Editors Note: I originally wrote this post as a reply to my friend @galenkp for his today post. Since it is 3x longer than his post I decided that I'd copy it and post it here. You can find G-dog's excellent post here. I am going to use motorcycle photos to break up this mountain of text because motorcycles make me happy. If you read this you will see that I can stand the joy of motorcycle pictures.
CDA Charlie Dumb Ass. It's a technical term that I first heard from my mother-in-law on a golf course. My ordained MIL, I might add.
You might notice that I haven't mentioned a word about my last week's personal CDA mission. A friend gave me his washer and dryer that they just replaced. Pretty cool.
All I had to do is put them in my shed (my house is NOT plumbed for W&D) that is 'open to receive'. Just a little cleaning, don't you know. I can do this.
I have a couple thousand dollars worth of vacuum cleaners sitting around in my other shed from when I owned the cleaning business. Should be no problem, right? That and I needed to reconnect the water supply (I had a leak that led to a $400 water bill. I fixed that FAST.) Maybe too fast. I can't find the freaking pipe.
So I'll just use a hose for supply and fix the water supply at my leisure. You see the soil around here is like concrete. You have to get it wet before you can even pretend to dig. No problem.
Then there was the problem with the dryer cord. Didn't fit my plug. Turns out that I have an ancient (from the 70s) Welder plug in my shed. No problem. I'll just buy a new outlet and wire it in. Amazon next day is my friend.
So, maybe just a small problem with the wiring (and maybe with the brown recluse spider in residence in the box). Wire up the 220v for the dryer and I'm ready to rock and roll. No problem. It went reasonably well except for a trip to the hardware for a new outlet box (who tf uses plastic boxes on 220?).
I did have one thing go completely right in that little stretch. I cut that spider clean in half with a flat blade screwdriver. I'm damn good with tools.
Did I mention that the average daily max temp here has been 47C this last week? Do you have any idea how much a fat boy sweats at 47C? To say that my hours were restricted would be very kind.
So I got out a nice 6 hp Shop Vac out of the shed to commence cleaning the other shed. I thought maybe I ought to check the filter just for sport. No problem, I just happen to know that there is a pro grade filter in there that will need to be cleaned at worst.
Well, maybe. Something nasty and not very tidy had chosen my pro grade vacuum to build a nice suburban home in AND used my pro grade filter as insulation. No problem, dump the whole mess in the trash can and get a new filter. Did I mention pro grade? Turns out you can't go to WalMart for a filter you have to go all the way to town to Janitor Supply. 40 miles and 2 hours shot. No problem.
I was perhaps a little pissed and cleaned that shed on a day that got to 49C air temp. Couple hours and I was all done. No problem, I'll set the washer tomorrow. While I'm washing the first load of clothes I'll set the dryer and have it ready when the first load finishes.
Yesterday morning I installed the washer just before the sun came up. Seems my shed floor isn't exactly level so I have to level the washer. No problem, I've done this plenty of times. Half hour later I'm back in the house watching a You Tube vid on leveling my specific washer. Half hour after that I'm level and ready to hook up. No problem. Really, for the first time in this whole ordeal I have a little bit go perfect. I plug in the washer, test the water supply and commence the first load of wash in my new washer. After a week.
So I bring the dryer in. The dryer with it's brand new cord and brand new outlet and as it's a matched set I know exactly what to do to level the dryer (and it's no where near as critical as the washer). 24 minutes left in the wash cycle and I plug the dryer in. Nothing. Not a beep, not a light, nada.
Back to the house to get my multi-meter which has more use in the last week than it's prior existence checking circuits and voltage and such. I check the outlet and sure as hell I have 240 volts, right on spec.
Back to You Tube, but not before I hang the first load of wash on the line. Did I mention that it's 45C? Before noon? Clothes dry faster outdoors than they do in the dryer. No problem.
Turns out I need a fully grounded circuit. My particular dryer has no chassis grounding so it takes 4 wires instead of 3. Uggh, now I'm thinking that my electrical box is too old to provide full grounding. We're talking a couple hundred dollars of additional parts that won't install themselves.
Back out to the shed to check for the known bad news. The second thing in a week went right and I'm only looking at a new 30 amp breaker and a new outlet and new wiring and new cord (the second one in week) for the dryer. Call it $50. Before installation.
By now the washer had finished the second load. I removed the first load from the clothes line and hung the second. This is really no problem, I've never had a dryer before. I have had two washers which might make an entire separate post. So I put the third load in the washer and retreat to the Air Conditioned splendor of my house. My T shirt was soaked to my belly in the front and the middle of the back.
I had 55 minutes scheduled in the house for the third load. I did some Hiving and generally just sat quietly drying off and drinking half a gallon of ice tea. I'm just slipping on my shoes to go out and exchange wet clothes for dry on the line when I hear my neighbor scream my name. She's an older lady that relies on me in emergency situations. I go streaking out the door to see water gushing over her 'guest trailer'. She thought the problem was in her plumbing and was greatly relieved that it was in mine. The supply hose for the washer broke.
One week into it, and I was closer to having a fully functioning washer and dryer a week ago than I am this morning.
If you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans. I've kept him very entertained for a week. Isn't it somebody else's turn? Just sayin'
No problem, Charlie Dumb Ass.
All words, photographs and problems in this post are mine. For better or worse.
Thanks for reading this all the way to the end. Anything can happen and often does.
You want some really cool stuff? Check these authors, they will not disappoint.
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