A Manly Weekend

In honor of Father's Day I tackled a few items in the overflowing job jar. They're not necessarily manly tasks but not exactly girly ones either.

Flushing the tankless heater.

The first order of business was to flush the tankless water heater. The installer said that it should be regularly cleaned, and the last "free" service call under the extended warranty occurred in spring of 2011.

I ordered a $60 pump from Amazon and picked up a pair of washing machine hoses from Home Depot for $14.50. I filled a bucket with a solution of vinegar and water, turned off the intake cold water and outgoing hot water valves to the heater, hooked up the hoses, put the pump in the bucket, and let the pump run for half an hour. After rinsing out the strainer and recirculating the vinegar for half an hour, the hot water pressure throughout the house is noticeably stronger.

Next I made a dent in the clutter by taking an old coffee table and office chair to St. Vincent de Paul. The items were in good condition, and the donations desk was happy to accept the furniture along with boxes of books, clothes, and toys.

After 15 years the sprinkler timer had gone kaput---the yellowing grass was the clue. After two weeks of hand-watering the lawn back to respectability, I tired of communing with nature and bought a $30 Orbit timer from Home Depot.  Despite its low price, the new unit was a dramatic improvement over the old: electronic instead of mechanical controls, an LCD screen, easy push-in wire receptacles (instead of having to crimp connectors, then screw them to the timer), and standard AC power (instead of a bulky transformer). Yes, I should have replaced the old timer long ago, but this way I really came to appreciate the technological advancement in garden sprinkling.

That's how manly men roll.