Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

fintail

abacomike said:

@fintail said:

My first smartphone was an Apple 3GS back in 2012. When I compare that phone with my current iPhone 13, it’s like night and day - especially with the speed of these new processors and APPS that can do almost anything in a matter of seconds.

My first mobile phone was a Nokia when I was with Pacific Bell in California. All it could do was make and receive calls. Now, I use the telephone infrequently as compared to texting and APP usage w/internet.

The first iPhone was introduced a mere 15 or so years ago - truly amazing what has changed in just 15 years.

I worked for a telecom company for many years, and back in the day, they lavished us with devices. I had the first Android phone in this market, and the first Samsung Galaxy. Both would seem like children's toys compared to even my nearly 3 year old model. My phone has much more power than the PCs I had in the 90s.

venture

New water heater all installed. Bradford White. Shut-off valve (only on cold side). 14 one-hundred-dollar bills.

imidazol97

Everyone here is making me nervous about my water heater. I installed mine during my "This Old House" era, about 1985-1987. We bought the house in 1983 IRIC. So my State is 35 years old.

I think I've gotten my money's worth. I did have to do thermostat.

ab348

venture said:

I called the plumber. He is getting one from his supplier and coming over in a little while.

He kept saying he would do it first thing tomorrow morning until I told him all the water was off...to the whole house. The first thing he is going to do is put a shut-off valve on the cold water pipe to the tank.

The last time I had to replace one I had my other friend, who is a master plumber but doesn't have his own company, do it. I even asked about a shut-off, but he didn't do it. His relatives confirmed my suspicions that he does stuff on his own house much better than on other houses.

In 2017 I had my upstairs bathroom renovated. I guess whatever plumbing company the contractor hired messed up, because the new single-handle Moen shower valve failed within a little over a year. It failed in that it would not totally shut off the flow of water to the shower head, so the thing was constantly allowing a small trickle of hot water to exit. Couldn't have that, but like you I discovered the plumbing to the shower had no shutoffs anywhere. So I had to shut off water to the house except for when I needed to do something that needed water, what fun. Fortunately I was able to replace the cartridge myself fairly quickly. I suspect after doing the job that the original installers hadn't bothered to lubricate the rubber rings inside, leading them to fail. Later on, I had my plumber come in to install shutoffs for it in the unfinished part of the basement.

snakeweasel

imidazol97 said:

Everyone here is making me nervous about my water heater. I installed mine during my "This Old House" era, about 1985-1987. We bought the house in 1983 IRIC. So my State is 35 years old.

I think I've gotten my money's worth. I did have to do thermostat.

Well you are making me feel better as mine is original to this house, 21 years.

explorerx4

@imidazol97,
35 years for a water heater. You only take cold showers?

imidazol97

Our water is softened by the county supplying it. I wonder if that has
helped longevity.

I keep shopping hot water heaters. I think I can still replace it myself
if I can get it here. Will a 40 gal fit in the trunk of a Malibu of Cruze. No.

I know the new shark-bite ends on 18-inch flexible connectors
make copper plumbing easier. I can do the copper plumbing as well,
with time. If tank makes it to summer, I can turn off hot water for 24
hours as I work to connect the thing by soldering or by shark-bite.

stickguy

qbrozen said:

This talk made me realize I should just replace ours proactively. The bottom of one is rusty.

that is my rule on tanks. If the hot water gets weak the insides are probably shot. And if the seams are getting rusty water must be getting through somehow, and it is only going to get worse. Considering the consequences of a total failure, not worth taking chances.

imidazol97

@ab348

I added turn offs on each of the bathroom lavatories when we
replaced them after moving in. Same for the undersink lines when
I replumbed the sink moving it 12 inches for the new cabinets.

If I only could have done the two shower lines, but not easily done.

kyfdx

imidazol97 said:

Everyone here is making me nervous about my water heater. I installed mine during my "This Old House" era, about 1985-1987. We bought the house in 1983 IRIC. So my State is 35 years old.

I think I've gotten my money's worth. I did have to do thermostat.

Is it electric or gas?

