Keep that dirty pool clean following these steps in my DIY How to Easily Clean Your Wal-Mart Pool with Garden Hose & Water Vacuum Attachment video. This pool was a great purchase from Wal-Mart as I used it for 4 or 5 years. Honestly, I figured it would be a typical 1 season then toss it type of deal so I was impressed by how long it lasted. I actually was able to sell it for about 50 bucks. They are nice because they come with patch kits and cleaning accessories that you can really use. I never did have to patch it but once the hot season was over I made sure to clean it out well before storing, then stored it on a pallet fastened down with some rope and took apart all of the electrical and plumbing components and made sure they were stored in a dry place and kept segregated so I knew how to assemble it the following year. I recommend either setting this up on grass and/or a layer of sand underneath. Any rocks or jagged edges will be felt along the bottom once the weight of the water takes it’s effect on the bottom. Cleaning this pool is really easy and they made a nice attachment to hook up to your garden hose. It’s the vacuum looking accessory. You thread in your garden hose and then tie the white filter bag around the exit port. I found it helpful to use extra banding to hold the bag on. You can use zip ties, rubber bands, hair ties, etc to do this. This will make sure the bag will stay on and withstand the pressure of the garden hose. It works well. You just run this thing along the bottom of the pool and once the bag gets filled up you secure the water and dump the bag out and repeat. The more you do this the better because if you wait too long to clean your pool the longer it takes to clean. If you have trees around those leaves and pine needles love to land in your pool. The screen with the pole attachment works well too especially for insect removal. The bees and insects love to land in the pool as well so this is a great accessory. Happy swimming and cleaning.
Pallet projects are an absolute blast. If you are a pallet project DIY fundamentalist you will even try to reuse the nails as much as possible. I have always loved the idea of making useful items from free raw materials and also the idea of reusing materials that may have otherwise been taken to the landfill. I’ve found that much of the pallet wood I’ve scrapped together has had some sort of treatment done to it and have also come across some really nice pallet slats to work with. Below are a number of different pallet projects I’ve made over the years.
DIY Pallet Planter Box-Raised Beds for Gardening
I found myself with quite the collection of pallets just begging to be used for a project. I planned on a garden the year I made some raised beds. Once I knocked all of the nails out of the pallet boards I tried to reuse as many of the nails as I could. Some of them required a little bit of straightening. Be careful when cutting pallets on a table saw for the inherent risks that accompany using this saw but also because many times there are nails buried inside the wood that you don’t readily see from the outside. I’ve hit a few nails with the table saw and you know it when you hit one. This project was relatively simple, just created the bottom square then nailed some vertical side pieces in. After that I just went around and nailed all of the boards to the vertical side pieces. Once I had it flush with the top I cut some boards for the trim at 45 degree angles in the corners for a specific look. I decided not to paint them but as an idea you could paint them the same color as your house, shed, or barn. In this project I had some extra boards so I created a bottom for this but really there is no need if you don’t plan on moving them. They are super heavy when they are full of dirt anyway. Not only that but once you start watering whatever plants go in there the boards are going to start rotting. I had some triangular pieces left from one of the pallet disassemblies so they were a perfect fit for the bottom corners.
DIY How to Make a Pallet Cabinet From Free Pallets
DIY How to Make a Pallet Cabinet From Free Pallets-Wall Mounted Great For Gardening Shed or Cabin. The first thing I did was obtain some free pallets that were mostly in fairly good shape so I could pull some decent stats from them. I broke down the pallets with a pry bar and claw hammer as well as removed the nails. I try to reuse all the nails that I can as many of them are still good. If you have some extra time on your hands and want to expend the energy you can straighten the nails as well and use them again. Once I got my slats removed and nails removed I made the frame which was basically a box. The size doesn’t matter, it’s just how big you want to make it and how long the pieces you have to work with are. Once the frame or box was made it was time to make the doors. This was simply done by cutting some slats to equal length to match or be slightly larger than the box frame then screwing a couple slats horizontally or perpendicular to the direction of the slats on the top and the bottom. I cut some trim pieces for the outside of the doors. Now it’s time to add the hinges. I just picked up a couple hinges from the hardware store. If you have some old hinges laying around the junk pile, use those. I had some “L” brackets hanging on the wall just begging to be used so I installed those for strength in the each corner of the box frame. I nailed some pallet slats to the back of the cabinet for strength and completeness. I had a couple wooden dowels laying around so I installed those for the handles on each door of the cabinet. Now it needed a latch in order to place a lock on making it a somewhat secure cabinet leaving the option of placing a small padlock on if you want. It kind of adds to the cool factor if you are going to keep any cool items in there you don’t want just anyone to be able to access easily. Otherwise you can just place a clip or a bent nail in there to hold the latch shut. It wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t put a shelf or two in there so I didn’t just that after cutting another pallet slat to length. I was going for the rough cut look on this fun little cabinet but you could really set this thing off and sand it all down and stain it. I used a brad nailer for much of this and will provide amazon link if you want to pick one up. Brad Nailer: https://amzn.to/38fTFIj
DIY Homemade Pallet Firewood Storage Bins
In this DIY Homemade Pallet Firewood Wood Storage Bin-Repurposed Pallet Wood video I demonstrate how to simply construct a useful and practical all weather log seasoning rack. Since I used so many pallet slats for other projects I had many of the big pallet cross member pieces left over. Typically I would slice them up into burnable pieces and use them for getting my fire started as they are great for this. In this case I needed racks in which to store all of my firewood so these were just what I needed. So I started sorting them out and getting 4 that were nearly identical to start out with and then of course pulling the nails out of pounding them in. In some cases I had to knock them off to the side and pound them flush. The reason to start out with 4 that are identical is so the sides will be close to equal height. For the bottom all you’ll need is two that are nearly identical. The top is less important as long as you have pieces that are long enough as you can trim the top or even use slats if you have long enough ones. As far as the nails go, whenever I pulled them I tried to staighten them if needed and save them for future use. In this case I was able to reuse them for building these things. After sorting the pieces I laid them out on the ground in a “U” shape making two identical parts right next to each other. The bottom portion of the “U” gets nailed together to the side pieces. Once the two identical parts are constructed I stacked them on top of one another. I then used some pallet slats as securing pieces to hold the two modules together. After standing the pieces upright I completed the square by nailing the top portion on. This adds strength to the side pieces when storing firewood and also adds to the visual appeal. These are nice to make because they are free and also you can make as many as you want and stack them next to each other in a nice organized fashion without the fear of your firewood falling over. It also makes it easier to secure a tarp to it if you need to keep it dry.
DIY Pallet Key Chain Holder
This is a demonstration on a DIY Pallet Key Chain Holder From Repurposed Reclaimed Pine Pallet Slats Torch Burned for Effect. Got the pallets out of a pile that had a “free” sign on them. I do like to always ask the business owners before I make off with any pallets as some of them do have to pay for them. This pallet project was a simple yet fun one as well as practical. I needed a key rack for the wall so we could get a system down of putting the keys in the same place every time we come in the house rather than having to look for them all over before we leave. In building this I used by table saw to make my cuts, and my cordless drill for the holes and the fastener installation. I purchased some hooks from Lowe’s just for this. I also used my brad nailer to secure much of it as well. I used pop can tabs for the backside for hangers. My daughter was teasing my while I was filming the final result here.
