iFixit - Answers With Device "Home Construction"

Swimming pool: Repairing electric pump motor

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 11:19:41 -0700

I have an aquabot pool cleaner and pump motor stopped working. If you disassemble it the oil inside runs out. I really only need to know what type of oil to use to replace it. The 35V motor has 4 capacitors to jump start it. I have replaced the capacitors once before in my own machine without loosing the oil and reusing it. Successful long term repair accomplished. This one is a relatives of mine who lost the oil and I don't want to replace capacitors, only to ruin successful job by putting the wrong oil in it. Does anyone know what type of can be used in this motor?

⟐ Answered March 19, 2026 at 11:19 MST

Tesla Powerwall 3: Why do my electrical outlets crackle or buzz?

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 10:00:03 -0700

Why do some outlets make a crackling or buzzing sound?

⟐ Answered March 18, 2026 at 10:00 MST

Geberit (altes Modell) Toilettenspülung: My toilet is making a lot of noise when flushing

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 05:38:12 -0700

After flushing it sounds like it hums for too long afterwards

Water Heater: How is the unit supposed to be wired to prevent overheating at connect

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 01:22:04 -0700

The Rheem Essentials on-demand electric water heater (240v, 13kW) that I have does not come with a clear diagram or instructions for wiring properly to install it correctly, not in the owners manual nor is it available online, that I can find. Using the recommended 1x6 AWG wire and 60 AMP dedicated breaker, which wires get connected to which inside the unit to power which system functions? Outside of green to green for ground, instructions say only to "connect the wires"... Where do you connect specifically the red, black, and white wires?

⟐ Commented February 19, 2026 at 1:22 MST

Home Construction: How can l make pavers from plastic and sand

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 14:11:12 -0700

How do l make pavers from sand and plastic

Swimming pool: How can I effectively remove Leaves and algae from Swimming pool

Sun, 08 Feb 2026 23:53:24 -0700

My pool is filled with large amount of trashes. I have already used leaf gulper but i cannot completely get rid debris. Any effective way to clean them up.

⟐ Answered February 08, 2026 at 23:53 MST

CALENTADOR JUNKERS WR11-2: How do I fix the oven on this heater?

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 05:58:54 -0700

The candle is working but the heater's oven won't light.

⟐ Commented January 30, 2026 at 5:58 MST

Plumbing: Kitchen Plumbing Drainage Configuration

Tue, 06 Jan 2026 19:46:54 -0700

The piping under the kitchen sink seems to be less than effective. I’ve attached photos & would appreciate suggestions on how I can reconfigure. Thanks

⟐ Answer accepted January 06, 2026 at 19:46 MST

Faucet: cant tell what faucet part needs replacing, hoping just a set screw?

Fri, 02 Jan 2026 19:12:55 -0700

Hello, looking for advice on what part needs changing here, and how to go about getting that part. We have a great plumbing repair shop near us, and once I know what I need I should be good. Here's pix, any suggestions greatly appreciated!

⟐ Commented January 02, 2026 at 19:12 MST

Blind: How do you fix uneven blinds?

Mon, 29 Dec 2025 11:02:41 -0700

Every time I pull on the cord, one side of the blinds goes up before the other. The strings seem to be pretty tangled. Is there a way to fix this, without ending up in a pile of string?

⟐ Commented December 29, 2025 at 11:02 MST

Water Heater: Water heater not heating - RESOLVED

Fri, 26 Dec 2025 07:34:55 -0700

We have a GSW 3000W water heater which is not heating the water at all.

I checked some answers here and went through some checks.

We get power to both screws on both upper & lower elements.

I checked both elements for resistance and got readings of 19.6 on both.

I checked the resistance of the upper element, screws to heater body and no indication of resistance.

I have replaced the upper thermostat.

What else could be the problem?

Thank you,

Dave

⟐ Commented December 26, 2025 at 7:34 MST

Faucet: How to stop a dripping faucet

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 13:36:34 -0700

How to stop the faucet from dribbling water?

Every sink in my house drip's water! Please inform me on how to fix my dribbling faucet's. Its wasting so much water especially since we ,Califotnian's are in a huge water drought. Thank you

⟐ Commented December 17, 2025 at 13:36 MST

Water Heater: Richmond electric ECO water heater not heating - RESOLVED

Sun, 14 Dec 2025 10:35:46 -0700

I have a Richmond 12E50-DEC 50 gallon water heater which has digital controls in which after powering off/on with the circuit breaker can be set to heat, but oly powers the upper electric element fo around 1 minute, then the digital control disables the voltage to the heater element. Lower element never gets voltage applied.