Either way, that's stunning

ab348

Up here the latest next big thing is heat pump water heaters, to the point where the govt gives you a rebate if you buy one. They look like a normal water heater with something extra on top, which is the heat pump. It scavenges ambient heat within the basement or wherever it's installed, dumps out cold air, and transfers the heat to the water tank. I believe it has a a backup heat element inside the tank too but I'm not totally sure. They're more than twice the price of a regular electric water heater. It's a nice idea in theory but mine is in an unheated basement that is already none too warm this time of year, so I imagine it would be quite frigid down there with one of those. They seem to have replaced on-demand gas water heaters as the environmentally-friendly device du jour.

stickguy

I was always fascinated with Geothermal heating systems. I am sure they cost a fortune, but I found the technology cool. Something like that, combined with solar array/battery wall, radiant floor heating and lots of insulation, and you would hardly use energy at all.

cdnpinhead

Perpetual motion, almost . Let's see how it works out.

mjfloyd1

Wife noticed a drop in water pressure and we have two tankless water heaters. The in-line water filters had a bit of material in them. I also descaled them both with vinegar using a water pump. Really no scale but we have a whole house water filter and a water softener. Water pressure normal after cleaning out the filters. I need to do that every time they flush the hydrants it seems

imidazol97

kyfdx said:

Is it electric or gas?

Electric.

imidazol97

Looked up age on internet. Was able to find what appears to fit: D87 means April 1987.
There's a note on the label that it adheres to 1982 standards.

It's a State brand, says it's made by Hoyt Water Heater Company, Reno.

venture

imidazol97 said:

@venture
I talked to my retired plumber a year ago about replacing my hot water heater.
He said that the puts a valve on the outlet side of the tank as well as on the inlet.
He mentioned that way the hot water tank can be completely isolated and
replaced without having to keep people from accidentally opening a hot faucet
and cold faucet at the same time and having water
come back to the tank's outlet and leak out.

??????

Actually - that makes sense.

venture

imidazol97 said:

Everyone here is making me nervous about my water heater. I installed mine during my "This Old House" era, about 1985-1987. We bought the house in 1983 IRIC. So my State is 35 years old.

I think I've gotten my money's worth. I did have to do thermostat.

You should apply to have it put on the National Register of Historic Places.

venture

imidazol97 said:

Our water is softened by the county supplying it. I wonder if that has
helped longevity.

I keep shopping hot water heaters. I think I can still replace it myself
if I can get it here. Will a 40 gal fit in the trunk of a Malibu of Cruze. No.

I know the new shark-bite ends on 18-inch flexible connectors
make copper plumbing easier. I can do the copper plumbing as well,
with time. If tank makes it to summer, I can turn off hot water for 24
hours as I work to connect the thing by soldering or by shark-bite.

Of all the copper joints I have soldered over the years, I have only had 2 leaks. One was for the washer. The other one was more interesting and made me laugh.

My daughter moved into a new house and wanted to change some of the fixtures around. I was going along, minding my own business soldering away. The last thing I had to do was solder on a 1/2" cap. No matter what I did I couldn't get the water to stop dripping slowly through the pipe. Finally, after shoving almost a whole piece of bread into the pipe I figure I got it. When I turned the water on the cap went shooting across the basement.

I admitted defeat and went and got a Shark Bite and capped the dratted thing.

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

ab348 said:

A bad scene Thursday night just outside of Boston. Would love to know how the guardrail managed to puncture the battery pack *after* the crash.

https://youtu.be/ean3LABJ3ys

About as bad as the scene outside my house last night.

Holly c---- man, that looks like the blazing inferno!

driver100

@abacomike

feels like 50 years, but I know that can’t be right - but still “feels” like 50 years.

BTW, the next time you post anything about back-up cameras, make sure you are posting info about your new car. Otherwise, as you promised, no more BU camera talk! 🤓🤪😜

I think I am going to sue that backup camera company...it isn't really "wireless" if you need a wire going to your cigarette lighter or scotch taped along the edge of your instrument panel

driver100

@snakeweasel

One of the problems is that lithium batteries contain, surprise, lithium and when lithium gets wet it creates hydrogen gas which we all know goes up in flames. So if you pour water on a burning lithium battery you're creating fuel for the fire. Plus lithium burns very hot so even if you put the fire out the residual heat could reignite the hydrogen gas, so it is best to keep the water going after the fire is out to sufficiently cool the batteries.