IKEA “KNAGGLIG” Assembly Tutorial
Although this one wasn’t made from scratch from free pallets, you could totally make one. I purchased these from IKEA, however, I am going to use this as a model to make more but this time out of free pallets. Simple and easy design. Join me during this IKEA “KNAGGLIG” Assembly Tutorial-Simple IKEA Crate Box Assembly video.
DIY Tin Can and Pallet Slat Arts & Crafts Candlelight Decoration
I received a “new” Ryobi drill press from a friend of mine and was dying to test it out. I had some cans, paint, and a slat of pallet wood laying around just waiting to be repurposed so this was the result. The drill press worked great and was fun to use. Here’s a link to one on amazon: https://amzn.to/2EOMbji
DIY Shotgun Shell Coat Rack
In this Do it yourself 12 gauge shotgun shell mounted coat rack made from old torn down boat house wood and spent shotgun shell I show you step by step on how to make this cool arts and crafts project. This is a great addition to your home, cabin, or shop. You don’t necessarily have to use old wood even though it does add to the cool factor. Just get a piece of cedar or any piece of wood and template out your holes to drill with the spent shotgun rounds. When I did this I measure to find the centerline of the pieces I used so all of the holes lined up right. If you want to offset them as I did in a couple of the racks, just measure out two horizontal lines evenly spaced. Once I figured out where I wanted to drill the holes I did just that. I used an auger bit because that was the size that I had in my toolbox that matched just a gnats ass over the shotgun shell diameter so it would fit in there nice and snug. For visual effect I used a heat gun and gave it a burnt look. I inserted the shells into the holes and used a brad nailer to secure them to the piece of wood. You could also use some epoxy. Now it’s ready to mount to the wall. You could also do this with pallet wood which would look pretty cool as well as keep it cheap.
DIY Pallet Playhouse
Pallet Projects are quite a bit of fun. This is one that started with an idea then grew into a full scale pallet project. I obtained all of the materials for little to no cost at all. I used cement pavers for the base and leveled them out so the pallets would sit level. The base is made out of four full size wooden pallets. I then used 2 X 4’s around the perimeter to start framing it all in. I got lucky with the 2 X4’s as all of them are reclaimed from a building that was being torn down. I got them for free and just had to pull all the old nails out of them. The obtaining of these free boards is truly what sparked the project. That as well as having a bunch of pallets that were begging to be reused towards pallet projects. Once I got the walls all framed in I built three identical trusses. I didn’t have any plans to construction on this. I notched out the trusses, spaced them out equally, then nailed them down. This playhouse started as a playhouse but as the kids grew older and grew out of wanting a playhouse it turned into a chicken coop. It was used as a chicken coop for a number of years. Once the chickens were gone I cleaned out all the mess and it turned into a garden tool storage shed. Also a place I kept all my fuels for lawn equipment and chainsaws etc.
DIY Pallet Swing
In this video, DIY Pallet Project: Super Easy Pallet Swing Built Simply with Minimal Tools, I take you step by step through my process of simple construction in my back yard. The first step is to carefully and gingerly remove the wood slats from the middle (or just beyond) of the pallet. Keep them, you’ll need them later. Make a cut through the pallet at just beyond the half way point. One section will be the back of your swing/chair, and the other will be the seat. Then make cuts where you want your vertex to be. This is the angle or joint portion of your seat and how it will sit. See how good your are at making them all the same, especially with a hand saw. The goal is for them to have a nice tight, flush fit. Set the back portion of the seat up so you can screw it onto the flat or sitting portion. I predrilled the holes before sinking long woodscrews into them. I even had some galvanized brackets that were laying around I used for reinforcing the joint. After you have it assembled and locked into place place (nail) your wood slats back on so there is no longer a big gap where at your cut location. For the next portion I used some of the chains from the old swings that were no longer being used. I attached them to each side of the pallet swing and hung it up. This swing passed the weight test and held up for years until I took it down to replace it with new kids’ swings. Fun pallet project and recommend you give it a shot.
DIY Wall Mounted Pallet Paint Holder
With some simple hand tools and a free old pallet you can make an up cycled DIY Pallet Project-Simple Wall Mounted Pallet Paint Shelf Organizer in no time flat. When choosing pallets, if I have the option, I try to pick ones that have all of the slats in good shape and also I like to pick the ones that are a little heartier. It’s not always an option and often times I’ve had to just settle with what I can get. It is never a waste though because if a pallet just went to hell when I was taking it apart, I’d just use it for firewood to generate heat. If I didn’t use it in the fireplace I could use it for outdoor burning in the firepit. Pallet wood burns quick and lights up nicely prepping a good coal bed to toss some longer burning logs on. So, in making this wall mounted pallet shelf I easily cut my pallet roughly in half, using the middle cross member as my cut line so it was nice and straight. I wanted it a little smaller so I sectioned it off once again basically making a smaller rectangle out of the bigger one. This left me with a section of pallet containing four cross members. I then took my hammer and pryer and carefully removed every other wooden slat. I used one of those wooden slats as bottom piece for this shelf. I even removed as many nails as I could and straightened the salvageable ones for reuse. No use in tossing out a perfectly good nail. I then took my cordless drill and a few drywall screws and mounted this sucker to the outside of my shed. After I mounted it I cut some bottom pieces for the leftover scraps for the bottom portion of the upper shelf on this fixture. This worked out perfectly for my storage needs. Tools used: Handsaw: https://amzn.to/2BBD4Ag (Optional)Skillsaw: https://amzn.to/2P9VJLJ Crowbar: https://amzn.to/2MCjeuZ Cordless Drill: https://amzn.to/2P9VTCP Hammer: https://amzn.to/2N6XE0H
DIY Pallet Shoe Rack Organizer
This video provides Step by step instructions on how I made a DIY Pallet Shoe Rack that lasted for years for FREE! After hand selecting which pallet I wanted to use I gathered up the necessary few tools I thought I would need. I didn’t want the shoe rack to be too high so I but the pallet right in half with my hand saw. I also needed it to be limited to a certain width based on where I wanted to install it so I cut 1/3 of it off, widthwise with a skilsaw. Although I switched to a power tool here, you could do it all with a handsaw. I then took my crowbar and hammer and removed the lower board. This gives me a top row for shoes and then a bottom row as well. I blew it all down with my air compressor to remove the saw dust.I then secured it to the wall with a couple of screws. Quick, easy, and free shoe rack organizer. You can paint it or have one of you kids paint it too for for an added custom touch. Hand Saw: https://amzn.to/2nnuzWd Crow Bar: https://amzn.to/2LSvlns Cordless Drill: https://amzn.to/2pSseU7 Skilsaw: https://amzn.to/35aaV0R Air Compressor: https://amzn.to/2OrJU34 Air Compressor Hose: https://amzn.to/2McblLm Air Nozzle: https://amzn.to/35eBS3lhttps://the-avant-garden.blogspot.comhttps://diytechnician.tumblr.comhttp://www.diy-technician.com#pallets, #projects, #DIY, #wood, #woodworking, #DIYTechnician, #shoerack, #organizer
DIY How to Make a Vertical Pallet Garden
How to make a Vertical Pallet Garden-Simply Done Pallet gardening Project-Instructional “how to” style video with detailed step by step procedural instructions for making a vertical pallet garden for almost free. An old trampoline mat was used at the backing for this but you can use landscaping plastic sheeting, felt, garbage bags, or whatever else you can think of just to sort of hold the soil in from the back. I tried to use all recycled materials that I had laying around as part of the fun. After cutting to size I nailed the trampoline mat with some roofing nails I had left over. I had quite a few roofing nails that needed to be put to good use so I was liberal with their use on the backside of my newly constructed free vertical pallet garden. In this example I planted some strawberries that I had already started. They took off great and made for a nice crop. This project worked really well and is recommended if you have space restrictions you are concerned about. This would also work really well for flowers or an herb garden.
