Replacing our other Arc Fault Breaker

Our home was build in 2008, so we only have 2 arc fault breakers that supply the bedrooms.  I replaced our master bedroom breaker in January since we were having trouble with it tripping with our projector.

Then this summer Nick built a computer and it was tripping the breaker for the kids rooms.  So he ran an extension cord from the laundry room and that has been that for a couple months.

I finally got around to buying a new breaker for the kids room and put that in today.  Now I just need him to clean up the extension cord and hopefully everything will work fine!

RO Water Filter

 Jen has been wanted an RO filter for awhile.  We have some trace amounts to arsenic and other stuff in the water so she thinks it would be a good idea.

I purchased the system about 6 months ago, so it is probably time to install it :)

I choose to install it in the basement and not under the sink for ease of access and to be able to continue to use the area under the sink to store way too much stuff.

The system we got had pretty good directions and overall the system was pretty easy to install.  It takes a very long time for the water to filter, which is why you get the pressure tank.

We went with the 6 stage filter with the alkaline replacement filter at the end.  I had to buy a longer water line to get up to the sink on the first floor.  Not looking forward to filter replacements.

The water tastes fine, Jen seems happy.  The place I noticed the biggest difference was with the ice cubes, they come out much more clear.  We had a soap dispenser in the hole that we repurposed, so I kind of miss that.  Perhaps it is time to try drilling a hole in granite :)

Brake Pad says what!

 The brake pads on the van were making a lovely grinding sound, so I ordered up some new ones.  I decided not to replace the rotors since we are planning to purchase a new van sometime in the not too distant future.

I always have to re-remember how to do it and watch a video but it went pretty well.  Nick helped out on the second one.  Van seems to still stop and the grinding is gone, so success!

It is pretty amazing how much of the pads we used, probably should have gotten to it earlier, but the grinding has only been going on for a week or so.  Not sure why 1 pad still had more wear left on it.

Cabin Weekend

 We came back from the cabin last night, we put all the lifts and boats in and I was able to finish up the bathroom project.  Hinges on cabinets are hard...  Especially when retrofitting.  We used Discovery+ instead of the dish while we were up there.  We just need to figure out how to get the local channels and Jo could cancel her dish network.

Hot Day, Put up the Pool!

I put the pool up on Saturday (by myself! no mean task).  Then we filled the pool Saturday and Sunday.  It actually filled up pretty fast in my opinion.  We probably just let it fill longer than in the past (we like to give the well pump breaks).  Then today we went out and picked up the sand and muriatic acid.

It is just starting to take on that brown color, tomorrow morning it will look really disgusting.  But in a week or so it will hopefully be crystal clear.  Chemistry it amazing!

Nicks Birthday Computer

 All Nick wanted for his birthday was a new computer.  Since the newest computer in our house is from 2013 I think it is probably time.  He is doing some amazing things on there and it would help him out to have a little more power.

Luckily Jen cousin was around to lend a hand, since I haven't built a computer in a long time.  Still pretty much the same, but reassuring to have more eyes on the process.

Everything went well and Nick is happy with the new blazing performance.  No GPU's to be had at this time, so we had to go with integrated graphics for now.  But still a massive upgrade!

A Water Softener for the house

 We have been in our house for 12 years now.  We really like our water, but we get a build up of calcium around the faucets and on the showers.  We also occasionally get some iron in our water, and when you open up the pipes it is very evident that some iron settles in there.  So we thought we would give a softener a try and see what happens.

The installation when pretty smooth, just followed the directions.  I also had to replumb the kitchen sink, since that line came from the left side of where the softener was going.  You can see the new 1/2 line going up right after the softened water comes out.

We also installed the shut off valve on the left there so I had to cut into that line as well since I wanted the shutoff to be upstream of the outside faucets.

The drains from the softener I wanted to keep out of the way, so I join them with the 3/4 inch pvc and run them to the drain (it is the same material as from the furnace).

We have had it running for about a week now and we are pretty pleased with it.  The phone app seems to work pretty well, though it is pretty spartan.  I wish you could see more history on it.  Dishes seem easier to clean and the taste isn't too bad, but we are going to get a RO system which my wife has wanted for a long time.