That reminds me....that's another reason I'm not in the market for a battery powered car.

mjfloyd1

@driver100 said:
@snakeweasel

That reminds me....that's another reason I'm not in the market for a battery powered car.

I wonder if it would help if that lithium battery was wireless?😂

jmonroe1

venture said:

New water heater all installed. Bradford White. Shut-off valve (only on cold side). 14 one-hundred-dollar bills.

————————————————
Youzer, after reading that my eyes watered. Now I know why we do our own water heater installs in our flips. The last one cost a little less than $600 at Lowes with my 10% veterans discount. An A. O. Smith Series 100, 50 gallon with the 6 year warranty (same as the 9 year warranty but not 200 bucks more upfront for the warranty). About an hour to install and another 30 minutes for hot water. Yeah, we had to go get it and schlep it home then put the old one at the curb for pickup but we think it was worth the work.

It must be nice to be rich.

jmonroe

venture

jmonroe1 said:

venture said:

New water heater all installed. Bradford White. Shut-off valve (only on cold side). 14 one-hundred-dollar bills.

————————————————
Youzer, after reading that my eyes watered. Now I know why we do our own water heater installs in our flips. The last one cost a little less than $600 at Lowes with my 10% veterans discount. An A. O. Smith Series 100, 50 gallon with the 6 year warranty (same as the 9 year warranty but not 200 bucks more upfront for the warranty). About an hour to install and another 30 minutes for hot water. Yeah, we had to go get it and schlep it home then put the old one at the curb for pickup but we think it was worth the work.

It must be nice to be rich.

jmonroe

Well. I don't know. I told the plumber I would go get an A.O. Smith or Rheem from Home Depot or Lowes and he insisted on getting it. He claims it's one he has in his house because it simply is better. He also had to get his supplier to go to the store on a Sunday.

How much do you charge when working on a Sunday after getting a call at 8 am?

jmonroe1

venture said:

jmonroe1 said:

venture said:

New water heater all installed. Bradford White. Shut-off valve (only on cold side). 14 one-hundred-dollar bills.

————————————————
Youzer, after reading that my eyes watered. Now I know why we do our own water heater installs in our flips. The last one cost a little less than $600 at Lowes with my 10% veterans discount. An A. O. Smith Series 100, 50 gallon with the 6 year warranty (same as the 9 year warranty but not 200 bucks more upfront for the warranty). About an hour to install and another 30 minutes for hot water. Yeah, we had to go get it and schlep it home then put the old one at the curb for pickup but we think it was worth the work.

It must be nice to be rich.

jmonroe

Well. I don't know. I told the plumber I would go get an A.O. Smith or Rheem from Home Depot or Lowes and he insisted on getting it. He claims it's one he has in his house because it simply is better. He also had to get his supplier to go to the store on a Sunday.

How much do you charge when working on a Sunday after getting a call at 8 am?

————————————————
You’re making my point. I never have to call for a water heater install be it a weekday or a weekend. I just have to borrow one of my sons vehicles to get it home.

FWIW, and I better not be jinxing myself by opening my mouth about this, I have a 6 year 50 gallon Rheem water heater from Home Depot that I installed in August of 2008. I doubt I’ll ever see the life @imidazol97 has gotten with his but not bad for a 6 year warranty water heater. Even a 9 year warranty one.

If I have to install a water heater on Tuesday, I’m gonna be pissed and you’re going to hear about.

jmonroe

henryn

I replaced the water heater here in 2021, and the house was built in 2005, so 16 years. 40 gallon natural gas, Home Depot, around $600. And I paid two of my neighbors to do the heavy lifting, as I was still recovering from a serious illness. All in, about $800.

venture

jmonroe1 said:

venture said:

jmonroe1 said:

venture said:

New water heater all installed. Bradford White. Shut-off valve (only on cold side). 14 one-hundred-dollar bills.

