OT - What are you fixing right now?

Canugghead · January 16

@alaskanassasin Aha, I need to learn how to read, serious.

Speaking of performance, the noise doesn't bother me either but I've noticed my gauge needle doesn't go all the way down to the bottom -0.1 mark (see pic, it stops at the green arrow approx). Wondering if the sea foam treatment will improve on that, not that I need that little extra vacuum. In fact, for many applications I stop it before the needle gets that close.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/u2/pu3sqzviblaz.png

DoubleEgger · January 16

My wife would kick my ass if I tried something like that on the kitchen countertop.

alaskanassasin · January 16

DoubleEgger said:

My wife would kick my ass if I tried something like that on the kitchen countertop.

It’s the pantry, technically my domain but she has spread into it a bit.

GrateEggspectations · January 16

You’re not living if you’re not pushing your wife’s limits on the kitchen countertops.

Canugghead · January 17

The beast is 84 lbs, @alaskanassasin is brave to put it on the quartz(?) countertop. Mine sits on a heavy-duty stainless steel cart on wheels.

WeberWho · January 19

When we first moved into our house we redid our kitchen flooring. Not wanting to get a bunch of dust or crap down our gas line for our stove we rolled up a paper towel to cap it. After finishing the flooring we purchased a used oven from Craigslist as the previous homeowners took all their appliances. So we install our new/used oven and go about life. During this time we notice the oven takes forever to warm up and we could only get two of the four stove burners to work at the same time. I chalked it up for being a used oven. So we made it work. The oven never bothered me as I went 10 years without ever using the oven as everything always went into the BGE. I want to say 5 years ago I swapped out the oven for another used one that I picked up. It had the same issue. This time the oven was a little quicker to warm up but it was still a solid 30-40 minutes for it to get up to temperature and similar issues with the stove. This time I ordered a new gas regulator for the stove thinking it had to have gone bad and the reasoning why the previous owners sold the ovens cheap. So I replace the regulator and nothing changes. Now I assume I have a kink somewhere in the gas line. Life rolls on and we work with what we have.

A few weeks ago my kitchen sink backs up. A month prior my sister's sink backs up at her house. My Dad ended up purchasing a real nice M18 Milwaukee auger drain snake to get my sister's plumbing in working order. So I ended up borrowing that to fix my issue. It took a whole 10-15 minutes to remove the plumbing under my sink and to run the snake down the pipes to clear them out. It worked awesome! Feeling good about that issue got me to thinking about my gas line for the stove. Last night I roll my air compressor down into my utility closet and start unhooking the gas line that runs to my oven. I pull my oven out in the kitchen and do the same upstairs with the gas line. I tell my wife to watch the gas line to see if she sees anything as I blow compressed air through the line. Next thing I know I hear a scream and her saying, "Stop!". I thought I heard something clear out from the line. I go back upstairs and she goes, "I'm watching the line and this thing comes shooting out!". She hands me the paper towel that we used to plug the gas line a dozen or so years ago. I could have swore we removed it. It must have got pushed down the gas line as some point as it wasn't there when installing the oven. I remember looking at the gas line and looking down it to make sure we removed the paper towel before installing the oven. So how a tight wadded paper towel somehow got pushed down a gas line is still a mystery. I should have done this years ago about but funny how life gets in the way.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/7b/e3f42ue5sxlx.jpg

While most of my cooking involves a grill or smoker it is nice to have an oven warm up in 10 minutes and not 40. Four working burners are a bonus.

lousubcap · January 19

@WeberWho - quite a story right there. All's well that ends well, even if a few decades on.

Canugghead · January 19

@WeberWho
Great story, better late than never. Next time use a candle or bread, kidding!

here's a rerun of my favourite...
Picked up a barely used Weber gasser for our son in the summer for a song, buyer told us the igniters were wonky since new. Was able to register with weber for full warranty. Weber started throwing new parts in to solve the problem…first, new igniter set, nope…next, new set of burner tubes, nope…next, new manifold assembly; as soon as I removed the front panel to access the manifold I noticed the gas supply hose was kinked 360 degrees, Bingo!

