WARNING: Stop buying new tools

[joseywales]

it only jinxes you and leads to more work!

I went a bit nuts lately, jumping waste deep in M12, when I was already neck deep in Ryobi 18V. Then the Amazon Prime Day hit and I grabbed a set of 1/4" Sunex impact sockets, among other toys.

Today, it will be 100+ degrees and stay there for a couple days. Two days ago my 10 year old pool pump went and today my 10 month old HVAC is leaking internally

On the upside, my wife has been mum, as I used the M12 and Ryobi tools to keep the pool wet and the HVAC...dry Well, the HVAC isn't solved just yet. I'm hesitant to go any further, since it's under warranty, but I suspect it might be debris in the line, which is not covered. To find out though, I might have to star removing things. The usual condensate lines appear to be clear. My P trap is clear in color and although there is water and it's not clogged, there is also remnants of yellow insulation.

The water is dripping from the bottom of the vent pipe, where it connects to the top of the HVAC. I might just post this on the HVAC section if I can't get it figured.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

You mean you had to use them!!

 

[PartsGuy]

You mean you had to use them!!

Aw, man, once you take them out of the package and play with them, they lose all their value!

 

[joseywales]

We used to hit yards sales a lot. i'd grab a tool here and there and she's would say, when will you use that? Don't you have two of those, etc.,? So when I use a tool I bought, I yell out, "using that red thing ama jiggy I bought at the flea market. And I'll say this, she found these goose neck, 40 degree angle, long grip needle nose. Cheapos she found online and bought all the man in the family a pair for Christmas. Darn is they didn't slide in an get the hose clamp off with ease. I could have done it with others, but it worked great, as did my cheapo ratchet I found at flea market, which the original owner bent the handle. That sucker slid right in between the pool pump and filter, so I didn't have to get all creative with swivel sockets, etc.

Don't get me wrong, the M12 ratchet and impact worked fine, as did the Ryobi impact, but never disrespect the cheapos!

 

[Crabman]

You mean you had to use them!!

Dang!

Dang!

 

[driftpin]

My wife woke me in the middle of the night, "I hear water dripping!" Turned-out to be the AC drain pan line was plugged, and the pan beneath the air handler was filling with water, it hadn't reached the point of filling the pan under the air handler legs, but there was probably an inch+ of H2O in it. The same pan also has a float shut-off like the pan inside the air handler, so it's protected two ways.

I used a drinking glass to drain the pan, then a car wash sponge to get the last out, and then I ran a line from the garage air hose reel to its limit of 50 ft, and then used my portable air hose reel from there to the air handler closet. A pair of straight-jaw Vise-Grips pinched-off the rubber elbow from the air handler drain pan below the coil, so the air pressure I was about to use wouldn't take the path of least-resistance, instead of traveling down to the clog in the drain pipe, and evacuating it.I attached an air nozzle to the air hose, took a rag a few wraps around the air nozzle to block-off the area around the AC drain pipe, and sent my wife out of the house with a many-LED stick light to watch whatever came shooting-out of the drain P-trap. She said, "it went into the bushes, a big glob, I didn't see where it landed." Then a lot of water...and it stopped draining. I poured a couple cups of bleach down the drain, and came inside, put the air hose reels' hoses away (the wall-mount is spring loaded in the garage, the portable one is a manual crank), and returned to bed.

Awakening in the daylight a.m. I found a dry pan beneath the air handler legs, a constant, slow drip outside from the drain P-trap, and a constant 'gurgle' from the air handler drain pipe. I should have put a cup of bleach into the drain when I changed the air filters... . That will now be added to the filter-changing regimen.

Earlier this year, I added a refurbished Saylor-Beall 705 80-gallon 240 volt upright air compressor to my garage. I bought it from a friend who owns a compressor sales and service business, he's had for close-to 40 years.

The moral of the story: your tools get you out of trouble more-than buying tools gets you into-trouble, with the missus. It only took me about 30 minutes to use the air compressor to clear the AC drain line clog, and to put the tools away, averting a minor flood.

 

[Locker537]

They make a float with a contact switch that will shut off the AC in the event of the catch pan filling. Saved me in my attic once already. The pan had about 15-20 gallons in it...

I used a wet/dry vac to **** the clog out of the line from the outside.

 

[matt_i]

My Dad told me as a kid: "you can never lose money when you buy a quality tool" just based on the useage over a lifetime and the repair savings it could potentially offer.

Me: 3-1/2 shops filled with tools & machines, apparently I took Dad's lessons to heart