[BlindHandyMan] garbage disposal
What do I need to know to install a garbage disposal? Obviously the size of the drain and stuff like that, but anything else more specific? Thanks. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: [BlindHandyMan] garbage disposal
As long as you already have power in place, there really isn't much to installing one if you can get past the pain of working in a tight area with a rather heavy and hard to hold piece. It's a good idea to get a new kit for under the sink. I like to run with 2 inch myself, especially knowing there is a disposal involved. You can pick up a kit at any of the box stores. It will have the 2 lines that run up to the sink basket, but if you get 1 for a disposal you only need the 1 vertical drop line. You also need to make sure the trap and rest of the lines out are the same size. Don't go big and step down in size or you will create a lot of extra pressure at that point. What can make this a pain is if you have a dish washer to plumb in as well. The drain kit will have a stem on some, and so will some disposals. If there is a stem on the disposal avoid getting one on the drain as well. An extra hole to fill. The hardest part is removing the old basket from the sink. They sell a tool that looks like a long socket with a couple hooks on the end. Some have a rod already in the other end, others include the rod and you keep track of it. The hooks will fit in the basket and then you will twist the rod to make the basket come loose. If you have a helper, it works nice for them to hold the rod while you go under the sink and tap the retainer ring loose. Once the basket is out of the way, you can figure out how the new basket goes in place. Have some plumbers putty or my favorite is still silicone sealer from the automotive world. Put a bead around the top side of the sink and set the basket in place. Most likely there will be a gasket that goes on the bottom side of the sink, followed by a retainer ring. You can use the gasket, but because I am so familiar with Murphy's law, I will still put a little sealer on the bottom side of the sink as well. Tighten the retainer ring and the fun can start. I can't tell you how to mount the disposal to the sink. There are several ways I've seen used and they are all a little different. Most common seems to have a spring and catch assembly that you have to thread part of on to the bottom of the basket. Then you twist the disposal until it snaps in place over the spring. There are usually about 3 screws to tighten to keep the unit from vibrating and twisting around. Now you can connect the pipes to the opening on the side of the disposal and to the other side of the sink. If you have a dish washer involved, tie it in now and run the water for a while to check for leaks. Finally put the wires together. Make sure to use the clamp that comes with the disposal to hold the house wires to the bottom of the disposal. Use wire nuts to connect the black with the black and white with white. Carefully stuff the wires in place and screw in the cap to cover the opening. If you made it this far, turn the water on and flip the switch. Listen to that new unit come to life. If nothing happens remember there may be kids around before you start preaching and try to figure out what went wrong... There may be a circuit breaker on the unit that needs pushed in before it will work the first time. Good luck - Original Message - From: Robert Riddle To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 6:26 AM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] garbage disposal What do I need to know to install a garbage disposal? Obviously the size of the drain and stuff like that, but anything else more specific? Thanks. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: [BlindHandyMan] garbage disposal
The one thing you will need the most of is patience. If you manage to pull off the installation with less than three trips to the hardware store, you are lucky. You will find that none of the pieces of pipe that you have, or that came in the kit, will line up, or are the same size, as what is currently under your sink. The ancient piece of crumbling pipe that disappears into the wall and into the stack, will defy all attempts to accept a fitting and will begin to crumble in your hand as you try. You will smash the back of your head on the cabinet frame at least twice as you are reaching in and out. You will wish for a third hand as you try to lift the disposal into place and try and line it up with the flange. Other than that, it is a piece of cake. -- Blue skies. Dan Rossi Carnegie Mellon University. E-Mail: d...@andrew.cmu.edu Tel:(412) 268-9081
Re: [BlindHandyMan] garbage disposal
Glad you pointed out what I forgot to say. Didn't want my message to be a total downer but I think this could append to the beginning with a line that says If you still want to try this And if the line crumbles before it goes into the wall, count yourself blessed. Many times as I put one in for someone it breaks inside the T inside the wall. You become real popular when you tell them, you didn't know that would happen and they'll have to put out a bit more money so the bad pieces can be replaced. When I remodeled my place in Charlotte last summer, I pulled the disposal out because I didn't want them calling me saying they don't know what happened but it doesn't work. We're not paying the rent until it works again. Last time it caused a problem some idiot dropped a fork into it while running and it got bent around and lodged,, locking it up tight. At Sears, people kept their MPA in place and instead of fixing them, Sears just replaced them. Before I left I knew of 2 customers that had models from 1990 and they had paid insurance all those years. But that's worth replacing after you pay for 18 years on something that only costs $150... - Original Message - From: Dan Rossi To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 9:25 AM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] garbage disposal The one thing you will need the most of is patience. If you manage to pull off the installation with less than three trips to the hardware store, you are lucky. You will find that none of the pieces of pipe that you have, or that came in the kit, will line up, or are the same size, as what is currently under your sink. The ancient piece of crumbling pipe that disappears into the wall and into the stack, will defy all attempts to accept a fitting and will begin to crumble in your hand as you try. You will smash the back of your head on the cabinet frame at least twice as you are reaching in and out. You will wish for a third hand as you try to lift the disposal into place and try and line it up with the flange. Other than that, it is a piece of cake. -- Blue skies. Dan Rossi Carnegie Mellon University. E-Mail: d...@andrew.cmu.edu Tel: (412) 268-9081 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: [BlindHandyMan] garbage disposal