DIY Buck Horn Mount From Oak Pallet Wood
I had to do this nice buck some justice by mounting his horns in this Instructional “how to” style video with detailed step by step procedural instructions for mounting buck horns out of pallet wood and a metal bedrail frame. The pallet I found happened to be a nice oak one. This project posed a few challenges and one of those was that the horns were in two pieces rather than one and there wasn’t a heck of a lot of material to nail to the wooden back pieces. So to start I pulled the nails out of the oak pallet I had found and cut the cross members into three equally sized pieces for the mounting boards. It love the density of oak wood. It’s so heavy too and really nice to work with. After getting the proper size I grabbed the scrap bed rail I had laying in the metal scrap pile and cut it to match the wood pieces. I took a power wire brush to the cute pieces and removed the paint followed by a coat of clear coat to the bed rails. I coated the wood with some clear varnish as well. Now I had to cut the horns to the proper angle in order to properly mount them to the wood. This took a few tries match it up so it looked both even and natural. I drilled a hole up through the horns then a hole I backboard as well once I got the horns in proper position. Then I hit it with a few brad nails and some epoxy. For the back I used an old pop can tab. Then I hung it up. Fun project made with all up cycled or reused materials.
From my scrap pile of extra pallets I need to make a DIY Chicken Egg Laying Bin Station built from Re-purposed Pallet Wood. My chickens are now laying eggs to they need they’re own area in which to be comfortable, relax, and do some laying. I broke down a few pallets and I removed all of the nails with my pry bar and hammer. I was able to reuse a few of the nails. It’s always fun to use the brad nailer so I secured everything with it. Once the nails were removed I lined up the now new raw materials (pallet slats) and then nailed down a couple end pieces to secure them all together and then one across the middle. This piece will act as the bottom. I did the same thing for the back piece. Just made an “L” shape with the wood then also nailed some side on it and then a front piece as well. The chickens were a little standoffish at first but once I put some bedding in there they took to it really nicely and played some eggs.
How to make a Pallet Wood Trash Can Rubbish Bin
How to make a Pallet Wood Trash Can-Instructional “how to” style tutorial video with detailed step by step procedural instructions for creating an upcycled pallet wood trash can for next to nothing. Order some pallets here: https://amzn.to/2HVqCAP The first thing you do is locate a good source of pallets. You can actually order them online! Once you have a few pallets, you’ll need to disassemble all of them and pull the nails out. I like to use a hammer and pry tool but they make a tool just for this that prevents you from having to bend over too far to pull these apart. It’s called a pallet buster and here’s the link to it: https://amzn.to/32Uokbo. Next is to pull all the nails out of the slats. Now you’ll want to determine your bottom dimension or footprint. This will be based on the size of trashcan you want to use. This is easier than trying to find a trashcan that will fit into your pallet rubbish bin. Now make your bottom square out of the slats based on this dimension. These are nailed together with a brad nailer. The use of one of these makes it nice so you can hold your pieces together with one hand and nail it with the other. Once you’ve built your bottom square, now put the bottom slats on so you are essentially making a tray. This will hold the load inside. Upon completion of that it’s time to make your top square just the same as you built your bottom one. Now the easy part. Cut and nail in your sides connecting the top and bottom squares together. You may need to make some long cuts so all of your slats fit as they are of different widths which is part of what makes these unique as well as the different tones of wood. It’s kind of amazing to think about where each of these pieces of wood originally came from and where they have been during their life as a pallet. Now it’s time to construct the line. You can make your lid hinged or just have it set on top of your bin. The lid was given a slightly oversized dimension to fit the style I was going for. The handle used in the video came off an old U-haul truck that was scrapped. My kind auto mechanic neighbor supplied me with this. You can now stain your bin or just leave it as is. Pallet project book here: https://amzn.to/2WHwssP
DIY Shop Table From Re-purposed Pallet Wood
In this DIY Pallet Project: Shop Table From Pallets “How to” video, I take you step by step through my process on using old pallet wood to create a shop table. For the Table top, the first step was to get all my slats separated, get the nails pulled out, and clean them all up. I cut them all to the same length and placed them on two longer aluminum clamps. Pipe clamps work well here too. Once I get them square, flat, and straight, then I took two perpendicular lengths of wood and drilled and screwed them up through the bottom to hold it all in place. I then drilled and screwed 4 equal legs on. I then cut a couple of blocks for extra reinforcement, drilled, and screwed those on as well in between the legs and the cross members on the underside of the pallet table surface. I custom made the metal angle iron brackets as well. I had some old metal bed rails laying around so I sectioned them up and drilled holes in them to facilitate screws and used them for reinforcing brackets. I used some repurposed lag bolts to secure these. I sanded the top surface of the table so it was nice and smooth and flat. I decided that I needed a shelf down below for extra storage so I hit up my pallet pile again. I pulled off some more slats carefully so as not to crack or break the boards in the process. I got the nails all pulled out and cut to length on the table saw. I used some of these for the trim around the top of the table so it had a nice finish. I then created the second shelf down below using more pieces from the pallet pile and nailed them together with a brad nailer. Tools used: Table Saw: https://amzn.to/31W6epw Cordless Drill: https://amzn.to/31WRgiO Brad Nailer: https://amzn.to/30UA50b Air Compressor: https://amzn.to/35ftvop
In this DIY How to Remove and Clean Clothes Dryer Vent Ducting for Fire Prevention Video I take you step by step through this simple yet necessary process. Many fires are started every year from lack of cleaning of dryer vent ducts. Once this method and processed is used, your ducting will be just like new. The first thing to do is remove and replace the slinky looking aluminum vent that connects the dryer to the hard vent. This is usually accomplished by the loosening and removal of the large hose clamp, typically a flathead fastener. Once I got this old dryer vent removed I used my shop vac and got the big stuff out. If you are not planning on disassembling the whole thing you need to be able to have enough shop vac hose to reach the full length of the whole vent run or at least enough so that you can reach the remaining distance from the outside or opposite side. In the case in the video I decided to remove the whole thing and actually replace the old vent with brand new stuff. The existing was at least 20 years old and was corroded, old and sagging. If you wanted to re-use the existing vent ducting and remove it for cleaning, bring it outside and blow it out with an air compressor. There is a good chance you’ll still have some scum that won’t readily blow out with an air compressor so you’ll need to figure out how to manually remove it. Many times this can be done with a rag or some type of cleaning brush. If you don’t remove the old scum and reinstall it, it will be a starting point for new dryer vent bi-products to accumulate reducing the time that you’ll need to clean it out again. When reinstalling be sure that the seams are facing the direction of flow so it won’t be a sticking point for debris to collect. Once you get your vent ducting run all cleaned out and re-assembled it will give you piece of mind that you’ve reduced the chances of a dryer vent duct fire.
