I have found Hell...

[Scrounger]

You know what Hell is? Cold Showers. Last wednesday was a bad day. Got up, went to the bathroom. Toilet stopped up. Fought it a few minutes, decided I'd let it set and ponder the problem and I'd deal with it after breakfast. Went to wash my hands; no hot water. Decided to skip shower, there was already enough things going wrong. After breakfast I came back to the toilet and after a few gentle persuasions, it got right with the world. It might have seen the .44 Mag I had hidden behind my back. Water heaters are one of the many things I kinow nothing about. After making sure the power was on and there was no reset button on the heater, I was willing to concede that maybe it was time to replace the 20 year old heater. Checking Sears' web page, there were many selections available from $179 to twice that or more. I picked out a good one at the $200 level and took off for the local Sears. Damn. Forgot this was Pahrump! They only had two models available, not the one I wanted, and everything was 15% to 20% higher than they were on the web pages. Well, let's see what good ol ACE Hardware has.... Once again, they only had 3 or 4 models to choose from. Tiring of the game, I picked out one at about $225 and said I'll take that one. Turns out the floor models are just shells and they didn't have any working models in stock. Yep, this is Pahrump. Girl said they had a shipment coming in next day and she knew there were some water heaters on it; come back about 11 AM Thursday. Did so. There were 4 water heater cartons setting there and they were all the right model! For a minute there I forgot this was Pahrump, but I was soon reminded. Girl now says all four heaters were special orded for local builder, but she can order one for me and have it in next Thursday. Heaven forbid they order something in just to have it in stock, I thought that's what stores do. Defeated again and already sick of cold showers, I crawled back to Sears and bought one of their overpriced models I didn't really want but now was desperate for. Got it home, opened the box; Big sign says,"This is Pahrump!" The now standard fittings on the water heater are incompatible with those in my 20 year old mobile home. Now I got to find a plumber. Late Friday he comes out, spends an hour fooling with it only to find he needs some unusal fittings and material he doesn't have, can't get till Monday. So I'm on hold till then. But I have sworn off cold showers for life. Till this thing is fixed, I'm sticking to sponge baths. How did the frigging pioneers cope with life? They were better men than me, even the women....

[grumble]

Wow, they actually have water heaters AND a Sears in Pahrump? Big town! And here I thought you lived in a rural area. Heck, with all that commercialization, I bet you even have a Burger King close by! Such urbanization is a 3 hour drive for me, one way.

If you really did live in a SMALL town, you'd have one of those 5-gallon canning pots available to heat water with on your stove. And of course a propane stove for when the electricity goes out for a couple days. And a storage tank so you can have water when the electricity isn't there to operate the well pump. And your own mini-hardware store with spares for everything in your garage (but the spares never actually match the part that needs to be replaced, requiring another 2+ hour drive for a 75c piece-part).

You ain't in Hell son, you're in Heaven!!

[Scrounger]

Wow, they actually have water heaters AND a Sears in Pahrump? Big town! And here I thought you lived in a rural area. Heck, with all that commercialization, I bet you even have a Burger King close by! Such urbanization is a 3 hour drive for me, one way.

If you really did live in a SMALL town, you'd have one of those 5-gallon canning pots available to heat water with on your stove. And of course a propane stove for when the electricity goes out for a couple days. And a storage tank so you can have water when the electricity isn't there to operate the well pump. And your own mini-hardware store with spares for everything in your garage (but the spares never actually match the part that needs to be replaced, requiring another 2+ hour drive for a 75c piece-part).

You ain't in Hell son, you're in Heaven!!
Sure we got BugerKing. MacDonald's, Taco Bell, KFC, Subway, and Domino's. Subway's the only one I frequent. I WISH we had Carl Jr, In & Out, and Arby's. Those are my feeding troughs of choice. And those of you who live east of us, that moaning sound you hear every morning about sunrise, is 35,000 people praying for Home Depot to open a store here. Ace Hardware, as run by the Floyd family, sucks so bad I'm afraid the whole valley will disappear...