Ah, a few other notes. If you connect the dishwasher to the disposal, be sure to get a piece of wire etc. and connect it to a bracket under the sink so it is higher than the point at which it connects to the disposal. Also, some disposals such as the Insinkurator (probably spelled wrong) on the models I've used have a ring assembly that mounts the unit to the underside of the sink. You have the sink basket and a triangular piece that is held on with a retainer ring. You have to get the unit up into place and twist the triangular piece to lock to the disposal. Now I know this is a useless description, but all I can tell you is you might want to have a large pair of pliers handy for pulling the ears together. Either way, I agree that you need some sealant top and bottom to avoid a possible leak. Have fun, I have done a few of these and managed to do it right after a lot of cursing. On Apr 10, 2009, at 8:12 AM, Bob Kennedy wrote: As long as you already have power in place, there really isn't much to installing one if you can get past the pain of working in a tight area with a rather heavy and hard to hold piece. It's a good idea to get a new kit for under the sink. I like to run with 2 inch myself, especially knowing there is a disposal involved. You can pick up a kit at any of the box stores. It will have the 2 lines that run up to the sink basket, but if you get 1 for a disposal you only need the 1 vertical drop line. You also need to make sure the trap and rest of the lines out are the same size. Don't go big and step down in size or you will create a lot of extra pressure at that point. What can make this a pain is if you have a dish washer to plumb in as well. The drain kit will have a stem on some, and so will some disposals. If there is a stem on the disposal avoid getting one on the drain as well. An extra hole to fill. The hardest part is removing the old basket from the sink. They sell a tool that looks like a long socket with a couple hooks on the end. Some have a rod already in the other end, others include the rod and you keep track of it. The hooks will fit in the basket and then you will twist the rod to make the basket come loose. If you have a helper, it works nice for them to hold the rod while you go under the sink and tap the retainer ring loose. Once the basket is out of the way, you can figure out how the new basket goes in place. Have some plumbers putty or my favorite is still silicone sealer from the automotive world. Put a bead around the top side of the sink and set the basket in place. Most likely there will be a gasket that goes on the bottom side of the sink, followed by a retainer ring. You can use the gasket, but because I am so familiar with Murphy's law, I will still put a little sealer on the bottom side of the sink as well. Tighten the retainer ring and the fun can start. I can't tell you how to mount the disposal to the sink. There are several ways I've seen used and they are all a little different. Most common seems to have a spring and catch assembly that you have to thread part of on to the bottom of the basket. Then you twist the disposal until it snaps in place over the spring. There are usually about 3 screws to tighten to keep the unit from vibrating and twisting around. Now you can connect the pipes to the opening on the side of the disposal and to the other side of the sink. If you have a dish washer involved, tie it in now and run the water for a while to check for leaks. Finally put the wires together. Make sure to use the clamp that comes with the disposal to hold the house wires to the bottom of the disposal. Use wire nuts to connect the black with the black and white with white. Carefully stuff the wires in place and screw in the cap to cover the opening. If you made it this far, turn the water on and flip the switch. Listen to that new unit come to life. If nothing happens remember there may be kids around before you start preaching and try to figure out what went wrong... There may be a circuit breaker on the unit that needs pushed in before it will work the first time. Good luck - Original Message - From: Robert Riddle To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 6:26 AM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] garbage disposal What do I need to know to install a garbage disposal? Obviously the size of the drain and stuff like that, but anything else more specific? Thanks. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: [BlindHandyMan] garbage disposal
hey Bob I want to get rid of my disposal, how should that be done on a double sink with a dishwasher as well? - Original Message - From: Bob Kennedy To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 5:12 AM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] garbage disposal As long as you already have power in place, there really isn't much to installing one if you can get past the pain of working in a tight area with a rather heavy and hard to hold piece. It's a good idea to get a new kit for under the sink. I like to run with 2 inch myself, especially knowing there is a disposal involved. You can pick up a kit at any of the box stores. It will have the 2 lines that run up to the sink basket, but if you get 1 for a disposal you only need the 1 vertical drop line. You also need to make sure the trap and rest of the lines out are the same size. Don't go big and step down in size or you will create a lot of extra pressure at that point. What can make this a pain is if you have a dish washer to plumb in as well. The drain kit will have a stem on some, and so will some disposals. If there is a stem on the disposal avoid getting one on the drain as well. An extra hole to fill. The hardest part is removing the old basket from the sink. They sell a tool that looks like a long socket with a couple hooks on the end. Some have a rod already in the other end, others include the rod and you keep track of it. The hooks will fit in the basket and then you