sheared off some epoxy and a battery later it was good to go.

Pete
 
2010 Ford Smax diesel with 210,000 miles on it. Engine warning light has been coming on. Error codes showed a problem with the fuel vapouriser (sprays fuel into the exhaust to heat up and clean the particulate filter).

The fuse had gone. Replaced fuse but new fuse goes immediately. Replaced a relay. Same problem. Replaced the fuel vapouriser (very hard to get to, very hard to undo - much effing and jeffing). Same problem. Starting to think the issue is in the loom which would be beyond my ken and potentially too expensive to fix.

However, with the vapouriser disconnected, the fuse doesn't blow when the relay cuts in which suggests an issue with the vapouriser (but that's new...). I put a bulb in the circuit instead of the vapouriser which lit up without blowing the fuse. Again pointing to the (new and old) vapouriser being the issue so I bit the bullet and ordered another vapouriser (slightly less cheap this time).

This morning I fitted it. More swearing and cursing. However, it seems to have worked.

I took it for a long drive. No warning lights and no error codes.

I'm well chuffed!
 
Guineafowl21 said:
Our washing machine is now a hybrid of parts from three broken ones, including one we bought in 2007. Anything to stave off buying a £900 machine that looks like it belongs on the ISS, like t’wife wants. Also allows a satisfying answer to: ‘why are you keeping all these broken appliances?’
Click to expand...

A friend's wife broke the door off their washing machine by putting wet washing on the door when taking it out of the machine.

He refused to buy a new machine and instead pop riveted a ratchet strap to the sides of the machine that was used to hold the door on!
 
A couple of days ago I repaired the wine/drinks fridge in the Deli and off licence my ex-wife owns. The fridge fan was making a really loud noise when it was running, the refrigeration guys we use quoted £200+ to fix it. I made a couple of phone calls and a new part was ordered for £65, turned up next day and took literally 10 mins to fit, when I first turned it on I thought it wasn't working as it was so quiet!

I was really proud of myself as I don't normally attempt things like this :)
 
NickM said:
A friend's wife broke the door off their washing machine by putting wet washing on the door when taking it out of the machine.

He refused to buy a new machine and instead pop riveted a ratchet strap to the sides of the machine that was used to hold the door on!
Click to expand...
Where there’s a will, there’s a way…

Part of the unwillingness to buy a new machine is that I don’t know which brands to trust any more. A friend of mine brought me her newish and hardly-used Miele vacuum cleaner to fix recently - shorted armature. New motor - £250. New machine - £280. Into the bin it went.
 
NickM said:
2010 Ford Smax diesel with 210,000 miles on it. Engine warning light has been coming on. Error codes showed a problem with the fuel vapouriser (sprays fuel into the exhaust to heat up and clean the particulate filter).

The fuse had gone. Replaced fuse but new fuse goes immediately. Replaced a relay. Same problem. Replaced the fuel vapouriser (very hard to get to, very hard to undo - much effing and jeffing). Same problem. Starting to think the issue is in the loom which would be beyond my ken and potentially too expensive to fix.

However, with the vapouriser disconnected, the fuse doesn't blow when the relay cuts in which suggests an issue with the vapouriser (but that's new...). I put a bulb in the circuit instead of the vapouriser which lit up without blowing the fuse. Again pointing to the (new and old) vapouriser being the issue so I bit the bullet and ordered another vapouriser (slightly less cheap this time).

This morning I fitted it. More swearing and cursing. However, it seems to have worked.

I took it for a long drive. No warning lights and no error codes.

I'm well chuffed!
Click to expand...
Impressive persistance there Nick.....and impressive logic, too.
 
Fixed a problem yesterday. Putting winter tires on booth our vehicles four lug nut were worn. Oh now a trip into town but I remembered that I had a collection of old ones. Saved the day!
 