[felix]

Hell is defined as not being able to find a qualified Doc who knows other Docs who knows hospitals who knows insurance companies. Yes, I know, but you can just forget about those food franchises in comparison. Wish we had more mom and pop resturants who know how to cook greens and such, and make them taste good. ... felix

[StarMetal]

Well don't feel bad Art. The closest town to us is (remember Hee Haw) Erwin. We salute Erwin, TN, populationed 6000 something...yeehaw!!!! We have the norm for a two bit small town, few grocery stores, gas stations, auto parts, hardware, etc. Supposely Walmart is going to build here this year sometime and the local hillbillys are all pissed off about it. Rather I should say the few rich businessmen that run and own the city. Screw them, they have held progress back far too long for this little town. I hope they all move in, Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, etc. I'll have to admit that most the time I get essentials that I needed. Me...I don't eat at any of those fast food joints...no good fer ya dont cha know.

Joe

[grumble]

When I make my bi-annual trips to a BIG town (Socorro, NM -- I define "big" as being a town with a WalMart), I never pass up good ol' Burger King. Two Whoppers with cheese per year, and I'm a happy camper. I mean, I just get SOOO tired of eating beefsteak every day. <G>

I've heard that early morning moaning. I always thought it was either banshees or the reintroduced wolf packs around here. Since I now know it's a "Pahrump Home Depot wail," maybe I'll join in.

Kidding aside, I hope you get the WH working tomorrow.

[KYCaster]

If Pahrump is Hell, then Purgatory is standing in line at Lowe's or Home Depot trying to return a defective water heater. When somebody calls and says "I bought this water heater at Lowe's, can you install it for me?" I want to run and hide, but, that wouldn't put food on the table. About one in every five WH they sell is defective. Most are physically damaged from poor handling. They will replace these but they make the average homeowner jump through hoops and fill out a ream of paperwork before they'll do it.
Some are manufacturing defects, they're covered under the little sticker on the WH that says "Do not return this appliance to the place of purchase." You can't tell if it leaks or doesn't heat until you have it installed. So you have a couple hours labor and a few parts invested in the job when you give the customer the bad news. At this point he has two options, he can take it back himself (that's another service charge when I come back to finish the job) or pay me my hourly rate while I take it back. When he takes it back they will tell him to leave it at the store and the factory rep will decide whether to honor the waranty or not.(the rep is at the local Lowe's every Thursday) So you ask the nice clerk what you're going to do for hot water till Thursday and she tells you she can't help you because that's the way the system works. It takes the average homeowner about a day and a half to figgure out how to get them to replace the defective WH. Some of them actually buy another one and hope the mfgr. will honor the claim.
Depending on how long the line is and which manager happens to be in the store, I can usually get the WH replaced in two to four hours, so if the customer lets me handle it he can have hot water the same day, but it has cost him couple hundred dollars extra to get it done. The WH he bought at Lowe's cost him about forty dollars less than the one I would sell him, and mine has a full warranty, parts and labor. If I get a defective one, even a minor dent in the sheet metal jacket, I just call from the jobsite and my supplier will have another one there in half an hour. If anything goes wrong during the mfgr's. warranty period, I will fix it or replace it at no cost to the customer and bill the mfgr. for the labor. With a deal like that, I can't understand why anybody would buy a water heater from the big box stores.

OK, rant's over. Thanks for letting me vent.

Jerry

[felix]

OK, Jerry, you win! I've always lived in areas where pros are still pros, even though their costs are going through the roof. It seems their profits are being squeezed continuously, and it won't be long until we have to do this "shit" ourselves. It would be completely a different story if the goods we bought were indeed goods instead of trash. ... felix

[Rrusse11]

RUNNING WATER!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow,,,,,,,, now that's luxury,,,,. Should have been around a coupla' years ago when I sojourned in the middle of the St. Lawrence for the winters.
Water, had to run and get it, AFTER chopping a hole in the ice. Hot water was what was on the 2 woodstoves running 24/7. Never did have the outhouse backup,,,, but freeze ur ass off while attending to business, no time for perusing the Sears catalogue there.
Fast food was local ducks and deer not fast enuff to get outa' da way of the 357...
Town was 2 miles away,,,,,,, but I had to do perform my Messiah act to get there,,, 24" of ice with open spots here and there where the current bubbled or swirled,,,,,. Coffee and tobacco shortages were the only reason I went there,, . {:o)
Cheers, R*2