will twist the rod to make the basket come loose. If you have a helper, it works nice for them to hold the rod while you go under the sink and tap the retainer ring loose. Once the basket is out of the way, you can figure out how the new basket goes in place. Have some plumbers putty or my favorite is still silicone sealer from the automotive world. Put a bead around the top side of the sink and set the basket in place. Most likely there will be a gasket that goes on the bottom side of the sink, followed by a retainer ring. You can use the gasket, but because I am so familiar with Murphy's law, I will still put a little sealer on the bottom side of the sink as well. Tighten the retainer ring and the fun can start. I can't tell you how to mount the disposal to the sink. There are several ways I've seen used and they are all a little different. Most common seems to have a spring and catch assembly that you have to thread part of on to the bottom of the basket. Then you twist the disposal until it snaps in place over the spring. There are usually about 3 screws to tighten to keep the unit from vibrating and twisting around. Now you can connect the pipes to the opening on the side of the disposal and to the other side of the sink. If you have a dish washer involved, tie it in now and run the water for a while to check for leaks. Finally put the wires together. Make sure to use the clamp that comes with the disposal to hold the house wires to the bottom of the disposal. Use wire nuts to connect the black with the black and white with white. Carefully stuff the wires in place and screw in the cap to cover the opening. If you made it this far, turn the water on and flip the switch. Listen to that new unit come to life. If nothing happens remember there may be kids around before you start preaching and try to figure out what went wrong... There may be a circuit breaker on the unit that needs pushed in before it will work the first time. Good luck - Original Message - From: Robert Riddle To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 6:26 AM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] garbage disposal What do I need to know to install a garbage disposal? Obviously the size of the drain and stuff like that, but anything else more specific? Thanks. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: [BlindHandyMan] garbage disposal
Yeah, and I learned a couple years back that you can't clean quail that still have bird shot in them in the kitchen sink and then run the disposal. I replaced it myself, and I'll never ever do that again. Bill Stephan Kansas Citty MO Email: wstep...@everestkc.net Phone: (816)803-2469 - Original Message - From: Bob Kennedy bobke...@bellsouth.net Date: Friday, April 10, 2009 9:52 am Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] garbage disposal Glad you pointed out what I forgot to say. Didn't want my message to be a total downer but I think this could append to the beginning with a line that says If you still want to try this And if the line crumbles before it goes into the wall, count yourself blessed. Many times as I put one in for someone it breaks inside the T inside the wall. You become real popular when you tell them, you didn't know that would happen and they'll have to put out a bit more money so the bad pieces can be replaced. When I remodeled my place in Charlotte last summer, I pulled the disposal out because I didn't want them calling me saying they don't know what happened but it doesn't work. We're not paying the rent until it works again. Last time it caused a problem some idiot dropped a fork into it while running and it got bent around and lodged,, locking it up tight. At Sears, people kept their MPA in place and instead of fixing them, Sears just replaced them. Before I left I knew of 2 customers that had models from 1990 and they had paid insurance all those years. But that's worth replacing after you pay for 18 years on something that only costs $150... - Original Message - From: Dan Rossi To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 9:25 AM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] garbage disposal The one thing you will need the most of is patience. If you manage to pull off the installation with less than three trips to the hardware store, you are lucky. You will find that none of the pieces of pipe that you have, or that came in the kit, will line up, or are the same size, as what is currently under your sink. The ancient piece of crumbling pipe that disappears into the wall and into the stack, will defy all attempts to accept a fitting and will begin to crumble in your hand as you try. You will smash the back of your head on the cabinet frame at least twice as you are reaching in and out. You will wish for a third hand as you try to lift the disposal into place and try and line it up with the flange. Other than that, it is a piece of cake. -- Blue skies. Dan Rossi Carnegie Mellon University. E-Mail: d...@andrew.cmu.edu Tel: (412) 268-9081 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: [BlindHandyMan] garbage disposal
That's a lot easier than putting one in. It still requires picking up a new drain package for under the sink because you will need the extra vertical drain pipe. Just ask the person to get you a set that has the stem for a dish washer drain. You will also need a new basket for the side where the disposal was. Either that or you'll be left with that funny set of rubber flaps and you'll be forever taking the pipes apart to pull stuff out that gets dropped in the sink. You can reverse the directions I and others have given to take the unit down. Just remember they weigh a good bit and you're not at the strongest position when you take it down. I'd put a wire not on each end of the house wires and tape them up. You may have a change of heart one day and want another disposal so I wouldn't cut them. - Original Message - From: Rodger Hood To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 12:11 PM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] garbage disposal hey Bob I want to get rid of my disposal, how should that be done on a double sink with a dishwasher as well? - Original Message - From: Bob Kennedy To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 5:12 AM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] garbage disposal As long as you already have power in place, there really isn't much to installing one if you can get past the pain of working