Handy Hints & Great Goofs

Whenever I changed the oil in all the family cars, I always ended up experimenting two or three times to find the right wrench for the oil plug. I eliminated this confusion by marking the make of the car on its matching wrench. Now I can grab the right wrench and dive under the car with the confidence of a pit crew mechanic.

When we moved into our new home, we brought our refrigerator with us. When we tried to hook up the icemaker, we discovered there wasn’t a water line in the kitchen to tap into. I located a spot behind the refrigerator, drilled a hole in the floor and ran the tubing to the basement. The water heater was close, so I thought I’d tap into the water line there. I noticed three copper lines running to the water heater: two at the top and one near the bottom. I felt the lines to make sure I wouldn’t tap into the hot water and decided to use the one at the bottom, since it felt cold. I attached the saddle clamp to the line and screwed down the needle until it pierced the pipe. No water came through the line, so I went upstairs to make sure the icemaker was turned on.

After a few trips up and down the stairs, I smelled gas and realized that I’d tapped into the gas line. I told my wife and kids to get out of the house while I closed the saddle clamp, stopping the flow of gas. I called the gas company from the neighbor’s house. This goof was too close for comfort.