Swinging the Lead

[NauticalGent]

Used that trick a couple of times myself, taught to me by my father.

 

[AccessBlaster]

That trick could save you some dough

 

[AccessBlaster]

The first water heater I replaced had unions on top of unions it was completely ridged with no copper flex lines. I took a picture of it to the local plumbing supply house, the guy said hacksaw here and here and pull the whole thing out. He set me up with just a few connectors and some copper flex lines. The project went from a total nightmare to easy as pie. I have also pulled 2 new circuits into my garage and 2 outside.

 

[moke123]

The first water heater I replaced had unions on top of unions it was completely ridged with no copper flex lines. I took a picture of it to the local plumbing supply house, the guy said hacksaw here and here and pull the whole thing out. He set me up with just a few connectors and some copper flex lines. The project went from a total nightmare to easy as pie. I have also pulled 2 new circuits into my garage and 2 outside.

The hardest part was draining the old one which was in the basement. Burned out a small transfer pump so I used a 10 gallon shop vac to suck out the water and then a submersable pump to pump the contents of the shop vac up and out the Bilco doors.

 

[Isaac]

You guys are rockstars.

My dad was pretty close to "did everything himself" level of handyman. Us kids turned out more or less the opposite, just...decided to prioritize all types of non-physical skills over DIY stuff.
Except 2 of us, including me. I pat myself on the back pretty hard for things like:
- putting up all the blinds and ceiling fans up in our last 3 homes
- changing wall light switches
- making and installing custom window screens

etc.

...Just because it's a lot better than 'zero'. But you guys are way next level, good for you! Plumbing is definitely something I would like to be a lot better in - VERY valuable.

We've paid money for a guy to take a faucet apart and easily see something that just needed tightening.......and a guy to examine our non-working refrigerator, only to see a wall of ice formed on a radiator-looking area which only needed to be melted for everything to work again! (ideally, the thermostat fixed, but still, I would have liked to know 5 min with a hairdryer could have saved me $100).

 

[Minty]

I can do basic electrics, I will take any electrical/electronic appliance apart and "have a go" as my background is in electronics engineering.

I have no fear of these things because it is all relatively logical, and if it's already not working the worst case will be "it's still not working, but now I have a pile of spare screws" or "Smoke came out, please refill"

Plumbing though, hmmm water leaks make a mess. And don't stop when you flick the off switch.
The nearest I got was pulling the hot-water boiler apart when it randomly kept tripping the earth leakage on the fuse box. That turned out to be a chaffed wire on the exhaust flue fan intermittently earthing itself out, to ages to find, and I had replaced the mainboard, regulators, cut out's and most other things before it was spotted.

Live and learn.

 

[moke123]

With YouTube there's barely anything you can't fix yourself after a couple clicks.

 

[NauticalGent]

With YouTube there's barely anything you can't fix yourself after a couple clicks.

Quite right, YouTube has made me appear quite competent in others eyes.

My father had an attitude: "If a man can do it, then I can too"

My brother and I have done our best to follow in his footsteps, but have fallen WAY short of the mark but some look at us like we looked at out father.

As Minty alluded to, it really comes down to cadting aside your doubt, rolling up your sleeves and getting into it.

"Nothing beats a failure but a try"

 

[Uncle Gizmo]

I imagine heat pumps would not be effective in the UK.

Watch This Guy, Roger Bisby !!!

This is Why Heat Pumps May NOT Be The Future​