in a tight area with a rather heavy and hard to hold piece. It's a good idea to get a new kit for under the sink. I like to run with 2 inch myself, especially knowing there is a disposal involved. You can pick up a kit at any of the box stores. It will have the 2 lines that run up to the sink basket, but if you get 1 for a disposal you only need the 1 vertical drop line. You also need to make sure the trap and rest of the lines out are the same size. Don't go big and step down in size or you will create a lot of extra pressure at that point. What can make this a pain is if you have a dish washer to plumb in as well. The drain kit will have a stem on some, and so will some disposals. If there is a stem on the disposal avoid getting one on the drain as well. An extra hole to fill. The hardest part is removing the old basket from the sink. They sell a tool that looks like a long socket with a couple hooks on the end. Some have a rod already in the other end, others include the rod and you keep track of it. The hooks will fit in the basket and then you will twist the rod to make the basket come loose. If you have a helper, it works nice for them to hold the rod while you go under the sink and tap the retainer ring loose. Once the basket is out of the way, you can figure out how the new basket goes in place. Have some plumbers putty or my favorite is still silicone sealer from the automotive world. Put a bead around the top side of the sink and set the basket in place. Most likely there will be a gasket that goes on the bottom side of the sink, followed by a retainer ring. You can use the gasket, but because I am so familiar with Murphy's law, I will still put a little sealer on the bottom side of the sink as well. Tighten the retainer ring and the fun can start. I can't tell you how to mount the disposal to the sink. There are several ways I've seen used and they are all a little different. Most common seems to have a spring and catch assembly that you have to thread part of on to the bottom of the basket. Then you twist the disposal until it snaps in place over the spring. There are usually about 3 screws to tighten to keep the unit from vibrating and twisting around. Now you can connect the pipes to the opening on the side of the disposal and to the other side of the sink. If you have a dish washer involved, tie it in now and run the water for a while to check for leaks. Finally put the wires together. Make sure to use the clamp that comes with the disposal to hold the house wires to the bottom of the disposal. Use wire nuts to connect the black with the black and white with white. Carefully stuff the wires in place and screw in the cap to cover the opening. If you made it this far, turn the water on and flip the switch. Listen to that new unit come to life. If nothing happens remember there may be kids around before you start preaching and try to figure out what went wrong... There may be a circuit breaker on the unit that needs pushed in before it will work the first time. Good luck - Original Message - From: Robert Riddle To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 6:26 AM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] garbage disposal What do I need to know to install a garbage disposal? Obviously the size of the drain and stuff like that, but anything else more specific? Thanks. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text
Re: [BlindHandyMan] garbage disposal
A valuable lesson in deed - Original Message - From: wstep...@everestkc.net To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 1:23 PM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] garbage disposal Yeah, and I learned a couple years back that you can't clean quail that still have bird shot in them in the kitchen sink and then run the disposal. I replaced it myself, and I'll never ever do that again. Bill Stephan Kansas Citty MO Email: wstep...@everestkc.net Phone: (816)803-2469 - Original Message - From: Bob Kennedy bobke...@bellsouth.net Date: Friday, April 10, 2009 9:52 am Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] garbage disposal Glad you pointed out what I forgot to say. Didn't want my message to be a total downer but I think this could append to the beginning with a line that says If you still want to try this And if the line crumbles before it goes into the wall, count yourself blessed. Many times as I put one in for someone it breaks inside the T inside the wall. You become real popular when you tell them, you didn't know that would happen and they'll have to put out a bit more money so the bad pieces can be replaced. When I remodeled my place in Charlotte last summer, I pulled the disposal out because I didn't want them calling me saying they don't know what happened but it doesn't work. We're not paying the rent until it works again. Last time it caused a problem some idiot dropped a fork into it while running and it got bent around and lodged,, locking it up tight. At Sears, people kept their MPA in place and instead of fixing them, Sears just replaced them. Before I left I knew of 2 customers that had models from 1990 and they had paid insurance all those years. But that's worth replacing after you pay for 18 years on something that only costs $150... - Original Message - From: Dan Rossi To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 9:25 AM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] garbage disposal The one thing you will need the most of is patience. If you manage to pull off the installation with less than three trips to the hardware store, you are lucky. You will find that none of the pieces of pipe that you have, or that came in the kit, will line up, or are the same size, as what is currently under your sink. The ancient piece of crumbling pipe that disappears into the wall and into the stack, will defy all attempts to accept a fitting and will begin to crumble in your hand as you try. You will smash the back of your head on the cabinet frame at least twice as you are reaching in and out. You will wish for a third hand as you try to lift the disposal into place and try and line it up with the flange. Other than that, it is a piece of cake. -- Blue skies. Dan Rossi Carnegie Mellon University. E-Mail: d...@andrew.cmu.edu Tel: (412) 268-9081 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[BlindHandyMan] installing garbage disposal
