homebuying fun (caution: stupidly wide .jpg)

[Todd Black 88]

If there is no hot water everywhere, then yes, check the tank pilot.

[2mAn]

why do all the problems only affect my wife? I was fine this morning but just got a text from my wife saying both showers had only cold water.

What do I need to check on the water heater to fix this? sounds like the pilot is out, right?

[DealinDave@Blunttech.com]

hopefully once this "moving-in round" of stuff is out of the way, I can get my garage hooked up and I will share all of that fun.

I've been saying that since we moved into our house 2 years ago lol

[2mAn]

Nothing wrong with the toilet from that picture... though that flush handle looks pretty well "worn." ;)

That's a very common (and appears newer, <2yrs old) flush valve. Whoever installed it set the water level WAY too low. You need to raise the float using that long plastic screw on the arm. You can see where the water line should be by looking at the calcified green line on that tank. Looks like you are getting only about 1/2 as much water per flush as you are supposed to. Yeah, that will cause a lack of flushing power. :)

Congrats, and welcome to home-ownership. Warning: they are every bit of a money/time suck as E30's are. And like E30's, things like to fail in 2's or 3's.

Thank you!

That seems easy enough, I will give that a shot... hopefully once this "moving-in round" of stuff is out of the way, I can get my garage hooked up and I will share all of that fun.

[Schnitzer318is]

Next up is the toilet... heres whats in the tank



the toilet flushed perfectly fine the first time then the second one got kind a week I just left it at that. Not sure its even worth fixing, unless you guys see something obvious.

Nothing wrong with the toilet from that picture... though that flush handle looks pretty well "worn." ;)

That's a very common (and appears newer, <2yrs old) flush valve. Whoever installed it set the water level WAY too low. You need to raise the float using that long plastic screw on the arm. You can see where the water line should be by looking at the calcified green line on that tank. Looks like you are getting only about 1/2 as much water per flush as you are supposed to. Yeah, that will cause a lack of flushing power. :)

Congrats, and welcome to home-ownership. Warning: they are every bit of a money/time suck as E30's are. And like E30's, things like to fail in 2's or 3's.

[2mAn]

homebuying fun (caution: stupidly wide .jpg)

Thanks for the advice everyone!

Buying a condo wasn’t what I had in mind but it’s in Inglewood which is expected to be a hot spot as a on t of things are happening here, so hopefully that pans out and place #2 down the road can be an actual home. That said, I’m pretty excited to get my garage setup done. There’s an HOA here but they seem to be a bit hands-off. I’m going to try and get on the board so that they don’t do stupid shit. The head of the board seems to be an airhead so I feel like I need to do this

Congrats Nick!

[flyboyx]

The outlets being together is fine. Was okay with codes at one point of life.

Now the toilet someone has installed a new valve slash fill controller. they probably said it below the normal level so that's why you don't have enough water flushing him to the toilet leaving the toilet remains there. Google search the product of what the controller is and simply just tell out more water and possibly fat a faster rate of water to fill the tank. That should take care of your issue.

well Simon, it sounds like you have the electrical figured out. as to the toilet, it appears to me that someone put new parts in the tank in an attempt to fix the same problem that you are having with it. the secret is that cheap toilets are sometimes worthless pieces of shit. what ever you do, don't buy an American standard toilet. they are absolutely worthless.

325's advice about buying the 90.00 unit at Sams club is probably sound. I have never used that one personally, but if he has used several of them with great results, that would be good enough for me. Personally, I usually just go to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore and buy a used Kohler or Toto. they literally make the best. if I am in a rush, I buy a new Kohler from Lowes or Home Depot. I do think the Sams club toilet will make all your wildest dreams come true. you can install it yourself by watching a vid or two on youtube.

so replace the toilet. if it still has a problem flushing, the issue is probably your vent system. I did a flip one where there was a dead rat stuck in the vent pipe causing a toidie to get stuck.

congratulations on your new place. same goes for you NickS. it really sucks to buy real estate in such expensive markets as you guys live. my wife and I are thinking about moving to Austin which is about the same but perhaps a little less.

[fight4life28]

The outlets being together is fine. Was okay with codes at one point of life.

Now the toilet someone has installed a new valve slash fill controller. they probably said it below the normal level so that's why you don't have enough water flushing him to the toilet leaving the toilet remains there. Google search the product of what the controller is and simply just tell out more water and possibly fat a faster rate of water to fill the tank. That should take care of your issue.