For this delicious home brew I used liquid malt extract made by Morgan’s (Frontier IPA) and dry spray malt hopped light. This sucker turned out wonderful. I used Centennial and Mosaic hops. No boiling was involved or needed at all in this brewing session. The hopping technique was dry hopping. I just simply mixed the ingredients in the fermenter along with some hot filtered water (and cold) and dry hopped the two different hops mixed into one bag. Then used the brewers yeast that came with the Morgans liquid malt extract. I made sure to add the yeast when the wort was at correct temperature. I placed the top on and waited for two weeks. Two weeks later I bottled it. Was ready to drink two weeks after that. This was a no brainer tasty beer project. Great fun and rewarding hobby. I just use my Cooper’s DIY beer kit I got off amazon. Here’s the link to it below. This is a great super easy way to get started. Cooper’s DIY Beer Kit: https://amzn.to/2TkzeWt
This video shows step by step on removing an old cedar fence and installing a chain link fence in it’s place. Sorry for the few shaky parts but my video player became corrupt around this time. This was my first attempt at successfully putting up a chain link fence so I thought I’d make a how to video from it. You’ll find some errors in there without looking too close. I had fun playing some guitar for the music as well. Just mute it if you don’t care for it, I’ll understand. This was quite the undertaking for doing it all by myself as is done with most of my projects. I dug and set each post by hand with post hole digger, breaker bar, shovel, and in some parts a saw. There were so many damn roots along the way. I mixed each cement bag myself. Trying to remember to film each step along the way posed a little bit of a challenge as well. I have dogs and kids so it was necessary to leave the old cedar fence up until I was ready to stretch the new chain link one. I started siding that old playhouse/storage shed/chicken coop with the old cedar slats. It’ll be pretty easy to poke holes in my job here. I used a truck bumper to anchor and to stretch the fence. I ran my breaker bar close to the end of the run then stretched it. I had to figure out how to mate up the remaining run of newer cedar fence with the new chain link. I had to remove a couple slats and bind them together with some galvanized fittings. Once complete this was a fun project I could l look back at and know that I did it all by hand myself and will last for decades. https://www.diy-technician.com
For years the old lawn edgers “weed wackers” would run really good when you first purchased them and then once you let them sit for various periods of time between lawn mowing sessions, it would be hell getting them started. I’ve seen more weed wackers tossed across lawns in my time than homelite chainsaws. The older ones had 2 cycle motors and if you didn’t have exactly the correct oil/gas mixture the weed wacker would either not start, smoke the whole place up, or the motor would bog down. I have experienced all of this first hand being starting at a young age watching my father fight these evil little machines and then also myself as I grew up mowing lawns for extra money and then of course my own. There were numerous occasions where all I had left to do was some touch up around the edges after pushing a heavy mower across meters and meters of lawn and I’d spend more time and expend more sweat trying to get the damn thing started again. Even before I’d go out on jobs, I’d make sure the damn thing started before I left my house. It would still find a way to let me down once it was needed.
Like a Sailor
The frustration caused by the old weed wackers could make a preacher swear. Ok maybe not out loud but inside. I’ve called these things every name in the book and have probably set the distance record for yards thrown.
Not only were the old motors an issue on the older weed wackers but the line feed mechanism on the working end of the contraption often wreaked havoc on the operator’s emotions. I would venture to say that no matter what kind of weed wacker you owned back in the day, you probably had both the line feeder mechanism and/or the motor taken apart on it (except maybe a Stihl) before the first year of ownership was up. The older models made it pretty tough to change out the line or even replace it if it got stuck up inside the feeder mechanism causing much frustration and chewing up your clock. There was no youtube or internet readily available at your fingertips, you either had to figure it out or toss it.
Sore Starting Muscles I can’t count how many times that I would wake up the next day with a very sore and stiff upper back and then at first wonder what I did to it the day before. Then it dawns on me. Oh that’s right, I tried starting that damn weed wacker by pulling on the pull starter 2000 times over the course of the day yesterday. Then it lingers for the next couple days just for good measure.
For changing out the line as you can see, the line feeds in or out with the clockwise or counter clockwise rotation of the center black adjuster. At some point of course, the line will run out and you will need to refill your line. So when you buy one of these make sure you pick up another pack of weed wacker line. To access the line reservoir, you’ll need to grab your flathead screwdriver and depress the two tabs that are 180 degrees from each other on the side. This will allow you to pop the top cover off. Once the top cover is off, cut yourself about 6 feet of line and run it through the hole of the back inner spindle. Then route the line through the top cover islets and snap back into place. At first this seems a little counter intuitive but follow along and this will work. After the cover is snapped back into place, push the black adjustable spindle in and spin it counter clockwise. This will wind the line back onto the inner spindle. Simple huh? https://www.diy-technician.com https://the-avant-garden.blogspot.com
MACTREM Brand LED Ring Light Kit-Unboxing, Assembly and Review; Part# M-A001. This light assembly is super easy to put together and use. The light has many different levels of lighting as well as different types of light (i.e. white light, yellow light, etc.). This is all adjusted on a switch adjuster that is very user friendly. Great for pictures and videos. There are actually two assemblies with this kit. One for the light and one for your phone/camera. This kit comes with two versatile tripods so you can adjust both your camera and light at any angel you wish. Using the contents of this hit will fully enhance your filming and photography experience. It plugs into a USB which I demonstrate can be operated off of a lap top or a plug in the wall. This would also be a nice addition for the ladies who are doing their make up. Here’s the amazon link: https://amzn.to/30cyNyW
Service Tire Monitor System Dash Warning-What to do about it
This warning is telling you that at least one of your Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) sensors are faulty. These sensors are located inside the tires and cannot be replaced without removing the tire from the rim. If one of them are bad, then the others are sure to follow. The batteries go bad on them and need to be replaced. Best time to do it is when you get new tires. It would be advisable to get all 4 changed at the same time rather than just change one or two. What is likely to happen is that the remaining sensors are likely to go bad not too long after you get one or two replaced resulting in having to look at the error message for another length of time. It’s kind of a scam b/c I’ve been told by quite a few automotive mechanics that they design these sensors to fail right around the 10 year mark. The unfortunate part is that this adds a few hundred buck to your already expensive tire replacement. It been mandated by law that all vehicles must have them now. When this first happened to me I checked and double checked my tire pressure on all four tires and even inflated them towards the upper PSI limit thinking that this would make the “Service Tire Monitoring System” warning disappear but it did not. One way to possibly save a little money when getting these things changed are to order the sensors yourself and then providing them to the automotive garage or business that you have changing your tires because many times tire centers will charge you extra for these sensors (as with many parts) as this is a way for them to make a small profit and also they DO need to be paid for their effort and time, after all, they are the ones ordering your parts. Be sure you order the correct sensors for your make, model, and year of vehicle. RockAuto.com is a good place to order parts from. I have had many friends who are motor heads order numerous parts from them and all have good things to say about them. I’ve ordered my TMPS sensors from them and it was really easy. They sent me the correct parts at a decent price.
