Thank you Yogi, and likewise. I wouldn't take the effort to get here if I didn't consider you a friend also.
Things just take me so long to do, even here at the computer, that I'm having to skip over things I should be doing.
But that is all and well.
If I still lived back home, albeit that was 20 years ago, I had tons of friends I could invite over to help me get some things done.
Unfortunately, down here, I don't know anyone, other than some of Debi's friends, and most of them would be no help to me.
I was a bit scared today because I was running out of O2. All of my big tanks were empty, and most of the little tanks. The guy showed up around 2 pm with 7 big tanks and 5 little tanks, but I really needed at least 9 big tanks and 8 little tanks.
I told him, I'll probably be having him make a second trip to me this week. So I don't go another weekend worrying if I'll make it through with enough tanks.
Today, I asked him WHY the don't just have me on a regular keep-full schedule. Same day every week, pick-up empties and replace with full ones. He said that would be the smart thing to do, but this company don't work that way. I have to call in the number of tanks I want delivered on Tuesday. He made a special trip to get them to me today Monday, instead of tomorrow. Monday is his busiest day, which is why I opted for Tuesday deliveries. But this only happens if I call in the number of tanks I need on Friday afternoon.
The oxygen concentrator I bought to use in my office broke after only about 400 hours of usage. And it was a fairly new one with only 5,000 hours on it when I got it. Must have been a lemon from the factory from day one.
Nobody around these parts repairs them.
Major Announcement
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Post a new topic to begin a chat.
Any topic is acceptable, and topic drift is permissible.
Re: Major Announcement
I thought I was all done with life changing events after I was terminated by Motorola. Thirty-six years, many under high pressure, of what often was crisis management built some character in me. LOL You know what they say, if it doesn't kill you it makes you stronger. I had some pretty bad days at work but overall i adapted and worked well under pressure. In fact I felt good about the fact that people needed what I could do so badly that they were ranting and raging at me to get it done. That's the way first line support goes, I suppose, and it was extremely difficult for me to walk out the door that last day. Going from full speed ahead to dead in the water was quite a shock.
I was forced to retire about ten years before I normally would have. The economy was bad back then especially for high tech. I'm not really a social creature but I missed the interpersonal relationships at work from the very first day I had to leave. I worked among 5,000 fellow employees one day, and it boiled down to just me and my wife the next day. She was very comforting and understanding, but life for me had changed drastically the day I retired. Fortunately the neighborhood I lived in was well established and friendly. I didn't realize how much we interacted until I left town for Missouri. We got here, moved in, and eight years later still don't know the neighbors. There are a few who I recognize and do indeed know their first names. But that's it. Like yourself, If I needed some help or had to call somebody in an emergency, my list of contacts is blank. Essentially being a loner this didn't bother me, but it did seem strange given I was told many times before I moved here how friendly southern country people are. Well, that could be true. Maybe things will change during the next eight years.
The culture shock of living in O'Fallon was totally unexpected. It's much more affordable living here than up north, but that's about the only advantage that comes to mind. About forty years ago I lived in a very old house on a small suburban lot. There was an empty lot on one side and a fence between me and my neighbor on the other side. He was a retired farmer from Wisconsin and was duly impressed with my gardening skills. It's kind of humorous thinking about it now, but I truly miss those days when I had a neighbor I could gossip with over the fence in our back yard. I have fences here, but not sure there are any neighbors on the other side.
I was forced to retire about ten years before I normally would have. The economy was bad back then especially for high tech. I'm not really a social creature but I missed the interpersonal relationships at work from the very first day I had to leave. I worked among 5,000 fellow employees one day, and it boiled down to just me and my wife the next day. She was very comforting and understanding, but life for me had changed drastically the day I retired. Fortunately the neighborhood I lived in was well established and friendly. I didn't realize how much we interacted until I left town for Missouri. We got here, moved in, and eight years later still don't know the neighbors. There are a few who I recognize and do indeed know their first names. But that's it. Like yourself, If I needed some help or had to call somebody in an emergency, my list of contacts is blank. Essentially being a loner this didn't bother me, but it did seem strange given I was told many times before I moved here how friendly southern country people are. Well, that could be true. Maybe things will change during the next eight years.
The culture shock of living in O'Fallon was totally unexpected. It's much more affordable living here than up north, but that's about the only advantage that comes to mind. About forty years ago I lived in a very old house on a small suburban lot. There was an empty lot on one side and a fence between me and my neighbor on the other side. He was a retired farmer from Wisconsin and was duly impressed with my gardening skills. It's kind of humorous thinking about it now, but I truly miss those days when I had a neighbor I could gossip with over the fence in our back yard. I have fences here, but not sure there are any neighbors on the other side.
Re: Major Announcement
Believe me, I know exactly what you are talking about, due to some of the jobs I've had in days of yore.
I was the youngest person in the engineering department when they moved me to the NASA division, scared the bejesus out of me regarding the things they expected me to know and be able to do, even as a lowly draftsman. But I prevailed.
Moved on to Sverdrup & Parcel where I worked on a few major projects, and developed some things I should have never had my hands on in the first place. They kept moving me around and each department was harder than the one before.
Then when I landed my job at MRTC I thought things would even out and be cushy for awhile. Within 6 months, they promoted me up to Chief Alignment Draftsman, which is actually an engineering position. Where I had to travel to emergency situations to design repairs, make a bill of materials for those repairs, sometimes even order the materials, all with the big shots hovering over me like a nest of hornets.
