77
submitted 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) by Cuberoot@lemmynsfw.com to c/youshouldknow@lemmy.world

Because if it ices over, your furnace will stop working on the day^1^ you most needed it.

Flushing it out from the outside with a bucket of hot water and a pump similar to this one ^2^ will melt the ice and open up the drain and you will get heat again.

^1^ Day because if your freezing weather lasts much longer than that, your homebuilder probably engineered a house that could handle the cold. Unfortunately my house was built by southern rednecks who'd never heard of insulation.

^2^ Not an endorsement of any brand or retailer. Just make sure it has a long enough hose. That's what made it work better than some of the things I tried first.

top 12 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] Cuberoot@lemmynsfw.com 29 points 5 months ago

Yeah, I'm just proud of myself because I fixed my house like a big boy tonight. Don't worry, there's still plenty of problems with my shitty house, but tonight I have a warm shitty house.

[-] Albbi@lemmy.ca 4 points 5 months ago

Maybe you should build an outhouse. That should make your home less shitty.

For real though, fixing these sorts of things can make you wonder why you didn't know of it earlier, especially if it's so important! My air conditioner was able to keep the house cold, but was running a lot. My wife called a guy to take a look which kinda pissed me odd because it made me feel like I can't fix my own shit, and it's still working and this will just waste money.

Turns out the coolant was very low in the air conditioning unit and it needed to be recharged. Had no idea this could happen. Afterwards the air conditioner ran for a couple of hours a day instead of running for most of the day and night. Saved us a lot of money in energy costs and I got a bit of a lesson about pride in my home repair abilities. Sometimes it's ok to call someone.

[-] aubeynarf@lemmynsfw.com 2 points 5 months ago

for what it’s worth, coolant is not consumed by an air conditioner – the same initial charge can last 20+ years. Low coolant either means a leak, which the technician should have investigated and fixed or ruled out, or improper initial installation.

[-] Carighan@lemmy.world 23 points 5 months ago

I mean I get that this topc is inherently hot, but why is it marked not-safe-for-work? 😅

[-] Cuberoot@lemmynsfw.com 13 points 5 months ago

Because I didn't notice that. Edited.

[-] betterdeadthanreddit@lemmy.world 0 points 5 months ago

This is a home maintenance task. Depending on where you work and how the building is constructed, other equipment might be needed or it may be a completely different process. "Not safe for work" just indicates the possibility of a hazard here.

[-] TBi@lemmy.world 11 points 5 months ago

Regarding your comment on insulation. It’s amazing how many people don’t realise that insulation is important in cold and warm climates. Keeps the cold out or the heat out, reducing all bills!

[-] ieatpillowtags@lemm.ee 5 points 5 months ago

Agreed, first thing I did after moving into my house was adding a few inches of insulation in the attic. Amazing the difference in stabilizing the temperature.

[-] _haha_oh_wow_@sh.itjust.works 7 points 5 months ago

My condensation pipe goes... into the drain inside my house. Kinda sucks because I have to make sure it doesn't leak everywhere, but at least it can't freeze.

[-] aubeynarf@lemmynsfw.com 2 points 5 months ago

along these lines, you should also know about the condensate drain from your air conditioner – since water drips out of it all summer, it has a tendency to grow some algae or mold, and if it plugs up your air conditioner may flood and ruin your ceiling/walls/floor.

it’s worth paying that AC guy to come by every couple of years even if you’re not on their service plan.

[-] lemming741@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago

This post not made by 80% Furnace Gang

[-] SmoothLiquidation@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago

I just had this problem last weekend when it got to 10 degrees Fahrenheit in Seattle.

this post was submitted on 17 Jan 2024
77 points (97.5% liked)

You Should Know

31302 readers
170 users here now

YSK - for all the things that can make your life easier!

The rules for posting and commenting, besides the rules defined here for lemmy.world, are as follows:

Rules (interactive)


Rule 1- All posts must begin with YSK.

All posts must begin with YSK. If you're a Mastodon user, then include YSK after @youshouldknow. This is a community to share tips and tricks that will help you improve your life.



Rule 2- Your post body text must include the reason "Why" YSK:

**In your post's text body, you must include the reason "Why" YSK: It’s helpful for readability, and informs readers about the importance of the content. **



Rule 3- Do not seek mental, medical and professional help here.

Do not seek mental, medical and professional help here. Breaking this rule will not get you or your post removed, but it will put you at risk, and possibly in danger.



Rule 4- No self promotion or upvote-farming of any kind.

That's it.



Rule 5- No baiting or sealioning or promoting an agenda.

Posts and comments which, instead of being of an innocuous nature, are specifically intended (based on reports and in the opinion of our crack moderation team) to bait users into ideological wars on charged political topics will be removed and the authors warned - or banned - depending on severity.



Rule 6- Regarding non-YSK posts.

Provided it is about the community itself, you may post non-YSK posts using the [META] tag on your post title.



Rule 7- You can't harass or disturb other members.

If you harass or discriminate against any individual member, you will be removed.

If you are a member, sympathizer or a resemblant of a movement that is known to largely hate, mock, discriminate against, and/or want to take lives of a group of people and you were provably vocal about your hate, then you will be banned on sight.

For further explanation, clarification and feedback about this rule, you may follow this link.



Rule 8- All comments should try to stay relevant to their parent content.



Rule 9- Reposts from other platforms are not allowed.

Let everyone have their own content.



Rule 10- The majority of bots aren't allowed to participate here.

Unless included in our Whitelist for Bots, your bot will not be allowed to participate in this community. To have your bot whitelisted, please contact the moderators for a short review.



Partnered Communities:

You can view our partnered communities list by following this link. To partner with our community and be included, you are free to message the moderators or comment on a pinned post.

Community Moderation

For inquiry on becoming a moderator of this community, you may comment on the pinned post of the time, or simply shoot a message to the current moderators.

Credits

Our icon(masterpiece) was made by @clen15!

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS