I pulled the filter to clean it (I have been using the tub quite a bit), and decided to just replace it. The filters are only a couple of bucks. It is the one on top. I also took the rake and cleaned all the pine needles and whatnot out of it. Excess organic materials use up the bromine a lot quicker.
While I was working on it, I took a quick peek at its power consumption. Since Monday night, it has used 42.16kWh of power, which isn't much at all. Using a power cost of 28¢ per kWh (I think mine is a little less than that now), it is $11.80. It hasn't been warm either; daytime highs in the low 70s, night time lows in the 50s or low 60s. It's winter consumption might be a bit scary (I won't be running it this winter, but will in the future), but its summer consumption will be much less. I will take a final reading tonight so I have a definitive week. I will be curious to see the difference, since the last few days have been cold (highs in the 50s, lows in the 30s).
I also took a look at the ditch in the back. It still had water in it, and this was before the rain. Sigh.
The other thing I did on Saturday trying to dodge the rain was get my truck emptied. I ended up using the tractor as a wheelbarrow.
I got everything I need for the drainage ditch down by the leech field laid out. This one is ready to install should it ever dry out.
I put the rest of the gravel in the backyard. I don't think this is enough, so I will be getting another load of gravel today (hopefully less overloading of the truck though). I plan to fill the first ten or so feet of pipe with only gravel. Since I plan on putting the hot tub and possibly a pool on the deck, when I go to drain them (or if I put in an outdoor shower) I can just build a little gutter system to run it off directly into the drainage. While I am pretty sure draining a pool would overwhelm it (that is >1000 gallons in a hurry), it is better than dumping it all into the backyard, especially since it would be chlorinated/treated water which won't play nice with the grass.
Unfortunately I bumped the truck at one point with the tractor. The sheet metal on trucks has gotten really thin over the years apparently and it tore the tailgate like a piece of paper. At least I made it a year before I damaged the truck. Sigh...
I got most of it pounded out. The bedliner clip is sheared off though. It should be flat enough that the cap will still fit though. I didn't hear any whistling or anything driving in to work today.
While my tailgate isn't removable courtesy of the wires in the middle, they still used classic hinges for it so I can at least wiggle it enough to get the rocks out of the seam.
But I got the truck for the most part emptied, and it is ready for round two.
At that point, the rain started and my arms and back were tired so I called it a day (especially after an impromptu nap on the couch). Sunday started off wet. I started by cleaning the shower base. It had gotten pretty bad. You can see the front corner where I ran out of cleaner. The shower base was pretty much completely covered in mineral deposits. I think I might add the whole house filter to the list of winter projects.
I then went and did the first pass at the plumbing upgrade.
It was a dismal failure. I had to angle the sanitary tee back because otherwise the laundry box pex lines wouldn't fit. The problem with that though is that I couldn't get the pex on this. I tried to get it to bend enough, but no luck. 3/4" pex doesn't bend as nicely as its 1/2" brethren. So I ended up making another run to Home Depot.
Before I took off, I had a visitor. Dan stopped by and dropped off my power painter. He was visiting Stefan and lives nearby, so he dropped it off on his way back home. I was planning to use it to finish painting the cabinet doors.
After round two at Home Depot (and some pizza, in case it wasn't clear by the box I used to protect the counter), I tried round two. I cut the number of fittings down to a single adapter and sanitary tee. It takes the 1.5" from the laundry directly, and the 1.5" tee has an adapter that goes directly to 1" threaded, which there is a pex fitting for. And it sits on top of the 2" pipe. A nice and useful part that to be honest I am surprised Home Depot carried.
Because this sits well below where the 1.5" to 2" adapter was, I was able to put it in directly horizontal and just bend the pex for the laundry around it. This is much better in many ways.
It wasn't all smooth sailing after that though. I ended up with an unplanned zig-zag to get it behind the vent pipe. It isn't a problem, but it means I no longer had enough elbows to finish the job. And by the time I was doing this, Home Depot had already closed. I still got as much dry fitted as possible though, I haven't clamped this together yet. I put this in so I knew where it would come through the wall in the closet.
I ran a small screw (that wasn't long enough to damage the PVC drain for the hot water heater should it have hit) so I knew roughly where it would all come through.
The drywall that they used is pretty cheap, so my spade bits went through it like butter, and didn't even tear the paper all that much.
I got it all dryfitted to the main drain line, though for the purposes of dry fitting, I had to use my tee as an elbow. But it should (in theory, reality is often different) be all smooth sailing after this. I think I am going to use the tee to remove one of the couplers that the plumber installed. He used 2' chunks of pex and couplers for all the pex work he did, which I don't understand. I think it is extremely wasteful (connectors and rings cost a lot more than just buying longer pieces of pex) and it puts a lot of joints where there really doesn't need to be.
On a side note, I swapped the sheets from the bamboo set to the cotton set. While the bamboo set I got was roughly the same price as the cotton sheets I got (I got the bamboo sheets online, whereas I got the cotton ones at Walmart which is a little more expensive but I got to feel them before I bought them), I am guessing I will only use them in the summer. The oils that they shipped them in stained it (there are a few spots that look like you spilled motor oil on a t-shirt which doesn't wash out), and since they wash differently than everything else (cold wash) they have to be washed separately. They are legitimately cooler (which I don't need this time of year as you might have guessed by the blanket on the bed) but don't feel much nicer. They are supposed to be more smooth, whereas the cotton are softer. But at the higher thread counts on cotton, they are just as smooth.
The rest of Sunday was spent on trip stuff. I kind of need to run laundry, so I will hopefully be finishing up the plumbing upgrade tonight, probably after I unload the next load of gravel. I think it is time to face reality though, especially since it is supposed to rain for the third weekend in a row this coming weekend (the last weekend before the weddings begin). There is at best a slim chance (and slim has a ticket on a runaway train) the drainage ditch will complete. Next week is supposed to be all rain as well. This really does put a damper on things. This also begs the question of do I finish the driveway with the next load of gravel, since that is a short task and I might have to snowblow when I get home. The problem is I need to finish the stuff for the drainage ditch so I can complete the mortgage (the final grade is one of the line items on the mortgage). I should also note that the snowblower is still sitting down by the tiny home and I haven't yet verified that my tractor will lift it.
Current To-do:
- Before winter:
Move carportFix carport- Final grade - get gravel and drainage pipe.
Buy a real bed and living room furniture.Get a gun cabinet/safe.- Fix driveway.
- Install drainage in the backyard.
- Remove the backflush hose.
Get heat pump installed.- Get a snowblower for the tractor.
Build a platform for the steps.- Insulate the water lines
- Winter projects:
- All the cabinet upgrades (bathroom, pantry, and kitchen)
- Design deck
- Build armoire
Build dresser- Install whole house filter
- Shelving upgrades in master closet.
- Access panel upgrades in master closet
- 2024 Projects:
- Deck
- Entertainment center
- Storm doors
No comments:
Post a Comment