Latest fun in home ownership

[Firethorn]

I was woken up early this morning with a "thud" sound.  To me, sound like something was hitting the house.  Then I almost called 911 because somebody was shooting off rounds at 5 am.  I mean, I don't mind people shooting, but when each shot makes my house shudder?

...Anyways.  Finally figured out that what I was hearing was one of my zone valves slamming shut with regularity, the noise was being transmitted by my pipes!

Tear the zone valve apart, find the teeth on the gear on the motor have, well, broken off.  $0.01 tiny gear breaking renders $40 motor useless on $60 head on $100 zone valve(or so).

I'm currently shopping for a replacement motor, because not having to worry about sweating pipe to replace the complete valve is worth it even if the cost ratios were reversed.  Of course, the local supply stores aren't open at the moment, so I have the zone forced open.  It'll get heat when anything calls for heat, but then, it's my most frequently used zone anyways.

Any advice on who to buy the replacement motor from?  It's a synchron.

[230RN]

Sounds like water hammer from the valve slamming shut from the broken teeth.  Temp fix, maybe, would be to find any manual valves ahead of it you can throttle down to soften the water hammer.  Maybe.

[Kingcreek]

I’ve bought things like that from supply house dot com. Haven’t needed a zone valve in years though and I have atleast one on hand. If you do have to sweat one in remember to manually lock it open before applying heat so you don’t damage the ball.

[Firethorn]

Sounds like water hammer from the valve slamming shut from the broken teeth.  Temp fix, maybe, would be to find any manual valves ahead of it you can throttle down to soften the water hammer.  Maybe.

Temp fix in this case was to use the manual switch to force the valve open and disconnect the motor from the power supply.

You're right, with the broken teeth the valve would slam shut, sending a water hammer through the system.  Problem is, with the broken teeth the valve wouldn't stay open period.  So just force it open, maybe shut it off manually when I want hot water or such.

Kingcreek - just ended up ordering it off Amazon for $28(prime delivery).  Supplyhouse.com wanted $26, plus $40 in shipping.

[Firethorn]

Well, received a replacement motor ($28) from amazon 1 day early, installed it(2 screws) and tested.  Works great.  Motor is from China, but quieter than the old one.  We'll see how it lasts.

[tokugawa]

Parts have broken on my radiant floor system over the years.
First was a post purge on the boiler.  Left it off.
Next the zone valves- turned them off- manual over ride.
 pumps- gotta have those- replaced them.
 Mixing valve- bought a new one, never installed it- just went to manual adjust to keep the temp at 110-120 spread.
 It was a simple system to start with, but still twice as complicated as it needed to be.

  side rant- I am sick of techno wonder systems that are designed to save the last 1/100th of 1%, while increasing cost and complexity by big factors. in anything, not just heating systems- the *expletive deleted*ers mandating so much of the things we live with have never heard of the law of diminishing returns.

[Ben]

  side rant- I am sick of techno wonder systems that are designed to save the last 1/100th of 1%, while increasing cost and complexity by big factors. in anything, not just heating systems- the *expletive deleted*ers mandating so much of the things we live with have never heard of the law of diminishing returns.

Heh. On that note (and to continue thread veer), I just bought a new washer and dryer. After looking at all the fancy options with 400 different choices of wash cycle, Internet connectivity to monitor your wash, etc., I ended up with a Maytag "commercial grade" residential set. They use parts from their commercial machines and give you a 5 year top to bottom warranty and 10 year partial warranty.

Why? Because it has pretty much no electronics and only five different settings. Four of them being "eco-override" that let you fill the tub all the way up with water and actually wash your clothes, versus that moistening thing so many new front loaders, and even top loaders do to save water that takes two hours for a cycle. My first "Powerwash" load was done in 30 minutes, and everything smelled clean. My last front loader with alll the gizmos felt like it only half washed everything with that spritzing little bits of water stuff.

https://www.maytag.com/washers-and-dryers/washers/top-load-washers/p.3.5-cu.-ft.-commercial-grade-residential-agitator-washer.mvwp575gw.html

[Firethorn]

I don't have much room to just disable zones though, given that my hot water is also from the boiler. 

I might be able to join the 2 main house zones together with some creative valve closings and a short length of hose.

But in this case, just replacing the part makes more sense, especially as I might(probably) will be moving once I graduate and find a job.

[Scout26]

Heh. On that note (and to continue thread veer), I just bought a new washer and dryer. After looking at all the fancy options with 400 different choices of wash cycle, Internet connectivity to monitor your wash, etc., I ended up with a Maytag "commercial grade" residential set. They use parts from their commercial machines and give you a 5 year top to bottom warranty and 10 year partial warranty.

