Maintenance & Repairs - February 2007

I have had the water heater replaced 3 times and it now is acting up again.
I have a 6 year old home.
50 gallon gas hot water heater... Bradford White.

When the water heater is new, the upper floor master bath shower needs to be set to about half way for the right temperature.
As the months go by, the setting gets further and further to the left, and after only 10 minutes or so, you have to start making it hotter almost as if you are running out of hot water... but no one has used the hot water in several hours.

When you run the hot water, it takes in excess of 5 minutes for the TP valve to shut off and stop draining hot water from the water heater to the drain. There is a copper-colored drip stain on the side of the water heater from the TP valve, but this water heater was only installed 6 months ago or so.

We discovered that the setting for the temperature on the water heater was way up, but even after turning it down to 120 degrees, we still have the same problem.
There is a small amount of calcium buildup around all of the sinks in the house that have brass fittings.
The water heater is in the basement and the master bath is on the 2nd floor of a two story house.
We have city water. The pressure seems to be about right... not too high, not too low.
The hot and cold water lines are correct to the water heater.
The water heater is the correct unit for an indoor natural gas set up.
None of the other showers/faucets seem to have this issue.
There are only two people living in the 6000 square foot house… myself and my wife. My wife takes approximately a 15-20 minute shower and mine are usually about 10-12 minutes.

2007-02-21 20:31:26 · 6 answers · asked by CHRIS 1

i've taken my bathroom radiator off in order to decorate behind it. i have a combination boiler and now, with the radiator off, there's no hot water from any tap in the house. is this right and will it return to normal once i refit the radiator? cheers.

2007-02-21 20:31:01 · 4 answers · asked by zilyod 1

First, let me say that I am NOT considering doing this. But I am curious about it. Since gasoline has a lower flash point than fuel oil (which is essentially diesel fuel) and it burns hotter than fuel oil, what would happen if gasoline was substituted for fuel oil in an oil fired furnace/boiler?

Any furnace experts out there have an idea about this? Again, I'm not going to do this. It's just an idle curiousity question.

2007-02-21 19:30:36 · 5 answers · asked by NorthStar 3

it's a dense wood table, and no matter how hard i try, the screws are still sticking a 1/2" out of the wood. besides drilling a bigger hole, is there a screwdriver that offers more leverage than my puny arms provide?

2007-02-21 17:42:29 · 3 answers · asked by douglasjoseph 2

how far below the water line do you install a pool light at.....and how do you replace a pool light?

2007-02-21 17:23:26 · 5 answers · asked by sandra k 3

Ive got a buddy who broke one of those safety lasers on his garage door and wants to just by pass the switch....
I know there is a law against not installing them on a house but hes not the company installing it, and its just annoying any way

2007-02-21 16:36:04 · 6 answers · asked by j 1

I had to buy a strange shaped receptacle for a tanning bed we just bought. The bed uses 110V, not 220V like some more powerful beds. Can I wire it into a regular grounded household receptacle box? I'm thinking the situation is similar to having to change the pigtail of a clothes dryer so it will fit the strange receptacle, or changing the receceptacle to fit the pigtail. I've done that. Of course, I'm not an electrician or anywhere close to a pro at this or I would not be asking such a simple question; but, I am reasonably smart when it comes to following instructions. Too, I am proud of my humility. (HA!)

2007-02-21 15:51:25 · 7 answers · asked by Mark L 1

2007-02-21 15:21:37 · 9 answers · asked by franky2006 2

What is better using a unioned General Contractor or drudging thru a list of contractors to try and find the best (price and quality) of each trade????

2007-02-21 15:16:54 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous

I currently have a single pole switch that powers two fixtures. Like to have each fixture on a separate switches?

2007-02-21 15:16:36 · 2 answers · asked by Mark M. 1

Two small nails in our 1.5 year old house, are popping out of sub flooring plywood and are raising the vinyl to the point of breaking through. If I hammer it down, it will go through the vinyl for sure, but I can't just leave it either.

2007-02-21 14:30:43 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous

Whirlpool 40 gallon gas water heater thermostat seem to not be working. How do I get this off. The manual says not to use vice grips or levers. Then it tells u to remove it.Rent a gorilla?

2007-02-21 14:27:48 · 0 answers · asked by Anonymous

Last night I plugged my vacuum cleaner into the wall in my bedroom. All of a sudden the all of the lights on that side of the room, plus the spare room, went out. I only had 1 light working on that circuit when I plugged it in, so I cant think I overloaded anything. But, I checked the circuit breaker and everything in it is the "on" position. Any suggestions, or should I just sell my soul to pay for an electrician?

