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Message started by babyhog on 01/28/11 at 12:51:45

Title: Listen
Post by babyhog on 01/28/11 at 12:51:45

Not directly motorcycle related... but I do have a point. Bear with me, if you want.

For the last couple of days, I had been hearing a strange sound, mainly when I was in my master bathroom, on the back side of the house. It just so happens to be above the furnace. It sounded like water running, but also had a whooshing sound, like air blowing, so I asked hubby to listen. He thought it was the emergency heat blowing, since its been so cold. Anyway, I still had this sense of something being not right. I checked every fawcet, toilet, shower, and sink in the house. Nothing. The past 2 mornings, I noticed the pressure of my shower didn't seem quite as strong either. So... I turn the thermostat down so the furnace would kick off. I still hear it. So I open my back door... and still hear the water. We have a greenhouse that sits uphill and out from the house, with underground line, to a spigot up there. There are valves down by the back door of the house, so I reached down through the snow and turned the valve. Eureka, I found it. Yes, the spigot at the greenhouse had blown off, and the valve was open, spewing water full blast. For probably the last 2 or 3 days. (I was up there last Sunday, and I know it was now spewing then, but I can't exactly pin down how long its been going on).

I have city water, so its hard to tell how many thousands of dollars my water bill will be. I called and they said I had to come in and fill out a "leak adjustment" request and they would review it, and adjust my account. She said they rarely deny one, so I hope like he11 they adjust it all.

Moral of the story... trust your ears and your instincts... when at home, when riding... all the time. At least do some investigating!!
(And as a side note, for you guys who think your woman is crazy when she hears something, humor me and do some checking on it!)

Title: Re: Listen
Post by verslagen1 on 01/28/11 at 13:08:07

I learned a long time ago, not to discount someone's opinion due to race, creed or species. you're a darn cute venutian, and if I didn't know better, I'd swear I heard you speak martian.

Title: Re: Listen
Post by bill67 on 01/28/11 at 13:09:22

If you were trying to make snow you will have to pay for that water

Title: Re: Listen
Post by kimchris1 on 01/28/11 at 14:52:30

Best of luck Piglet with the adjustment to your water bill. Around here if that happened it would be on the home owner. Water company is responsible for anything that has to do with their line. Your own personal leaks are your responsibility.
A gal I worked with couple years ago, had a leak at her faucet. Lost a lot of water as both her and hubby were at work. Water company came out and turned it off. Couple were responsible as was found to NOT be the fault of company's lines or fittings.
The couple had to pay the bill.
Let us know what happens. Your quiet the detective.. Hugs.. kim :)

Title: Re: Listen
Post by sluggo on 01/28/11 at 16:19:16

i HAd a simular event execpt it was a line under my farm house.
i spoted it the same way.

good catch.

Title: Re: Listen
Post by babyhog on 01/28/11 at 16:29:01

I've learned enough martian to get myself in trouble! haha Good with plumbing, stay away from electric!

Kim, she told me since the line was outside, they would probably help me with it. I'm optimistic, but still not certain. Lived here 5 years without any other incidents, so maybe they will have mercy on me.

Sluggo, did the water company make you pay for it? I would guess its fairly common in this kind of weather. A guy at work said he had a line bust (hot water) under his house in the crawl space just a few weeks ago. Had a cold shower or two and knew something must be wrong. Was building a pond under the house. Luckily mine shouldn't cause any issues.

Title: Re: Listen
Post by Boule’tard on 01/28/11 at 16:40:05

I had a water line freeze and bust under the house one time. It was an obvious and loud break, but I was away at the time and didn't catch it right away. When the bill came, the city knew what was up. Since the bill was much higher than average, it was marked "Reflects the recent freezes." I brought it in and they reset it to the average amount, a savings of about $150.

Title: Re: Listen
Post by sluggo on 01/28/11 at 17:24:14

5C5F5E53514B320 wrote:

yeah i had to pay, it's on a 43 hook up private system that we all own, so it wasn't that bad. more just the mess of the whole thing.. still not finished.