Wanna feel pressure? Try doing chip level repair in a dark tavern with angry drunks who were playing the game waiting for you to get it back working again. And of course, they were telling me how to do it, and spilling drinks on me, hi hi.
Due to my epilepsy, I have some drastic changes in my life also. But not all of my changes had to do with that. My whole lifestyle changed after my divorce, then becoming president of parents without partners for two years, then becoming caregiver for Barbara, then changing gears completely to fit into the Jewish community and Ruth's relatives.
Marrying a cute little southern belle and eventually moving South to her home town was probably my biggest lifestyle change. None of my old lives have carried with me down here, other than my ability to renovate the house which I never finished.
At least I have the best wife ever now, couldn't ask for a better person, nor one who is as caring.
I don't know my neighbors well enough to ask them for much of anything, not really. The few I did make friends with, have moved away. There is one neighbor who does mow my grass for me now, a hit and miss type of lawn care for me, no extras.
I never really was a socialite, and loved being left alone. Even so, I was always doing for others, but they never reciprocated.
I was the youngest person in the engineering department when they moved me to the NASA division, scared the bejesus out of me regarding the things they expected me to know and be able to do, even as a lowly draftsman. But I prevailed.
Moved on to Sverdrup & Parcel where I worked on a few major projects, and developed some things I should have never had my hands on in the first place. They kept moving me around and each department was harder than the one before.
Then when I landed my job at MRTC I thought things would even out and be cushy for awhile. Within 6 months, they promoted me up to Chief Alignment Draftsman, which is actually an engineering position. Where I had to travel to emergency situations to design repairs, make a bill of materials for those repairs, sometimes even order the materials, all with the big shots hovering over me like a nest of hornets.
Wanna feel pressure? Try doing chip level repair in a dark tavern with angry drunks who were playing the game waiting for you to get it back working again. And of course, they were telling me how to do it, and spilling drinks on me, hi hi.
Due to my epilepsy, I have some drastic changes in my life also. But not all of my changes had to do with that. My whole lifestyle changed after my divorce, then becoming president of parents without partners for two years, then becoming caregiver for Barbara, then changing gears completely to fit into the Jewish community and Ruth's relatives.
Marrying a cute little southern belle and eventually moving South to her home town was probably my biggest lifestyle change. None of my old lives have carried with me down here, other than my ability to renovate the house which I never finished.
At least I have the best wife ever now, couldn't ask for a better person, nor one who is as caring.
I don't know my neighbors well enough to ask them for much of anything, not really. The few I did make friends with, have moved away. There is one neighbor who does mow my grass for me now, a hit and miss type of lawn care for me, no extras.
I never really was a socialite, and loved being left alone. Even so, I was always doing for others, but they never reciprocated.
Re: Major Announcement
I'll change the subject slightly at this point because I need to moan and gripe to somebody and you are my captive audience. 
First problem is my Saturn. The AC/heating in the car was defective from the day I bought it. I didn't realize it was defective until a few months ago when I had the Missouri bi-annual safety check done. The mechanic doing the test pointed out that there is no air coming out of the main ducts. The only air circulating is onto the windshield and on the floor. Since it never affected my vision out the window I just assumed the heater was working. Maybe not as well as it could, but it was working. Same thing with the a/c. It didn't cool me off instantly, but eventually the temps did come down. We didn't look into it when I had the test done, but we are going up to Chicago next week. I decided to have it fixed for that road trip.
The long and the short of it is that there is an actuator that flips the vent doors when the knobs are turned. At the moment their best guess is the actuator is malfunctioning. That part costs $119. Installing it costs ... $600. Should they discover that the door which directs the air flow is frozen in place, they will not replace the actuator, and, of course, they will not fix the door either. That requires replacing the entire console panel which I'm guessing might have to be done by a dealer. Since I got the car with a defective vent system, I'm also guessing that the previous owner knew about all this. That's why he traded in the car. He didn't want to pay mega-bucks to fix it. The way I see it is the worst case scenario might cost me about $2000. That's cheaper than buying another car, even a very old used one. I'm undecided if I would go that route, and hopefully the actuator replacement will cure the problem
Second problem has to do with the irrigation system built into my lawn. I was against it from the very beginning, but it was already installed when we saw the house. Take it or leave it were my only choices. I knew maintenance had to be done every year to purge the system of water for winter and to check the backflow mechanism to make the City of O''Fallon feel safe that I'm not contaminating their water supply. That routine maintenance was about $80 a visit, which had to be done twice a year. Now it's nearly three times that which is still doable but I don't use the irrigation system very much due to the arid conditions around here during the summer months. It's pointless to irrigate.
The current problem has nothing to do with regular maintenance. At the supply point there is a valve buried in the ground inside what could be a 5 gallon bucket. Actually maybe a 3 gallon bucket would be more like the right size. Well, that underground bucket with the shutoff valve is full of water and turned a small part of my lawn into a swamp. Some of that swamp water is flowing over into the street and going down the storm sewer. I don't think it's much, but looks can be deceiving. At any rate, they will be out tomorrow, Wednesday, to dig up my lawn and try and fix the problem. Since they don't know exactly what is wrong yet, they could not give me a price. I'm guessing it will be at least as much as the cost of fixing the car.
I am going to wait to hear what they say about costs before I decide to cap the system and disconnect it from the O'Fallon water supply. It's nice to have irrigation, but as I said I hardly ever use it. I only used it once this year to wet down some fertilizer I put down. Other than that the grass is green wherever it's not brown from lack of rain.