[Scrounger]

RUNNING WATER!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow,,,,,,,, now that's luxury,,,,. Should have been around a coupla' years ago when I sojourned in the middle of the St. Lawrence for the winters.
Water, had to run and get it, AFTER chopping a hole in the ice. Hot water was what was on the 2 woodstoves running 24/7. Never did have the outhouse backup,,,, but freeze ur ass off while attending to business, no time for perusing the Sears catalogue there.
Fast food was local ducks and deer not fast enuff to get outa' da way of the 357...
Town was 2 miles away,,,,,,, but I had to do perform my Messiah act to get there,,, 24" of ice with open spots here and there where the current bubbled or swirled,,,,,. Coffee and tobacco shortages were the only reason I went there,, . {:o)
Cheers, R*2


You had to remind me... I grew up on a farm in Indiana; no running water and an air conditioned outhouse for those sub-zero winter nights. I don't want to re-live my youth.

[longhorn]

Kudos to Jerry-and an excellent example of why we should be prepared to pay a premium for real service; it's not necessarily a good thing, but it's the way the world is nowadays. As an aside, I lived in Dallas for 20 years, now 7 years in 2 towns of less than 2500; anybody that thinks the cost of living is lower in rural communities is definitely math-challenged (except for existing housing.)

[MT Gianni]

When I got a job as an apprentice plumber, sheet metal and minor electrical in rural Idaho my boss told me " you won't make much money but there's nowhere to spend it anyway." After moving to big city Montana [ from outside a town of 1200 to to near a town of 50,000] for the last 20 years I am about ready for the small towns again and forget about the costs. Missoulians now have almost no common sense and want someone else to fix all their problems. I don't mind a few with that attitude but would like to see them in smaller numbers. gianni.

[waksupi]

Heck, I've still got an outhouse! You mean you guys go to the toilet, right in the same building you eat in!!!???

[NVcurmudgeon]

Scrounger, You're not living in Hell, Hell is the big city in CA! I had all the troubles you describe with incompetent help and bureaucratic big box stores in Livermore (80,000) and I'll bet you did too in the part of CA you moved to get away from. I'm not as far out as you are. I can be at Home Creepo or Lowly's in 20 minutes in Reno, but they aren't any better than they are in Pahrump. The difference is that here I can watch the cottontails playing in my inner back yard. This morning we had to wait while a Valley Quail couple herded their eight chicks off the road and onto our place before we could continue down the road. I'm about 2/3 through with spring weeding- 1/2 acre down and 1/4 to go. So far, we've only seen one rattler this spring, and it was road kill right in front of the house. Would I trade all this for going back to CA? Hah! Not if they made me Governator.

[45 2.1]

Missoulians now have almost no common sense and want someone else to fix all their problems. I don't mind a few with that attitude but would like to see them in smaller numbers. gianni.

Your not alone there, but the proportion remains the same even though the number of people is less. Things have sure changed in the last 45 years.

[nvbirdman]

If Nevada is Hell. I can't imagine how bad some of the other places must be.
I agree with curmudgeon that it's nice living here.(I only live about 60 miles away from him.)
I wake up every morning and watch the rabbits running around my front yard, and every few years a coyote. If I see the coyotes watching one hour out of twenty-four, I can only imagine how many I miss.
Last time I went to visit my father in Los Angeles where I grew up he offered me his 350K house if I would move back down there. No thank you. I had a wonderful childhood, but I hate California that much that I would never live there again.

[Scrounger]

If Nevada is Hell. I can't imagine how bad some of the other places must be.
I agree with curmudgeon that it's nice living here.(I only live about 60 miles away from him.)
I wake up every morning and watch the rabbits running around my front yard, and every few years a coyote. If I see the coyotes watching one hour out of twenty-four, I can only imagine how many I miss.
Last time I went to visit my father in Los Angeles where I grew up he offered me his 350K house if I would move back down there. No thank you. I had a wonderful childhood, but I hate California that much that I would never live there again.