How to Remove a Tailgate in Seconds
Simple and quick demonstration on How to Remove GMC Chevrolet Truck Tailgate. Step one: Lift handle on tailgate and open to about 50%-75% open. This will allow for some slack to be left in the attaching cables. Step two: Depress the clip (outboard towards inboard) on the cable end where it attaches to the truck. Slide clip off trucks’ metal dowel . This is most easily done with a flathead screwdriver. Step three: Line up lower bottom insertion slot on tailgate to where opening on slot allows for removal and pull it off. After doing this one time, you can have one off in about 3 seconds. While convenient for us it is also convenient for tailgate thieves. It’s a good idea to look into tailgate locks available on Amazon. I’ll post the link below but also you can use hose clamps as I demonstrate here: https://youtu.be/gMA4zabc_ps Amazon link to Tailgate keeper: https://amzn.to/2TBqcCJ
Error Code P0521-What it means and what to do
Error Code P0521 for a GMC Sierra/Silverado Circa 2010 Model means that is it simply low on oil. For about an hour I was absolutely beside myself after having purchased a new pre-owned GMC Sierra when the check engine light came on. I felt like I was about ready just to drive it right back to the dealership, toss them the keys and walk away. I stopped by my local auto parts store and had them read the error code out for me on their code reader and it just meant that the geniuses at the dealership did not check the oil or change it. So I bought some oil there while at the auto parts store, topped it off a little just to see if that was in fact the case. Sure enough it was.
Drive Shaft Removal Procedure
The first thing I did was jack up the track and place jack stands under it so I didn’t get crushed. Secondly, I disconnected it at the rear differential joint. This was easily removed by loosening the 4 bolts shown using a 7/16″ socket. Before completely removing them I made sure to tie up the drive shaft so it didn’t smack me in the face. I used a flathead screwdriver to pop off the little clips around the universal joint and the retaining rings. Once these are removed the drive shaft comes right out. Pretty simple. I did end up buying a new universal joint as the old one was a little rusty. It was fairly inexpensive at auto zone.
Steering Wheel Removal
The first thing to do is to remove the airbag. There’s a little hole in the side of the steering column that I inserted a long Allen wrench into. This will release the airbag. Then I loosened the nut in the center with a socket and ratchet. It has standard threads so lefty loosey. Once the nut was removed I just had to give it a little bump on the back with a rubber mallet to help it come off. Simple.
How to Replace the Steering Column for $100
This was a lot easier than I thought. I picked up a steering column of a Tahoe from the junk yard. The truck that this was being replaced in is a 2002 GMC Sierra. I had never replaced one of these before, I hadn’t watched any videos on it, and really just dove in and went for it. I did, however, have some reassurance from some gearhead buddies of mine that even a non-automotive mechanic type such as myself can do it and that most idiots can do it. I’m not exactly sure what they were trying to tell me. Don’t be intimidated by this if you’ve never done it before. It’s a piece of cake if you’re willing to put a tiny bit of turning some wrenches and disconnecting and reconnecting a few electrical connections. The first step was calling the junk yard and telling them what I need. They let me know that it’s the same for a Chevy Silverado, Tahoe, Suburban, or GMC Sierra. I took a leap of faith. After all they were only charging me $100 which was about 10X cheaper than if I took it to the dealer to have this done. I went and picked it up, took it home, and got to work. In a nutshell, it was all just plug and play sort of speak. Secondly, I had to remove all of the surrounding plastics. Then it was just remove all of the electrical connections and unbolt the securing nuts and bolts. I will say, you are going to have to tap into your socket extension supply. I didn’t have a long socket extension so I put about 10 small ones together and it did the trick. I probably had the old one out within a couple hours. If I had to do it again I could probably do it in half the time or better. The airbag will need to be disconnected when you do this. The new steering column did not come with an air bag. Likely because it had deployed on the vehicle it came out of. The air bag needed to be disconnected from the old one and reinstalled on the new one. It was totally easy. All you really need to do is slide a couple long Allen wrenches in the holes visible along the steering column and push them in. This disengages the airbag. All you need to do then is unhook the two electrical connectors and it’s out. Then plug them back into the new steering column. Now after unbolting everything and unplugging all of the electrical connections, slap the new one in and reverse the process. Snap all the plastics back in place and you are almost good to go. You will need to override the anti theft function though. All you need to do to get your new steering column functioning properly is to place your ignition in the “On” position for an hour. Be sure to have a fresh battery for this or maybe place a battery charger on the battery while doing this. After an hour it’ll crank over and stay on rather than it killing the motor after a couple seconds.
How to Remove and Install the Steering Wheel Airbag
This airbag removal and re-installation was performed on a 2002 GMC Sierra. It came out of a 2002 GMC Sierra Steering Column and re-installed on a Chevy Tahoe steering column. It was super easy to remove from the Sierra and install in the Tahoe. This was actually part of a steering column replacement on the Sierra.
Spark Plug and Spark Plug Wire Change Out Procedure
Tutorial Style Video on DIY Spark Plug and Spark Plug Wire Change Out-GMC Sierra and Chevy Silverado. It needed to be done so I figured I’d make a video while I did it. Saved quite a bit of money by doing it myself rather than take it into a dealer or automotive garage.
How to Change the Oil and Filter
Oil change on circa 2010 Model Chevy Silverados, GMC Sierra, Suburbans, etc. Save labor costs and DIY. After getting your oil and filter (PF4BE ACDelco) from the store grab your oil pan, oil filter wrench, socket and ratchet (or open ended/box end wrench). Make sure the truck is sitting on a flat surface and is chocked properly so it won’t move. Crawl under it and loosen the oil pan plug with your wrench. Make sure your oil pan is underneath the plug and loosen it all the way allowing the oil to come out. Then loosened the oil filter and finish draining all of the oil, remove filter. It may be a good idea to crack the cap under the hood where the oil comes it so as to allow the oil to flow out better. Drain the filter into the oil pan. Keep your face out of the way so you don’t get oil in the eyes. Always a good idea to have safety glasses on as well. It’s also easier to do this if you have car ramps to elevate the front end a little bit so it’s easier to crawl under. Once oil is drained, lubricate the new filter gasket with a light coat of oil and install new filter nice and snug hand tight or snug with the oil wrench. Install the oil pan plug nice and tight. Always a good idea to use rubber gloves too so you don’t get oil all over your hands. I used an engine oil additive on this oil change (Lucas). Add the correct amount of oil. This will be shown on the dipstick. Don’t overfill.
Truck Tailgate Theft Prevention Trick
Installation of a couple hose clamps can make the difference between keeping your tailgate or losing it to theft. These clamps remove it from the easy target list and maybe make the dirtbags move onto another truck. This demo was performed on a Silverado. Amazon link to gate keeper: https://amzn.to/2TBqcCJ
Reset the “Change Oil Soon” Dash Warning
After you change your oil is super simple. to reset the “CHANGE ENGINE OIL SOON” warning on your dash display. It will not reset itself. All you do is watch the three simple steps in the video and it will be gone immediately. Those steps are, turn the key to the ON position (without starting vehicle) to where the warning lights are displayed. The vehicle should be beeping at this point. Then press on the accelerator three times slowly all within 5 seconds, then turn the key off. The dash warning light will be gone when you turn it back on. If this doesn’t work the first time, repeat the steps. It’s possible you pushed the accelerator too fast or too slow.