Ironically I was just mentioning to my wife the other day how the cost of living in O'Fallon was reasonable compared to Chicago suburbs. I may revise that opinion by the end of this week.
First problem is my Saturn. The AC/heating in the car was defective from the day I bought it. I didn't realize it was defective until a few months ago when I had the Missouri bi-annual safety check done. The mechanic doing the test pointed out that there is no air coming out of the main ducts. The only air circulating is onto the windshield and on the floor. Since it never affected my vision out the window I just assumed the heater was working. Maybe not as well as it could, but it was working. Same thing with the a/c. It didn't cool me off instantly, but eventually the temps did come down. We didn't look into it when I had the test done, but we are going up to Chicago next week. I decided to have it fixed for that road trip.
The long and the short of it is that there is an actuator that flips the vent doors when the knobs are turned. At the moment their best guess is the actuator is malfunctioning. That part costs $119. Installing it costs ... $600. Should they discover that the door which directs the air flow is frozen in place, they will not replace the actuator, and, of course, they will not fix the door either. That requires replacing the entire console panel which I'm guessing might have to be done by a dealer. Since I got the car with a defective vent system, I'm also guessing that the previous owner knew about all this. That's why he traded in the car. He didn't want to pay mega-bucks to fix it. The way I see it is the worst case scenario might cost me about $2000. That's cheaper than buying another car, even a very old used one. I'm undecided if I would go that route, and hopefully the actuator replacement will cure the problem
Second problem has to do with the irrigation system built into my lawn. I was against it from the very beginning, but it was already installed when we saw the house. Take it or leave it were my only choices. I knew maintenance had to be done every year to purge the system of water for winter and to check the backflow mechanism to make the City of O''Fallon feel safe that I'm not contaminating their water supply. That routine maintenance was about $80 a visit, which had to be done twice a year. Now it's nearly three times that which is still doable but I don't use the irrigation system very much due to the arid conditions around here during the summer months. It's pointless to irrigate.
The current problem has nothing to do with regular maintenance. At the supply point there is a valve buried in the ground inside what could be a 5 gallon bucket. Actually maybe a 3 gallon bucket would be more like the right size. Well, that underground bucket with the shutoff valve is full of water and turned a small part of my lawn into a swamp. Some of that swamp water is flowing over into the street and going down the storm sewer. I don't think it's much, but looks can be deceiving. At any rate, they will be out tomorrow, Wednesday, to dig up my lawn and try and fix the problem. Since they don't know exactly what is wrong yet, they could not give me a price. I'm guessing it will be at least as much as the cost of fixing the car.
I am going to wait to hear what they say about costs before I decide to cap the system and disconnect it from the O'Fallon water supply. It's nice to have irrigation, but as I said I hardly ever use it. I only used it once this year to wet down some fertilizer I put down. Other than that the grass is green wherever it's not brown from lack of rain.
Ironically I was just mentioning to my wife the other day how the cost of living in O'Fallon was reasonable compared to Chicago suburbs. I may revise that opinion by the end of this week.
Re: Major Announcement
My wife's car's dampers stopped changing from the dashboard control, but they were not frozen or rusted.
I just removed the control arm and slipped a small link chain over the arm of the damper.
Ran one end of the chain up and over a round bracket, and ran the other straight down and out from under the dash.
Then I hooked the ends of the chain together with a PVC T-Fitting. All you have to do now is pull the T-Fitting down toward the floor to get the air to come out the bottom, or pull it up from floor to have it come out the top, or half way between for both.
You don't have to lean down to reach it the way I put it in, the movement of the chain is only like 3 inches if that.
Heck, I would just shut it off and forget about it. You pay like 3 to 5 times the water bill for water usage on the sewer bill.
I installed one water pipe from the house to the street for irrigating my new bushes. Once they took hold, I never turned it on again. Now it is totally disconnected.
Did I read you right that vehicle inspections are now every 6 months in Missouri.
Dang, we don't have them at all down here in Tennessee, which I'm glad for.
I just removed the control arm and slipped a small link chain over the arm of the damper.
Ran one end of the chain up and over a round bracket, and ran the other straight down and out from under the dash.
Then I hooked the ends of the chain together with a PVC T-Fitting. All you have to do now is pull the T-Fitting down toward the floor to get the air to come out the bottom, or pull it up from floor to have it come out the top, or half way between for both.
You don't have to lean down to reach it the way I put it in, the movement of the chain is only like 3 inches if that.
Heck, I would just shut it off and forget about it. You pay like 3 to 5 times the water bill for water usage on the sewer bill.
I installed one water pipe from the house to the street for irrigating my new bushes. Once they took hold, I never turned it on again. Now it is totally disconnected.
Did I read you right that vehicle inspections are now every 6 months in Missouri.
Dang, we don't have them at all down here in Tennessee, which I'm glad for.
Re: Major Announcement
If the automatic ventilation system is not working in the Saturn, the flaps default to pushing air out the bottom and to the windshield. That is exactly what the situation is with my Saturn. The only question is why it's not working. We bought the car two years ago which made it was 12 years old at the time. It had a bit over 36,000 miles on the odometer which told em that it sat around idle for most of its life. That can be both good and bad news. Things get rusty and corroded if you don't splatter the engine with grease, oil, and mud. Which by the way is one of the amazing things about this car. That engine is so clean that it might be mistaken for brand new. I just flipped over the 40,000 mile mark and an old uncle of mine always said that it takes that long for an engine to get fully broken in. I have to admit that for the time being anyway, it purrs like a kitten. We will see tomorrow if the vent flaps are frozen and corroded or if the actuator simply needed replacement. Hopefully it's the latter of the two.