Title: Re: Listen
Post by stinger on 01/29/11 at 23:59:23

This past year my house was hit by a lightning strike. Well, not actually the house but our septic tank. Burnt out the pump and emergency alarm system that lets us know when the tank is full. Did not realize it until our basement had filled up with maybe 400 gallons of sewage. I was gone for a few days. What a shock when I opened the door to the basement! Crap was going thru the walls by then. Thank God for home insurance! Total cost was a bit over $30,000 to replace walls. floor, doors, carpeting etc.

Title: Re: Listen
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 01/30/11 at 05:09:52

Talk about crappin in yer nest!

Title: Re: Listen
Post by EJID on 02/01/11 at 14:52:35

I actually work in the accounting department of a city water company and we deal with this all the time (especially when our current nighttime temps have been around 3⁰)
We require a similar leak adjustment letter and we only write off 1/2 of the actual leak. A broken spigot can easily spew 100,000 gallons in a few days. Best to catch those things as soon as possible. :(

Title: Re: Listen
Post by babyhog on 03/03/11 at 07:00:09

Well, I finally got my new water bill. Surprisingly, it was only $257. It usually runs anywhere in the $60-70 range, so it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. Even if they only adjust 1/2 of the extra, I'm still not out thousands of dollars like I imagined. Granted, I'm not happy about the extra money, and hopefully they will adjust quite a bit of it, but I am relieved that it wasn't any worse.

Do we have any people in the Atlanta area? I was reading a story about a problem with the electronic reading systems there, and households were getting water bills in the thousands! Hope they get that all sorted out.

Title: Re: Listen
Post by mick on 03/03/11 at 09:09:27

It's so nice to have a well with crystal clear water,makes the best tea you ever tasted, and coffee too I guess.

Title: Re: Listen
Post by splash07 on 03/03/11 at 09:49:30

I agree that the best tea in the world is made with well water. I can even drink un-sweet tea if its made with well water.

Title: Re: Listen
Post by Boofer on 03/03/11 at 12:29:54

babyhog, There is a frostproof spigot that stands vertical from the ground. You could put it inside if you have a dirt floor in your greenhouse. It comes in different heights, but the actual valve is buried below the frost line. When you turn it off the water drains through a gravel bed you put in the bottom of the hole. No freeze. Valve costs around $60-100 at Tractor Supply, hardware stores, farm suppliers and on line. Just a thought. Boofer

Title: Re: Listen
Post by John_D FSO on 03/03/11 at 18:17:42

614C4C454651230 wrote:

Everyone back in Nebraska has those, they work great. Unless the connecting rod that goes down to the bottom is out of adjustment or the valve in the bottom goes bad and it doesn't quite turn all the way off, leaving the pipe with water in it above ground. Dad had one end up with about a 2' split in the pipe above ground. First time we turned it on, there was water sprayin' everywhere! ;D

Title: Re: Listen
Post by babyhog on 03/04/11 at 05:53:57

Thanks for the suggestion Boofer. I'll look into that. The greenhouse is on a concrete pad (was a basketball court when the house was built) but the water source is off the side of the pad, so your suggestion just might work well. Currently, its just a vertical pipe sticking up about 3' above ground level with the spigot attached, all strapped to a wooden post.

I went this morning and filled out the adjustment form, explained what happened. The board meets on the 14th and decides whether to credit or not, or how much to credit, or whatever. They will supposedly call me after they meet.

Title: Re: Listen
Post by Boofer on 03/04/11 at 13:58:31

John D, not sure about these, but most frostproof faucets specify that the garden hose, water hose, hose pipe (Have to cover too many states with what it's called) be off to permit water to drain out correctly.

Title: Re: Listen
Post by John_D FSO on 03/04/11 at 15:16:21

674A4A434057250 wrote:

You are correct. He figured out the problem was that enough water was seeping past the valve that was down below the frostline that it was coming in faster than it could drain off, and leaving the pipe filled up above ground level. Easy enough to adjust it and tighten things up, then take the welder to the pipe to fix the split. As far as I know he's still got the same pipe on it over 20 years later. ;D