Why? Because it has pretty much no electronics and only five different settings. Four of them being "eco-override" that let you fill the tub all the way up with water and actually wash your clothes, versus that moistening thing so many new front loaders, and even top loaders do to save water that takes two hours for a cycle. My first "Powerwash" load was done in 30 minutes, and everything smelled clean. My last front loader with alll the gizmos felt like it only half washed everything with that spritzing little bits of water stuff.

https://www.maytag.com/washers-and-dryers/washers/top-load-washers/p.3.5-cu.-ft.-commercial-grade-residential-agitator-washer.mvwp575gw.html

And people wonder why I still have my pair of 1991 vintage washers and dryers...

[tokugawa]

I ended up putting the entire house on one thermostat, one zone.  The valves used have a manual lever to open them fully.  The domestic hot water is on a  separate system, with a heat exchanger in the hot water tank  and separate pump for boiler water.

[charby]

Heh. On that note (and to continue thread veer), I just bought a new washer and dryer. After looking at all the fancy options with 400 different choices of wash cycle, Internet connectivity to monitor your wash, etc., I ended up with a Maytag "commercial grade" residential set. They use parts from their commercial machines and give you a 5 year top to bottom warranty and 10 year partial warranty.

Why? Because it has pretty much no electronics and only five different settings. Four of them being "eco-override" that let you fill the tub all the way up with water and actually wash your clothes, versus that moistening thing so many new front loaders, and even top loaders do to save water that takes two hours for a cycle. My first "Powerwash" load was done in 30 minutes, and everything smelled clean. My last front loader with alll the gizmos felt like it only half washed everything with that spritzing little bits of water stuff.

https://www.maytag.com/washers-and-dryers/washers/top-load-washers/p.3.5-cu.-ft.-commercial-grade-residential-agitator-washer.mvwp575gw.html

I have the same washing machine, bought it 3 years ago when the one that came with the house crapped the bed 3 months after moving in. Got lucky and it was on sale that week for under $500. I felt the same way about all the options on the newer front loading washers. Love my NG dryer too, never ever going back to electric.

[Ben]

I have the same washing machine, bought it 3 years ago when the one that came with the house crapped the bed 3 months after moving in. Got lucky and it was on sale that week for under $500. I felt the same way about all the options on the newer front loading washers. Love my NG dryer too, never ever going back to electric.

That's a great deal! Mine was on sale as well, but not nearly that good of a sale. $1450 for the set. Electric dryer because the laundry room doesn't have a propane hookup, but electricity is so freakin' cheap in Idaho I'm not too bothered, and it seems to do a pretty nice job.

[Firethorn]

That's a great deal! Mine was on sale as well, but not nearly that good of a sale. $1450 for the set. Electric dryer because the laundry room doesn't have a propane hookup, but electricity is so freakin' cheap in Idaho I'm not too bothered, and it seems to do a pretty nice job.

Electric dryers also tend to last longer than gas.  My dryer is on at least its third washer.

And yes, KISS and heavier duty components tend to make for longer lasting appliances.  I mean, I actually use like 3 of my washer settings with any regularity - normal, whites, and bulky.  I appreciate the cleaning cycle, but is it necessary?

[Ben]

And yes, KISS and heavier duty components tend to make for longer lasting appliances.  I mean, I actually use like 3 of my washer settings with any regularity - normal, whites, and bulky.  I appreciate the cleaning cycle, but is it necessary?

As much of a techno-geek as I am with the gadgets and do-dads, There are still some things that I want as simple as possible. For the home, washers and refrigerators are two things that come to mind. It seems like the things that always break on them are the electronics, the ice maker/water dispenser, etc. Always ancillary things that can keep the main unit from functioning correctly.

Though I will say that with the Alzheimer starting to kick in, the next time I buy a range, I'm going to seriously consider a smart device that lets me do the, "Make sure the stove is off" thing from my phone. I've turned the car around one too many times in the past few years because I wasn't sure I'd turned a burner off. 

[charby]

Electric dryers also tend to last longer than gas.  My dryer is on at least its third washer.

I don't disagree but NG is way cheaper than electricity where I live. Plus I would have to upgrade my 100 amp service to 200 amp to install an electric dryer. Already have central air and electric range on the current service.

I have a 1" gas service into the house, so plan is to plumb a line for a gas for a new range.

[Firethorn]

I don't disagree but NG is way cheaper than electricity where I live. Plus I would have to upgrade my 100 amp service to 200 amp to install an electric dryer. Already have central air and electric range on the current service.

I've run electric dryers in a home with a 60A service.

I don't know how large your AC is, but generally speaking everything else is a rounding error once you do AC + range + dryer.  I'm assuming your hot water is gas. 

On said 60A service I managed to run my water heater, every burner on high and the oven on for the range, and the dryer, all at the same time without issue.