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Yeah, it’s been that cold. Cold enough that my electric bill showed up looking like a ransom note. $1400 just to keep the pipes from turning into modern art.
At this point I’m convinced the whole “AI economy” is just a polite way of saying “hope you enjoy financing the grid upgrades we didn’t build for the last 30 years.”
Tankless heaters freaking out, utilities freaking out, my wallet freaking out… winter’s the only thing around here that’s running reliably.
2026-02-20 01:56 from IGnatius T Foobar
Yeah, it’s been that cold. Cold enough that my electric bill
showed up looking like a ransom note. $1400 just to keep the
pipes from turning into modern art.
That is just bonkers.
So glad I am a poor bastard in an area with an unreliable power supply, so I can heat my house burning horse poo and I am pretty much forced to produce my own electricity anyway.
Unscheduled fun project! I went to the garage to see if the final coat of poly had dried on my new custom speaker stands, and there was water all over the floor. Wandered over to the laundry closet and found a hot water heater spraying a fine mist of hot water all over the place. Fun.
Removing the old water heater was an adventure. Some shady mamaluke had used solder on pro-press fittings, and used compression fittings where they should have used solder. So tomorrow I have to redo all that before I can put a new water heater in.
You know what ... I'll enjoy the project, I always do. But it's frustrating to spend time and money just to get back to where you were before. It's way more fun to have something new at the end of a project.
Oddly, i just was going to do plumbing at my sisters yesterday too. Swap out an old dead softener. Should have been a 10 minute project.
But, the previous installer soldered down screw on connectors ( wtf ) so it has to be cut out. Normally id not care and just cut it off as i can solder just fine ( and/or crimp ), but the lines are so short between the 1000 elbows and 2x the needed shut offs ( another wtf were they thinking, it actually had 4 shutoffs, 2 bypasses, and connectors going in circles in the space less than a foot square... ), that i suspect it has to be cut from inside the wall and start over. And i don't want to be cutting into her wall.
in theory i could unsolder some of the connectors and regain the extra pipe to grab on to, but that is tricky, im way out of practice for that, and if you screw it up, you have hosed the entire house water supply and have to cut the wall out to rescue things. Once you start, you cant punt..
Unscheduled fun project! I went to the garage to see if the final coat of poly had dried on my new custom speaker stands, and there was water all over the floor. Wandered over to the laundry closet and found a hot water heater spraying a fine mist of hot water all over the place. Fun.
Removing the old water heater was an adventure. Some shady mamaluke had used solder on pro-press fittings, and used compression fittings where they should have used solder. So tomorrow I have to redo all that before I can put a new water heater in.
You know what ... I'll enjoy the project, I always do. But it's frustrating to spend time and money just to get back to where you were before. It's way more fun to have something new at the end of a project.
But, the previous installer soldered down screw on connectors ( wtf ) so it has to be cut out.
A lot of fixtures now come with ports that can be either soldered or threaded. Shower valves, for example. Many of them have a bore for 1/2" copper to be sweated on, and that bore is inside a male thread fitting to which you can attach a PEX adapter.
That threw me for a loop when I re-plumbed my shower, until I realized that it was a one-size-fits-all fitting.
This was installed at least 20 years ago.
And this was an actual threaded fitting they soldered, not that they chose a solder version.
But, the previous installer soldered down screw on connectors ( wtf ) so it has to be cut out.
A lot of fixtures now come with ports that can be either soldered or threaded. Shower valves, for example. Many of them have a bore for 1/2" copper to be sweated on, and that bore is inside a male thread fitting to which you can attach a PEX adapter.
That threw me for a loop when I re-plumbed my shower, until I realized that it was a one-size-fits-all fitting.
Up there you wrote "and/or crimp". Do you have a ProPress tool? If you spent the $1000 on the tool I don't see why you would use any other kind of fitting.
As for me and my house, it's all solder.
And it really does amaze me that a layer of solder thinner than a human hair can hold up against full municipal water pressure. But it does. I've had it explained to me so many times and it's still amazing.
No. While i did consider getting a Milwaukee press, i just couldn't rationalize that much for so little use id make of a tool.