Remove and Install Ignition Key Lock Cylinder
The first step of replacing the key lock cylinder is to disconnect the battery and remove the steering column covers. The reason I replaced this one is because it has broken plastic and the cylinder will not turn past the “ON” position. I went down to auto zone and picked on up for $50. One thing to realize is that now the door lock key will be different than the ignition key. To get this thing in and out, there is a little hole in which to insert something to depress the latch that allows the key lock to be inserted in and out. I used a scratch awl because it was the first thing I grabbed out of my toolbox that I found to fit but I’m sure there is a specially made tool out there just for this. The trick is that the key must be in the “Start” position for it to be slid in and out. Another thing to use is a sports ball inflation needle. Many of us have these laying around as well. Insert it into the hole and the key lock cylinder will easily slide in and out. Good to go. I initially thought the problem was the key cylinder. I ended up replacing the whole steering column.
This came out of a 2002 GMC Sierra and was initially planning on getting it replaced but ended up reassembling it and reinstalling it.
Vehicle Anti Theft System Reset Override Technique
After replacing the steering column in the truck it was necessary to replace the Vehicle Anti Theft System Reset Override because it would only start for a couple seconds and then die. I was initially going to try to bypass it, however, a quick call to the chevy dealer (thank you!) revealed a simple sequence of operations on how to reset it. The trick is to turn the key to the “ON” position, leave it for 1 hour like this, then start it up. You must ensure you have a nice fresh battery in order to do this or even place a battery charger on your battery will you do it so it won’t go dead. It should fire right up.
How retail clothing store security ink tags work is by (as an anti-theft measure) clothing stores tag various clothing items with security tags so that if you walk out the door with them you’ll set off an alarm when you leave with the tag still on the garment or ruin it by spilling ink from the tag if you try to remove it yourself. There are some ways to prevent the ink from spilling all over the garment if the retail cashier fails to remove the tag (as they often do). The short answer to the question “Do Security Ink Tags go off?” is no. It triggers the alarm through the use of a sensor at the entrance or exit. To answer the simple question, “What do security ink tags do?”. When the security ink tags are forcibly removed from the clothing item, two glass vials containing permanent ink will break, causing it to spill over the clothing, which in theory will completely deface the clothing item with a large ink permanent ink stain.
Super Quick and Easy Method -Technique on How to Remove Mall Clothing Retail Clothing Store Security Tags. Loss prevention is a tough thing to conquer. I’m sure you are never going to keep the thieves from ripping off stores completely but these plastic tags definitely make a thief think twice. Unfortunately the store clerks who are either inexperienced, side tracked, busy, or just happen to overlook them make it difficult for us paying customers who don’t realize that the security loss prevention clothings tags have been left on. Fortunately there are ways to remove them without damaging your expensive clothing article without having to drive all the way back to the store where you purchased the item, wait in line again, remove the tag, then turn around and drive home again. This could actually be a good sales tactic as it brings some customers who don’t know how to take these mall clothing security tags off the item, back into the store! Just maybe some of them are left attached on purpose. Regardless, as they always say, knowledge is power. If you know how to take these tags off you can save yourself some serious time, gas money, and effort. Out of all the methods I’ve ever seen for taking this off, a power tool such as a pedestal grinder, rotary tool (Dremel), or electric hand held grinder seem to work the best. The pedestal grinder is nice because you can really focus on just keep the clothing away from the spinning wheel. This is an inherent danger when using any of these methods though so you must observe all safety precautions when attempting to utilize methods such as these.
In this DIY Retail Clothing Store Security Ink Tag Removal Tutorial video I aim to show you how to save you a trip all the way back to the store where you purchased your item where the security tag was inadvertently left on your garment. The key here is to get the thing off without messing up your new piece of clothing. There are a number of ways to do this and I demonstrate a few different ways in my videos as I’ve been fortunate enough to have a few of them left on my clothes I’ve bought. These removal methods come in handy if you live far away from the clothing store or just want to save yourself a trip back there and having to deal with the hassle of driving, parking, waiting in line, getting it removed, having to show your receipt (which you may or may not have at this point), walking out, then driving back home. What a pain. If you have a little bit of know how you can remove these security ink tags without it exploding onto your shorts, shirt, pants, or other. In this video I sort of chose the brute force method and busted out my electric hand held angle grinder. I already had a diamond cutter wheel on there from another project but a standard cutting wheel or grinding wheel will work just fine as well. Be sure to take all of the safety precautions when using this method because you can really hurt yourself as it’s a high speed rotating power tool and you can also spray ink everywhere. The trick is just to take your time and gingerly carve at the thing. Wear your safety glasses and don’t hit your clothing item with the wheel. I ground the backside clamp off the security tag first and then just pulled the tag off. Worked like a charm. If you don’t have a grinder like this and you are a DIY’er than you need to get one.
This video shows you what happens when a security ink tag ink capsule gets ruptured when removed and into contact with a 100% cotton retail store garment. This is about the 4th or so retail tag that the retail clothing store clerk had forgotten to remove. The mall is very far away from where I live so driving all the way back to where I bought the shirt from is not an option. After I removed the tag using alternative methods, I used an old shirt to see what would happen if I opened one of these up and the effect that they would have on a piece of clothing. It is definitely no joke when it comes to the permanent mark that the ink leaves on clothes when in contact. If you ARE going to remove one of these tags be sure that you do it in a manner that won’t disrupt the ink capsules but also make sure you are keeping your own personal safety at the forefront of what you are doing. If you can’t safely remove the tag, than it IS worth it to make the trip back to the place where you purchased the item, show your receipt (showing that you didn’t steal the item), and properly get it removed. Actually the smart thing to do IS to take it back to where you purchased it from and have them remove it but many times this doesn’t work for everyone.
DIY Easy Security Ink Tag Removal Process-Quick Detachment Method. Extra care must be taken with regards to safety when using this method as the clothing item could easy get wrapped around the grinder. This method is not recommended for the Ink capsule style tags as the ink will spray everywhere if it gets ground into by the pedestal grinder.
The old twist knob outdoor spigot was very old and less easy to operate than a nice new easy to use ball valve. The first step is to shut off the water at the water main. The next step is to remove the old spigot. I used a couple pair of channel locks. A couple of pipe wrenches would work too. I then inserted a threaded coupling into the existing piping after wrapping with teflon tape. To tighten this thing there is a shank portion in the middle that will facilitate a tool such as channel locks or a small pipe wrench to secure it. I then wrapped the outer end with a couple wraps of teflon tape. I then screwed the ball valve onto the coupling. I then inserted another brass coupling wrapped in teflon tape into the ball valve. This will now work for threading the garden hose onto. If you check out the below link from amazon and are interested in doing this, it’s an angled ball valve made just for this application.