Our one toilet had a leaky 'filling thing' which was noisy and wasted water.
Spotted the local plumber across the road at another house, engaged in conversation, and an hour later it was replaced.
Well worth the fee, and does qualify as me fixing it! :D
 
Phil said:
Our one toilet had a leaky 'filling thing' which was noisy and wasted water.
Spotted the local plumber across the road at another house, engaged in conversation, and an hour later it was replaced.
Well worth the fee, and does qualify as me fixing it! :D
Click to expand...
No 🙂
If you had removed the valve stripped it down and rebuilt, then that’s fixing it.
Extra points for using parts you have kept for 20 years incase they might be useful one day.
 
Phil said:
Our one toilet had a leaky 'filling thing' which was noisy and wasted water.
Spotted the local plumber across the road at another house, engaged in conversation, and an hour later it was replaced.
Well worth the fee, and does qualify as me fixing it! :D
Click to expand...
Sure it does, without you it would have continued to leak :ROFLMAO:
 
The kitchen radiator wasn't heating up. I decided that the cause was probably the thermostatic valve not opening. (It was an unbranded one that came with the radiator nearly 20 years ago.) I just swapped it for a Pegler one (made in the UK) and it's working nicely. First time I've done this sort of thing since we updated our old open system for a modern combi, so I was pleased to learn that I could do it without major draining down.
 
Daughter threw out her Dyson DC40 vac and bought a new one, different make. "Doesn't work she says" so it stood in her back yard for a couple of days until I rescued it.

a couple of hours work to strip it down and it was jammed solid with dog hair so the brushes were locked solid. Freed it all up and nothing wrong with it. Kids are far too quick to just throw things away these days.
 
Lons said:
Daughter threw out her Dyson DC40 vac and bought a new one, different make. "Doesn't work she says" so it stood in her back yard for a couple of days until I rescued it.

a couple of hours work to strip it down and it was jammed solid with dog hair so the brushes were locked solid. Freed it all up and nothing wrong with it. Kids are far too quick to just throw things away these days.
Click to expand...
Reminds me of the small portable cordless vac we have. LOML told me it isn't sucking up anymore... I take a look at it, nothing in the collection unit, check the nozzle... blocked with the hair from my son after he cut his hair and used it! Fished out the hair with a piece of wire - all's well 👌 😀
 
Human hair I find a right PITA with the rollers ( not the brushes) on Dysons. The heads would just skid across the hard floors floor and become difficult to push on carpet With 4 women in the house all with long hair the axels get gummed up and are impossible to take apart to clean. Tweezers, hooked bits of coat hanger, knives etc all used to no avail. I had to buy a new head a while back.
 
About a month ago we got hit by lightning. I've never heard such a crack in my life. It took out several circuits, both in the house and in the barn. Not the main switch, though. Most of the circuits came on with just a flick of the switch. But we have a wall-light on the landing which no longer works. It's not very old, but just too old to still be in warranty.
I took it down and there isn't much to see, I can't see the LEDs, but the driver is perfectly easy to get at. Unfortunately there is no exposed circuitry o fany kind downstream of the drive, so I can't test for continuity. But I do know that power is getting as far as the unit.
So I've tracked down a new driver of the same spec and am awaiting its delivery. Slow boat from China, I expect.
If I'm right that it is the driver rather than the LEDs themselves, it should be a straightforward job to swap the new one in.
Which reminds me, I need to start a new thread on soldering irons...
S
 
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Lons said:
Daughter threw out her Dyson DC40 vac and bought a new one, different make. "Doesn't work she says" so it stood in her back yard for a couple of days until I rescued it.

a couple of hours work to strip it down and it was jammed solid with dog hair so the brushes were locked solid. Freed it all up and nothing wrong with it. Kids are far too quick to just throw things away these days.
Click to expand...
Glad you fixed it Lons, it's a through away issue for the young ones as they can't problem solve the issues.
 
