Perpetual Ruminations

Sunday

It went and got late on me again before I got in here to write tonight. Even so, it wasn't a bad day, but it did have it's moments. In the end, it seems to have turned out pretty well, and even though I'm getting to bed a bit later than I should, I'm enjoying the evening. I suppose by the time I get done work tomorrow, I'll be shot, however.

It all started getting hornswoggled yesterday evening, right about the time we were heading off to bed. I was getting my stuff turned off and put away, Rhonda was shutting down fans and turning off lights. There was an irritating whistling sound coming in through the kitchen window, and Rhonda thought it was the fan making the sound. But, after turning it off, the sound persisted. She then assumed it was the grain elevator across the street, which often makes a lot of noise.

I didn't think it sounded right to be coming from the elevator, unless something was getting ready to break down. I went out the back door and listened, but the sound was not present outside. That confirmed my suspicion that it was us who had something on the brink of breaking down. I went back to the kitchen and listened again. After a moment I still could not identify the type of sound I was hearing. It sounded kind of familiar, but I could not come up with any ideas what was causing it.

Perhaps the refrigerator, since that was running. I went to the fridge, opened the door and listened inside, nope, it wasn't the fridge. Then, I thought perhaps the bathroom fan was on, and it was coming from there. I went to the bathroom, and the sound was louder. I moved around the small space of the bathroom, and I could hear the sound most by the tub and the sink. I came out, and it was a lot quieter, until I went into the kitchen. Then, the closer I got to the sink the louder it became again. I turned the cold water on, no change. Then, I turned the hot water on, and it seemed like the sound became a little quieter.

I know leaking faucets can make a lot of noise sometimes, even though they are leaking only a small amount of water. But it wasn't the kitchen faucets that were making it. I returned to the bathroom and repeated my test on the sink, same results. The cold didn't make any difference, but the hot water faucet did. I repeated the test at the bathtub, and again, had the same results. But, none of the faucets were leaking.

Rhonda had also been investigating the sound, and said it sounded kind of like water spraying or leaking. I agreed, but since it wasn't present in the kitchen or bath, it had to be some place else. And, the only other place is the basement. We do not have a full basement, it's only about half the size of the house, and was at one time just a root cellar. It's been modified but never finished off. The floor is dirt, with rock over it to prevent mud when the weather is wet, and there is a sump down there. Other than that, it's not much at all.

I opened the door to the basement and a wave of very hot, humid air assaulted me instantly. I grabbed the Webster and began removing cobwebs that had formed -- the basement is always harboring an ample supply of spiders. I could hear the sound much better now, and it was the sound of water spraying out of a small opening under high pressure. I began my decent into the basement, and at halfway down the steps I seen the problem. A hot water line had sprung a leak at a union joint. It was spraying out under pressure, and forming a nice hot mist that filled about half of the small area.

The hot water had increased the temperature quite a bit, and the steam had made it feel like a sauna. I was tired and knew there wasn't any sense in trying to do anything at this time of the night, so I turned the water off and came back up. I cleaned up and got ready for bed, then discussed options with Rhonda. We decided to switch our shifts so I could look and see what I would need to fix it, then come in to work.

So, this morning I was up at five, had a couple cups of coffee and seen Rhonda off to work, then set in to my task for the day. I brought some tools down and set up to work, but it was still so hot and humid that the sweat was just poring out of me. I went back up and got a thermometer and set it on the steps, about knee level; one hundred and twelve degrees at that level, hotter up higher. My head comes just about to the floor joists, so I was in the hottest and most humid air down there.

I worked on the line and had the leaking section removed by a little after eight. But, I was overheating; it was like working in a sauna, and I needed to cool down. I took the dogs out to the patio and took a few minutes to cool down, the  went to the garage to look for parts. I doubted I would have anything to fix it with, but I did find a section of copper tubing long enough to replace the bad section, and then with a little more hunting, I found the compression fittings I needed to attach it. I did have to flare one side, but that went well, and I soon had the new section attached to the line.

Now, I just needed to go back down and put the line back in. It took a little bit to get it to fit just right and hook it up, then turn the water on. I had a small leak, but it was just dripping. I tightened it a bit more, and it slowed but did not quite stop. I tightened the other side of the fitting, then snugged it just a bit more and it sealed. I came up, cleaned up and made it to work only fifteen minutes later than I had been scheduled. But, since I had Rhonda in to cover for me, I was fine getting there a bit late.

It was pretty busy, but not as bad as the last few Sundays and by five thirty I was done. I ran to Target to get a few things, but couldn't find them. The only person I did catch to help me was rude and not helpful at all, so I abandoned that task and went instead to the grocery store to see if they had the stuff I was looking for. Nope, but I did find another kind that was close to the same. Then it was time to come home. I got here just after seven, and got my self a sandwich and some cottage cheese, then set down to get some work done that I'm behind on.

I got my report sent, faxed an updated schedule, and then logged in here. Now, this is done, it's time to get to bed, three thirty will be here sooner than I want, and I have a twelve hour day of work tomorrow. But, then it's three days off and that's what I'm looking forward too.