Topic: What you Buy or DIY show off thread

[sailor723]

We live on a hill about 20 feet above the street and our sewer line is a straight shot out to the main. I flush everything. 

[Allen]

I don't give a $hit about this thread 

[EV Dan]

[rrocket]

Stupendous reference!!

You win this thread!! LOL [emoji38]

[HeliDriver]

We have a weird setup here too. Wastewater runs to a sump buried in the driveway, then gets pumped to the sewer line under the street.

About a year after install, we had an issue with the sump pump running constantly, so I pulled the lid to figure out what was going on. Opened it up and found a gross mess of cement-like papier mache gumming up the whole thing. Float was jammed up so the pump wouldn't shut off.

The "papier mache" was a gummed up mess of Charmin TP. That stuff is nice to use, but too thick to break down properly. Convinced the wife to switch to Kirkland brand TP and haven't had a problem since.

That's interesting because the guy who recently pumped our septic tanks specifically warned against using Kirkland brand as he found it didn't break down well in a septic system.

Yeah, I’m sure there are better choices. Kirkland is pretty thick, just not as thick as Charmin. Seems to work well enough for our situation, but I expect the 1-ply, no-name stuff would be even better. Not really interested in trying it out.   

[rrocket]

We have a weird setup here too. Wastewater runs to a sump buried in the driveway, then gets pumped to the sewer line under the street.

About a year after install, we had an issue with the sump pump running constantly, so I pulled the lid to figure out what was going on. Opened it up and found a gross mess of cement-like papier mache gumming up the whole thing. Float was jammed up so the pump wouldn't shut off.

The "papier mache" was a gummed up mess of Charmin TP. That stuff is nice to use, but too thick to break down properly. Convinced the wife to switch to Kirkland brand TP and haven't had a problem since.

That's interesting because the guy who recently pumped our septic tanks specifically warned against using Kirkland brand as he found it didn't break down well in a septic system.

Yeah, I’m sure there are better choices. Kirkland is pretty thick, just not as thick as Charmin. Seems to work well enough for our situation, but I expect the 1-ply, no-name stuff would be even better. Not really interested in trying it out.  [emoji14] 

I know people SWEAR by Amazon Presto brand. Fanatical.

Super soft and plush, septic safe, RV safe and one of the fastest and easiest dissolving papers on the market.

Plenty swear it's the best they've ever used.

I'd for sure give it a shot if I were you guys with questionable sewage drains.

[EV Dan]

Went "off grid" with my tire inflator   Under load the voltage drops to around 12V judging by the pump's RPM. The resistor (green thing) heats up a bit but ultimately everything works perfect.

[ktm525]

I bought a replacement home furnace control panel. The panel in the other furnace died three years ago and I replaced it so I figured this one was due and it is handy to have the replacement on hand. What is weird is that Amre Supply has these listed for $300 while I found one on Amazon for $200. It was fulfilled by Amre Supply. WTF      do brick and mortar stores want to put themselves out of business?

 Anyhow here is to 20 years more  of blissful mid efficiency furnace experience.   

[bridgecity]

^ Along the same line, got a few quotes for a garage heater install and decided on one and will be installed on Tuesday.  I'm really looking forward to having a heated garage; should have done it years ago but the price is a hard pill to swallow for something that's so simple. 

Also ordered OEM style fender flares for the Tundra.  A site had 10% off so I went ahead with it.  That's also another hard pill to swallow for 4 pieces of plastic.  I mentioned previously in another thread that the newly painted fenders are getting chewed up so I need to protect them.  They'll likely be rusting in no time again.

[Hannibalsmith]

^ Along the same line, got a few quotes for a garage heater install and decided on one and will be installed on Tuesday.  I'm really looking forward to having a heated garage; should have done it years ago but the price is a hard pill to swallow for something that's so simple. 

Also ordered OEM style fender flares for the Tundra.  A site had 10% off so I went ahead with it.  That's also another hard pill to swallow for 4 pieces of plastic.  I mentioned previously in another thread that the newly painted fenders are getting chewed up so I need to protect them.  They'll likely be rusting in no time again.

What's the $ damage, approximately?

[bridgecity]

^ Along the same line, got a few quotes for a garage heater install and decided on one and will be installed on Tuesday.  I'm really looking forward to having a heated garage; should have done it years ago but the price is a hard pill to swallow for something that's so simple. 

Also ordered OEM style fender flares for the Tundra.  A site had 10% off so I went ahead with it.  That's also another hard pill to swallow for 4 pieces of plastic.  I mentioned previously in another thread that the newly painted fenders are getting chewed up so I need to protect them.  They'll likely be rusting in no time again.

What's the $ damage, approximately?

3k plus taxes, so $3330 here in SK.  Thats for a small garage 2 car garage.

I thought about doing all the grunt work myself, then finding a plumber that would get permit and connect the gas.  However, the components are so expensive it wouldn't have saved me much.  For instance, a vent kit from Princess Auto is $600+tax.   And that may not have all the fittings you need.  Just an elbow is about $100. Then there's the heater, electrical, gas piping, mounting materials, etc.  Add it all up and your at about 2k just in materials if you source yourself.  Then try and find a guy that will do the connection only.  I asked two plumbers and they said they wouldn't touch it if they weren't doing the work.