2007-02-21 13:47:58 · 11 answers · asked by pepper_0713 2

How, or what, is best to use, for removing old, old, cracked wallpaper glue? My walls have an almost crackle effect.
Thanks

2007-02-21 13:22:55 · 7 answers · asked by littlelolo19 1

My home is a vaulted 2 story townhome. The second floor is open to the first, in other words I can look down from the second floor and see the entire first floor. The air flow is strongest to the upper floor. I am not sure how to set the vents for the most economical use of my heating and cooling energy. I have looked and there are no dampers in the system and I would prefer not to have to install any if I can avoid it. What is the best way to set the vents in the rooms to make the most economical use of my heating/cooling system?

2007-02-21 13:11:42 · 2 answers · asked by jetfighter 6

I purchased a house with a new central heat unit that is gas. The gas company has made switch-over such a nightmare that I would like to know if anyones knows of a conversion kit to convert to electric? Thanks

2007-02-21 12:49:09 · 5 answers · asked by Dennis C 1

Occasionally the hot water (near boiling) dispenser spurts and sprays out on its own...Common problem? Calcium buildup on valve body possibly?
Any ideas?
TIA
Tony

http://www.efaucets.com/detail.asp?Product_Id=GN3W-SS

2007-02-21 12:30:47 · 1 answers · asked by Tony S 1

2007-02-21 11:52:48 · 8 answers · asked by NICHOLE L 1

2007-02-21 11:23:03 · 6 answers · asked by altpro9 2

...glued to the cement floor. Should I just try a scraper or is there a softener or heat gun I should use??

2007-02-21 11:18:12 · 5 answers · asked by markredwing 3

i need to make a 4 by 12 sheet of fiberglass resin 1 inch thick for a thing im building aor school . but it keeps cracking and warping i dont know why.

2007-02-21 11:02:38 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous

My mother is looking in to see which one does exactly what.

2007-02-21 10:37:33 · 4 answers · asked by ?Victoria? 2

Every month I get an $80-$100 bill for electricity based on these utilities.
I need enough electricity to run:
1) 2 lights minimum at night (special light bulbs may help here)
2) 1 refrigerator...large enough to store 2 days worth of food minimum...a large car-plug-in A/C-outlet cooler at smallest
3) However many mini-A/C/heating units are needed (I am guessing at least 2 of the type from Wal-Mart (not the full Window-sill type))

What's the best price (estimated, of course) to pay 6 months utilities cost + get enough equipment to do this using either:

1) Solar power (may need an AC/DC power inverter) + another power source at night (or battery, which ever is cheaper)...is the equipment (where is the best place to buy this equipment and what type of equipment do I need)?
2) A private electric company (side question: which ones are best?)
3) A public electric company
4) A gas or natural gas powered generator
5) Any other arrangement you can think of

2007-02-21 10:30:15 · 3 answers · asked by M S 5

have brass screws for the hot wire side, and some don't?

2007-02-21 10:28:25 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous

Ok, so my toilet is clogged up. I dont have a snake or an auger right now. I dont have time to go get one. What do I do? Any tips on how to clean it up pronto. I dont have time 2 get drano either. any good home tips?

2007-02-21 10:20:05 · 7 answers · asked by ♥ 2

house is 26x36 ft. block wall

2007-02-21 09:45:34 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous

Just moved into a new house. Everything is fine except in one bathroom there is no hot water in the sink or shower. Seems so strange ... what do I do?

2007-02-21 09:30:39 · 3 answers · asked by jennifer74781 4

Just the cold water, throughout the whole of the house.

2007-02-21 09:22:56 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous

We are currently redecorating our kitchen and we just got a new tap. As far as I'm concerned it is hooked up properly...it works, water comes out. However the water that it produces tastes awful, like rubber or something. Even when boiled the water from the tap still tastes bad. The bad water is only coming from that new tap, all the others in the house are fine. My question is, is this normal when fitting a new tap? Will the bad taste go away after it has been used a while?

2007-02-21 09:22:09 · 4 answers · asked by Allie 3

Just moved in a new home. I have a gas washer and dryer then. It seems like they're just not hooked up into the wall. I can figure out how to plug them in, but is there an easy way to hook the rest up so I can use them tonight?

2007-02-21 09:13:25 · 6 answers · asked by jennifer74781 4