…that any vehicle I drive for an extended period of time becomes undrivable by anyone else. This is because as things wear out or break, I just find workarounds rather than spend money and time to repair the problem. So – for example – if a door handle breaks I might still get in and out through that door without breaking stride though anybody else would stand there scratching his head. (That very thing has happened twice on two widely-separated cars, so – as I admitted – yeah.)
It comes to mind this morning as I finish my coffee and hope sincerely that I’m not called back for a repeat performance of the “How did Neighbor J get his water system to work?” show.
I liked J. You’ll search TUAK archives in vain for any hint of serious complaint or criticism. But like all of us he had his idiosyncrasies. He was neither more skilled nor more patient than the average mortal man, and arguably just a touch less so.
In some ten years of association, I never gave his water system much thought. None of my business, except for those bits that became my business at some brief point. For example I knew how to use his rather peculiar yard hydrant to fill horse waterers, and how to seal it off while still allowing hoses to drain. I know where his pressure pump is hidden and roughly how to use it without fear of material destruction. I know that the secondary water tank must have water before the yard hydrant can work, and that you fill it by adding water to the primary tank, fifty yards away and slightly uphill. But I don’t know how to put water in the primary tank, because I cannot for the very life of me figure out how he turned his well pump on and off.
And of course this issue chose the most windy and wintry day in April to arise. On windy days I begin to understand exactly why Neighbor H prevailed upon Neighbor J to move the hell away from that very exposed ridgetop. It’s like living in a wind tunnel, complete with airborne gravel.
Thing is – as I reflected yesterday afternoon while slowly freezing solid and becoming visibly frustrated in the presence of my new employer – the building inspection system around here is expensive and intrusive and time-consuming but it does not prevent an unskilled builder from constructing something anyone else will consider an abomination. You need to submit engineering plans before you can get a permit, I happen to know that, but no one is ever going to look very hard to see if you followed those plans – at all.
I finally got off the hook by acquiring and presenting the name and number of a local contractor whom I know is familiar with at least parts of J’s infrastructure. And oh, how I hope that ends my involvement…
But I doubt it.
This might/might not be useful. Some systems actuate the well pump via floats in the storage tank. It’s a way to cut down wear and tear on the well pump by only activating it once X gallons are needed – instead of at every fluctuation. Never tried to override the floats – so I don’t know about the ‘how’ on that part. I always just push the one float down or the other up depending on what I’m trying to accomplish.
Yeah, that’s common. J had his rigged to only work manually, though. He believed he needed to run the generator whenever he ran the pump, but whether he was running the pump directly off the genny or only using it to supplement the inverter for some reason, I don’t know.
As the owner of a vehicle with many non-working parts and as the son of a Master Plumber/Building Inspector, y’all have my sympathy. Now, please excuse me while I go get some paper towels to wipe the guffaw-spewed coffee off my monitor. Plumber’s camo, heh.