DIY

ecobee3 Lite calibration mode — 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

This entry was posted in DIY Home Theater & Automation Technology and tagged DIY ecobee ecobee upgrade ecobee3 ecobee3 Lite Install remote thermostat smart thermostat thermostat WiFi thermostat on January 17, 2017 by Steve Jenkins (updated 2956 days ago)

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

This entry was posted in Cars DIY and tagged broken DIY Ferrari Ferrari 328 Ferrari 512 Ferrari F40 fix hazard fuse hazard lights hazard switch how to stuck turn signals won't turn off on August 14, 2016 by Steve Jenkins

AC Infinity S3 fan — If you’re like most homeowners, you probably keep your receiver, amplifier, router, network switch, or any other electronic equipment inside a cabinet… which means you have a heat problem. Heat is the enemy of electronics, and circulating air through and around anything electronic is vital to its performance and longevity. This is the cabinet […]

Review: AC Infinity Airplate Cabinet Fan

This entry was posted in DIY Product Reviews Technology and tagged AC Infinity cabinet fan computer fan cooling fan equipment cabinet product review review usb USB fan on July 11, 2016 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3147 days ago)

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 entry was posted in DIY and tagged DIY GFCI GFCI outlet GFCI reset button GFI replace replace GFCI outlet reset service life test test GFCI outlet on July 10, 2016 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3022 days ago)

Batteries wired in parallel are now fully charged — It’s a story that repeats itself in garages across America every summer. Your kid wants to drive his Power Wheels Jeep, or her Power Wheels Escalade (is it really selling for $800-$900 on Amazon?)… and the battery is dead. You plug in the proprietary charging connector (if you haven’t lost it, that is), but […]

Dead Power Wheels Battery? Maybe You Can Trick it Back ...

This entry was posted in Cars DIY and tagged battery battery charger battery won't charge charging Power Wheels battery CTEK dead battery parallel charging piggy-back charging Power Wheels on June 25, 2016 by Steve Jenkins

GE LEG Bright Stiks, 760 lumens, 5000K color temp — As I was tearing my 1997 Sub-Zero 601F freezer apart recently to troubleshoot a defrost issue (expect a separate blog post on that soon), I noted that it used four traditional 40W incandescent appliance bulbs as its light source. The 601R refrigerator installed next to it used the same. As […]

Quick & Easy LED Light Upgrade for your Refrigerator and ...

This entry was posted in DIY and tagged Amana appliance bulb freezer freezer light bulb fridge KitchenAid LED LED bulbs light bulbs Maytag refrigerator refrigerator light bulb Sub-Zero Upgrade Whirlpool on June 24, 2016 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3164 days ago)

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

This entry was posted in Cars DIY and tagged Cadillac cars DIY Escalade escalade oil filter K&N oil change oil filter reset oil light reset oil message Royal Purple synthetic on January 21, 2016 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3319 days ago)

Underside of the top panel of the heat pump exposed — At 8:19 PM on December 30, 2015, I received the following text from Jim, our next-door neighbor at our cabin in East Wenatchee: Steve, we’re at the river and your heat pump fan just broke so fan is hitting shroud. I tried to wedge to balance but no luck so […]

DIY: Replacing the Fan on a Heat Pump

This entry was posted in DIY and tagged broken DIY doesn't work fan fix heat pump Lennox Repair replace on January 1, 2016 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3339 days ago)

Whirlpool inverter box — 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 ...

This entry was posted in DIY Reference and tagged compressor control control board digital inverter digital speed control DIY fix fridge inverter board inverter box JennAir Kenmore KitchenAid Maytag referigerator Repair replace W10133449 W10629033 on October 11, 2015 by Steve Jenkins

Ubiquiti UAP-PRO access point — Getting decent WiFi coverage at my house has always been a challenge. The house is three stories (the bottom floor is a daylight basement) and has a footprint of 50′ x 100′. A four car garage extends the footprint even farther to the south, and because I use WiFi-controller irrigation […]

How to Install a Ubiquiti UniFi Access Point Pro (UAP-PRO)

This entry was posted in DIY Reference Technology and tagged antenna bad wifi DD-WRT how to install UAP install UAP router UAP UAP-PRO Ubiquiti UBNT WiFi on September 30, 2015 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3432 days ago)

Reverse lights (top row) illuminated. — A burned out bulb on your car isn’t just an annoyance, it’s a safety issue… and one that could get you pulled over. So many of my favorite COPS episodes on TV start with a plain old “your tail light is burned out” traffic stop. Bad boys, bad boys… what’cha […]

How To: Replace Ferrari 512 TR Bulbs with LEDs

This entry was posted in Cars DIY Reference and tagged 1156 1157 512 TR 512TR amber bulbs Ferrari LED LED brake lights LED bulbs LED stop lights LED tail lights LED turn signals red replace with LED replacement replacement bulbs Testarossa on August 18, 2015 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3458 days ago)

Replacement dual capacitor ready to install. — 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

This entry was posted in DIY Reference and tagged 440/370 A/C air conditioner air conditioning air conditioning not working capacitor contactor cooling DIY DP1025A 5006 fix air conditioner Honeywell HVAC MFD micro-farads not blowing cold air R8242A-1032 replace capacitor replace contactor Rheem Ruud thermostat on August 16, 2015 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3476 days ago)

My baby - a 1992 512 TR. — 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 ...

