Hot Water

Hot water is a nice luxury. We found this wisdom in a personal event yesterday. We were just ready to kick off our on-line Bible study and I went into the garage to retrieve a bottle of Orange Crush (blatant product placement) for one of our in-person guests.

I heard an ominous and disquieting “hissing” sound. This was not “snakes in a garage” for those of you who have watched our lesson. I began to reconnoiter. (Our military friends call this, “recon.”) I immediately noticed that the water heater was wet from the top down, and some boxes on an adjacent cabinet were soaking wet. A little bit of “feeling detective work” led to the positive conclusion that the leak was the supply pipe and not one of the pipes going into or out of the body of the heater.

Turning the shut off valve to “full off” terminated the hiss and the leak. PTL for small miracles. After finishing the study broadcast and fellowship time we ventured into the garage to assess the damage and the potential for repair. (Shameless product advertisement: The fellowship cake was a Pepperidge Farms fudge cake. Don’t you wish you had been there?)

I removed all of the “stuff” packed on top of the water heater and that stored around it and transported it outside. More on that later. Then with unhindered access to the supply pipe, I was able to ascertain that it indeed was a leak in the pipe where it underwent a sharp bent to reach the connection. Only need a supply tube and we are back in business.

Side comment. Bev asked if we should postpone the repair until the morning. “If you want to skip a bath or take a cold one,” I replied.

“Go ahead and fix it.”

A quick search through the reconfigured garage, (Thanks to my organized son) I discovered, to my delight, a brand new hot water supply hose in the drawer where it was supposed to be. (Another miracle? Garage Sale Supply INC came through again.) Guess where my first stop will be when I venture out today? Yep, Home Depot for another water supply hose which will replace the other one, which was installed at the same time the faulty one went into service.) (More product placement.)

The 1 1/8" nut on the hose stared at me as I rummaged through my large wrench kit. One inch, one and one quarter inch, but nothing in between And all of my crescent wrenches were scattered throughout various “job sites.” But I did find an adjustable large wrench which I have never had to use. It fits larger nuts, including 1 1/8" ones. Another miracle, thank You.

A few twists and both nuts were off, teflon tape attached to the ends of the pipes, and new hose nuts tightened to the “no leak” point. Hot water is now available. PTL.

Cleanup time. I glanced outside and decided that the bright moon in an only slightly cloudy sky meant that this stuff can wait until tomorrow to come back inside.

Fast forward to about 12:30 AM. Groggily I became aware of the pitter patter of rain on the roof. I slipped outside, not waking the sleeping wife next to me, and returned the perishable items to the shelter of the garage.

As I slipped back into bed, the pitter patter on the roof turned into a torrential downpour. Back in Nebraska, we called that type of precipitation “gully washers.” I slipped into a deep sleep until after 6:00 am. Thank you for the extra protection, Lord.

Oh yes. We did take a nice hot bath last night. Ahhhh.....