Mmmm, you did read me correctly regarding the Missouri safety checks. However, I stated it incorrectly. It's not a bi-annual test. It's a semi-annual test. The emissions only need be checked once in 24 months.
The irrigation people have come and gone. My system is like new again and it only cost me $476. That is about half of what I expected. The guy told me it normally takes 4-5 hours to do the kind of repair I needed, but in my case it only took two hours. Part of the reason for that is the ground was totally saturated down to the 36 inches where the broken shut off valve was sitting. He had to pump the water out of the hole to do the repairs. About a foot away is the main water line shut off valve which also was sitting under water. That mud was easier to deal with than the normal rock hard clay, but it also suggested that the leak was there for a very long time. Late last fall my water bill just about doubled from what it usually would be at that time of the year. I suspected a leak somewhere, but could not locate it or hear water running. That's because it was outside by the street and not anywhere inside the house. So, now I'm fairly certain that leak has been in place for many months but it took that long for the ground to saturate enough for the water to show up on the grass.
We've talked about plumbing being a dirty job, and what happened today proved it. The repair guy was able to use a shovel to make a square opening around the piping, but the bottom 12 inches or so was too soggy for the shovel to hold the mud for him to pull it out of the hole. Thus he had to lay flat on his belly and reach down to scoop the mud out with his hinds. It sure was messy, but I have a feeling he actually was enjoying it. LOL You know, boys always like to play in mud.
Mmmm, you did read me correctly regarding the Missouri safety checks. However, I stated it incorrectly. It's not a bi-annual test. It's a semi-annual test. The emissions only need be checked once in 24 months.
The irrigation people have come and gone. My system is like new again and it only cost me $476. That is about half of what I expected. The guy told me it normally takes 4-5 hours to do the kind of repair I needed, but in my case it only took two hours. Part of the reason for that is the ground was totally saturated down to the 36 inches where the broken shut off valve was sitting. He had to pump the water out of the hole to do the repairs. About a foot away is the main water line shut off valve which also was sitting under water. That mud was easier to deal with than the normal rock hard clay, but it also suggested that the leak was there for a very long time. Late last fall my water bill just about doubled from what it usually would be at that time of the year. I suspected a leak somewhere, but could not locate it or hear water running. That's because it was outside by the street and not anywhere inside the house. So, now I'm fairly certain that leak has been in place for many months but it took that long for the ground to saturate enough for the water to show up on the grass.
We've talked about plumbing being a dirty job, and what happened today proved it. The repair guy was able to use a shovel to make a square opening around the piping, but the bottom 12 inches or so was too soggy for the shovel to hold the mud for him to pull it out of the hole. Thus he had to lay flat on his belly and reach down to scoop the mud out with his hinds. It sure was messy, but I have a feeling he actually was enjoying it. LOL You know, boys always like to play in mud.
Re: Major Announcement
My Blazer is up to around 212,000 miles and still purrs like a kitten.
I hope by saying that it doesn't jinx it, hi hi.
FWIW: Biennial means once every 2 years. Biannual means twice a year, same as semi-annual.
Biennial sure beats the annual inspections we used to have every year, one was a safety inspection, the other the emissions test.
That's they way water leaks are here. This sandy red clay absorbs it like a sponge, but lets it drain further down.
It took me forever to figure out where our leak was, and ironically, I didn't find the leak right away.
Not until after I replaced from the street to the house with new copper, but still had the leak.
Turns out, someone tapped into an outdoor faucet about 3 feet down using plastic pipe and nothing more than a pipe clamp.
This pipe ran up to near the garage, where a temporary travel trailer used to sit, for Debi's sister for about a year as they were moving from house to house.
Glad your repair bill was much less than you expected it to be!
That was my job when I first started in plumbing as a cub. I was the guy down in the muddy hole, hi hi.
One thing about being at the bottom of the ladder passing the shit up, you take it from nobody, hi hi.
I hope by saying that it doesn't jinx it, hi hi.
FWIW: Biennial means once every 2 years. Biannual means twice a year, same as semi-annual.
Biennial sure beats the annual inspections we used to have every year, one was a safety inspection, the other the emissions test.
That's they way water leaks are here. This sandy red clay absorbs it like a sponge, but lets it drain further down.
It took me forever to figure out where our leak was, and ironically, I didn't find the leak right away.
Not until after I replaced from the street to the house with new copper, but still had the leak.
Turns out, someone tapped into an outdoor faucet about 3 feet down using plastic pipe and nothing more than a pipe clamp.
This pipe ran up to near the garage, where a temporary travel trailer used to sit, for Debi's sister for about a year as they were moving from house to house.
Glad your repair bill was much less than you expected it to be!
That was my job when I first started in plumbing as a cub. I was the guy down in the muddy hole, hi hi.
One thing about being at the bottom of the ladder passing the shit up, you take it from nobody, hi hi.
Re: Major Announcement
Biennial ... biannual ... all sounds the same to me. LOL In any case, it's one emissions test every two years. Truth is that I don't know if they do a safety test anymore. They did the first time or two I had the test done, but it seems like they only did emissions the last time. The charges for the Saturn were not the same as the charges for the Toyota which is about ten years younger. I guess they do a different kind of test for older cars.
