DIY


ecobee3 Lite calibration mode 1
Are you wanting to get on the smart thermostat bandwagon, but aren’t sure if it’s worth the $249 price tag of the full-featured models like the ecobee3 and Nest? Then has ecobee got a deal for you. They recently added the ecobee3 Lite to their line-up with a very tempting MSRP of […]

Review: ecobee3 Lite


Hazard switch pin and channel system
Imagine you’re driving a 1989 Ferrari 328 GTS through Utah’s Wasatch Mountain canyons near Park City with a group of other European exotics. As the group pulls off to the side of the highway to let the stragglers catch up, you hit your hazard lights button. When it’s time to depart once […]

How to Fix a Broken Ferrari 328 Hazard Switch


Even if you don’t understand the function of a GFCI outlet, or know what “GFCI” stands for, there’s a really good chance you’ve seen at least one (and probably a few) in your home. This is what a GFCI outlet looks like: GFCI stands for Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter, and that’s precisely […]

You Should Test and Replace your GFCI Outlets More Often ...



This is another of those posts that might only be for my own benefit, so that the next time I need to change the oil on my wife’s 2008 Cadillac Escalade, I can simply locate this post to remember what parts I used… and whether I liked them. 🙂 I […]

Oil Change and Filter Parts for 2008 Cadillac Escalade



Whirlpool inverter box 19
The most popular DIY post on my blog is, by far, How to Fix a Whirlpool & KitchenAid W10219463 / 2307028 Control Board for $6. As of this post, it’s received over 430 comments; the vast majority from frustrated homeowners who went online in a last ditch effort to find a way to […]

A Cheap(er) Fix for Whirlpool / KitchenAid / Kenmore Refrigerator ...



Replacement dual capacitor ready to install. 32
Summer 2015 in Seattle has been officially declared the hottest summer here on record (check my weather station’s 2015 max temps on my Weather Underground weather history graph for geeky details). For those in the Pacific Northwest living without central A/C, it’s been miserable. And for those fortunate enough to have central air conditioning, […]

Air Conditioning Not Blowing Cold? Replace your Capacitor or Contactor


My baby - a 1992 512 TR. 3
The Ferrari Testarossa, along with its later 512 TR and F512M variants, are iconic cars of the 80s and 90s. Every kid my age wanted to be Sonny Crocket cruising around Miami in a white Testarossa. What we never saw, however, was Crocket having trouble starting his Testarossa. Every time he had […]

DIY: Fix a Ferrari Testarossa / 512 TR Hot Start ...


Fill Valve with Ball Float 8
I’ll admit it — I titled this post to attract homeowners who are searching for how to fix a leaky toilet. But wouldn’t it be even better if you could prevent your toilet from leaking in the first place? This article will help you do both! During this year’s Spring Break, our […]

Leaking Toilet? Try the $25 Toilet Tune-Up



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If you’ve got a KitchenAid (or Whirlpool, or Kenmore) fridge with an ice maker that’s not making ice, don’t call the repairman. This is a very easy (and relatively inexpensive) fix that you can totally do yourself. These same instructions will work for any similar Whirlpool, Maytag, Kenmore, Amana, or JennAir […]

How to Cheaply Fix a KitchenAid / Whirlpool Ice Maker ...



Furnace ignitor working properly 42
You wake up in the morning, or come home from work, and you can instantly tell something is wrong. The house is cold. You can hear the furnace running, and you can even feel air coming out of the registers. But it’s not hot air coming out, it’s cold! Well, it’s not COLD cold, […]

Fix Your Furnace If It’s Not Blowing Warm Air



Color temperature can change the "feel" of a room. 63
One of the reasons I enjoy doing DIY projects is because I love saving money. But not all DIY projects are created equal — and the least equal is replacing light bulbs. I hate replacing light bulbs. I feel very little satisfaction after doing it, and I often put if […]

Choosing the Right LED Bulbs


New capacitor in place 590
UPDATE: Whirlpool has finally publicly admitted (kind of) that they’ve left their customers “high and dry” with this control board issue. They published this Class Code 91 Letter (though they never actually explain what “class code 91” means and Google wasn’t any help) with a list of all the model numbers that […]

How to Fix a Whirlpool & KitchenAid W10219463 / 2307028 ...




Lutron Maestro 600 Occupancy Sensor Switch 6
If you’ve got kids, then you’ve probably noticed that they never have problems finding a switch to turn lights on. Yet mysteriously, they lack the ability to turn lights off. I’m convinced it’s just never something that becomes important for a human… until they’re paying their own electricity bill. Using an […]

Product Review: Lutron Maestro 600 3-Way Occupancy Sensor Switch


Insulation tubing around the recirculating pump return line and drain 21
I little over a year ago, I made my very first plumbing-related blog post: a report on how I learned I should flush my water heater to eliminate rust-colored water, and should replace its anode when it’s fully eroded. Since that first post, I’ve enjoyed progressively attempting more complex DIY plumbing […]

How to Replace Your Water Heater




After installing insulating foam. 1
As we wrap up our Holiday vacation here at the Utah house, I’ve been tinkering with some home improvement projects (part of how I relax on vacation really is by fixing stuff). So today, I did two quick, cheap, and simple projects today to reduce the energy use of our […]

Two Cheap and Easy Water Heater Money Saving Tips


Hot water feed to humidifier connected! 5
The climate in Utah is particularly arid, both in the summer and the winter, and so I had my builder install a Lennox whole-house humidifier as part of our HVAC system in the Utah house. It helps keep us feeling comfortable at lower temperatures, meaning we save money on heating. […]

Installing a Water Pressure Gauge and Hot Water Feed to ...


This setting lets your Ecobee run the humidifier during heat, cool, or with the fan only. 12
In my original review of my very first Ecobee Smart Thermostat, I described how I had wired my Ecobee’s equipment interface to my whole-house evaporative humidifier at the Utah house. Because my furnace’s control board had a 24V HUM connector, I used that connector to help activate the humidifier. The […]

How to Wire a Humidifier to an Ecobee Smart Thermostat




Buy replacement furnace filters in bulk to save money 3
As I’ve taught myself a number of DIY home maintenance tasks over the years, I’ve noticed a trend: things tend to break at the worst possible time. When did my water heater’s TPR valve fail and start to spray water in the basement? At 10PM… when it was too late for […]

Home Maintenance Parts You Should Have In Your House Right ...