Up there you wrote "and/or crimp". Do you have a ProPress tool? If you spent the $1000 on the tool I don't see why you would use any other kind of fitting.
As for me and my house, it's all solder.
And it really does amaze me that a layer of solder thinner than a human hair can hold up against full municipal water pressure. But it does. I've had it explained to me so many times and it's still amazing.
I must confess that I have a couple of sharkbite fittings in my house. They were installed because I did a kitchen remodel during the supply chain crisis of 2021 and some fittings I needed weren't available in any other type. They'll get replaced someday.
As long as you keep an eye on them, nothing really wrong with a shark-bite or 2. They can make some really tough access jobs easier, and you can punt the hard work down the road a bit.
Right. As a homeowner I feel the same way. A torch is $20, a press is $1000, and I already know how to sweat pipes. For a professional plumber, time is money, so you buy the tool. For me, I'll probably sweat less than a hundred more pipes in my lifetime, probably way less than that.
I must confess that I have a couple of sharkbite fittings in my house. They were installed because I did a kitchen remodel during the supply chain crisis of 2021 and some fittings I needed weren't available in any other type. They'll get replaced someday.
Some dumbass ran copper tubing through all of the cabinets from the refrigerator to the sink to get into the water supply. This is dumb because the refrigerator is back to back with the bathroom sink on the other side of the wall.
Anyway, since both sharkbites are in visible locations under sinks I can keep an eye on them and replace them with proper fittings someday. I certainly wouldn't bury one inside a wall or ceiling.
Another thing to do would be to add a water leak detector near them. I have a couple, not for that reason, but my water heater is 'outside' in effect ( i think i have explained that before.. someday i may tear that wall down. i donno ) and our fish tank. ( 70 gallons ).
Its saved my butt a couple of times. Tho never a problem on the water heater since i got rid of those damned tanks and went tankless.. But, i still have it out there, just in case. ( well i did have one issue, the tornado a few years ago here tore loose the exhaust pipe up on the roof, but not enough to see, but enough to leak.. but not the heaters fault. )
I guess. I still felt horrible doing it. Both were part of my kitchen remodel, and involved sink fittings -- one to create a tap for the ice maker, and one to remove the tap in its previous location. (No, I couldn't just move it, it was one of those awful saddle valves.)
Some dumbass ran copper tubing through all of the cabinets from the refrigerator to the sink to get into the water supply. This is dumb because the refrigerator is back to back with the bathroom sink on the other side of the wall.
Anyway, since both sharkbites are in visible locations under sinks I can keep an eye on them and replace them with proper fittings someday. I certainly wouldn't bury one inside a wall or ceiling.
Funny you mention that, my new water heater (my house has two, hope to fix that someday) has a built in leak detector and can shut off its own water supply if a leak is detected.
It lasted a grand total of about four hours after I finished the installation.
Leaks are detected via this little rope thing that goes into a plastic tube running into the bottom of the unit. It's way too sensitive. Ran a load of laundry, put it in the dryer, and the steam from the dryer was enough to trip the "leak detector" in the water heater. After a little research I learned that most people just pull the detector rope out of the tube and coil it up inside the compartment. So much for the brave new world.
My first, started leaking out the bottom. No idea how old it was or anything, as was here when i bought the place. This was perhaps 20 years ago, before cheap leak detectors so every so often did go back there and check. Wasn't terrible but was clearly leaking from a non-fixable area, so out it went that evening.
Replacing it was bear. Then a few years later the pressure valve started leaking. Bit of a mess in the 'closet', but caught it early. then a couple years later same thing but this time it blew open it got into the main house. Woke up, got out of bed *squish* carpet was wet. not a good day.
Replaced it but pissed me off enough "not again" and got the tank-less. Wish i had done that in the beginning, wonderful things they are. Efficient, tiny, easy to lug around easy to install, and basically endless hot water. Tho admittedly if you have a large house, you may need a couple. We have a smaller house, and we use cold water for clothes. so it works perfect for us. Well, until that plumbing episode last fall with the now "required by law mixer valve" and not being able to find anyone with replacement valves for what i had ( planned obsolesce crap, the new ones were just enough different to not fit, but not actually different ), and the idiot plumber putting the shut off on the wrong freaking side.. but i wont blame the heater, i blame the federal government, and idiot plumber who refused to listen to me. But doubling the BTU of the heater, took care of it. Just frustrating.