The drainage here is fantastic. I don't understand why that is the case. All the ground I've dug up is nearly all clay. The hole they made for fixing the sprinkler system was mostly clay. Maybe 10% something else. I didn't think clay would be so porous but apparently it is. Storm water disappears rather quickly.
I have a suspicion that this leak existed for many months. About last November or December the water bill increased well beyond what I normally would use for those winter months. I suspected a leak back then but could not find it. The ground where they fixed the shutoff valve was saturated down deep. Finally, now, more than six months after the suspicious increase in water usage, there was enough ground water to come to the surface. It simply amazes me to no end that such a thing could happen.
I can fully understand why the last man hired would be responsible for all the grunt work. You have to start from the bottom up, right? Only one guy came out to fix my problem, but he had to call a second person because he didn't have the required parts in his truck. The site of the repair would look normal if it were not for the muddy grass. All the sod is in place and the ground is level. I suppose it could all settle and sink once it dries out, but they sure did a great job in cleaning up the mess. While I am favorably impressed with what this guy did, I still would never choose a career in plumbing if I had a choice.
The drainage here is fantastic. I don't understand why that is the case. All the ground I've dug up is nearly all clay. The hole they made for fixing the sprinkler system was mostly clay. Maybe 10% something else. I didn't think clay would be so porous but apparently it is. Storm water disappears rather quickly.
I have a suspicion that this leak existed for many months. About last November or December the water bill increased well beyond what I normally would use for those winter months. I suspected a leak back then but could not find it. The ground where they fixed the shutoff valve was saturated down deep. Finally, now, more than six months after the suspicious increase in water usage, there was enough ground water to come to the surface. It simply amazes me to no end that such a thing could happen.
I can fully understand why the last man hired would be responsible for all the grunt work. You have to start from the bottom up, right? Only one guy came out to fix my problem, but he had to call a second person because he didn't have the required parts in his truck. The site of the repair would look normal if it were not for the muddy grass. All the sod is in place and the ground is level. I suppose it could all settle and sink once it dries out, but they sure did a great job in cleaning up the mess. While I am favorably impressed with what this guy did, I still would never choose a career in plumbing if I had a choice.
Re: Major Announcement
On most cars built after 1980 all they have to do is plug something into a jack under the dash, and it will tell them if it passes or not. But before then, they have to put a sniffer in the tailpipe. Takes much longer for them to do.
If your car is old enough to get historical plates, then there is no tests to take for either emissions or safety.
Where my dads house was in Ballwin, even the smallest underground leak appeared on the surface almost right away.
It did too at his old house, but took a couple of days longer.
Down here, it seems to never make it to the surface, hi hi.
My water bill quadrupled, which meant the sewer bill was astronomical, when I had a break.
They do give you a credit on the sewer bill because the water did not go down into the sewer.
But they don't give you a break on the water bill, since you did use up the water, hi hi.
Glad they got your leak all fixed up and that they cleaned up the mess as well.
If your car is old enough to get historical plates, then there is no tests to take for either emissions or safety.
Where my dads house was in Ballwin, even the smallest underground leak appeared on the surface almost right away.
It did too at his old house, but took a couple of days longer.
Down here, it seems to never make it to the surface, hi hi.
My water bill quadrupled, which meant the sewer bill was astronomical, when I had a break.
They do give you a credit on the sewer bill because the water did not go down into the sewer.
But they don't give you a break on the water bill, since you did use up the water, hi hi.
Glad they got your leak all fixed up and that they cleaned up the mess as well.
Re: Major Announcement
The older car is a 2009 Saturn and the newest one is a 2017 Toyota. The Saturn testing was about $8 more than the Toyota. Apparently both cars got emissions and a safety test. The Saturn does in fact have a computer, but it's likely not as sophisticated as the one in the Toyota. In any case the charges for testing being different was a bit surprising. Before we bought these two cars the cost of testing was the same for both because they were manufactured within one model year of each other.
I looked into historical license plates and our cars don't qualify. The first requirement is that the car be 25 years old or more. The second requirement is that the vehicle only be used for exhibition purposes. So, I could not just drive it over to Schnucks to do my shopping if I had historical plates on the Saturn. In any case, it's not old enough.
I didn't look over the repair site for the irrigation system very closely until today. Before they repaired it there was an access bucket buried in the ground with the shut off valve inside the bucket. It had a plastic cover over it and a PVC pipe that was fitted around the actual valve. They used some kind of forked tool which was about four feet long to reach inside that PVC pipe to turn the valve off and on when they worked on the system. Now there is no access tub nor any way I can see to turn off that new valve. Come October or November they will need to shut off the water to the system so that they can purge it for the winter months. I don't see an obvious way for them to do that as it stands now. I suppose it could be remote controlled instead of mechanical as it used to be, but they never said they changed anything. They just replaced the valve and connecting piping. We will see this Autumn if everything is as it should be.
Speaking of irrigation systems ... I got a notice yesterday from the City of O'Fallon telling me they did not receive my backflow testing report by June first as is required. Thus they added a $30 fine to my bill and will add another $100 if the report does not get there by July 1st. AND, after July 1st I will be on borrowed time before they shut off the water altogether. I could not believe the notice because every spring I call out the same people who installed (and now repaired) the system to activate it and do the backflow testing. THEY send the report to O"Fallon because I pay them to do that. Or, that is how it should work.