[2mAn]

That’s the gfi. Yours is in your breaker box.

When you say the toilet has a weak flush the second time, what exactly do you mean?

Did you wait for the tank to completely refil?

The gfi measures for voltage leakage to ground, but it trips at notoriously low levels and are common issues. They will sometimes trip if using the outlet at high moisture levels, like after a hot steamy shower.

If it trips randomly, chances are it’s the gfi in the breaker box itself. If there was an issue in the outlets, it would trip instantly when using it.


20 year home owner, licensed plumber, b ticket gas fitter with HE electrical ticket

Yea it looks like they have it hooked up to the bathroom outlets together, so I guess I wont worry about it until it becomes a reoccuring problem..

I waited until the toilet fills back up, but when I flush I have to hold the lever waiting for it to empty , it just doesnt seem very happy to do its job

[Todd Black 88]

When you say the toilet has a weak flush the second time, what exactly do you mean?

Did you wait for the tank to completely refil?

The gfi measures for voltage leakage to ground, but it trips at notoriously low levels and are common issues. They will sometimes trip if using the outlet at high moisture levels, like after a hot steamy shower.

If it trips randomly, chances are it’s the gfi in the breaker box itself. If there was an issue in the outlets, it would trip instantly when using it.


20 year home owner, licensed plumber, b ticket gas fitter with HE electrical ticket

[Todd Black 88]

That’s the gfi. Yours is in your breaker box.

[2mAn]

Looking at the picture of the breaker box, not sure why I didnt bother trying the one that was out of line.... pulled it to the off side and back on. It went further up to line up with everything else and sure enough, both bathrooms work now haha

homebuying fun indeed... Im learning :)

Now about those outlets, should I still replace them?... and also what about the toilet. Everything just seems old, and I dont know if I should bother to replace them now, or just wait until they crap out completely

[2mAn]

First thing I dealt with was the bathroom water. Figured this was easy enough. Turned it on and let it run to see if it got hot... and snapped pics while I waited





It got warmer for sure, I didnt wait until my hand was scalding hot. I also didnt bother trying the shower since it seemed to actually get warm water.



Next up is the toilet... heres whats in the tank



the toilet flushed perfectly fine the first time then the second one got kind a week I just left it at that. Not sure its even worth fixing, unless you guys see something obvious.


And now the electrical... first is the box itself. You can see someone had previously tried to label it. This is why I asked.



Everything seems fine so I went upstairs to test the outlets. Both bathrooms did not work but all of the rest in the bedrooms upstairs did so it’s definitely something within the bathroom outlets themselves. How difficult is it to upgrade to the GFCI ones?

[MR E30 325is]

Thanks for the quick replies! Im excited to be a homeowner, just was hoping I would be in for a little longer before issues popped up haha... I will get pics tonight and update.

Bathroom/ Hot Water Issues:

Hot Water works fine in the other upstairs bathroom, so thats an isolated problem with that particular bathroom. I will also double check the other sinks in the downstairs to make sure its just the one upstairs bathroom...

Most of that stuff sounds like its in the tank, so I will snap a pic of that, I know that the drain hardware seems old, especially because I have to make sure it closes after flushing, so it doesnt just keep running water.

Whats this $90 Sams Club toilet?!? I almost want to get that right away but Ive never replaced a toilet before lol

Electrical Issues
What is GFI?

I can picture the testable type of outlet with the reset button, but Im not sure if ours have those. Most of the stuff in this house is original except for things that seem to have been just replaced.

I will double check the box and snap a pic for you guys too.

on that topic, I want to properly label the box so I know whats for what. What type of label marker is ideal for that? Does it even matter?

The 90 dollar Sams toilet is magical, IMO. It has separate flush functions for poos and for pees. Even comes with the wax ring.

YouTube a toilet install video. It is easy. Biggest things are to do everything in order, and to not overtighten the base to the floor, as you can crack the base flange.

Your house was built in the 80's? You're going to have a GFI for the bathrooms. They can place the GFI outlet anywhere along the circuit, fyi, so it may not be right in the bathroom.

I label my service box with little white stickers from Home Depot. Use a sharpie for brief labels like 'dryer' and a pen for longer labels such as 's. bedroom, hallway, front entry'.

[z31maniac]

GFCI (ground-fault circuit interrupter) outlet:

https://home.howstuffworks.com/question117.htm