Steve Maskery said:
About a monh ago we got hit by lightning. I've never heard such a crack in my life. It took out several circuits, both in the house and in the barn. Not the main switch, though. Most of the circuits came on with just a flick of the switch. But we have a wall-light on the landing which no longer works. It's not very lod, but just too old to still be in warranty.
I took it down and there isn't much to see, I can't see the LEDs, but the driver is perfectly easy to get at. Unfortunately there is no exposed circuitry o any kind downstream of the drive, so I can't test for continuity. But I do know that power is getting as far sa the unit.
So I've tracked down a new driver of the same spec and am awaiting its delivery. Slow boat from China, I expect.
If I'm right that it is the driver rather than the LEDs themselves, it should be a straightforward job to swap the new one in.
Which reminds me, I need to start a new thread on soldering irons...
S
Click to expand...
It is scary Steve, 6 years ago we were hit by a strike. Lost all the electronics, computer, tv, phones etc.
Called the insurance company, full coverage for the devices and a new main breaker panel (just to be safe).
Also had the fire chief give the home a good look over inside and out for evidence of possible issues, none he said.
Ask if I would be billed for his visit, no you pay property taxes.
 
I have just replaced the hinges on my toilet seat, luckily I had a spare set as the toilet seat started to disintegrate soon after I fitted it and we got a complete replacement.

I found the seat in the loft really fast not something I was expecting to do.

Pete
 
Needed to repair the bottom wheel on the vacuum. Had a hollow wall plug similar the pic of packaged ones. Removed the screw cut the nut off the end as I didn't have a proper nut. Drilled the centre hole in the wheel larger and inserted the screw and nut, cut remainder past the nut and repair done.1000015696.jpg1000015694.jpg1000015693.jpg
 
Not quite finished repairing it yet because of a niggle, but worked this out…

A couple of months ago I replaced the 3bar pressure valve on one of the Megaflos as it was gunged up and had blown a seal.

After that the hot water recirculation pump was making a ridiculous whining noise whenever you ran a hot tap, but it didn’t start immediately after. I did notice immediately though that the water wasn’t hot at the taps immediately, so I knew something wasn’t right.

It got to the point this week where I needed to look at it, and I worked out that one of the gate pump valves would only move by a half turn, so off I pop to buy two, because I might need to replace both and if not then a spare is handy!

Turns out I was right, this is the one that wouldn’t turn properly, looks like it was completely closed!

IMG_6843.jpeg

This was the other side and that was jammed part open!

IMG_6842.jpeg

Here are the replacements.

IMG_6844.jpeg

IMG_6845.jpeg

Here’s the niggle, I fixed the new ones to the pump all fine, with a nice layer of ptfe tape, but when fixing to the 22mm end something didn’t feel right!

Turns out the 22mm end was actually 15mm pipe and I hadn’t noticed! Checked the broken gate valves to find that they had 22-15mm reducers in them!

By this time screwfix was closed so I’ve left it all shut down and will go and get a couple in the morning and finish the job!
 
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Do you have a regime of opening and closing all gate valves every year? My old man kept a tag on each valve with the date last open/closed as a reminder.
 
AndyP said:
Do you have a regime of opening and closing all gate valves every year? My old man kept a tag on each valve with the date last open/closed as a reminder.
Click to expand...
I tend to do this in the summer when any remediation is easier.
Valves are tagged with a label describing their function but I don’t bother dating.
This includes the stopcock in the street.
I started to do this after finding my inlaws home flooded when a 22mm compression fitting in their loft burst after a long freeze. I couldn’t find the stop valve ( buried during a kitchen refit) and when I did couldn’t get it to work.
 
AndyP said:
Do you have a regime of opening and closing all gate valves every year? My old man kept a tag on each valve with the date last open/closed as a reminder.
Click to expand...
I don’t but I promised myself a while ago I needed to. I’ll start now, but only initially on the recently replaced ones because of the old ones EVERY SINGLE ON I’ve touched since moving in has crumbled and needed instantly replacing!

Those ones will just be straight replaced to save the pain! That will need planning though.
 
Cheap ball valves can be equally catastrophic but its the 70 yr old mains stopcock lurking in the shadows that scares me the most.
Not easily replaced...
 
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