————————————————
Youzer, after reading that my eyes watered. Now I know why we do our own water heater installs in our flips. The last one cost a little less than $600 at Lowes with my 10% veterans discount. An A. O. Smith Series 100, 50 gallon with the 6 year warranty (same as the 9 year warranty but not 200 bucks more upfront for the warranty). About an hour to install and another 30 minutes for hot water. Yeah, we had to go get it and schlep it home then put the old one at the curb for pickup but we think it was worth the work.

It must be nice to be rich.

jmonroe

Well. I don't know. I told the plumber I would go get an A.O. Smith or Rheem from Home Depot or Lowes and he insisted on getting it. He claims it's one he has in his house because it simply is better. He also had to get his supplier to go to the store on a Sunday.

How much do you charge when working on a Sunday after getting a call at 8 am?

————————————————
You’re making my point. I never have to call for a water heater install be it a weekday or a weekend. I just have to borrow one of my sons vehicles to get it home.

FWIW, and I better not be jinxing myself by opening my mouth about this, I have a 6 year 50 gallon Rheem water heater from Home Depot that I installed in August of 2008. I doubt I’ll ever see the life @imidazol97 has gotten with his but not bad for a 6 year warranty water heater. Even a 9 year warranty one.

If I have to install a water heater on Tuesday, I’m gonna be pissed and you’re going to hear about.

jmonroe

I didn't want to do it. Besides, it helped me get rid of some of the cash laying in an envelope in my desk drawer.

kyfdx

ab348 said:

Up here the latest next big thing is heat pump water heaters, to the point where the govt gives you a rebate if you buy one. They look like a normal water heater with something extra on top, which is the heat pump. It scavenges ambient heat within the basement or wherever it's installed, dumps out cold air, and transfers the heat to the water tank. I believe it has a a backup heat element inside the tank too but I'm not totally sure. They're more than twice the price of a regular electric water heater. It's a nice idea in theory but mine is in an unheated basement that is already none too warm this time of year, so I imagine it would be quite frigid down there with one of those. They seem to have replaced on-demand gas water heaters as the environmentally-friendly device du jour.

Hybrid-electric. It's an electric hot water heater with heat pump attached. They work well, as long as you are happy with an electric hot water heater. As far as residual cooling? It's no different than your refrigerator pushing out warm air, while cooling the inside.

kyfdx

@imidazol97 Electric makes sense. Still amazing. Wonder what is the oldest gas water heater anyone has, here?

@jmonroe1 How would you do it, if you didn't have a son with a pickup truck to help?

@venture I think $1400 installed by a licensed plumber is a steal. My last one, installed by a non-plumber was $850, but that was over 12 years ago! Most of the quotes around here are for $1500-$1800.

tjc78

With the price of natural gas right now I wonder if electric is cheaper to run.

In my old house we got 18 years out of a Bradford White natural gas. It was installed in 92 and we replaced it at the end of 2010. We came back after Christmas shopping to that dreaded water running sound. Luckily my when my basement was French drained they put a drain hole under the water heater. Saved my entire basement.

explorerx4

In our previous house in CT, gas was always cheaper than electricity. Even more so now that the electric rate has gone from 11+ cents per KWH to over 24 as of Jan 1.
When we were building our house here is OH the default was an electric water heater but we upgraded to a gas unit(6 or 8 hundred dollars additional cost).
It seems to me that in CT it was set on an annual basis. Here, gas and electric rates vary at intervals.
For the next 3 months the electric rate is under 5.4 cents per KWH.
When we moved in August the NG rate was $1.10 per cu/ft, so I signed up for 2 years at $0.789.
Currently, the variable rate is $.64. Not sure for how long.

Michaell

I went back and looked at my last utility bill - my local utility provides both electricity and natural gas.

The rate per kWh looks to be just over .13, and the rate per therm for NG is 2.1, as near as I can tell. The NG part of my bill was about 75% of the total bill.

I know the utility company is asking for a rate increase on electricity later this year.

Of course, I could be completely misinterpreting the numbers on the statement.

stickguy

Snow. Awful stuff. Just had to move about 6-7” of very wet heavy snow. I am rethinking this move to the north country plan!

Of course I could read the instructions and figure out how to start and use the snow blower I bought that is sitting in the shed at the back of my yard. But that would be logical.