Would be great if I had a plumber buddy that could source the parts for cost and install for a nice bottle of their choice.   

[Hannibalsmith]

^^ Thanks and yes, for this kind of stuff, let someone else install it, especially dealing with gas.

[JG20]

Heated garage would be good for my workouts, lol. But yeah, that's a tough pill to swallow.

[ArticSteve]

^ Along the same line, got a few quotes for a garage heater install and decided on one and will be installed on Tuesday.  I'm really looking forward to having a heated garage; should have done it years ago but the price is a hard pill to swallow for something that's so simple. 

NG licensed pipe fitter is a must for insurance purposes.  My NG/propane fitter is the opposite.  He wants all the heat source bits installed by us before he shows up to do the piping which still takes quite a while when using threaded steel pipe.

What style of heater is this.  You hanging it off the ceiling? 

[WP v3.32]

  Anyone here had a treadmill for a long time with decent use?

 We been looking for a treadmill for a while as we run quite a bit so we would like something fairly reliable.  We have a cheap one and it's been real good but it's about to fall apart and I'm way too heavy for it.


https://treadmillfactory.ca/products/horizon-7-8-at-treadmill-2022

https://treadmillfactory.ca/products/pre-sale-2022-horizon-t101-treadmill

https://treadmillfactory.ca/products/nordictrack-commercial-treadmill-1250-ntl14124

[ArticSteve]

A local private fitness centre was closing so my son bought one of their commercial grade treadmills.  Huge friggin thing.  Never uses it.

[bridgecity]

^ Along the same line, got a few quotes for a garage heater install and decided on one and will be installed on Tuesday.  I'm really looking forward to having a heated garage; should have done it years ago but the price is a hard pill to swallow for something that's so simple. 

NG licensed pipe fitter is a must for insurance purposes.  My NG/propane fitter is the opposite.  He wants all the heat source bits installed by us before he shows up to do the piping which still takes quite a while when using threaded steel pipe.

What style of heater is this.  You hanging it off the ceiling?

From what the one plumber/gas fitter explained to me is that when the inspector shows up, he looks at everything, including the venting.  He doesn't want shoddy work associated with himself.  Reputation with the inspector means something.  Just to be clear, I never considered not having a ticketed gas fitter do the work.

Yes, hung from the ceiling, NG unit heater. 

[ktm525]

I looked into a NG heater for garage but due to gas meter on other side of house it was essentially a no go without being very expensive and ugly. Ended up getting a 220V plug put into garage and I run a  small (4800W) electric heater unit on days I want to work on stuff in garage.  It takes a few hours for the heater to take the space from 0 to 15 (on a cold day) but then holds it nice. My garage has the roof insulated (open trusses) which doesn't help since there is a ton of airspace. Anyhow about $300 for the plug and $150 for the heater.

[ArticSteve]

^ Along the same line, got a few quotes for a garage heater install and decided on one and will be installed on Tuesday.  I'm really looking forward to having a heated garage; should have done it years ago but the price is a hard pill to swallow for something that's so simple. 

NG licensed pipe fitter is a must for insurance purposes.  My NG/propane fitter is the opposite.  He wants all the heat source bits installed by us before he shows up to do the piping which still takes quite a while when using threaded steel pipe.

What style of heater is this.  You hanging it off the ceiling?

From what the one plumber/gas fitter explained to me is that when the inspector shows up, he looks at everything, including the venting.  He doesn't want shoddy work associated with himself.  Reputation with the inspector means something.  Just to be clear, I never considered not having a ticketed gas fitter do the work.

Yes, hung from the ceiling, NG unit heater.

Interesting the difference between over regulated Ontario and SASK (I assume).  No inspectors required for NG or propane in ON.

Here's how it works here.  If it's NG, Enbridge will come into the premises and do the very first lighting of any NG appliance only once.  The Propane people do the same thing.  They do this only once to measure the pressures and make sure the regulators are in spec.  After that you never see them again.

After that, no permit required for any alterations/additions.  The use of a licensed gas fitter is for insurance purposes only.

Regarding gas licenses in Ontario; our HVAC guy is a long time acquaintance. Georgian College has a campus in Owen Sound that is a renowned Great Lakes Marine Transport school.  https://www.georgiancollege.ca/marine-training/  So a serious College.  Chef school to boot.

It did teach and certify gas fitters and this fellow taught the course for limited semesters because demand was low.  Terminated during COVID.  The kicker is that participants can obtain a Ontario gas license WITHOUT every doing a single connection in the field!  So if some company sends a really young installer to your premises in Ontario watch him carefully.  Do your own leak test after he leaves. 

[bridgecity]

^Crown corp here. They show up to inspect most installations, big or small. Sometimes they don’t come, sometimes it’ll be years. Not kidding. You never know. Typical crown corp.