Canugghead · January 20

@alaskanassasin Thinking of flushing with seafoam next time I change oil. Do you recall if the tech recommended using it at full strength or diluted? TIA

alaskanassasin · January 20

Canugghead said:

@alaskanassasin Thinking of flushing with seafoam next time I change oil. Do you recall if the tech recommended using it at full strength or diluted? TIA

He said drain the oil, refill to the full line on the site glass with seafoam, cycle the sealer 5 times, drain it, repeat the process with seafoam and cycle another 5 times, then drain it and refill with sealer oil. no mention of dilution. Feel free to call them, I have several times and someone always answers who can actually answer a question... its wild. 1-800-821-7849

Keep me posted, I know you said yours does not reach the bottom of the green -0.1 mpa, I was wondering if that could be a dirty seal issue or something along those lines possibly?

alaskanassasin · January 20

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/w6/yos79zq0au8n.jpeg

Using my iPhone as a timer it took 35 seconds to achieve this.

fishlessman · January 20

new relay on the boiler, sick of going into the basement through an outside door to hit it with a hammer handle.

Canugghead · January 22

@alaskanassasin My results, not as good as yours.
With the chamber empty, at 35s:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/xe/dq44ii5vg2lm.jpg

Chamber filled with the two factory filler boards(plates), at 35s, didn't want to push it because I know even at 40-45s the needle would not reach the bottom,

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/9a/o6f2tmz09qqv.jpg

How old is your vp215? Mine is in year 12 and abused with random oil change frequencies, few times over a year apart

Have not called support yet. I bought a can of seafoam motor treatment yesterday, just changed oil recently so I'll wait 3-4 months and try it.

fishlessman · January 22

Canugghead said:

@alaskanassasin My results, not as good as yours.
With the chamber empty, at 35s:

Chamber filled with the two factory filler boards(plates), at 35s, didn't want to push it because I know even at 40-45s the needle would not reach the bottom,

How old is your vp215? Mine is in year 12 and abused with random oil change frequencies, few times over a year apart
Have not called support yet. I bought a can of seafoam motor treatment yesterday, just changed oil recently so I'll wait 3-4 months and try it.

ive never been a fan of seafoam, did they really say to use it straight up. i used it in the gas once and it dislodged so much stuff that it clogged the carb and all the gas lines now need replacing.

alaskanassasin · January 22

I think it is 4 years old @Canugghead could be 5.

Canugghead · January 22

@alaskanassasin
@fishlessman

Just called tech support after reading fish's warning. Impressive customer service, someone helped me instantly. Told me needle not reaching the bottom of gauge is not necessarily a bad thing. I expressed concern re gunk dislodged by seafoam, he assured me that everything stays in the pump, unlike car engine with carb, gas line and what not.

Here's the drill:
1) Drain old pump oil
2) Fill with red/white can Seaform motor treatment full strength, run five cycles, wait one hour, drain
3) repeat #2
4) repeat #2
5) Fill with fresh pump oil

Looking for a guinea pig

Canugghead · January 23

@fishlessman Do you have experience using seaform in the engine crankcase to share?

alaskanassasin · January 23

Canugghead said:

@fishlessman Do you have experience using seaform in the engine crankcase to share?

Do people do that? I don’t think I would ever put a detergent in my crankcase.

kl8ton · January 23

alaskanassasin said:

Canugghead said:

@fishlessman Do you have experience using seaform in the engine crankcase to share?

Do people do that? I don’t think I would ever put a detergent in my crankcase.

Once that ecosystem is established you don't mess with it!

kl8ton · January 23

Rtv down.

Dealer picked it up and fixed it same day. But since they have it.... I sent them a list of things that I want looked at!

alaskanassasin · January 23

That hits close to home @kl8ton I can see my lower ball joints are wore out but I haven’t taken the time to replace them. That picture is what I’m afraid of if I don’t get off my ass!

