Take one upstate NY winter, add a well-intentioned but inadequately insulated water tank fitting, freeze repeatedly, thaw, fill then wait for the fun.
What started as a slow drip turned into a repair that took weeks to get right. The cracked piece was actually part of the molded water tank, a collar of sorts that lived on the outside of the tank, with a small elbow piece in the center to connect to the water line. This orifice is the point of entry to fill the tank from the city water valve and also the exit point to the pump and into the Duck. So yeah, pretty important.
I tried a hose clamp around the collar (lame, I know), some Water Weld, some Water Weld with a hose clamp, and even a plastic weld (where you melt plastic rods with a soldering iron - fun but ineffective). None of it worked and the tank kept on laughing at me. It was at that point I knew I had to drill out that whole piece and start from scratch.
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| After drilling out the old, cracked, leaky part |
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I used a 1.25" hole saw to drill out the old piece then cleaned up the cut with sandpaper to make a nice smooth surface for the new seal.
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| The new rubber seal, called a Slip Seal |
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| New tubing and elbow |
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| all together now |
At this point, we filled the tank to see if the new seal would hold as-is. Nope! So we waited a few days for the arrival of a tube of food grade silicon adhesive.
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| That sealed 'er up tight! |
The tank has been sitting full for nearly two weeks now.
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| Can you believe it? No leaks! |
All that's left is to drain, sanitize and fill then we're back in fresh water business for boondocking.
And now for something completely different
Here's Ellen, our polydactyl kitty.
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| How's about them toes?! |
She has the bone structure for two back-left feet. I bet she'd be a great swimmer!
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| She's responsible for the Chupacabra footprints found in the sand here |
Her front feet come complete with opposable thumbs. We had to start hiding the Q-tip box because she likes to grab handfuls. Awesome or creepy? I vote for awesome!
15 comments:
Yeah, definitely awesome.
Nice job on the toilet repair!
take her down to key west - she will surely be a hit!!!
She'd out-Hem the Hemingways!
Heckle, Heckle, Heckle.... (you said I could) :o)
Glad you got the water problem solved. RV's are never easy to work on.
I vote for awesome!
She is very cute!
Impressed by the water fix, but even more impressed with polydactyl kitty. If they had a international-feline-piano-playing competition that cat would take the prize!
Way to go Annie AND Ellen!!!
I'd have had to replace the hot water heater. No wonder I never have any money. I can't fix anything. Now if I had those paws maybe............
Sherry
www.directionofourdreams.blogspot.com
You are my hero. I could never figure all that out.
Sherry - and yet, Ellen does NO RV REPAIR and still demands kibble at all times. We may need to look into Nina's piano competition idea.
Andra - right? Me, too. She impresses me so much that I'm perma-pressed.
I'm impressed. Wow! on the repair and Wow! on the kitty's feet! Seems like you could have had the cat plug the hole with one of her back feet until you got the repair done...
Sue, I think you know from Sonja that cats are often not productive members of society. We keep them around for their scintillating conversation.
Yeah, you're right. It's like cats go out of their way to be unproductive. We could learn some things from them, probably.
Awesome cat, awesome repair!!
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