This entry was posted in Cars DIY Reference and tagged 512 TR 512TR Bosch DIY Ferrari Ferrari 512TR Ferrari Testarossa hot start hot start fix hot start problem how to problem replace solenoid replace starter replace starter solenoid solenoid starter Testarossa won't start on July 29, 2015 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3491 days ago)

Relay assembly close-up. — Last week, I was working in my back yard when I noticed that the big red light on top of my septic system control box was lit up. That light is triggered when one of two alarm floats (in either the main effluent pump chamber or the clearwell pump chamber) detects that the fluid level in […]

How to Make Your Septic Alarm Smarter

This entry was posted in DIY Home Theater & Automation Technology and tagged alarm monitoring DSC email relay septic alarm septic alarm monitoring septic buzzer septic pump septic system septic tank smart septic alarm smart things text wireless sensor Z-Wave on July 25, 2015 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3499 days ago)

Paul glues new dust covers on the repaired speakers. — Not long ago, we started to notice a distorted “buzzing” sound from our left and right front speakers in our family room, particularly when the TV was playing something with a lot of bass (like explosions, engine noise, or gunfire). I love our family room speakers. They’re made by an English […]

Rave: The LoudSpeaker Store (Kent, WA)

This entry was posted in DIY Home Theater & Automation Rants and Raves and tagged Castle fix Kent loudspeakers rave Renton Repair Seattle Severn speakers on July 17, 2015 by Steve Jenkins

“Smart” home devices don’t only make your life easier, but in many cases can also save you money. Readers of my blog already know I’m a big fan of ecobee’s smart thermostat products. They’re WiFi enabled controllers that use weather data available via the Internet to predicatively (and reactively) minimize HVAC system […]

WiFi Sprinker Controller Review: Rachio Iro vs. RainMachine vs. IrrigationCaddy

This entry was posted in DIY iPhone Linux Product Reviews Technology and tagged irrigation IrrigationCaddy product review Rachio Iro Rachio Iro review Rain Machine RainMachine RainMachine review smart controller smart home sprinkler WiFi on July 15, 2015 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3508 days ago)

Fill Valve with Ball Float — 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

This entry was posted in DIY and tagged angle stop DIY fill valve fix leaking toilet fix toilet flapper Fluidmaster Kohler Korky leaky toilet plumbing replace toilet toilet maintenance tune-up on April 12, 2015 by Steve Jenkins

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 ...

This entry was posted in DIY and tagged Amana DIY freezer ice maker ice maker stopped working ice maker won't work icemaker JennAir Kenmore KitchenAid Maytag refrigerator replace ice maker Whirlpool on April 2, 2015 by Steve Jenkins

My initial review of the KOHLER Touchless Toilet Flush Kit was positive… except for the part where the unit started to magically flush the toilet all by itself in the middle of the night. I called it the “phantom flush.” If you recall from my review, KOHLER promised to send me […]

Product Update: KOHLER Touchless Toilet Flush Kit Parts Upgrade

This entry was posted in DIY Home Theater & Automation Product Reviews Technology and tagged automatic flush Kohler phantom flush plumbing review toilet touchless toilet flush kit on March 29, 2015 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3617 days ago)

For a few years now, I’ve been using a Linksys E4200 v1 router (running DD-WRT) as the main router at my house. However, because the WiFi signal from the router isn’t strong enough to reliably reach all the rooms in the house, I picked up a few inexpensive Belkin F7D3302 / F7D7302 […]

Adding Heat Sinks and Overclocking a Belkin F7D3302 / F7D7302 ...

This entry was posted in DIY Linux Technology and tagged Belkin cooling DD-WRT heat sink mod modding overclock router on March 24, 2015 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3621 days ago)

Something had been bothering me at the Utah house for a few years, so I finally got around to doing something about it this week. Take a peek at the photo below and see if you can find it: If nothing in the above photo bothers you, then move along… this blog […]

Upgrade your Bath Tub Trim – Fast, Easy, and Cheap

This entry was posted in DIY Videos and tagged DIY drain plug plumbing replace bath tub drain tub hardware tub trim WATCO on March 23, 2015 by Steve Jenkins

Hydrogen sulfide gas smells like rotten eggs — If your hot water smells like rotten eggs, don’t panic. It’s almost certainly something you can fix on your own, and there are a few different ways you can try to fix it. First, to make sure your hot water heater is the source (and that this is the blog post you’re […]

How to Fix Rotten Egg Smell in your Water

This entry was posted in DIY and tagged plumbing rotten egg smell smelly water sulfur smell water water water heater on February 20, 2015 by Steve Jenkins (updated 2464 days ago)

Remember when you were a little kid, and your mother would take you to the supermarket, and as you approached the glass doors you’d wave your hand at them… causing them to open… with… The Force? It was almost like magic! Sure, deep down you probably knew there was some kind […]

Product Review: KOHLER Touchless Toilet Flush Kit

This entry was posted in DIY Home Theater & Automation Product Reviews Technology and tagged automatic flush Kohler plumbing review toilet touchless toilet flush kit on November 26, 2014 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3617 days ago)

TPMS warning on dash — Last month, I noticed the Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) warning light turn on in my 2007 GMC Yukon Denali. When I pressed the button on the dash to see my tire pressures, the left-front tire showed nothing… meaning the computer wasn’t getting any data from that wheel. After a few miles, it started […]

TPMS Warning Light? Replace your TPMS Sensors for Cheap

This entry was posted in Cars DIY and tagged Discount Tire GMC replace TPMS sensor tire pressure monitoring system TPMS TPMS light warning light on November 23, 2014 by Steve Jenkins (updated 3743 days ago)