This morning I called the Irrigation System people and complained. They said they did send the report but O'Fallon gave them the wrong e-mail address so that me and about two hundred other people were sent threatening letters from the Water Department. They advised me to call the water people and tell them the report was in fact e-mailed. I did call and obviously I was about the 50th person to do so. LOL Susan, the lady answering phones, was seemingly very frustrated but kept her cool and listened to my story. She then calmly explained that the situation has been corrected and new bills are being printed as we spoke. If I did indeed have that report sent in April then there is no problem. Call them next week just to verify that everything is OK. I will, but maybe not next week. We will be up by Chicago for most of the week. I'm taking my trusty laptop with me so that you won't be rid of me for any length of time.
I looked into historical license plates and our cars don't qualify. The first requirement is that the car be 25 years old or more. The second requirement is that the vehicle only be used for exhibition purposes. So, I could not just drive it over to Schnucks to do my shopping if I had historical plates on the Saturn. In any case, it's not old enough.
I didn't look over the repair site for the irrigation system very closely until today. Before they repaired it there was an access bucket buried in the ground with the shut off valve inside the bucket. It had a plastic cover over it and a PVC pipe that was fitted around the actual valve. They used some kind of forked tool which was about four feet long to reach inside that PVC pipe to turn the valve off and on when they worked on the system. Now there is no access tub nor any way I can see to turn off that new valve. Come October or November they will need to shut off the water to the system so that they can purge it for the winter months. I don't see an obvious way for them to do that as it stands now. I suppose it could be remote controlled instead of mechanical as it used to be, but they never said they changed anything. They just replaced the valve and connecting piping. We will see this Autumn if everything is as it should be.
Speaking of irrigation systems ... I got a notice yesterday from the City of O'Fallon telling me they did not receive my backflow testing report by June first as is required. Thus they added a $30 fine to my bill and will add another $100 if the report does not get there by July 1st. AND, after July 1st I will be on borrowed time before they shut off the water altogether. I could not believe the notice because every spring I call out the same people who installed (and now repaired) the system to activate it and do the backflow testing. THEY send the report to O"Fallon because I pay them to do that. Or, that is how it should work.
This morning I called the Irrigation System people and complained. They said they did send the report but O'Fallon gave them the wrong e-mail address so that me and about two hundred other people were sent threatening letters from the Water Department. They advised me to call the water people and tell them the report was in fact e-mailed. I did call and obviously I was about the 50th person to do so. LOL Susan, the lady answering phones, was seemingly very frustrated but kept her cool and listened to my story. She then calmly explained that the situation has been corrected and new bills are being printed as we spoke. If I did indeed have that report sent in April then there is no problem. Call them next week just to verify that everything is OK. I will, but maybe not next week. We will be up by Chicago for most of the week. I'm taking my trusty laptop with me so that you won't be rid of me for any length of time.
Re: Major Announcement
We have sorta the same deal here on antique plated cars. Must not have modified engines or bodies, and only driven for personal reasons on weekends, Friday's, Saturday's, and Sunday's are OK to use for pleasure.
It used to not be like that. You could get historical plates just because it is old, and no restrictions on usage.
I guess that is why I no longer see historical plates on really old cars anymore. They like to keep using them, hi hi.
I have that tool in my garage for turning off the valve from the main to my house, before the meter, and another after the meter.
Here's a trick for you, since everything is plastic these days.
Lay a flattened metal can or paint can lid over the top of the PVC pipe cap.
That way you can find it with a metal detector, or with a magnet if it is not too deep.
Glad you got your water bill ironed out. I just hope they reverse the charges, aka fine.
It used to not be like that. You could get historical plates just because it is old, and no restrictions on usage.
I guess that is why I no longer see historical plates on really old cars anymore. They like to keep using them, hi hi.
I have that tool in my garage for turning off the valve from the main to my house, before the meter, and another after the meter.
Here's a trick for you, since everything is plastic these days.
Lay a flattened metal can or paint can lid over the top of the PVC pipe cap.
That way you can find it with a metal detector, or with a magnet if it is not too deep.
Glad you got your water bill ironed out. I just hope they reverse the charges, aka fine.
Re: Major Announcement
Before they repaired the leak in my irrigation system, that shut off valve was very accessible. There was a plastic cover with two finger holes in it and it covered the plastic bucket in which the valve sat. The PVC access pipe came up to but did not touch that plastic cover. I have a very strong feeling that the last time they turned off the system (last November) the service guy had a hard time with that shut off valve and that is when it got broken. I asked if that could be the case, and of course they said no. Shifting ground and settling is what did it. Right. Regardless, there is no plastic cover, no bucket, and no access piping visible. I didn't watch them back fill the hole so that I don't know what they did. But, it looks like they buried the valve. Not only will it be hard to locate, but also hard to shut it off if it is surrounded by clay.
We have one of those water meters that have an RF transmitter which is read by a passing truck from the water department. That meter goes to the main line under the street and has a shut off valve of it's own to feed the sprinkler system. There likely is other piping to supply the house, but I did not see that part of the system. Regardless, it is very simple turning the irrigation system on and off. Or, I should say it WAS very simple. It will be interesting to see what they do come October. I ran the system today and it all looks as if it's working.
I have a feeling rescinding the $30 fine won't be a problem because about 200 other people suffered from the same SNAFU. All O'Fallon wants is some proof that it was tested, and it was. The report was sent the day of the test back in April. It was sent to a dead letter box, unfortunately.