Kitchen sink spout spraying all over? Not getting enough water flow from the sink faucet? It’s likely the faucet spout filter is clogged. In this tutorial I show you the simple process for accomplishing just that. I didn’t realize it until I removed the old one that it needed to be replaced with a new one. This won’t be the case all the time as you may just be able to clean the old one off of sediment, plastic, etc and reinstall it. In my case, the filter was damaged therefore not doing it’s job. I do filter all of the water but this screen holds back the big particulates. I couldn’t believe how much crap had built up on my filter. I’m surprised it flowed as well as it did. Amazing how much stuff is in our water. Changing this thing out is simple. Mine takes a 22mm wrench. Take the 22mm wrench (or vice grips if you don’t care about the finish) and turn it counter clockwise to loosen. Once off, clean it all off and inspect for damage. If damaged, then replace. If still good, reinstall. The screen that I removed did not have a gasket but luckily the new one came with a gasket. If you are going to get a new one I recommend you take the old one to the hardware store with you to match it up. Pull it out of the package in the store and be sure it’s the correct size and thread pitch. There is not a huge risk here for the most part as many of them are standard size. I believe the technical name for these is a sink faucet aerator. Order from amazon: https://amzn.to/2rC7SQd
How to Unclog a Shower Drain
In my DIY How to Unclog a Shower Drain: Quick and Easy Method of Removal video I take you through my process of unclogging the a shower drain. While this may appear to be gross or disgusting to some of you, this is just an average easy job for a DIY Plummer looking to save on some costs of calling in a plumbing company to perform the work. All you need is just a little DIY motivation and a tiny bit of know how. First step is to find yourself a pair of hemostats or needle nosed pliars. Then remove (unscrew) the drain cap on the shower drain. The next step is to grab your removal tool (hemostats or similar) and start pulling out all the junk that’s causing this mess. I recommend you grab yourself a plastic bag as well so you’ll have a nice place to put your debris. Once you think you’ve got it all, give it a test run by running some water and making sure you’ve got clean, smooth, unobstructed flow. Then screw the cap back to it’s normal position. Easy as pie.
How to Unclog a Bathroom Sink
In this video I discuss and demonstrate a method of unclogging your backed up bathroom sink. I start with the least invasive and try to unclog the bathroom sink by using a pair of hemostats to fish out any debris around the drain as this is sometimes the only fix you need to do. This was not the case in this instance of this plugged up drain. The sink stopper needed to come out. This means the up and down mechanism must me disassembled. This is done by going underneath the sink and unthreading the fitting that secures the up and down joint. Once unthreaded it can be pulled out. Now there is a hole in the pipe so if you run your water anymore it will run out the hole all over the place. Now you can remove the stopper from up above. In this instance there was some debris down inside the drain that needed to fished out. After removing all the debris that was reachable I reassembled the parts. The sink was still not unclogged though so I had to disassemble again. I decided to give it the water pressure treatment with the garden hose as I’ve had many successes in the past using this same method. Once I flushed whatever was plugging it down the drain with the hose pressure, I reassembled all the parts. What you want is a whirlpool or eddy look of the water as it goes down the drain. If it bubbles or gurgles a bit then it means something is impeding the water flow and it’s still plugged. Ultimate Hemostat Kit: https://amzn.to/2Hj5PVX
DIY Unclog Shower Drain With Standing Water
Shower drain backed up and not working? Sometimes it’s a pretty simple DIY fix if you’re willing to do a little dirty work. These types of jobs can also save you quite a bit of money in the long run. If you figure if you had to call a Plummer every time your drain got clogged you are saving quite a bit by doing it yourself every time if possible.
This “How TO” Step by Step Tutorial on replacing your bathroom shower head head shows you an easy beginner homeowner style process that you can do yourself without the headache or expense of calling someone else to do it for you. Follow along with me while I perform this DIY Bath Showerhead Installation Tutorial “How To” Style Video and you can get rid of that old showered in no time flat after you (or likely your wife) have picked out the ideal showered from the Lowe’s, Home Depot, or other home/hardware store. The first step is to turn off the main water supply. This is a great opportunity to locate your main water supply shut off to the house if you haven’t found it already. You don’t want to wait until there’s a huge flood from a burst pipe to attempt to locate your main shut off. Once you’ve secured your water at the main shut off valve you should go ahead and start carefully unthreading your old shower head. It’s a really good idea to use two wrenches on this to apply counter torque as you don’t want your connection inside the wall spinning. So ideally you would hold the elbow coming out of the wall completely still with slight torque in the tightening direction while you unthread your old shower head connection. Once you’ve carefully removed the old one now bust out your brand new one and get all your parts played out and pre-assembled as much as possible. Put some teflon tape on the end of the connection coming out of the wall. This will keep water from spraying all over the place when you turn it back on. Be sure your new shower head has the rubber gasket installed before threading it on. Now thread it on. Be sure your connections are tight and turn on the water supply. Good luck! Amazon Showerheads: https://amzn.to/2Nd3cYS, https://amzn.to/2PSwwpc, https://amzn.to/2oKNzhV
How to Fix a Leaky Toilet-Wax Ring Replacement
This job started when I got notified about water on the floor. It would get cleaned up with a towel but show back up again. It would get worse after every flush of the toiled. I checked for the quick and easy stuff first. The toilet wasn’t continually running, meaning, the float inside was good. I checked really good around the water supply valve, it’s associated hose, and it’s connection to the toilet. All of this was bone dry. This meant one thing, Toilet was leaking around the base. This meant I had to perform the following steps to pull the toilet and replace the wax ring:
Step 1: Turn off the water to the toilet
Step 2: Flush remaining water in the bowl
Step 3: Disconnect water supply hose
Step 4: Remove the two caps over securing nuts on toilet base
Get rid of that annoying whistling sound that is made when the bathroom faucet knobs are turned on. As goes with troubleshooting anything, start with the easy stuff first. I went right for the easiest thing in trying to figure out what causing this bathroom sink faucet to make this horrendous high pitched squealing sound. I took a pair of vice grips and unthreaded the spout filter which is many times called an aerator on a kitchen sink. Once I loosened it and inspected it, I found that it had debris caught it it. It looked like some small plastic debris. It’s amazing what gets into our water lines but this did it’s job in preventing it from potentially being ingested. After cleaning out the plastic debris in the oriface I pulled the aerator apart just to ensure I got everything. I reassembled it after the clean out. No more high pitched squealing. Simple and easy fix for free when you DIY.
How to Install a Bosch Silence Plus Brand Dishwasher
I purchased this Bosch Silence Plus Brand Dishwasher from Lowe’s and trucked it back to the installation location. I used a dolly to cart it into the house. If you have two people you can move it without a dolly. I bought a new voltage sensor, some zip ties, teflon tape, wire nuts, electrical tape, wire strippers, a new hose and threaded brass elbow connector. Some models already come with this and you may possibly be ablate re-use the existing one. Once I got it the house and unpackaged I made sure to turn off the power at the breaker. I verified that the power was off with my voltage indicator so as not to get shocked. I then removed the old dishwasher. I then ran the new steel braided hose through the cupboard hole to the water connection and hooked it up. Then I hooked up the drain hose from the back of the dishwasher to the sink drain. I then adjusted the dishwasher legs to it fit level and flush. I pulled the existing wiring up to the and through the electrical connection box on the dishwasher. I then wired it up to the electrical box. Ended up not needing the wire nuts or electrical tape. I’ve installed these before where the existing house power cable was not long enough so I’d have to add a splice to make up the distance to the electrical box on the dishwasher. Once everything was tight I turned on the water to check for leaks. I made sure there was not even the tiniest drop of water came out. The connections have to be completely tight. After verifying electrical and water connections were satisfactory I slide the dishwasher into place and secured it to the surrounding cupboards with screws so it didn’t move when opening and closing the door.
