Entropy

Relax in southern comfort on the east bank of the Mississippi. You're just around the corner from Beale Street and Sun Records. Watch the ducks, throw back a few and tell us what's on your mind.
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JR.
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Re: Entropy

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I'm starting to feel like Sisyphus rolling that rock up a hill...

last night I bought a replacement door handle for my screen door, and tried to buy a replacement washer for my water heater drain valve,,, didn't know how many different types of faucet washers they make.. The hardware store sold a one of everything washer kit for over $6 but I refuse to pay that much for one friggin washer... I can buy a new valve for that much scratch. I made an educated guess on one washer but I'll have to take it apart to see what it really needs.
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This morning I notice water leaking out of the back of my toilet tank... I take off the cover and see the tank level valve has sprung multiple leaks and is spraying water all around inside the tank and that's whats leaking out from the loose cover. I think I already have a replacement for that mechanism I picked up 6 months ago when it was getting a little balky turning off... But i replaced this one less than ten years ago, so they are making this stuff cheaper and cheaper.

Coincidentally my water supply may be delivering slightly more pressure these days, surely better flow from a clean 1" line. That may have contributed to this plastic tank level valve self destructing.

If you can't handle the pressure stay out of the tank. Now I need to look into buying higher quality repair parts. I don't consider a 10 year life acceptable for plumbing repairs.

More stuff to fix this weekend.

JR
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JR.
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Re: Entropy

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I give up,

I will stop posting anecdotes about fixing stuff because every time I do, two more different things break. So no mas. :roll:

JR
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Re: Entropy

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The internet sucks....

I have multiple email accts so I can almost always get messages out, but it sucks when people can't contact you.

I had one one of my primary email accounts black flagged (or gray flagged-spam warning) a couple years ago because another customer at my web host who was sharing a common mail server with me had his email compromised, so everybody using the same mail server got flagged as a possible spammer.

Website security is a never ending battle with web hackers from all around the world who try to hack into my website and database... The software that the WWW is running on is constantly being upgraded to close exploits that hackers discover, so the web hosts have a full time job keeping their server software current.

JR
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Re: Entropy

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I get daily reports with lists of the IP addresses of people clearly trying to hack my website... there is no international reach to police these pukes.

There have been a few high profile hackers caught, and one recently flipped on a bunch of his biddies, so much for honor among them.

Hacking incoming email seems a pretty low value target,,, many do infect computers to send out spam.

Whoever is hosting your mailserver should be helpful.

JR
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Re: Entropy

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It's been a while since I remarked on the decay surrounding me.

I finally fixed my lawnmower that was giving me a really obscure hot restart problem. Namely it could be real hard to re-start when hot.

I finally tracked this down to high impedance (low current) leakage resistance draining current from the magneto kill terminal. It didn't leak enough to affect it when the motor is running at speed, but while hand cranking the spark was marginal to inadequate. (I actually broke the starter rope from all the extra cranking).

After several failed repair attempts, (like replacing the magneto) I pulled out the wiring harness completely to rebuild. I found that the drive belt for the blade was hitting the harness and exposed the magneto kill wire to the elements, the larger problem was dirt and dust creating conductive paths at several points in the total harness..

I re-wrapped the harness where the wire was exposed and used two cable ties to better secure it away from the drive belt. I removed several spare parts and wires not needed for the manual start.

Now that it is fixed, and cranks like a champ, it's time for something else to break. :lol:

JR
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Re: Entropy

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Apparently I spoke too soon about my mower repair... it is back to squirrely spark when restarting hot.. I have disconnected the safety switches and that is definitely the problem. arghhhh. more work involved. I am tempted to blow off the brake/clutch switch, and just connect the seat switch in series with the on.off switch, so I can start with the on/off switch on, then actuate the seat safety switch after it's running and I'm in the seat, by turning the on/off switch off.

======

New one yesterday... does anybody have experience with recharging big in-wall air conditioners? Mine has been losing cooling output, and now started making a rapping/knocking sound from the compressor. I don't know if a recharge will quiet down the compressor... probably not. :(

I can replace with a no-name (SOLEUS) combination air-conditioner/heat-pump, that will fit in the old hole and give me 10,000 BTU of heat-pump heat. Since I am on resistance heat, this could noticeably reduce my electric bill in winter. It wouldn't take too much electricity saved to offset heat pump vs plain vanilla air conditioner. From reading air conditioner spec sheets it looks like heat pump draws 5A to resistance heat strips 15A or so for similar BTU. That could add up over a season.

I am not green as much as I am cheap... :D

JR

[edit- well I bit the bullet and ordered that combo air co/heat pump... it was a discontinued model that they stopped making... mew models just use resistance heat instead of heat pump heat... So this was the one model that fit in my cutout.

So now mark my words, the temperature will drop like a rock, from the high mid- 90s to where I don't need the air conditioner, by the time this arrives next week... :lol: /edit
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Re: Entropy

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Having trouble keeping up with the decay.

As I predicted the minute I ordered the new air conditoner temps dropped, as low as 40s overnight. :lol:

The lawnmower ignition is still confusing. I added another switch in series with the safety switches so I can disconnect it easily next time I am mowing and it screws up... of course like the classic watched pot, last week it worked fine. Hopefully grass will stop growing soon.

My chainsaw made a mess, started pissing out gas all over the place... I took it apart and the fuel line (plastic?) was brittle like dry macaroni... perhaps another victim of the evil ethanol. I ordered some new tubing so we'll see... Nowadays you buy a $5 worth of parts and it's $9 for shipping.

More stuff breaking, but thats enough decay for today.

JR
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Re: Entropy

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Good luck with webster.

Physical entropy is even more disturbing. While mechanical decay is roughly linear, physical decline can be multiplicative or exponential. As we get old and arthritic, it's harder to work out.. so we get less flexible and work out less... :( Alternately stress makes us stronger, so dramatically different patterns of decay.

=====

For something else repaired, it looks like I sealed the leak in my roof, that I discovered by accident when I drilled some holes in my ceiling to mount a LED lamp fixture and coincidentally lined up with a small leak in the outer roof. It turns out where there is a seam between two different pitches in my roof, it sagged and water would collect. Two gallons of roof asphalt later, my roof now keeps the rain on the outside.

I am starting to do some experiments with DIY UV-C lamps to combat mold, more later, on that.

JR
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Re: Entropy

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I had a small leak from my toilet tank, for I don't know how long and definitely had/have a black mold problem. I just ripped out the last of the W-W carpeting yesterday (do not put carpeting in bathrooms or kitchens). When I ran over the carpeting with a vacuum cleaner it released a new bad smell so out it goes.

I am not enthusiastic about ripping out and redoing my entire bathroom. but I need to... I bought a room sized air filter a couple years ago and it doesn't help much, so I plan to stick a small 9W UV-C lamp inside the air filer to see if that does more than rearrange the mold spores.

I realize the UV-C is line of sight and easily attenuated, but if I can knock down the spores in broad circulation that should help.

JR

PS: Speaking of water filters the UV bulb in my RO water filter went dark. Those only last a few k hours so probably burnt out. It has been several years. The anaerobic buggers like to get established on the output side of RO after chlorine and whatever is removed from the water.
[edit- damn replacement UVC lamp cost $25... I could buy a thousand at a time for a dollar and change each from China..... /edit]
Last edited by JR. on Wed Sep 26, 2012 11:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Entropy

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Some organisms are successful by chance, but I wonder what they eat?

JR

PS: I got my UV lamps in today, still waiting for sockets and ballasts.
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