I did it once about 30 years ago. Since then there is a small appliance store, not a big box store, that will install a dish washer or garbage disposal for $50. It was probably the best $50 I ever spent. Even for the dish washer the charge includes delivery, installation and removal of the old one. --- Please visit my home page; it is motivational, inspirational and humorous with many resources for the blind. http://www.geocities.com/lenny_mchugh/ Lenny Send any questions regarding list management to: blindhandyman-ow...@yahoogroups.com To listen to the show archives go to link http://www.acbradio.org/pweb/index.php?module=pagemasterPAGE_user_op=view_pagePAGE_id=33MMN_position=47:29 Or ftp://ftp.acbradio.org/acbradio-archives/handyman/ The Pod Cast address for the Blind Handy Man Show is. http://www.acbradio.org/news/xml/podcast.php?pgm=saturday Visit The Blind Handy Man Files Page To Review Contributions From Various List Members At The Following address: http://www.jaws-users.com/JAWS/handyman/ Visit the archives page at the following address http://www.mail-archive.com/blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com/ If you would like to join the JAWS Users List, then visit the following address for more information: http://www.jaws-users.com/ For a complete list of email commands pertaining to the Blind Handy Man list just send a blank message to: blindhandyman-h...@yahoogroups.comyahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blindhandyman/ * Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional * To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blindhandyman/join (Yahoo! ID required) * To change settings via email: mailto:blindhandyman-dig...@yahoogroups.com mailto:blindhandyman-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: blindhandyman-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
Re: [BlindHandyMan] garbage disposal
You know I nearly forgot that it is important if your installing a disposal and you have the stem for the dishwasher, make sure you punch out the plug. There is a plug there for those installations, which do not involve a dishwasher and to neglect to do so will result in a very ugly surprise. Of course don't forget to remove the piece of whatever the plug is made of that will likely drop into the disposal after being punched out. I'm sure most folks would remember this, but it is something easy to forget. On Apr 10, 2009, at 2:10 PM, Bob Kennedy wrote: That's a lot easier than putting one in. It still requires picking up a new drain package for under the sink because you will need the extra vertical drain pipe. Just ask the person to get you a set that has the stem for a dish washer drain. You will also need a new basket for the side where the disposal was. Either that or you'll be left with that funny set of rubber flaps and you'll be forever taking the pipes apart to pull stuff out that gets dropped in the sink. You can reverse the directions I and others have given to take the unit down. Just remember they weigh a good bit and you're not at the strongest position when you take it down. I'd put a wire not on each end of the house wires and tape them up. You may have a change of heart one day and want another disposal so I wouldn't cut them. - Original Message - From: Rodger Hood To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 12:11 PM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] garbage disposal hey Bob I want to get rid of my disposal, how should that be done on a double sink with a dishwasher as well? - Original Message - From: Bob Kennedy To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 5:12 AM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] garbage disposal As long as you already have power in place, there really isn't much to installing one if you can get past the pain of working in a tight area with a rather heavy and hard to hold piece. It's a good idea to get a new kit for under the sink. I like to run with 2 inch myself, especially knowing there is a disposal involved. You can pick up a kit at any of the box stores. It will have the 2 lines that run up to the sink basket, but if you get 1 for a disposal you only need the 1 vertical drop line. You also need to make sure the trap and rest of the lines out are the same size. Don't go big and step down in size or you will create a lot of extra pressure at that point. What can make this a pain is if you have a dish washer to plumb in as well. The drain kit will have a stem on some, and so will some disposals. If there is a stem on the disposal avoid getting one on the drain as well. An extra hole to fill. The hardest part is removing the old basket from the sink. They sell a tool that looks like a long socket with a couple hooks on the end. Some have a rod already in the other end, others include the rod and you keep track of it. The hooks will fit in the basket and then you will twist the rod to make the basket come loose. If you have a helper, it works nice for them to hold the rod while you go under the sink and tap the retainer ring loose. Once the basket is out of the way, you can figure out how the new basket goes in place. Have some plumbers putty or my favorite is still silicone sealer from the automotive world. Put a bead around the top side of the sink and set the basket in place. Most likely there will be a gasket that goes on the bottom side of the sink, followed by a retainer ring. You can use the gasket, but because I am so familiar with Murphy's law, I will still put a little sealer on the bottom side of the sink as well. Tighten the retainer ring and the fun can start. I can't tell you how to mount the disposal to the sink. There are several ways I've seen used and they are all a little different. Most common seems to have a spring and catch assembly that you have to thread part of on to the bottom of the basket. Then you twist the disposal until it snaps in place over the spring. There are usually about 3 screws to tighten to keep the unit from vibrating and twisting around. Now you can connect the pipes to the opening on the side of the disposal and to the other side of the sink. If you have a dish washer involved, tie it in now and run the water for a while to check for leaks. Finally put the wires together. Make sure to use the clamp that comes with the disposal to hold the house wires to the bottom of the disposal. Use wire nuts to connect the black with the black and white with white. Carefully stuff the wires in place and screw in the cap to cover the opening. If you made it this far, turn the water on and flip the switch. Listen to that new unit come to life. If nothing happens remember there may be kids