The bigger issue is I can’t fit it in the garage with both cars. And leaving my car outside in the winter, that would be terrible.

Might have to do it though before the next big storm predicted. I am hoping this weather pattern shifts and February is more cold and dry.

pensfan83

Our gas fired HW tank is a 3.5 year old unit replaced by my Dad and myself, the prior unit made it 13 years. I think the tank and hardware was somewhere around $700 IIRC.

A couple weeks ago the circuit board and igniter on our 11 y/o Trane furnace needed replaced....not even a year out of warranty so that was fun. We have the system serviced twice/year, replace filters routinely, but were told to start planning on a replacement within the next 3-5 years.

explorerx4

Stickguy, Maybe you could get a storage box for the snowblower, kind of like people have for their trash cans.
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/suncast-34-cu-ft-sand-horizontal-storage-shed-bms3400/911BMS3400X.html?utm_source=shopzilla&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=911BMS3400X&utm_campaign=industrial_supplies_connexity_pla

sda

About two months ago the quotes I received to replace our 50 gal nat gas water heater was between $1800-2000. Thankfully we had a service agreement that took care of portion of the cost.

stickguy

explorerx4 said:

Stickguy, Maybe you could get a storage box for the snowblower, kind of like people have for their trash cans.
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/suncast-34-cu-ft-sand-horizontal-storage-shed-bms3400/911BMS3400X.html?utm_source=shopzilla&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=911BMS3400X&utm_campaign=industrial_supplies_connexity_pla

I actually have one of those right next to the side door of the garage. I measured it and does not appear to be big enough.

I could just drive it out across the yard. Assuming I can get it started with the pull handle, since the electric start requires plugging in, and there is no electricity out in the shed.

I should at least read the instructions to figure out how it works. there are a lot of handles and controls on that beast. I should have stuck with my original plan to just by an Ego battery operated one. I played with one at Lowes and it was very simple. Squeeze handle to make the wheels go, and a lever to turn the auger on and off. And no worries about the gas going bad!

explorerx4

@stickguy,
Good time of year to flip it and get the one you want.

jmonroe1

venture said:

jmonroe1 said:

venture said:

jmonroe1 said:

venture said:

New water heater all installed. Bradford White. Shut-off valve (only on cold side). 14 one-hundred-dollar bills.

————————————————
Youzer, after reading that my eyes watered. Now I know why we do our own water heater installs in our flips. The last one cost a little less than $600 at Lowes with my 10% veterans discount. An A. O. Smith Series 100, 50 gallon with the 6 year warranty (same as the 9 year warranty but not 200 bucks more upfront for the warranty). About an hour to install and another 30 minutes for hot water. Yeah, we had to go get it and schlep it home then put the old one at the curb for pickup but we think it was worth the work.

It must be nice to be rich.

jmonroe

Well. I don't know. I told the plumber I would go get an A.O. Smith or Rheem from Home Depot or Lowes and he insisted on getting it. He claims it's one he has in his house because it simply is better. He also had to get his supplier to go to the store on a Sunday.

How much do you charge when working on a Sunday after getting a call at 8 am?

————————————————
You’re making my point. I never have to call for a water heater install be it a weekday or a weekend. I just have to borrow one of my sons vehicles to get it home.

FWIW, and I better not be jinxing myself by opening my mouth about this, I have a 6 year 50 gallon Rheem water heater from Home Depot that I installed in August of 2008. I doubt I’ll ever see the life @imidazol97 has gotten with his but not bad for a 6 year warranty water heater. Even a 9 year warranty one.

If I have to install a water heater on Tuesday, I’m gonna be pissed and you’re going to hear about.

jmonroe

I didn't want to do it. Besides, it helped me get rid of some of the cash laying in an envelope in my desk drawer.

————————————————
I’ve had that problem too a few times but I chose to buy a car. Mrs. j would have chosen a new dining room suite but I got to the envelope first.

jmonroe

ab348

explorerx4 said:

In our previous house in CT, gas was always cheaper than electricity. Even more so now that the electric rate has gone from 11+ cents per KWH to over 24 as of Jan 1.
When we were building our house here is OH the default was an electric water heater but we upgraded to a gas unit(6 or 8 hundred dollars additional cost).
It seems to me that in CT it was set on an annual basis. Here, gas and electric rates vary at intervals.
For the next 3 months the electric rate is under 5.4 cents per KWH.
When we moved in August the NG rate was $1.10 per cu/ft, so I signed up for 2 years at $0.789.
Currently, the variable rate is $.64. Not sure for how long.

