Monday, March 2, 2009

Everything or the kitchen sink

There have been a lot of things I would like to blog about. I would like to blog about President Obama's new budget. I would like to blog about how different forms of oppression interact with each other, which seems to me like one of the most important ways to celebrate Women's History Month. What I did instead this past  weekend was to re-do the plumbing underneath my kitchen sink to prevent a replay of the amazing exploding plumbing episode.

I did go ahead and get the specialized tool for PEX pipe. I  ended up getting the tool for the cinch-type connector, even though I'd read that they were inferior to the crimp type.  My biggest reason for doing this is that by using the crimp type of connector, I could get one tool that would fasten fittings for all sizes of pipe up to one inch in diameter, rather than having to buy a different tool if I needed to connect a different size of PEX pipe. Trust me, buying one tool is expensive enough, even though I violated my principles and bought it at a home improvement chain store. I found that the system was fairly easy to use, but it does require care and a little bit of practice to get the hang of.

Meanwhile, I  found two fascinating books about plumbing through the Metropolitan Library System. One is Remodel Plumbing by  Rex Cauldwell (published 2005 by Taunton Press, shelf number 696.1 C372r). Cauldwell explains why compression fittings (particularly the metal kind) are so fussy:
In metal compression fittings, leaks are normally caused by the tightening nut being a little too big (due to manufacturer tolerances) for the brass ferrule sleeve. As the nut tightens down on the body, instead of  the ferrule evenly compressing around the pipe to make a good seal, one side of the ferrule slips up on the pipe (and the other slips down) resulting in an uneven seal...Metal compression fittings also have a habit of leaking hours or days later.
So, I'm a terribly inexperienced amateur plumber, but it's a relief to find out that it's not just me.

The other great plumbing book I found was the second edition of The Plumber's Troubleshooting Guide by R. Dodge Woodson. (A  2009 McGraw-Hill book with the shelf number 696.1 W898p2.) Most of  it didn't apply directly to the situation I was dealing with, but it did teach me one nifty trick.  A good way to check for leaks around a bit of plumbing is to touch it with a piece of dry toilet paper. Even a small leak will make the toilet paper wet.

Besides  the plumbing adventure, I spent a happy hour or two climbing around underneath the house examining it so I can figure out what I need to know in order to get my house leveled. It seems that the foundation of my house is a mess, but it's kind of an interesting mess. I'll  keep you posted.

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