Re: [BlindHandyMan] How to avoid Speaker Meltdown
Wow, we had a few parties at our house growing up that my folks never knew about, but we sure as hell never let things get out of hand. Well it was more like my sisters had the party and I either stayed around to make sure things stayed cool or came back to find they exercised good sense and only had a few friends. My kid would be paying for a really long time and I bet that will be the last party that girl ever has and certainly she'll have a real respect for speakers. Funny you mention the cut off circuits and such. My bass amp has a similar circuit mainly for the horn, but of course it is built to handle the lower frequencies, but I still wonder how it remains cool in such a box. On Apr 10, 2009, at 1:55 AM, Ray Boyce wrote: Friends recently returned from a couple of weeks away to find one of their teenagers had hosted a party during their absence. As well as discovering chipping in the kitchen's marble bench top and a missing iPod, they also found none of their hi-fi speakers were working. Speakers have delicate electrical windings behind their cones called voice coils. These are intricate little things that are surrounded by a fixed and usually very powerful magnet. The amplifier feeds electricity into the voice coils in varying amounts and the resultant electrical field drives the coil, which is connected to the cone, back and forth along the inside of the magnet. This moves the cone in and out, generating sound waves. The voice coil is, therefore, the very heart of the speaker. The voice coils inside these particular speakers had been reduced to gloop. They had melted and the bad news for my friends was that replacing voice coils is so complex and expensive that it's often best to throw away the speakers and buy new ones. Replacing melted voice coils can get so complex that lots of repairers don't want the work. It's often not just a matter of putting in a new voice coil. Frequently, the heat generated has also damaged components around the coil and, in some cases, melted the adhesives used in the speaker's construction. So why do voice coils melt? I wasn't at the party (it sounded like a ripper), but I suspect two things happened. First, someone cranked up the volume and, second, these being young people, someone turned up the bass as high as it would go. Most of the energy applied to a voice coil winds up as heat, which isn't a problem at normal listening levels when it can be dissipated by the air around it. But at high power levels, heat builds up faster than it can be dissipated and, if these high power levels are maintained, something's got to give. Usually, it's the voice coil. It melts, taking the insulation separating the windings along with it. Turning up the bass makes this happen faster. Speakers are placed in cabinets because the air inside the cabinet forms a natural suspension system for the cone as it punches in and out. This is why the internal volume of a cabinet has to be spot on, and varies from cone to cone, depending on its size and strength. But at very low frequencies, the air inside the cabinet provides little or no buffering, meaning there's nothing to stop the cone moving in and out as far as it can possibly travel. By turning up the bass all the way, the speaker is being directed to favour low frequencies over all others, so the cone works even harder. And things just keep getting hotter. Had anyone at the party been paying attention, they would have heard the danger signals. The speakers would have been distorting horribly, producing ragged, fuzzy bass that sounded ill-defined. Listening to it would have been uncomfortable. But maybe no one noticed, or maybe if anyone did and turned the music down, they were overruled by others. The teenager involved is working weekends to reimburse her parents and has discovered that speakers, while not at all cheap, have nothing on marble bench tops. Speaker safeguards When you're buying speakers, whether it be for the first time or to replace those that have been beaten to death, it's worth having a talk to a specialist supplier about how you're going to use them. If you often play music loud and long, finding speakers with sophisticated heat dissipation technology or automatic cut-outs is well worth the effort involved. Some speakers have sophisticated cooling provisions built in, such as vented pole pieces and heat sinks. Others have circuitry that shuts them down when they get too hot or energy levels get too high. They simply stop working until things return to normal. Some amplifiers and car stereos have a loud switch that increases bass. These are designed to emphasise bass notes at very low listening levels when they're at their weakest, but activating the switch at high volume can lead to all the problems we've
Re: [BlindHandyMan] garbage disposal
Great advice, my friend, thanks for this reminder. Talk later. - Original Message - From: Scott Howell To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 1:30 PM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] garbage disposal You know I nearly forgot that it is important if your installing a disposal and you have the stem for the dishwasher, make sure you punch out the plug. There is a plug there for those installations, which do not involve a dishwasher and to neglect to do so will result in a very ugly surprise. Of course don't forget to remove the piece of whatever the plug is made of that will likely drop into the disposal after being punched out. I'm sure most folks would remember this, but it is something easy to forget. On Apr 10, 2009, at 2:10 PM, Bob Kennedy wrote: That's a lot easier than putting one in. It still requires picking up a new drain package for under the sink because you will need the extra vertical drain pipe. Just ask the person to get you a set that has the stem for a dish washer drain. You will also need a new basket for the side where the disposal was. Either that or you'll be left with that funny set of rubber flaps and you'll be forever taking the pipes apart to pull stuff out that gets dropped in the sink. You can reverse the directions I and others have given to take the unit down. Just remember they weigh a good bit and you're not at the strongest position when you take it down. I'd put a wire not on each end of the house wires and tape them up. You may have a