And ya, it CAN still leak.. and i'm sure will someday ( if i'm still here ), but i got those leak detectors after that last episode so ill catch it early.
Ever changed an anode rod? That's something I've been pretty bad about. I think you're supposed to replace them every three years. I've never done one.
I think I need to start. The one I removed from the 14 year old tank was down to just a little nub and three inches of wire. I've got a 9 year old tank in another part of the house, maybe I can save it from the same fate.
No, and i think that is what caused the first leak. it was long gone and resulting mess corroded the base of the tank. I doubt hardly anyone really does it. Its successor, didn't last long enough to need it before i tossed it out the window ( figuratively speaking )
Sun May 03 2026 22:55:07 UTC from IGnatius T FoobarEver changed an anode rod? That's something I've been pretty bad about. I think you're supposed to replace them every three years. I've never done one.
I think I need to start. The one I removed from the 14 year old tank was down to just a little nub and three inches of wire. I've got a 9 year old tank in another part of the house, maybe I can save it from the same fate.
Yeah - it isn't even hard. I know this guy, he was in a band, a big one, in the 80s. Then he quit being a rocker and learned how to be a jet mechanic - I swear to God.... This dude will pull out pictures of him deer hunting with Dave Ghrol the second you doubt him. Anyhow... he used to work on Motley Crue's jet... and a year before that plane crashed and killed the pilot at Scottsdale he told me, "That pilot is going to kill someone..." So... He taught me how to change the anode rod on my RV... and also did about $12k of work on my Razor while we camped in Colorado and drank ourselves silly.
It is kinda cool having a rockstar friend. He is a New Zelander - we met him because he was hitting on my wife in the pub at the resort. Shamelessly. But anyhow the anode rod pulls all the impure metals out of the water that would rust out your water heater and bust it's shell and make it leak - and ours was shot. He taught me how to do it, I haven't done it since on our RV... and we just had it done on our home water heater - and THAT guy was like, "Dude - there was NOTHING left. You've got to check it more often."
It is the difference between a $40 part and a $2000 water heater. But it is so... tedious to do...
Another reason i was so pleased about going tank-less.
Aside from all the other advantages which is what convinced me to give it a try after that last valve collapsed, its minuscule in a price comparison as a side-benefit. I figured even if i had to replace it every so often ( which would be brain dead easy, with the same model at least so all the lines match up exact, but its not hard to 'adjust' pex, worst case ) its still a win. But, the last one, i hit 5 years and not a blip and still going strong. It would still be in service if it wasn't for that damned mixer valve requirement. ( i ended up donating it to a local housing supply place, sort of like goodwill but 'building supplies' )
Its been a bit, but I think the first was around 75 bucks. ( gone up a bit due to inflation, now they are around 100 ) and the new one was around 180. So basically nothing, even if you have a huge house full of children and need a 2nd for upstairs or something.
If i ever get to move before i die off, i will do the same at the new place.
Thu May 07 2026 03:44:02 EDT from ParanoidDelusions
It is the difference between a $40 part and a $2000 water heater. But it is so... tedious to do...
But anyhow the anode rod pulls all the impure metals out of the water that would rust out your water heater and bust it's shell and make it leak - and ours was shot.
It is the difference between a $40 part and a $2000 water heater. But it is so... tedious to do...
It attracts the galvanic corrosion that would otherwise eat the tank itself. Boats have sacrificial anodes on them for the same reason, so the corrosion (which is far greater in salt water) doesn't eat the propeller and running gear.
I have an impact gun so I bought a 1-1/16" socket and "learned" on a water heater that had already busted. 14 years old, and of course there was nothing left. Gonna try on my 9 year old unit soon! On the new one, I put a label on it, "installed April 2026, replace anode rod in 2029"
Wish me luck!