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If you can't fix it with a sledge hammer.....

R

RMD

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi All,

I had an old friend whose favourite saying was, "If you can't fix it
with a sledge hammer and an oxy torch it ain't worth fixing".

Anyway, despite knowing better technically it sometimes amuses me to
"bush mechanic" fix things just out of interest in seeing how long the
bodgy repair lasts.

Many years ago my electric hot water service suddenly delivered luke
warm water. Two days before Christmas too, lucky it wasn't two days
after Christmas.

Anyway, I pulled out the heating element which was open circuit and
quickly rushed out and bought a new heating element for about $120. I
installed the new element and voila! Hot water again. Before Christmas
Day too. :)

Well, some more years passed and I had no hot water again.

Oh no, not the element failed again!

Anyway, it so happened the old element was still about the place and
so I got it out and I found the break in the element's nichrome
heating wire. So I just twisted the two ends together with my pliers
just to make the circuit whole again.

I hopped up in the roof and put my bodgy repaired element in the hot
water service. Down the ladder and look at the power meter and the
little wheel is spinning madly. Great! Hot water again.

However when I checked the element I took out there was nothing wrong
with it. It turned out I had a dodgy connection elswhere which I
subsequently fixed.

Anyway, it was too hard to be bothered putting the new element back in
the hot water service. Hey, the water was hot, wasn't it?

That was years and years ago, and the bodgy repair heating element is
still heating the water perfectly.

I wish I'd thought of that before I spent $120 on the new element. Not
that I'm short of $120, but it is nice to do a job real cheap and get
away with it. :)

Ross
 
A

Adrian Jansen

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi All,

I had an old friend whose favourite saying was, "If you can't fix it
with a sledge hammer and an oxy torch it ain't worth fixing".

The common name for an oxy torch in agricultural engineering is the
'blue spanner'.
 
C

Chas

Jan 1, 1970
0
Dennis said:
And for the rev heads lowering their cars it was the "CIG lowering kit"
Where I worked it was either called the "hot spanner" or else the "gas axe".
--
Regards,

Chas.

(To email me, replace "xxx" with letters tango papa golf.)
 
K

Krypsis

Jan 1, 1970
0
Where I worked it was either called the "hot spanner" or else the "gas axe".

Oxy Spanner or Gas Axe in my neck of the woods. The sledge hammer was
either a "Persuader" or a "Knockometer"..
 
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