We have one of those water meters that have an RF transmitter which is read by a passing truck from the water department. That meter goes to the main line under the street and has a shut off valve of it's own to feed the sprinkler system. There likely is other piping to supply the house, but I did not see that part of the system. Regardless, it is very simple turning the irrigation system on and off. Or, I should say it WAS very simple. It will be interesting to see what they do come October. I ran the system today and it all looks as if it's working.
I have a feeling rescinding the $30 fine won't be a problem because about 200 other people suffered from the same SNAFU. All O'Fallon wants is some proof that it was tested, and it was. The report was sent the day of the test back in April. It was sent to a dead letter box, unfortunately.
Re: Major Announcement
It's hard to believe they would backfill over a shut-off valve, or make it where it is not accessible.
But then look at the idiots who installed my AT&T fiber. They cut my LAN and three phone lines.
Then refused to repair the phone lines they cut.
But then look at the idiots who installed my AT&T fiber. They cut my LAN and three phone lines.
Then refused to repair the phone lines they cut.
Re: Major Announcement
By and large I have to say the people I called onto my property to do some work were very neat and clean about it. They didn't always do the perfect install or repair, but they did return the scene of the crime back to normal. The first grass cutting this year was done after a good rainfall. I have this slope in my back yard that has grass and needs cutting. They did their usual thing with the riding mower but it slid down the very damp slope and into the neighbor's fence. It's muddy down there so that the tractor was stuck. Two guys had one hella time getting the tractor out of the mud, and the neighbor's fence was covered in mud from the spinning tires. I saw the mess but didn't watch them clean up. After they left I took a closer look and the fence was clean and there were no visible ruts in the mud. Those guys did an amazing job of cleaning up.
The irrigation system people did an amazing job to, and I now know what happened to the shut off valve cover. We got over an inch of rain today and that washed the mud off the grass that they dug up and reinstalled. The cover for the shut off valve was now visible, but it is 6-8 inches below the sod line. The sod is level with the surrounding ground so that they deliberately lowered the access panel. I know what is going to happen. The dirt from the surrounding sod will wash onto that cover and make it invisible once again. I don't know why they didn't bring that plastic bucket up higher, but at least the valve is indeed accessible. I'm not sure I like that shallow hole in my sod, but at least now I know they can shut off the system when necessary.
The irrigation system people did an amazing job to, and I now know what happened to the shut off valve cover. We got over an inch of rain today and that washed the mud off the grass that they dug up and reinstalled. The cover for the shut off valve was now visible, but it is 6-8 inches below the sod line. The sod is level with the surrounding ground so that they deliberately lowered the access panel. I know what is going to happen. The dirt from the surrounding sod will wash onto that cover and make it invisible once again. I don't know why they didn't bring that plastic bucket up higher, but at least the valve is indeed accessible. I'm not sure I like that shallow hole in my sod, but at least now I know they can shut off the system when necessary.
Re: Major Announcement
It's great you've had good luck with service people. It's nice when they are clean, and/or clean up after themselves.
Don't forget to put something metal over that LID now that you know where it is.
Preferably something steel so a simple magnet can find it for you, the next time you need to find it.
Don't forget to put something metal over that LID now that you know where it is.
Preferably something steel so a simple magnet can find it for you, the next time you need to find it.
Re: Major Announcement
I don't think it will be difficult to find the access to the sprinkler system now that I know what they did. The city water meter has something similar in terms of a shut off valve in a basin less than a foot away from the sprinkler shut off. That city access is very visible and 12" south of it would be the sprinkler shutoff.
After thinking about it for a while, I have an idea why the new cover/basin is lower than originally. The source of the water from the street is about 8" lower than the feed to the sprinkler system. The original shutoff valve was inline with the upper pipe that feeds the sprinkler system. They did some 90 degree elbow joints to connect to the city supply. Because that valve was higher than the source, the pipe broke when they put too much pressure on it to close the valve. It did in fact break in that short piece of vertical pipe connecting the sprinkler to the mains. The new valve is now in line with the city supply. I'm guessing it can still break, but this time it would be horizontal and not in the vertical pipe. Then again, I didn't see what they did. They could have put a rock or some kind of support under the valve. Anyway, since the new valve installation is in the lower pipe the access PVC pipe is too short to reach the cover. Soooo ... they just lowered the cover to meet the PVC pipe instead of making a new PVC access pipe of the proper length.
I'm going to watch them closely when they purge the system this fall, and you know I will have an answer if they complain about the dirty cover surrounded by mud from the sod. grrrrrr
After thinking about it for a while, I have an idea why the new cover/basin is lower than originally. The source of the water from the street is about 8" lower than the feed to the sprinkler system. The original shutoff valve was inline with the upper pipe that feeds the sprinkler system. They did some 90 degree elbow joints to connect to the city supply. Because that valve was higher than the source, the pipe broke when they put too much pressure on it to close the valve. It did in fact break in that short piece of vertical pipe connecting the sprinkler to the mains. The new valve is now in line with the city supply. I'm guessing it can still break, but this time it would be horizontal and not in the vertical pipe. Then again, I didn't see what they did. They could have put a rock or some kind of support under the valve. Anyway, since the new valve installation is in the lower pipe the access PVC pipe is too short to reach the cover. Soooo ... they just lowered the cover to meet the PVC pipe instead of making a new PVC access pipe of the proper length.