change of heart one day and want another disposal so I wouldn't cut them. - Original Message - From: Rodger Hood To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 12:11 PM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] garbage disposal hey Bob I want to get rid of my disposal, how should that be done on a double sink with a dishwasher as well? - Original Message - From: Bob Kennedy To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, April 10, 2009 5:12 AM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] garbage disposal As long as you already have power in place, there really isn't much to installing one if you can get past the pain of working in a tight area with a rather heavy and hard to hold piece. It's a good idea to get a new kit for under the sink. I like to run with 2 inch myself, especially knowing there is a disposal involved. You can pick up a kit at any of the box stores. It will have the 2 lines that run up to the sink basket, but if you get 1 for a disposal you only need the 1 vertical drop line. You also need to make sure the trap and rest of the lines out are the same size. Don't go big and step down in size or you will create a lot of extra pressure at that point. What can make this a pain is if you have a dish washer to plumb in as well. The drain kit will have a stem on some, and so will some disposals. If there is a stem on the disposal avoid getting one on the drain as well. An extra hole to fill. The hardest part is removing the old basket from the sink. They sell a tool that looks like a long socket with a couple hooks on the end. Some have a rod already in the other end, others include the rod and you keep track of it. The hooks will fit in the basket and then you will twist the rod to make the basket come loose. If you have a helper, it works nice for them to hold the rod while you go under the sink and tap the retainer ring loose. Once the basket is out of the way, you can figure out how the new basket goes in place. Have some plumbers putty or my favorite is still silicone sealer from the automotive world. Put a bead around the top side of the sink and set the basket in place. Most likely there will be a gasket that goes on the bottom side of the sink, followed by a retainer ring. You can use the gasket, but because I am so familiar with Murphy's law, I will still put a little sealer on the bottom side of the sink as well. Tighten the retainer ring and the fun can start. I can't tell you how to mount the disposal to the sink. There are several ways I've seen used and they are all a little different. Most common seems to have a spring and catch assembly that you have to thread part of on to the bottom of the basket. Then you twist the disposal until it snaps in place over the spring. There are usually about 3 screws to tighten to keep the unit from vibrating and twisting around. Now you can connect the pipes to the opening on the side of the disposal and to the other side of the sink. If you have a dish washer involved, tie it in now and run the water for a while to check for leaks. Finally put the wires together. Make sure to use the clamp that comes
Re: [BlindHandyMan] First aid for your computer
Great article, Ray, thanks for passing it along. Talk later. - Original Message - From: Ray Boyce To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2009 11:44 PM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] First aid for your computer Does your PC or laptop sometimes run slowly or freeze? Stick this article on the fridge: it could save your machine's life and your sanity, writes Dan Warne. If your computer has been running slower lately, no doubt you've sought help from friends, family and the IT people at work. Suggestions may range from the merely outdated have you defragged it? to the misinformed there's too many icons on your desktop . . . they're clogging it up or the fatalistic mate, nothing will fix it except blowing it away and starting again. We've all heard the lines and none of them are particularly helpful. In fact, the computer industry thrives on people who've been given bad advice, throw up their hands in despair and end up buying a new PC. Here are some ways to clear out your computer and get it back to optimal performance. Find stuck programs and kill them This is a technique you need to keep in mind at all times, because you'll need it frequently. Since modern PCs can run many programs at once, sometimes you won't notice when one is stuck. Worse, these programs will often consume more and more processing power, slowing down the rest of your computer. Fortunately, they are easy to find. On Windows XP or Vista, press Ctrl+Shift+Esc, which will bring up the Windows Task Manager. Click on the processes tab to see all the software running on your system. Click the CPU column heading to sort the column in descending order. This will show apps using the most CPU at the top. Look at the list for 30 seconds or so and if one is consistently using a very high percentage of CPU time, it might be a hung program. You can click on the process name and then the end process button to kill the troublesome app (note, this will instantly shut down the app and you won't have an opportunity to save any files). On a Mac, you can use the Activity Viewer to see hung apps. This is found in the Applications/Utilities folder. Open it up and click the CPU column heading until the applications are listed by their CPU usage, from highest to smallest. If one is consistently using a very high percentage of CPU time, it may be stuck and you can click on the program name then click the Quit Process button on the toolbar. Programs listed in red are ones that OS X has detected are hung (though this is not always accurate - sometimes a big app like iPhoto is just taking a long time to save its database and close down). Find apps that have been causing problems Most people don't know this but your computer keeps a log of just about everything you do. A lot of it looks like gobbledegook but it can surrender useful hints about what's going wrong. On Windows, to view the system log, go to Control Panel. If it says switch to classic view in the left column, click that. Then click administrative tools and then event viewer. In the event viewer that opens, select Application or System from the column on the left. You can then scroll down the log and look for warnings (yellow exclamation mark) or errors (red cross). Double-clicking on one of these