Sunday, April 3, 2011

April Already?

The weather here at the Sands...in a word...HOT!  I'm not complaining though...I have been waiting for HOT all winter!  I love sitting out back of the fiver, here at the Sands, and drinking my morning coffee.  Yesterday I was greeted by a roadrunner, a bunny, and assorted birds.  It is a great way to start the day.  I was prepared to do the same today, but the wind is back.  The wind not only brought a drop in the temps, but also pollen.  I've got the sneezers this am!  A.....Chuueeee!
Last couple of nights have been a bit rough for our little female...Belle.  Seems she has an upset tummy.  Friday night we were both up several times....last night only twice.  I hope that means she is getting better.  Not sure what brought it on....she still wants to eat and is drinking water.  I have been feeding her white rice with a little chicken and she keeps it down.  For some reason...it is when her stomach is empty or almost empty that the upset occurs.  If she is not completely over this by Monday, we will be heading to a vet.
As for Billy and I, we had a project yesterday.  Our Precision On Demand Hot Water Heater has been having some issues.  The water goes from hot to warm to cold...then back to hot.  Shouldn't do that.  
See that brown, circular part back there...way in the back.  Inside is a miniature paddle wheel and that wheel has to turn freely as water runs through it.  It is that turning wheel that tells the unit to turn on.  Periodically that wheel needs to be cleaned...it shouldn't be brown, but clear plastic.  We have done this once before...so we were confident in our abilities.....well, so much for confidence.  We did get the wheel apart and cleaned and put back together, but when we fired it back up and turned on the "hot" water the unit refused to light.  Out comes the manual...me reading and Bill doing.  We make a great "fix-it" team...LOL! 
OK...see that yellow wire in front...that is the igniter wire or the one that makes the spark that lights the burner.  That was the first task....making sure we were getting a spark.  According to Billy, who was holding the end of the wire when I turned on the "hot" water....NO DOUBT it is definitely sparking.  It was pretty funny watching him dance around....wish I could get him to move like that on a dance floor!  OK...so we have a spark...now what.  Billy looked at all the connections....wiggled this and wiggled that...nothing.  Finally, I read this....."Use a wrench or similar tool to tap on the gas supply pipe to the right of the coil on the modulating valve 1076 (see figure -3). It is possible that the piston in the modulating valve has been forced out of its normal range and may stick. The tapping helps to free the valve".  Billy, of course ignored me and continued his own search and "wiggle" mission to find the problem.  At last....I'm inside running water and I hear a "tap, tap, tap" and presto....hot water!  Need I say more!

6 comments:

  1. Chuckle, chuckle. Love reading about your repair job. Sounds like some of our joint repairs. And I sure hope Belle is feeling a whole lot better today.

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  2. lol... I just started my day off with a chuckle too!
    We will be heading to the zoo tomorrow...

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  3. Tap, Tap, Tap! Good catch Debbie, glad you've got hot water again.

    Sorry to hear about Belle, it may be the same thing our Rylie had a few weeks ago.

    We took her to a very nice Vet in Desert Hot Springs. It was in the same shopping plaza as the Stater Grocery store up on Palm Drive. It's the one past Vonn's.

    Sure hope Belle is feeling better tomorrow so she doesn't have to go to the Vet.

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  4. Too funny!! You make a great team!! :O)
    Hoping Belle perks up!!
    Take care!
    Paulette

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  5. bless you!..and good team work on the hot water fix!!..

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  6. Oh that is FUNNY! Don't you wish you had a video camera at just the right moment?

    Hope your little Belle is okay.

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