Man, that 5.4 cents is cheap electricity. Our rate (in worthless Cdn $) is over 16 cents per KWH.

Up here they bill natural gas by the gigajoule. One of those costs $28. But then they add on a fixed monthly charge of $21, a federal carbon tax of $0.72/GJ, a transportation charge of $0.85/GJ, and taxes of 15%.

jmonroe1

kyfdx said:

@imidazol97 Electric makes sense. Still amazing. Wonder what is the oldest gas water heater anyone has, here?

@jmonroe1 How would you do it, if you didn't have a son with a pickup truck to help?

@venture I think $1400 installed by a licensed plumber is a steal. My last one, installed by a non-plumber was $850, but that was over 12 years ago! Most of the quotes around here are for $1500-$1800.

————————————————
Well, since the time both of my Sons started a family they have had a van or an SUV. I’ll admit that has spoiled me but if they didn’t have those vehicles I’d have to do what other folks do and that’s ask a friend or a neighbor. There’s always some one.

Heck, if that failed I could always ask our poster buddy @stickguy. His mini truck could easily handle a measly water heater. And, I wouldn’t even have to pay him. I’d just let him help us with our flips to get some on the job training starting with the water heater he delivers. He’ll need that info for his son’s house and daughter when she buys a house. As cheap as he is I’m sure he’ll appreciate that type of knowledge and realize it’s worth a lot more than a few bucks in his hand right now.

jmonroe

mjfloyd1

@stickguy said:
I actually have one of those right next to the side door of the garage. I measured it and does not appear to be big enough.

I could just drive it out across the yard. Assuming I can get it started with the pull handle, since the electric start requires plugging in, and there is no electricity out in the shed.

I should at least read the instructions to figure out how it works. there are a lot of handles and controls on that beast. I should have stuck with my original plan to just by an Ego battery operated one. I played with one at Lowes and it was very simple. Squeeze handle to make the wheels go, and a lever to turn the auger on and off. And no worries about the gas going bad!

Should have gone wireless!😂

stickguy

I should have been rich, and had "the guy" show up and do it!

cdnpinhead

My driveway has a significant slope, so I learned the first season I had the blower that what I needed was chains for the drive wheels. This was followed by a few years of not much snow or paying people to try to clear my driveway -- I learned that if the backhoe/plow didn't have chains on all four drive wheels the result was a driveway spun to glass. Not good.

There is presently 2.5 feet of snow on the driveway and I've decamped to the "valley."

I' examining my options for next winter.

Here's a picture from two years ago:

kyfdx

Nope

explorerx4

@cdnpinhead,
Must have been tough clearing all that snow with a broom.

venture

cdnpinhead said:

My driveway has a significant slope, so I learned the first season I had the blower that what I needed was chains for the drive wheels. This was followed by a few years of not much snow or paying people to try to clear my driveway -- I learned that if the backhoe/plow didn't have chains on all four drive wheels the result was a driveway spun to glass. Not good.

There is presently 2.5 feet of snow on the driveway and I've decamped to the "valley."

I' examining my options for next winter.

Here's a picture from two years ago:

This isn't mine, but mine looks just like it. Part of my driveway has a slope and it crawls right up.

jmonroe1

cdnpinhead said:

My driveway has a significant slope, so I learned the first season I had the blower that what I needed was chains for the drive wheels. This was followed by a few years of not much snow or paying people to try to clear my driveway -- I learned that if the backhoe/plow didn't have chains on all four drive wheels the result was a driveway spun to glass. Not good.

There is presently 2.5 feet of snow on the driveway and I've decamped to the "valley."

I' examining my options for next winter.

Here's a picture from two years ago:

————————————————
If you put a plow on it you wouldn’t have had to play around with a broom.

jmonroe

cdnpinhead

I thought sweeping the snow off the car was a better idea than using a shovel, but that's just me.