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crazyscot: Close-up of a spanner on a dark background (spanner)
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DIY in bullet points

posted by [personal profile] crazyscot at 03:55pm on 09/01/2011 under
Bad things:
  • My toilet's inlet valve has started malfunctioning.
  • The isolating valve on the toilet cold feed no longer isolates.
  • My car's battery was flat having been parked for a week in the bitter cold (and not driven very much for the preceding weeks).
  • The mudguard bracket on my bike bent suddenly, making the wheel unturnable.
Good things:
  • [personal profile] rmc28's recommended friendly lady plumber stopped by to take a look at the loo. She pointed out that its design is Really Rather Pants, and reckoned that we should be reticent to swap out the whole inlet valve as we'd have to pull the whole pan away from the wall and risk shredding the lino. Instead, she reckoned, I should see if I can source a replacement washer for the siphonic valve in the inlet and try swapping that first. She also confirmed that the isolating valve was indeed broken and recommended I swap it out.
  • I started the car from my booster pack and took it for a good drive; the following day I took the battery out of the car (quite a pain!) and charged it. After putting it back in, the engine ran a little funny initially - presumably as a result of the ECU having been cold-booted - but it now seems fine.
Bad:
  • There was a fruitless wild goose chase looking for a replacement washer. It's a funny design, probably manufacturer-specific, so I've emailed the distributors.
  • EPIC BIKE FAIL. So I removed the mudguard bracket, put the wheel back on the bike, then tried to test ride it, tried to change gear ... and promptly had a mechanical stop. The chain had shifted off the end and jammed the wheel; the resultant force on the chain bent the rear mech past the point of ruination and round to where it bent a spoke. So now I need a new rear mech, probably a new chain, and maybe a new rear wheel. *sigh*
Good:
  • Swapping out the isolation valve this afternoon went without a hitch, although I can't see anything wrong with the old one.
I think this counts as an honourable score draw with Murphy, but the match has gone to extra time...
Mood:: 'accomplished' accomplished
xpost: http://crazyscot.livejournal.com/321123.html
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There are 5 comments on this entry. (Reply.)
alitalf: Skiing in the 3 Valleys, France, 2008 (Default)

(no subject)

posted by [personal profile] alitalf at 10:37pm on 09/01/2011
A solar charge panel for the car, assuming it is outside, would keep the battery in working order. At least, that works for Porchman's land rover which he doesn't drive for weeks at a time.

If it is one that plugs into the ciggy lighter, then you probably need to fit an auxiliary ciggy lighter because the main fagarette lighter is normally switched off when the ignition is off.
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crazyscot: Selfie, with C, in front of an alpine lake (Default)

(no subject)

posted by [personal profile] crazyscot at 10:38pm on 09/01/2011
Alas, the car normally lives in my (unpowered) garage.
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watervole: (Default)

(no subject)

posted by [personal profile] watervole at 08:52am on 10/01/2011
Ouch! That's a serious nasty on the bike.
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bens_dad: (Default)

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posted by [personal profile] bens_dad at 05:33am on 12/01/2011
If it is just one bent spoke the wheel should be repairable.
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crazyscot: Selfie, with C, in front of an alpine lake (Default)

(no subject)

posted by [personal profile] crazyscot at 11:08am on 12/01/2011
This is what I'm hoping. The chap in the bike shop said to bring it round on Tuesday, so then we'll see what's what. It seems just about rideable without the rear mech, but I'm not going to chance it and have switched to the spare meantime.
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