Washer’s center agitator stopped agitating

Our 2004 Kirkland clothes washer’s center agitator stopped agitating water like it should. I researched the web and found this is an easily fixed problem. From Amazon I ordered an “Upgraded 285811 Medium Cam Agitator Repair Kit” which will come the next day. ($9)

Unfortunately, the 7/16 bolt securing the agitator assembly is corroded to the point it could not be removed with a simple socket wrench. The bolt is recessed 6 inches which complicates the bolt’s removal if the socket slips on the corroded bolt head. I used a long drill bit and drilled a hole in the bolt head and used an easy-out to eventually remove the bolt. I also ordered a new bolt off Amazon for $8. (Part number 358237)

I received parts a day after I ordered them. The assembly pictures are poor but I was able to figure the assembly out. Now the upper portion of the agitator bushes the water in just one direction, as designed. 

Corroded bolt in center

Cleaned up agitator, broken parts on right.

New parts coming in repair kit. 

Easy-out with corroced bolt. (Replaced)

Copper Water line leak

 49 years after installing the copper water lines our house a very slight leak appeared in the basement. After searching I found the water line had a very minimal leak in the middle of a 2x8 floor joist leaving a six-inch wet spot on the ceiling of the basement. The leak was close to the hot water tank and was in the hot water line.

The location was naturally in a hard location to repair and it turned out to be difficult to get all the water out of the line making the last solder joint impossible to get water tight. After much heat even with a heat shield and scorching the 2x8 I still could not get a water tight joint.

I then tried a SharkBite ¾ to ¾ Slip Repair Coupling for the repair. Home Depot refers to their version from Tectite. Using this coupler and working in an awkward position, with my strength, I was unable to slide the coupler onto the 3/4 in pipe. I called JJ who obviously using extreme force was able to install the coupler which completed the repair.

I worked on this project for two days trying to get it right. Now the water line is water tight.

I drained the hot water tank some several times to try and get all the water out of the lines. While near the 49-year-old hot water tank I took the time to check the current of the elements and found the top element was drawing 8 AC amps while the bottom element is drawing 18 AC amps. (1,500 watts and 4,500 watts.) I replace the upper and lower thermostats in 2013.

SharkBite

Removed pipes

The minuscule leak is the green spot in middle of picture which was located in middle of 2x8 floor joist.

solar panels stopped producing power

Just at 4-years of service our solar panel inverter died. I received an email from the installing company that our solar panels stopped producing power on Dec 20, 2023. He said they could send someone out January 2, 2024 to replace the inverter under warranty replacement.

Today Ari came and spent 2 hours replacing the approximately $5,000 inverter and the remainder of the day trying to get the remote monitoring to work for us so we can see how much power we are producing. The solar panels and inverter are on the garage so it takes a somewhat powerful RF monitoring system. The new system that came with the new inverter did not seem to work, nor did the old one which worked with the bad inverter. He eventually got a system that uses the power lines to send the frequency containing the monitor information from the inverter to our computer. He did say it was a little intermittent however. The power company reads a meter which records the total power we create so we still get credit even if this monitoring system fails.

Ari says we can just check inverters the green light is on to ensure we are creating power. The failed inverter had a window and one could check how it was working at the inverter. It was a little clumsy for the owner to use however.

Our system has been flawless for 4 years so this failure came as a surprise. Maybe I should have suspected an issue as it is normal for us to pay only $7.50 a month for power for 5 of the summer months but the bill was only $7.50 in October and October was not that sunny. The system was working so well I had stopped monitoring after our last big trip. The company really was nice to work with and as far as I know we will owe them nothing. I am surprised our inverter failed. Maybe they are making them too fancy. Robust first, fancy second, I say.