DIY Instructions-How to Install an Automatic Ice Machine
How to Install and Automatic Ice Maker. This installation was for a Frigidaire brand. IMEZC000 model. Automatic Ice Maker Installation kit. After unboxing the ice maker, you’ll notice that there is an electrical connector that needs to be hooked up. Keep that in mind. The ice maker will need an on demand water supply so you’ll need to run a water line to the fridge. Almost all models nowadays have a standard hook up in the back of the fridge for this. When I did this, I removed the thread protectors from the fridge connection and used teflon tape around the threads. Then I hooked up the hose, turned on the water and checked for leaks. In this video you’ll notice my incoming water valve demonstrates some leaking while operating the valve. Once it’s either in the fully open or fully closed position, the leak stops. I did end up replacing this valve just for the purposes of upgrading it and made another video on it as well. After the water connection at the fridge was satisfactorily checked for water leaks, I pushed the fridge back into it’s spot. Now it’s time to mount the ice maker. The electrical connections are uncovered inside the the freezer. There are some plastic screw hole protectors in the side of the freezer that need to be removed to allow for the mounting screws to be inserted. Then I inserted the mounting screws that come with the ice making kit. Don’t screw them in all the way. Pull out your ice maker and plug the electrical connection into the receptacle in the freezer. Also there is a plastic ice slide that needs to be installed as shown in the video. After plugging in the electrical connection I hung the ice maker onto the mounting screws and then drove them in all the way to secure it to the side wall of the freezer. I then plugged the fridge back in had ice in no time flat. This ice maker installation was so easy. Link to similar ice maker on amazon; https://amzn.to/2JUTwRO
Is your toilet running constantly? Do you have to shake the handle before it’ll shut off? Your toilet float is likely bad. This is a really simple DIY project if you don’t mind getting your hands wet. Don’t worry you won’t have to put them where the poop goes. If your toilet is running constantly and you are on a septic system you can put a strain on it whether it be a pump system or gravity drain. I’ve had my high level alarm on my septic go off just due to a long running toilet. If it does keep running go ahead and turn off the valve. You can turn it on again in order to use the toilet as a temporary measure and turn it off again. For replacing the float you will need a float kit. I’ve posted a link to one you can order on amazon below or go down to your local hardware store or Lowe’s or Home Depot etc. and grab a float kit. Once you have the float kit in hand, perform the following simple steps:
1. Turn off the water supply (if not done already)
2. Pop the top on the back of your toilet
3. Drain the water by flushing handle
4. Unscrew old float
5. Unhook drain tube by simply pulling it out
6. Unthread (unscrew the old float)
7. Disconnect water supply hose (hold bucket underneath to catch water)
8. Pull old float out
9. Open new float kit and lay out parts
10. Each one is a little different. Understand how to set water level i.e. extending/retracting the base.
11. Insert new float and thread in the base
12. Thread on bottom plastic wing nut
13. Clip on new drain hose to drain tube
14. Re-install water supply hose to bottom of float
Installing Brand New Double Kitchen Sink Drain Plumbing
Don’t pay the plumber to come and do this for your. Do it your damn self and save a couple hundred bucks. Head to your local hardware store and pick up the easy to connect kit for a double sink drain. In this case I needed the drain plumbing that contained the dishwasher drain connection for my adjacent dishwasher as is the case for many houses. Hopefully watching this video you’ll get an idea what you need. The parts are pretty cheap at Lowe’s and Home Depot. There are many custom applications especially in old houses where you’ll need couplings and reducers etc. This was the case in for this job. If you’re striving to be a DIY-Technican, just take your time and make sure you make the correct cuts and connections based on your plumbing configuration. Good luck and happy plumbing.
How to Remove a Stainless Steel Kitchen Sink
Getting new granite countertop installed so it’s time to replace the whole sink as well as the hedge lodge plumbing underneath. As you can see by the zip ties and everything, it’s long overdue. The first thing I did was turn off the main water supply. I then disconnected all of the drain piping underneath and used pot to collect any residual water. I then disconnected the dishwasher water supply line as well as it’s drain hose/piping. I then disconnected the water line going to the faucet. The sink and faucet assembly came right out.
DIY Pull Toilet for Unclog and Wax Ring Replacement
After plunging for a half and hour then snaking it and trying everything to get this to drain it had to be pulled. Whatever is clogging this is not readily coming out so it has to be pulled using the following steps:
How you pull a toilet and replace the wax ring.
Turn off water supply valve and flush to empty tank.
Pop the plastic bolt cover caps on the base w/flathead screwdriver
Unthread the two bolting nuts on the base. Set aside for reinstall.
Disconnect water supply hose from toilet.
Grab toilet at mid/centerline and lift off floor. Set on towel.
Scrape the old wax ring off the floor and install new one.
Set toilet back down on wax ring while lining holes up with bolts.
Push down until base is touching the floor.
Reinstall bolting nuts and caps, water line.
Turn water supply line back on.
I never did show what was in the toilet but it was a little kids toy lodged in there. Only accessible from bottom side after pulling toilet. It was not coming out the way it came in=).
Abnormal kitchen sink faucet flow? Here’s the easy fix. The aerator on the faucet spout is likely clogged with particulates that are causing some of the holes to be clogged up which obstruct normal water flow through it. A little bit of this is tolerable but after time as it gets worse and worse from sediment and other foreign material in the water line system it can highly restrict flow and end up spraying all over the place. The fix is simple. The aerator is located on the very end of the faucet where the water comes out. To remove this the proper way is to find an open ended wench of the correct size and turn it to the left to loosen. One common problem I’ve seen is that the aerator on many water systems and faucets has never been removed so through the process of time corrosion byproducts, they are frozen in place causing the use of the correct size wrench to be ineffective. The next tool to use (as shown in the video) is a pair of channel lock pliers. The problem with using these is they completely wreck the finish on the outside of the component. One technique to avoid marring the finish is to try to wrap it in a cloth and grab it that way before you slap your channel locks on there. This isn’t always going to be 100% effective as some of them just require brute force. Once you’ve remove the aerator, clean it out and inspect it. Once all the particles are removed and your are happy that it’s not damaged then go ahead and reinstall it. One thing to keep in mind is that many of these are old and are prone to damage thereby allowing these particulates that they were designed to catch flow through into your glass (hopefully water filter). If you find that it’s bad, old or damaged, run down to the hardware store and pick up a new one. Many of them come standard but bring the old one with. you to match it up while you’re at the store. They are pretty cheap to replace so it’s not a big deal. The end result is happiness to the user. If you want to order one on amazon, here’s the link: https://amzn.to/2QfaRHI
In this video I got through the steps on unclogging a bathroom sink. Many times the problem can be a super easy fix that will require you to get your hands dirty. This will save you a couple hundred bucks though. In the case presented in this video I was able to unclog this bathroom sink just using a pair of cheap hemostats. I’ll post the link to some below but I must say, they are well worth what you may pay for them as they have many uses and I’ve used them to unclog numerous sinks over the years along with many other uses on various jobs.
DIYTechnician 