The dawg lives!
posted in Miscellaneous |(Because Kris asked!)
And the poop is now returning to its normal look and texture.
I love living in a time and place where we have such things as antibiotics. They’ve saved my sanity (numerous sinus infections) (numerous child-with-a-need-for-antibiotics occasions) (numerous husbandly illnesses of one sort or another). And now they’ve pulled the dawg out of bloody hell and back to his normal self.
In other words, when the plumber arrived to fix the water heater (I still say "hot water heater", so sue me), the dawg had to be confined to the bedroom, where he yelped and barked and generally carried on.
You will be interested to know, no doubt, that Whirlpool Corporation performed a recall on the thermocouple assembly for our particular model of water heater after being hit by a lawsuit. The lawsuit was not because of a possibility of explosions in the middle of the night. It was not because of a possibility of gas leaking through the household in the middle of the night. It was not because of the possibility of phalanges breaking and sending gouts of water through the basement/garage in the middle of the night.
No. It was because people were sick and tired of finding out, after the hot water disappeared due to a bad thermocouple, that Whirlpool had deliberately designed this model (and others) so it required a specific, left-threaded thermocouple. Unlike all the other water heater manufacturers had happily gone to "universal" modules. In other words, "easily replaceable" modules.
Unlike our water heater’s thermocouple module. Which had apparently angered a multitude of homeowners and plumbers to the point where they sued, because the homeowners and plumbers wouldn’t be able to get the right piece, and the homeowners and plumbers would fiddle, twiddle, and twist the incorrect piece until it fit. Which was kinda dangerous, in the long run.
In short: No hot water since Sunday morning. One phone call to plumbers this a.m. Plumber dude with eyebrow stud arrives. Plumber dude removes thermocouple only to discover it’s this weird left-threaded dingus. Plumber dude goes to Lowe’s to get one-and-only-remaining-left-threaded thermocouple in 60 mile radius (which Lowe’s gave to him gratis as it was a demo model). Plumber dude returns. OAORLTT turns out to be defective. Plumber dude consults with dad. Dad arrives. Dude and dad spend time peering at various parts and cussing out Whirlpool. Dad calls his Sekrit Source. Sekrit Source says to call Lowe’s, as it’s the only source. Lowe’s, when given model number, informs plumber dad that it’s our lucky day and they have the replacement unit waiting for our particular model and serial number, and it has been waiting since the recall. Dad and dude go to Lowe’s. Dad and dude return. New thermocouple unit goes into water heater. Hey presto: hot water. AND! Dad and dude charge us for only one plumber, one hour, because that’s all it should have taken to begin with.
Woot.
No doubt when the moose returns to eat more of our Nice Green Grass in the middle of the "night", when we are doing our best to sleep through the gloaming, the dawg will bark his head off and keep us awake.
Such are the modern miracles of medicine. At least we’ll be able to shower in the morning.