Both elements are both 11.5 ohms and appear to be good. Am attempting to remove and measure the thermocouple but using the digital diagnostic, I observe lower on at 54 F and upper at 77F, so are somewhat reasonable values for a tank that was at room temperature and then had some water come in from the well into the lower chamber.

I understand that these controls me only turn on one heater element at a time which would explain the upper element getting voltage for 30 seconds or a minute but then unclear why the control with turn off the heat without posting any kind of error code as there are no codes in the history.

Any help would be appreciated.

Called Richmond (Rheam) customer service.The representative felt this was likely a faulty digital circuit board since no error codes were being posted in the history and due to the behavior observed where the upper element was powered for about a minute after a power cycling off/on using the circuit breaker. Service person advised me that the upper heater element would normally be powered for about 20 minutes before switching power to the lower heater element.

New circuit board being sent free of charge under the 12 year parts warranty.

⟐ Commented December 14, 2025 at 10:35 MST

Garage Door Opener: Jerking upon opening garage initially

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 03:17:56 -0700

Lately, when I go to open my garage door, it jerks and then stops. I have to then close it and start again to open it. What could cause it to do this?

⟐ Commented December 09, 2025 at 3:17 MST

Electrical: How to wire a doorbell

Tue, 02 Dec 2025 16:55:16 -0700

Installing a new doorbell and I need a device to send a 'tone' through the low voltage wiring to identify where the wire lands.

⟐ Answered December 02, 2025 at 16:55 MST

Multipoint Door Lock: How do I reverse the direction of the lock tongue?

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 08:55:43 -0700

What I mean by tongue here is the part that goes in and out when the door is opened or closed.

⟐ Answered November 20, 2025 at 8:55 MST

Plumbing: How do I disconnect my shower drain?

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 09:19:35 -0700

I've got a bathtub/shower that drains incredibly slowly. I've tried what's suggested here to no avail. Fortunately I'm able to get to the plumbing, but some of it's quite rusted and I can't seem to get it apart. Here's the entire contraption:

And here it is after successfully removing what looks like an overflow pipe (that actually isn't going anywhere anymore):

The above photos are two different angles of the same thing.

Any suggestions on how to get this contraption apart so I can clean the trap?

Update 11/9/16:

I was able to cut out the old cast iron trap with a sawzall:

It's a wonder that things drained at all:

However, there wasn't enough room to fit a flexible trap back in. I was able to put in a 90 degree elbow with flexible 1 1/2" pipe, but the elbow plus the flexible trap is far too large to fit into the available space. Is it ok to not have a trap, or do I need to figure out how to get a trap added back in? I do now have a mesh screen in the tub that I'd assume will catch hair and any other large items and prevent them from going down the drain. Any thoughts from plumbing experts?

⟐ Answered November 18, 2025 at 9:19 MST

Hot Tub: heater to spa pack hook up

Fri, 07 Nov 2025 09:00:11 -0700

i bought a new energy saver spa pack for my hot tub , everything hooked up but i can not get the heater wires to connect properly it don’t plug it there are screws for it , the wires on my heater are green and yellow , blue , and brown i am unsure the order they should connect on my spa pack it is a 110 plug and play hot tub please help i would like for it to heat as well and just work. thank you

⟐ Answer edited November 07, 2025 at 9:00 MST

Toilet: Installed new Korky quietfill kit w/ flapper, now doesn't flush down

Wed, 05 Nov 2025 17:44:35 -0700

I recently installed a new korky quietfill complete kit in a old toilet because the previous system was getting stuck running and I've used one of these before in my other bathroom. But the new system no matter what I try to adjust no longer let's the water flush down enough to move solid waste everytime. The only thing I had not replaced was the handle. Any ideas on what could be wrong?

Well I thought I had it fixed.

I had soaked all the rim jets and siphon jet with CLR and for a few flushes, it worked. So I'm guessing the issue is build-up of rust when taking the tank apart must have gotten into the bowl jets and is effecting their output.

⟐ Answer accepted November 05, 2025 at 17:44 MST

Plumbing: How do I fix a leaky sink pipe?

Sat, 25 Oct 2025 05:13:29 -0700

The pipes under my kitchen and bathroom occasionally leak. The wood is damaged. Tired of having my towels and toilette paper soaked.

Thank you for your response to fixing the sink pipes. Plumbing problem, that I see is directly under the sink. The pipes are of different materials. The stem of the sink looks like copper since it has blueish tarnish on it. The curvy parts are PVC with wings to help screw it in.

In the bathroom, I took the pieces apart, cleaned them, put a white plumbers tape around the screw-on grooves and hand tightened the ensemble. Should I have done more? I want to fix it not just "Mickey" it.

⟐ Answered October 25, 2025 at 5:13 MST