entries will show you the detail of the error. It might not mean anything to you but you can search for the error wording on Google to find out what other people did to stop it from happening again. On a Mac, the app you need is called Console. It's found in the Applications/Utilities directory. In the left column, under the Log database queries heading, click All messages. This will show all log entries from all software on your computer. Scroll through the log file on the right-hand side. If you see an error message popping up frequently, you can search for the exact message in Google to see if someone else has a suggestion about what the problem is. Uninstall 'free' apps that came with your computer Some major computer makers love to load up their computers with free software (the truth is, they get paid for it by the software makers and this subsidises the cost of the computer so they can sell at a lower cost against other manufacturers). This free software can be annoying, pestering you to subscribe to the full version and may slow your computer down if it auto-loads at startup. This so-called crap-ware has annoyed so many people that there are specialised programs to help you delete free trials and other rubbish that comes on your computer. PC Decrapifier is a program that started as Dell Decrapifier and then spread its wings to cover other manufacturers' pre-loaded crap, too. You might have particular trouble getting rid of some security suites that really get their roots deep into the core of Windows. Symantec
Re: [BlindHandyMan] How to avoid Speaker Meltdown
As a speaker builder, things are going to happen. Either as from this article or even a pop or bang when someone is doing a live system change or any kind. (when not all is shut down replacing a wire or component; one must be very careful not to cause a horrible sound on that channel)(touch only plastic or covered parts and let tip touch before ring and so on). But one thing I always tried for, and recommended, is that when folks are spending money; real money (is there any other kind? I'll take it where I can find it and then when there's enough of it all in one place maybe it will become real) to always buy speakers bigger than the max output, or *undersize the equipment and go up one step in quality. If you can't do that, have your audio teck determine what size of light bulb to hang between every of the speaker terminal sets. Now, you can use them as an *idiot signal (so that someone with sens will see it and turn the power down) by mounting the bulb on the back top of the speaker; or you can get a bulb that will take the additional power and act as an elasticizer of the circuit and will be lit and bright and take all of the extra your speaker can handle. I know guys who do speakers for clubs; for the on stage apps and they all do this. I am not capable of figuring out the math honestly. So I go the route of: amplifier equals watts, double for speaker speaker equals power handling rms, half for amp. the first sign they missed was a snapping on the edge of the bass notes as the cone's over excersion point. was reached. tweeters can fry as easily, and often much quicker. A fried woofer will play slightly acceptably if not fully fried. A tweeter if less forgiving. The tweeter handling the higs is getting about 33% of the energy of the output of the amp. If replacing tweeters, use on that can handle half of the amp's output. Then even if the amp goes into osolation and screams full into the speakers, your speakers regular internal cross over components will save it. On Fri, 10 Apr 2009, Ray Boyce wrote: Friends recently returned from a couple of weeks away to find one of their teenagers had hosted a party during their absence. As well as discovering chipping in the kitchen's marble bench top and a missing iPod, they also found none of their hi-fi speakers were working. Speakers have delicate electrical windings behind their cones called voice coils. These are intricate little things that are surrounded by a fixed and usually very powerful magnet. The amplifier feeds electricity into the voice coils in varying amounts and the resultant electrical field drives the coil, which is connected to the cone, back and forth along the inside of the magnet. This moves the cone in and out, generating sound waves. The voice coil is, therefore, the very heart of the speaker. The voice coils inside these particular speakers had been reduced to gloop. They had melted and the bad news for my friends was that replacing voice coils is so complex and expensive that it's often best to throw away the speakers and buy new ones. Replacing melted voice coils can get so complex that lots of repairers don't want the work. It's often not just a matter of putting in a new voice coil. Frequently, the heat generated has also damaged components around the coil and, in some cases, melted the adhesives used in the speaker's construction. So why do voice coils melt? I wasn't at the party (it sounded like a ripper), but I suspect two things happened. First, someone cranked up the volume and, second, these being young people, someone turned up the bass as high as it would go. Most of the energy applied to a voice coil winds up as heat, which isn't a problem at normal listening levels when it can be dissipated by the air around it. But at high power levels, heat builds up faster than it can be dissipated and, if these high power levels are maintained, something's got to give. Usually, it's the voice coil. It melts, taking the insulation separating the windings along with it. Turning up the bass makes this happen faster. Speakers are placed in cabinets because the air inside the cabinet forms a natural suspension system for the cone as it punches in and out. This is why the internal volume of a cabinet has to be spot on, and varies from cone to cone, depending on its size and strength. But at very low frequencies, the air inside the cabinet provides little or no buffering, meaning there's nothing to stop the cone moving in and out as far as it can possibly travel. By turning up the bass all the way, the speaker is being directed to favour low frequencies over all others, so the cone works even harder. And things just keep getting hotter. Had anyone at the party been paying attention, they would have heard the danger signals. The speakers would have been distorting horribly, producing ragged, fuzzy bass that sounded ill-defined. Listening to it would have been