Canugghead · January 23

alaskanassasin said:

Canugghead Apparentsaid:

@fishlessman Do you have experience using seaform in the engine crankcase to share?

Do people do that? I don’t think I would ever put a detergent in my crankcase.

Yes, look it up. I asked because imo seafoam in vacuum pump is kind of similar to seafoam in crankcase; in fish's case I think he was talking about fuel system.
Here's my red-white can, luckily it's also what tech support recommended in our conversation earlier tonight.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/dq/gcwtmlcocx1y.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/px/4qm6kqlcaanb.jpg

kl8ton · January 23

alaskanassasin said:

That hits close to home @kl8ton I can see my lower ball joints are wore out but I haven’t taken the time to replace them. That picture is what I’m afraid of if I don’t get off my ass!

Consider this your PSA!

alaskanassasin · January 23

Canugghead said:

alaskanassasin said:

Canugghead Apparentsaid:

@fishlessman Do you have experience using seaform in the engine crankcase to share?

Do people do that? I don’t think I would ever put a detergent in my crankcase.

Yes, look it up. I asked because imo adding seafoam to vacuum pump is more similar to adding it to crankcase than fuel system.
Here's my red-white can, luckily it's also what tech support recommended in our conversation earlier tonight.

I can agree with that but vacuum pump components are very different than engine crankcase components.

kl8ton · January 23

kl8ton said:

alaskanassasin said:

That hits close to home @kl8ton I can see my lower ball joints are wore out but I haven’t taken the time to replace them. That picture is what I’m afraid of if I don’t get off my ass!

Consider this your PSA!

I guess there was a recall for certain years. Check it out.

alaskanassasin · January 23

@kl8ton thanks for the heads up, mine is out of that date range, however you have inspired me to confront the issue, tomorrow I will jack up the front end and see just how bad it is. The additional weight of the plow exacerbates the problem.

Canugghead · January 23

@alaskanassasin In my layman's mind I'm thinking they are 'kind of similar' only insofar as, unlike fuel system, they don't have tiny passages/nooks/crannies to get clogged by dislodged gunk? I could be way out in left field and stand corrected.

fishlessman · January 23

Canugghead said:

@fishlessman Do you have experience using seaform in the engine crankcase to share?

i wouldnt put it in the engine, i can see that causing problems. probably fine in the pump. now changing the oil three times a year and using seafoam to clean it seems pretty excessive in a residential setting or maybe you are running a meat packaging plant out of the house

alaskanassasin · January 23

Canugghead said:

@alaskanassasin In my layman's mind I'm thinking they are 'kind of similar' only insofar as, unlike fuel system, they don't have tiny passages/nooks/crannies to get clogged by dislodged gunk? I could be way out in left field and stand corrected.

The vacuum pump is just a wet sump with moving parts soaking in oil that are all nice and shiny and clean, sealed bushings, stainless impeller or aluminum components, I would not think any sludge being dislodged would cause a problem, it will probably be diluted with the seafoam and drain out the plug hole which is the intention. nothing to worry about.

Most engine crank cases on automobiles and even my zero turn mower have a pressurized lubrication system that does involve passages, pumps, filters screens. Most all engine crank cases have nooks and crannies or tolerances that do allow oil to access so they don't seize from lack of lubrication and allow expanding or contracting due to heat.

My point is simply lubrication, I personally would not put seafoam in a engine crank case because I would not want to dilute engine oil and cause friction. But according to google guys do it so what do I know!

alaskanassasin · January 23

@Canugghead when I change the oil on my vp215 I can see sludge or something lingering in the bottom of my sight glass. I think the 'vacuum sealer oil" is basically mineral oil and does not have any detergents in it. If you can, when you cycle the seafoam through your pump save the drained mess in a mason jar or clear plastic container and let it sit on the counter for a day or so so we can see how much crap came out of there!

OT - What are you fixing right now?

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