Don't get me wrong, I like it here. I don't regret for an instant moving here. I was just venting my frustration. Every place has a few things wrong with it and this is no exception. But I too had enough of California. Rabbits and quail are constant visitors to my property, so far no rattlers but I hear from other people there's a lot of them around this year. Next door neighbor just told me there used to be a big nest of them in my back yard. I hope to heck they're gone. I won't be going out there without the .357 and snake shot from now on...

[Willbird]

I have to say Jerry, I have helped haul out the old, and otherwise been around a good half dozen owner replaced Hot Water Heaters, and not a single one was defective from the big box store. Both Gas and electric models.

Must be they are all lucky people.

Bill

[Slowpoke]

Don't get me wrong, I like it here. I don't regret for an instant moving here. I was just venting my frustration. Every place has a few things wrong with it and this is no exception. But I too had enough of California. Rabbits and quail are constant visitors to my property, so far no rattlers but I hear from other people there's a lot of them around this year. Next door neighbor just told me there used to be a big nest of them in my back yard. I hope to heck they're gone. I won't be going out there without the .357 and snake shot from now on...

Not to worry there pardoner, your weed wacker will handle them rattle bugs just fine, just be sure and keep your mouth closed, I know its tough to do as it sure puts a big grin on my face.

My guess is they (Rattlesnakes) have moved under your house now.:)

Good luck

[Scrounger]

Not to worry there pardoner, your weed wacker will handle them rattle bugs just fine, just be sure and keep your mouth closed, I know its tough to do as it sure puts a big grin on my face.

My guess is they (Rattlesnakes) have moved under your house now.:)

Good luck

THANKS.

[Scrounger]

Heater in yesterday afternoon. A warm, soothing 20 minute shower this morning. Such decadence... Eat your heart out, Waksupi, I don't envy you poisoning the fish in those cold mountain streams... :grin:

[grumble]

"...A warm, soothing 20 minute shower this morning..."

Aww, c'mon now. Where's the adventure in that? <GGG>

[nvbirdman]

If you had waited untill it rains in July or August you could have just walked outside for that warm soothing shower.

[StanDahl]

I've wondered when our water heater is going to give up the ghost and keep thinking about getting one of the tankless ones that we would see in Mexico as a backup. They were commercially made, a sheet metal exterior, and a galvanized pipe coiled up the inside with tee going inside the shower/sink and way up and out for an overflow. (No tank, so if you're not running water, it's just going to boil in the pipes and explode.) There was a firebox below the coils and you could get a very large quantity of hot water for just a small amount of wood or paper or cardboard or whatever you could burn. At least one of them was started with a load of used buttwipe pulled from the trash can next to the crapper. Stan

[wills]

No telling how many federal agencies would be waiting in line to crucify you if you tried something like that!

[Scrounger]

I've wondered when our water heater is going to give up the ghost and keep thinking about getting one of the tankless ones that we would see in Mexico as a backup. They were commercially made, a sheet metal exterior, and a galvanized pipe coiled up the inside with tee going inside the shower/sink and way up and out for an overflow. (No tank, so if you're not running water, it's just going to boil in the pipes and explode.) There was a firebox below the coils and you could get a very large quantity of hot water for just a small amount of wood or paper or cardboard or whatever you could burn. At least one of them was started with a load of used buttwipe pulled from the trash can next to the crapper. Stan

Don't even think about going there. Water heaters aren't expensive at all, they're very reliable, they last forever or thereabouts, and in a modern house they're easy to replace. A 40 gallon heater can be had for $200 to $300; if you have a big family, add another $30 or so for a 50 gallon tank. If you're a tool klutz like me, or fate makes everything you have non-standard (like it does me), you can find someone to put it in for $50. And your grandkids can replace it 20-25 years from now....Even with all the difficulties that mine exhibited (guy struggled, literally struggled, with it for 4 hours total), the installer only charged me $50 and $30 worth of plumbing parts.