I'm going to watch them closely when they purge the system this fall, and you know I will have an answer if they complain about the dirty cover surrounded by mud from the sod. grrrrrr
Re: Major Announcement
This house was on a septic tank system until the county had sewer lines installed, and it was mandatory to connect to the sewer system.
Rather than digging up the old septic tank, they just ran a new pipe from the sewer as far as the septic tank, and then inside the septic tank added a new pipe from the inlet to the outlet, then filled the tank with dirt and put the lid back over it.
After many years, the old concrete lid failed and fell into the tank, where the dirt that was in there had settled a lot.
I imagine they punched holes in the bottom of the tank to let rainwater soak into the ground that may have got in there around the lid, or back flow from the feeder lines.
But when that lid did fall in, it cracked the high pipe or inlet pipe off.
The repair company used a saw to cut the top edge of the concrete box off so they could place a new pipe from the cast iron at a slope down to the outbound pipe. Then they filled the entire box with coarse sand and placed thick plastic lid over the whole thing. It never settled anymore after that.
Every house I know of that had a sprinkler system, all the lines were laid in such a way they were self draining, so they didn't require a winter servicing. One just had to remember to open the air inlet to the system to allow it to drain.
Rather than digging up the old septic tank, they just ran a new pipe from the sewer as far as the septic tank, and then inside the septic tank added a new pipe from the inlet to the outlet, then filled the tank with dirt and put the lid back over it.
After many years, the old concrete lid failed and fell into the tank, where the dirt that was in there had settled a lot.
I imagine they punched holes in the bottom of the tank to let rainwater soak into the ground that may have got in there around the lid, or back flow from the feeder lines.
But when that lid did fall in, it cracked the high pipe or inlet pipe off.
The repair company used a saw to cut the top edge of the concrete box off so they could place a new pipe from the cast iron at a slope down to the outbound pipe. Then they filled the entire box with coarse sand and placed thick plastic lid over the whole thing. It never settled anymore after that.
Every house I know of that had a sprinkler system, all the lines were laid in such a way they were self draining, so they didn't require a winter servicing. One just had to remember to open the air inlet to the system to allow it to drain.
Re: Major Announcement
I never had an irrigation system to deal with in all my years of home ownership. Thus, I have no idea what the options are but I did know there would be maintenance involved. Self-draining sounds great to me especially since my property is sloped. The outlet could be at the bottom of the hill and everything would drain clean if there was a vent at the top of the hill. My guess is that the city of O'Fallon required what I have, which is this ...
I have no idea what that is between the two shut off valves, but it is above ground and full of water that will freeze in cold weather. My entire front yard, and it's irrigation pipes, are between this back flow device and that shut off valve I recently replaced so that I don't know what is being protected from back flow. Since I have this thing in the photo, I am required by the city to have it checked once a year whether I use the irrigation system or not. So, it's a PITA and costing me for something I don't use very much. Given how the grass turns brown in the summer months, because it is fescue and that is what fescue does, watering the lawn is pointless. Perhaps if I watered it twice a day all summer long the grass might not turn as brown.
Then again, I am glad to not have a septic tank. I guess they work well but like the irrigation system they are designed to require periodic maintenance.
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I have no idea what that is between the two shut off valves, but it is above ground and full of water that will freeze in cold weather. My entire front yard, and it's irrigation pipes, are between this back flow device and that shut off valve I recently replaced so that I don't know what is being protected from back flow. Since I have this thing in the photo, I am required by the city to have it checked once a year whether I use the irrigation system or not. So, it's a PITA and costing me for something I don't use very much. Given how the grass turns brown in the summer months, because it is fescue and that is what fescue does, watering the lawn is pointless. Perhaps if I watered it twice a day all summer long the grass might not turn as brown.
Then again, I am glad to not have a septic tank. I guess they work well but like the irrigation system they are designed to require periodic maintenance.
Re: Major Announcement
Hmmm, I've never seen anything like that either!
It's even confusing to look at.
Does it have an inlet and an outlet, or is that two outlets and the input is behind it from the basement where I can't see it?
It is indeed a strange looking bird, hi hi.
It's even confusing to look at.
Does it have an inlet and an outlet, or is that two outlets and the input is behind it from the basement where I can't see it?
It is indeed a strange looking bird, hi hi.
Re: Major Announcement
I could swear that I saw my reply to this thread posted yesterday. I know I wrote it, but obviously it got lost in the process.
I've seen the guy do the purge of the system, but didn't really know what was going on. Those brass fittings on top are for compressed air so that it can force the water out of the pipes via the sprinkler heads. Once that is done the shut off valves are closed. Not sure why given that there is no water in the system at that time. The black plastic is what gets tested for back flow problems. They connect their equipment to those brass fittings and do the test. I have no clue where that gizmo is relative to the piping in the system. The mains water feed shut off is around the corner of the house out by the street so that this pictured device is quite a distance from where I would guess it should be. I can assure you that I don't know how it all works, but I did pay to have it replaced two years ago.
I've seen the guy do the purge of the system, but didn't really know what was going on. Those brass fittings on top are for compressed air so that it can force the water out of the pipes via the sprinkler heads. Once that is done the shut off valves are closed. Not sure why given that there is no water in the system at that time. The black plastic is what gets tested for back flow problems. They connect their equipment to those brass fittings and do the test. I have no clue where that gizmo is relative to the piping in the system. The mains water feed shut off is around the corner of the house out by the street so that this pictured device is quite a distance from where I would guess it should be. I can assure you that I don't know how it all works, but I did pay to have it replaced two years ago.